Blood and Dust

by Frankie3110

After the events of Infinity War the Decimation spread to Zootopia as Officers Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps were enjoying another day as cops. Nothing would prepare them for that horrible day filled with pain and loss. Rated M for some language and graphic content

6. ACT VI: Taking It Back

Here goes my longest chapter yet. Some weird stuff getting introduced but my story was pretty weird from the beginning.

Hope you all like it. Or hate it, that's fine :)

ACT VI: Taking it Back

When your Time comes to die, be not like those

whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so

that when their time comes they weep and pray

for a little more time to live their lives over again

in a different way. Sing your death song, and die

like a hero going home.

-Tecumseh

---

It's time," declared Marvin in a decided look. "Let's go get the suits, guys. Nick, Paul, you know what to do," they both nodded seriously.

"Sheila, Kii, let's go," Kii prepared to walk as her mangled body acted up on her. Marvin went there quick to assist her. "Hey, you alright, honey? You don't have to push yourself, you can stay here," Nick looked at the two lovers. He would've said the same in this situation, but he knows Kii won't back down. "N-no, it's okay. It's just a scratch. I haven't experienced true pain," she overlooked at Nick and didn't go unnoticed.

"Hey, Kii," Nick called her, while also getting closer. He touched her shoulder. "You've really done enough for the day. I wouldn't blame you if you want to stay here," he said from the bottom of his heart. He knew it'd be dangerous and he didn't wanna see another loved one die.

"I appreciate your worry, Nick. But someone once said that changes don't come naturally. You make those changes. I'm gonna make those changes, for everyone who has needed them and for everyone who is not strong enough to make their own." She said without stuttering or trying to think of other words. It's as if she was prepared. Nick was proud. The New World won't be as bad if people like her still exist. He hugged her suddenly, surprising her, and quietly said in her ear: "People will need you now more than ever. Don't die today, please."

His words made her shiver and a tear dropped as she accepted Nick's hug. Marvin stood his ground. He knew they were close. There was no reason for him to be jealous. Nick held her tightly but he knew he had to let go. The city depended on them. "Please take care," he said in a heartwarming way. Shortly after, he directed some words to Marvin.

"Hey, Coon, take care of her. Protect her with your life or I'll kill you when you get here. You have no idea just how great your girlfriend is," Nick's words made Kii blush a little and made her curious on what Marvin would say. "You're damn right, Nick. She won't get hurt anymore. I promise," Nick nodded and shook his hand.

"You take care too, little sister," Paul said, mockingly. She showed him her tongue and they laughed together and then hugged him. "I'll see you later," she warmly smiled and went to join the other mammals that would go out.

"Hey Nick, you can go and help yourself with a bath, you're stained with blood, you know?" Marvin said mockingly, definitely knowing it was him who put him like that.

"Oh yeah? And whose fault was that?" Nick replied.

"I saved your life, dumbass," he laughed alongside Nick. "But seriously though take a bath, you stink."

"Oh, fuck you." Marvin laughed with Nick again but it was time to go.

"We'll be back before you know it. We'll have ways of communicating with you guys to keep all of you updated on our status. Here," he got two earpiece devices from his pocket. "We'll connect this to a comm device and you'll be able to automatically hear us. We'll give you a call when we get it ready." as he finished he was getting ready to leave through the door with both females. "Let's see this day end on a good note, shall we?" they all nodded to him as Marvin gently opened the door.

"Oh, Nick, I also forgot," Kii spoke again to the fox, "I also lied about getting with Marvin two weeks ago. It was actually two years ago." She laughed. Not because of lying, but because of how ridiculous it was for her to hide something like a boyfriend. She felt like a teenager all over again.

"What? Why would you lie about that?" Nick started laughing with her. Marvin followed. His girlfriend was a dummy. After the laugh ceased, Marvin proceeded to get out of the room a second time.

Gearing up

When the door was open Marvin definitely didn't expect the group of people out there waiting for some kind of answers. Marvin realized what was going on. Bryan had told them his plans.

"Is it true, Marvin?" a member of the group said as many kept bombarding him with questions about the "foolishness of his acts" as one described it.

"Alright, enough!" he shouted at them to stop talking. It worked on the first try. He was the leader, after all. He'd never amount to the heights Patrick did, but they had to respect him and his decisions. "I get why you're confused," he began. "But this ordeal can't go on any longer. We've lived on the shadows for too long. Our city is suffering, and we seem to be the only ones available for their help, so either you accept my decision or you can leave this organization." his words were clear and direct. No one seemed to back down. He was surprised. Marvin expected at least someone to back down.

"We respect your decision, sir. We're just scared, is all. What would people say?" a female tiger explained her worries.

"They'll say what they'll have to say. We're gonna be there to save them, whether they like it or not." everyone seemed fine after that. Marvin didn't seem to see Bryan anywhere and thought he probably left and will never return. He sighed, but today is a day of many losses. He had to keep his head high.

"One more thing." he said suddenly, making the group of people look back at him. "I need someone else to go outside with me. It's gonna be tough, but your help will highly be appreciated." a moment passed after his comment and it seemed that no one would step up. It seemed like nobody would want to take the risk.

"I'll go." suddenly a voice was heard from the back of the small group, and a medium-sized tiger walked to the front. He looked very young and instead of wearing a scientist gown like many of them were wearing, he had a much simpler attire. He was wearing a green jacket with a white shirt and green khaki pants. "I'm Pedro, sir. I was a commander at one of the bases in Zibia. I was transferred here last year." he did an army salute as if he had forgotten he wasn't actually a soldier anymore.

"Oh, Pedro. Yeah I remember you. You are a very skilled fighter. You helped a lot in Zibia. You will be of great help." Marvin told Pedro as his smile brightened. "Thank you, sir. I won't let you down." Marvin chuckled at Pedro's formality and told him to just call him by his name. He introduced himself to both ladies and the four of them marched on to the Suits Gallery.

"Pedro, girls, you will have the privilege to see something not many have seen in this installation." Marvin said with excitement. "And things I haven't dared to touch in years."

They entered a darkened room surrounded by many mammal-sized suits kept in protected compartments. These suits were seemingly designed for space explorations but are also able to be used on land missions. Most of the special suits are stored in the other areas of the world such as the base in Zibia. The suits were highly advanced, coated in absorbium technology and built specifically to automatically fit the wearer, so there was no need to design suits with many different sizes. They had a bright blue color design with black and white vertical lines. All mammals except Marvin were astounded by them. He quickly explained what they were and made them even more excited to wear them.

"I heard of these suits before but I never actually saw them." said Pedro in amazement.

"Glad you like them, because you'll be wearing them today." a grin crept up on Pedro's face as he quickly rushed to put on his suit.

"Are you sure we need these high tech suits?" Sheila asked.

"We are not sure if something else might happen. The six Infinity Stones hold a very enormous power. We don't know what might come up." Marvin said with a serious tone.

"Didn't you guys say you don't have war technology?" this time the one to ask was Kii. Pedro was still putting up his suit in the background, which caused a giggle from Sheila.

"Honey, this isn't war technology. I take it more as a defense armament. These suits are no killing machines." Marvin explained, as Kii was more calmed.

"Have you ever used a suit like this before?" she asked as if she had been betrayed. She probably was already feeling that way since he hid something so big to her all those years. He had nothing else to say but answer her question.

"Yes and no. I never used it for real missions or anything like that. Just for testing. This would be my first time taking it to open field. You have my back, right?" he asked her. He hoped their relationship wasn't gonna shatter after this. After all of this, he really was gonna need some support. And love. Something that he found with her after all those years of being alone.

She touches his shoulder and kisses his cheek. "Of course I do, dummy, but I won't forgive you if you ever hide something from me again." Marvin was happy with her statement he hugged her and felt truly relieved that she still wanted to be with him. "Thank you for giving me a chance," he said, teary-eyed. "Always for you." Kii finished saying. Sheila watched warmingly at the made up couple.

They stopped hugging. It was time to get into the suits. Pedro was already in one of them, surprising himself with the suit's ability of adjusting itself to size. Sheila followed, then Marvin, then Kii, with a little difficulty because of the wounds.

Then Marvin got four earpiece devices so they could communicate with both Nick and Paul. He then turns it on and connects it to the office's computer. He tests the device. He positions it on his ear and presses on the talk button.

"Hello hello, you guys hear me?" he called and about 10 seconds after the response was given

''Loud and clear, Cooper,'' said Paul. ''Heard, Marvin.'' Nick followed suit.

''Alright guys we're about to go down so I need you to be our eyes in the sky over there, clear?''

''Clear.'' Both Nick and Paul said in unison.

''Good. I'll need you.'' Marvin said with honesty. ''I'll call you back once we're outside. Cooper out.'' With this, he ended the call and got ready for the fearful night to begin. It was now 7 PM.

Memory

As the last ray of sunlight was setting in on the devastated city, other lights began to grow brightly. It was the yellow fire accompanied by smoke and dusty air. Lightning bugs and other night insects began to appear but their sounds could not be heard. The street was desolate, and the cars were severely vandalized. When the first stars started to come out, Marvin sought out to them in a way of praying. He looked at his constellation, Scorpio, and how even after all of this, it was still standing there, proud. It gave him motivation. If the stars were still there, hope was sure to come.

He could hear firefighter sirens, and even police cars. Probably trying to stop the spread of chaos. It seemed like it was impossible at this moment, but giving up wasn't a choice. The city will calm down, like it should and like it always has in the worst of situations. He reminded himself of the year of the Nighthowlers. He kind of blamed himself for not trying to do anything or investigate to try and solve the case. When the news came that the case got solved, he jumped in happiness. Because of that, he even got to meet the love of his life. The lovable Cheetah which he had been lying to. He promised himself no more lies, and most certainly not to her. He couldn't lose her. She was everything.

"Marvin!" he heard a screaming voice and suddenly realized he was daydreaming, completely oblivious to everyone talking to him. Kii was the one who yelled.

"Oh sorry, honey, I was heavily thinking." he explained. Kii laughed at him.

"Must've been one heck of a thought. Was I in there?" she said jokingly. The raccoon reminded himself of his promise.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I was remembering how we met." Marvin smiled warmly. Kii was caught by surprise at his response and a hint of blush appeared on his yellow cheeks.

"Great days." she said. Marvin agreed as they both looked at each other with nostalgia and glee, drowning themselves in the memories of two years ago.

March 14, 2017, Zootopia, 2 Years Ago

It was a great day for Marvin Cooper. Not only had he been elected for leader of Z.A.I.M. but he was also in his way to talk with one of the most beautiful mammals he had ever seen. Correction: The absolute most beautiful mammal on this planet. He was still shaking by the thought. Even though he already had a job in his secret organization he still needed a "normal" job to hide his secret one. So the best he could do was get a job as a journalist and cameraman for ZNN. He at first had only the cameraman job, so he begged Sheila and Paul for a less boring position, so they did. He had been 6 months as a journalist and things were very very very tiring, even for his bright mind. Run over here, run over there, it was just a big race to see who could get the best story. He had gotten used to - and even addicted - to the job. The rush of getting a new great story published in the paper always filled him with ecstasy.

He had the great honors to write a paper about the Nighthowlers case. The story was sure to go down in history as one of the most controversial and scandalous disasters in the history of the city. The fact that a bunny cop had been able to safely find all missing mammals in record time gave way to many discussions that criticized the procedures of the case and everything surrounding it. Then the sudden controversial speech given at the cursed press conference by the bunny officer gave many people reasons to go to the streets and protest against their "common enemy", the preds. Rallies, campaigns, protests, more savagery. Those two months were the hardest Zootopia had been hit with. Marvin even thought of using Z.A.I.M. Tech to try to find a solution to the problem, but his superiors at the moment refused to give him permission.

The news in the afternoon of July 7th were absolutely shocking. Marvin was happy. His city would not crumble and would live for another couple of centuries. All thanks to the first bunny officer and the soon-to-be first fox officer.

The news hit the entirety of Zootopia like a bucket full of ice water. Everyone either breathed a sigh of relief or got furious they would no longer find a reason to protest against the predators. Millions and millions of posts were made in social media that day, hitting an all-time record labeled unbeatable by many. Several months later, the official video of Nick's "coronation" and the bunny's life-changing speech had been posted to ZooTube, gaining two billion views in it's first week alone. It was a cultural phenomenon.

Now you'd be thinking what all this has to do with Marvin meeting Kii. Well it means everything. Kii herself got motivated to become a cop thanks to Judy and Nick. Six months after Judy's great speech the world was going crazy. The ZPD had a rate of enlistment of more than 130 percent compared to the previous years. More than two hundred thousand mammals of all sizes were entering the ZPD, Kii of course being one of them. She had started to enlist two months after the Nighthowler case got solved and she had graduated Valedictorian of her class, like Judy did. ZNN had started preparations for a new paper focusing on the new recruits for the ZPD and Kii had landed as one of the lucky rookies who would get interviewed by an exclusive journalist from their company. Fortunately enough, the job landed on Marvin. When he saw her photograph he fell for her in an instant.

His heart had dropped and gone up in seemingly a millisecond. The butterflies in his stomach fluttered like crazy dragons in search for food. His pupils dilated like water flowing through a crystal clear lake. His body had heated up like a volcano about to erupt. All those feelings, sprouted by one simple image. She was the most beautiful being he had ever gazed his eyes upon. Maybe it was just him but at that moment he felt he could die happily. His eyes had seen everything they had to see. He could go to his grave and die a happy death. He accepted the job immediately. He was lovestruck.

And now it takes us to the present. He was walking happily to meet heaven. Ooh heaven is a place on earth, he hummed the classic song while walking happily towards her apartment. The mammals around him could not resist looking at how strange he looked walking like a man who had just won the lottery. He had won the lottery alright. He made a jackpot. He had the best cards in his deck. Now the only thing he had to do was play them right.

Kii lived in an apartment complex close to Little Rodentia. As a newcomer on the city she had no idea which place would suit her better for her new job. She settled for a place at Bearston Manor. The cheapest room in there was at seven hundred Z-dollars. It was perfect for her. Her pay as a cop would certainly give her the amount of money necessary. She was also happily close to a park. Kii is a very athletic cheetah, so keeping her physique is important for her, even more important now by the fact that she's now a police officer. Her surprise was even bigger when she found out she would get assigned with Judy for rookie training. That made her burst into happy tears. She would get to meet the mammal that drove her into becoming what she is now, which was a big deal for her. Up until a year ago, she had no idea what she wanted to do in life. Her parents kept pressuring her to find a job but she just wasn't happy in any of them. It wasn't until Judy solved the case that Kii definitely knew what she was gonna become. And now she was gonna get interviewed for the ZNN, the most famous and most watched news network in the entire city. She hopes for the journalist to be formal and to not be crazy obsessed with scandalous and controversial news like most are.

Marvin was getting close. Each step he took increased beats per second on his heart. He really thought he was gonna collapse at any moment. This never happened to him before. Never in all those embarrassing High School dates from Homecoming and Prom did he ever have this feeling. Not a Stacy, or a Sharon, or a Karen. None of those names seemed to resonate as much as hers. Kii Catano. Saying her name was like a sweet lullaby. He had gone completely insane. Marvin couldn't stop thinking about her. He feared this would become a problem. He doesn't want his heart broken, but he will try anyways. He felt something great for her. Like nothing he had experienced, an unexplainable feeling he both knew and didn't know at the same time. As he kept pondering over his difficult emotions, he was already at her door. Sweatier than ever, he approached the door and…

Rang the doorbell. The sudden sound startled Kii comically. She too was having very distracting thoughts and emotions. She went for the door at a slow pace. Must be the journalist, she thought. Indeed it was. There was Marvin, waiting at the door patiently, the most nervous he's ever been, carefully planning on what to say to not sound dumb, clingy, flirty, or all-around creepy. The last thing he wants to do is scare her. He also had to calm himself down, girls sure didn't like sweaty nervous men. And as far as you know, you have zero chances to get such a beauty, he self-deprecated himself in the traitor thoughts. The door suddenly opened…

And the first thing Kii saw was a Raccoon that seemed more startled than she was a few seconds ago when he rang the doorbell. He was sweaty, his eyes seemed to have seen hell itself, and he was trembling like crazy. She wondered what was going on with him. She didn't think it was appropriate but she admits it is kind of funny. Have I received a journalist or a lost orphan? Her inner laugh couldn't contain itself.

"H-hi, m-muh name is Marvin Cooper, nice to eat you-i mean meet you." goddamnit, Marvin, you had to be an idiot like that, did you? Kii really couldn't control her laughter that time and she finally did so out loud. In front of Marvin. He thought she was laughing at him and got very embarrassed, his blush running from his cheeks onto his nose and forehead. He really messed it up.

"I gotta admit, Marvin, that goof of yours got me real good." she kept laughing and now he wasn't embarrassed anymore. He was captivated by her beauty again. Her tear-stained face from the laughter was enough to destroy an entire battalion of tigers from a single look. After he took in the gracious sight of her, he was also very relieved she wasn't laughing at him, but at his "goof" as she cutely called it. God, she was perfect. He never used God's name in vain. He started to laugh with her a bit. To make her notice that he, too, can laugh at his own mistakes.

After a minute or two, the laugh seeds. Both of them finally get a good look at each other and it was Kii's turn to get impressed. For a raccoon, he wasn't that bad. A toned body, pretty face, good choice of clothes. He also had a scent of Purple Haze, her favorite smell of perfume. A great coincidence, because it was Marvin's favorite too. Kii's dating experience was one of many oddities. She was still "pure" in the normal sense of the word, but she had been in very weird(and experimental) relationships. Both with men and women. None of them really lasted. Those were the weird years of her rebel youth. She was still surprised she hadn't lost her chastity during those times. The longest relationship she had was of 5 months, 11 days and 13 hours(Yes, she counted it). It was with a male tiger and it ended because she caught him with other girls on her back and was also a drug dealer on the side. He was planning on framing her for one of his crimes. She sure got lucky on that.

Looking at Marvin, he seemed very normal. Well of course, Kii, he's just a journalist. She was right on that, but at that time she didn't know it was his side job and was part of a way bigger thing that just journalism. Even then, she always noticed something more on him that made her get kinda drawn to the raccoon.

"Wanna come in? I don't want to make you stay here for long." she said, not knowing Marvin would just spend eternity with her anyways. With you forever, he thought in his dreamy thoughts. He finally got into her home. It was as tidy as he imagined. She went to the kitchen to prepare some coffee. There was a bookshelf with many different kinds of books going from horror to romance. He never thought of her as a horror person. I guess you can't learn everything about someone in just a simple image. She even had some manga, which really surprised him. It had Zozo's Bizarre Adventure and One Fleece. Now he really wanted to marry her.

"Gonna write a paper about my bookshelf?" she whispered in his ear, making his heart skip a beat because of the surprise.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." her face gave an apologetic face. God, she was beautiful.

"It's quite alright, don't worry. I was the one checking out your bookshelf without your permission." Kii kept getting dumbfounded by how shy and innocent he looked.

"Well, it's not like you had a choice. That shelf is there for people to see, otherwise I wouldn't have it on my living room." she smiled once again.

"Well, now that we're talking about this, I must say that your collection of books is very impressive. There are some great jewels in this. Your manga collection is really great too." as he said this, Kii went full-on fangirl. Everyone kinda mocked her manga collection back home, and sharing someone say something positive about it was great.

"I'm glad you like it, Marvee." Did she… Did she just call me Marvee? he smiled brightly inside. His butterflies were fluttering all through his body.

"N-no problem." he blushed again.

"So, do we start now?" Kii said after bringing him the coffee cup.

"Yeah, sure. Just take a seat and I'll be interviewing you." he took a sip of the coffee she had kindly made for him and waited for her to be comfortable enough.

"Alright, shoot." she said. This was his cue to begin. To start he would begin with some minor questions.

"Let's start with some minor questions. Is Kii your whole name or a nickname?" Kii took a sip of her freshly-made coffee and answered.

"Yes. Kii is indeed my nickname. My real name is Kiyosawa Catano, but my parents and siblings always called me Kii, so it stuck. Now only some amounts of people know my real name"

"Interesting. Do you mind if I put your real name on this report?" he asked kindly

"Oh no, not at all." she replied almost instantly

"Thank you very much." he wrote her name in cursive, something he almost never does. He gave his all to make it as pretty as possible. Kiyosawa Catano. He repeated her name in his mind, feeling completely lightheaded now that he knew her full name. He calmed himself in quick breaths that were too fast for Kii to notice. It wasn't time yet for him to be fanboy-ing around her. No distractions and no acting weird, he repeated in his mind.

"So," he went on to ask the first normal question. "What was your motivation for becoming a cop?" he asked. Most probably her favorite question to answer and one that she was all too familiar with. She definitely talked about Judy and Nick, the popular duo cop.

"What were you going to be before being a cop?" this question was also answered quite instantly by the female cheetah. She had said she didn't have an idea for a steady job before becoming a cop and that it saved her from going into crisis.

Several more questions were asked and several were answered. It seemed like she had been preparing and knew what all the questions were beforehand. After the questions, Marvin didn't leave. They stayed talking for hours upon hours until it was morning no more. She ended up making him lunch. Marvin grew more confident around her and Kii grew more fond of him. Seemed like nothing could stop them from this trance. Suddenly…

Marvin's phone rings. It was a ZNN executive. Probably wondering where he had been. If he had been killed by a gang of lions or mauled by polar bears(Actual lines from the phone talk). He said everything was alright and that the interview took a great turn and he was bringing great info to the site. After ending the call, he would give her the bad news.

"Miss Catano, our time in here has been very pleasant but I'm afraid I must go." he took his raincoat and top yellow hat he didn't know it had been taken from him and carefully placed in the Coat Rack. Kii surely had easy fingers.

"Wait!" a sudden scream from the cheetah got his attention. She then proceeded to write something on a piece of paper that caught Marvin's eyes.

"Here's my number. You're pretty fun, Marvin. Call me sometime."

His expression, pure blizz and glee. He tried to hide it but it wasn't possible as his smile was already filling the entirety of his face, completely showing his bright white teeth. Kii laughed. Now she realized the raccoon was into her. But she didn't realize just how much.

"T-thank you very much. I will call as soon as I can." he rapidly fled the scene. It was too much for him to handle. Kii sure had felt something. She was now gonna wait patiently for his call. Or text message.

She didn't have to wait long, as 2 hours later, he was calling her.

They went to dates over the next few months. They had each grown very fond of the other. Sharing houses, food and everything else that comes next. The one thing he wasn't always very close to was her area of work. Which was why Nick and Judy had never seen him before. Kii had planned to finally tell them and meet with him on that horrible day. It had been their 2-year anniversary. And they were spending it in flames.

They both knew these weren't the flames they wanted for their anniversary. Marvin laughed, at his own reflection of a nearby puddle of water, or was it gasoline? He really didn't care at this point.

Plan

Marvin snapped out of it. It hadn't been more than 30 seconds but he had reminisced a lot. Realized that he really was lucky that she was still there with him even in the recent events. And he was very stupid to almost lose her over a secret. He would never forgive himself for that. The love he felt for her was genuine. She knew it.

"You okay there, guys?" Pedro spoke suddenly.

"Yeah…we're okay." He gave Kii a reassuring glance that they were indeed okay. It was time to plan their next move. He tapped on the earpiece so only he could hear it and started talking.

"Paul, you're our eyes in the sky, what's the situation?" he spoke intently and with resolve.

"The situation's...kinda tricky. Apart from the numerous crazy mammals on the streets there seem to be some power outages and you guys need to get to the generators to power them up again. If you guys want Nick to be heard throughout the entire city you need to do that." the wolf said. Marvin knew from the start it wouldn't be easy.

"Alright, what are the locations of the power outages?"

"Rainforest District, Sahara Square and Downtown. So a couple of more blocks from your location you'll find the power outage from the Downtown Area."

"Alright, we'll split up so we can get faster."

"There's…something else you need to know." Paul got even more serious than before. Marvin knew nothing good was gonna come out of his mouth.

"I'm seeing a lot of activity throughout Rainforest. As if there's something big…"

Worry drowned Paul, and Marvin noticed.

"Well, what the heck else are we supposed to do? The city isn't gonna be saved if we're just here wondering if we might die or not." His leadership, hard as stone, proved effective once again. Paul was motivated. He swiftly answered.

"Okay, but be safe. We really don't want to lose any of you guys. My sister, especially."

"Don't worry, we don't plan on that, but you have to be ready for everything, okay, Paul?" Marvin asked. Paul answered with doubt on his mind. He loved his sister and she was the only thing he had left. After his father died, they both comforted each other in the only ways they could and knew how. All he can do is hope she survives. She's been training a lot in various fighting styles and techniques. She had become a professional in many things. He knew she was not a child. But his brother instinct was still present, as it will always be.

"By the way, where's Nick?" Marvin questioned at the silence of the fox.

"Oh…well he's asleep. I guess this day put a big toll on him. I let him rest." he answered.

"That's fine, as long as he's ready for when we get the power back." Paul was right. Nick went through probably his worst day ever. He had lost his loved one and did everything in his power to save everyone. The least they can do for him is to let him have the sweet rest he deserves.

"I'm gonna send you the directions of all the power outage locations so you don't get lost on the way there, ok? I'll be keeping you guys informed, over" Paul sent the directions to the screen inside his mask. The others could also see it.

"Thank you a lot, Paul. We'll be keeping you informed too. Over and out." Marvin cut the call.

"Ok guys we need to decide who's going where or if we're going all together." Marvin started quickly talking. They didn't have much time to think.

"We can go to Rainforest," Pedro answered. "Me and Sheila."

"Are you sure? Paul said there's something big, you sure you wanna go, Sheila?" Marvin answered in fear for Sheila and what might happen to her.

"I can do it. We can take it." she said with confidence.

"I'll let you to it, then. I trust you and I believe Pedro is a great companion to have. Me and Kii will go to Downtown, if it's what you want, honey." he directed his sight towards his love, waiting for an answer.

"Sure. Then we can all rendezvous at the last location of the power outage in Sahara Square."

"Sounds great." Pedro said.

"Then it is what we'll do. I'll call in two small and simple bikes. I don't think it would be a good idea to be around a ship in the city." he clicked a few buttons in his arm pad and suddenly two high-tech motorcycles akin to the ones in Tron. Someone seemed like a fan. Marvin got in one and hand signed his girlfriend to get on with him. Pedro did the same but with Sheila.

"Small and simple bikes, huh?" Pedro commented.

"Yup." Marvin replied with a big grin.

"We all know what to do. Do the job as fast as we can and help as many people as we can. This night is gonna be long but Zootopia depends on us. Onward!" Marvin cried in the air.

"Onward!" everyone screamed in unison again and went their respective ways. A long night was about to begin.

First Dream: Denial

"C'mon, Nick!" screamed the rabbit with incredible energy. The fox was following behind her.

"Wait up…hah…hah…damn, rabbits are so full of energy." he said as he tried to climb the hill in which they'd have their date. Judy picked it because she thought it would be romantic. But it wasn't being so at all for the panting fox. When he reached the too he was already very exhausted. He was glad Judy brought some water. He nearly finished it all in one gulp.

"You foxes, so lazy." Judy said with a smug grin.

"Well it wouldn't be like this if you weren't so damn fast and I had to chase you to the top of the hill, babe." he said in a romantic way, sarcastically of course.

They each brought their own meal for the picnic. They both had different dietary needs and different foods they ate. Judy brought her own salad dressed with Ranch sauce. Nick brought his favorite bug-burger made with cockroaches and Spiders. Judy thought it looked disgusting. It was delicious for Nick. But the meal would soon be ruined.

"I'm sorry, Nick." Judy said out of the blue, looking at the sunflower field in the horizon.

"Sorry for what? Coming here running and then me getting tired? Nahh there's no reason for you t-"

"It's not that." she interrupted. Now Nick was very puzzled.

"Then…what is it? I don't recall you doing something to me."

"I'm sorry I died." Nick's puzzled face now went on to a horrified face, scared of Judy and of her terrifying statement.

"D-dead? What are you talking about, you're not dead! You're right here with me, e-eating."

"Nick, don't lie to yourself like this. You know I'm dead." she said bluntly. Nick started panicking and crying.

"No, no, no, you're here, you're right here! I can see you!" Nick kept panicking and felt lightheaded. He wanted to wake up but at the same time he wanted to stay with Judy.

"No, Nick, I'm dead. You saw me. I lied there with you. I vanished. We kissed for the last time." she kept talking. Nick didn't want to hear her.

"Why are you doing this to me?" he put his paws to his ears as to try not to hear her but it seemed like he had no control over his own dream.

"I'm trying to help you. You can't be yourself again if you don't overcome grief. It might not look like it but you're in the First Stage of grief. Denial. You still want me back and that's a problem. You have to accept that I might be gone for good." Nick didn't like what she kept saying. He wanted to go. To get out. Judy was there but it was impossible.

"I will bring you back. I'm not giving up on you."

"What about the promise?" Judy said. Promise? What promise? Live for me… the promise resonated in his head. Live for her. Live for her. Live for…

"HER!" he woke up with a loud scream that startled the poor wolf next to him.

"Jesus, Nick. Did you have a bad dream or something?" he saw Nick. He was in tears.

"Oh no, it was a bad dream. You okay, Nick?" Paul asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. It was just a horrible dream. Judy was there. I'd rather not talk about it."

"Alright. Wanna know some updates on our guys?" Paul asked with enthusiasm.

"Sure." a bright smile formed on his face. He was better already.

"Well there are three power outages in three locations. Sahara Square, Downtown and Rainforest. Now it looks like the guys have separated into groups to go fix the power so you can give your speech. Marvin and Kii seem to be going to Downtown and Sheila and Pedro are going to Rainforest."

He stopped listening halfway through his sentence. The dream was still fresh on his mind and he couldn't possibly think of something else. Was that the real Judy speaking to him through a dream? No that couldn't be it. It was his mind playing tricks on him. It's trying to forget the sacrifices Judy has done for him. Yeah, that's it. His mind was betraying him. It wanted to erase Judy. Well he won't let that happen. Not at all. Judy wasn't dead. He would get her back.

"You alright, Nick?" he had spaced out again. He figured. He was too stuck in his own mind to really pay attention to anything.

"Yeah I'm fine, I'm just tired still." Like the lying fox he always was, he lied yet again. It had been a while since he had lied. The lack of Judy was already affecting him.

"You can go back to sleep, Nick. I'll be here." That's the thing. He didn't want to sleep. He doesn't want to have her in a dream again. But tiredness was winning against him. His eyes closed on their own and he had no choice over them.

"Yeah…I guess I might as well." he sat again on the table and lowered his head. In just a quick minute, he was asleep again.

Marvin and Kii: Fire

The sudden speed of the techy bike was a lot for Kii to handle in such a quick span of seconds. She had ridden bikes in her early teenage life, but this was a different deal. The velocity of the machine was incredible. A rush of adrenaline quickened through her veins as she safely hugged her boyfriend handling the vehicle. The journey was quick but they approached danger. She kept hugging Marvin, and the smell of his cologne calmed her down. It was Purple Haze, her favorite. And also his.

As they got close to the location, something got more and more present. It was the smell and feel of fire. Heat was reaching their legs all the way to their heads. Another faint smell was approaching into the edge of their nostrils, quietly sinking itself in it. Marvin caught the smell of it first. It was burning flesh. Actual animal flesh. It was being burned somewhere in front of them. To the direction they were going. Kii caught on to it soon after, making her more distressed, anxious and nauseous. She hugged Marvin again once more, but this time as hard as she could. Marvin didn't budge either. He was also scared. Terrified, even. To think someone was burning mammals. Or even burning them alive. He didn't want to find out.

The bike kept going. And going and going and going… it felt like an eternity in it. The heat, the burning flesh smell and the yellow lights that accompany it kept getting stronger, and harder not to see. They feared the worst.

They didn't expect it to be that horrible…

In the street where the smell and heat and yellow blinding lights were finally at its limit and couldn't grow any stronger or smell any worser, Marvin and Kii didn't expect the sight that they would see on that day. On top of a pile of cars that blocked one of the streets there were three bodies. Three bodies burning completely. Three bodies held by three crosses. It looked like that religious event. The bodies could be distinguished as that of a tiger(although half of his face was gone), who was the one in the middle, a hyena to the left and a wolf to the right. Burning to a crisp.

Below the pile of cars there were about 5 figures, all dressed in black cloaks. They were dropped on the floor, as if they were praising the three burning bodies. As if it was in some way a cult. To their right there was something written on a building. It said:

"MILO'S REMNANTS"

Marvin knew exactly who he was talking about. Milo. The man who killed Patrick Howloway. There was actually a cult for him? Disgusting. Truly disgusting. The stench was much stronger than that of the burning flesh. The existence of this cult disrespected Patrick and everything he stood up for. He became angered. He wanted to kill these people.

"Marvin, what do you see? You're almost at the location, why'd you stop?" Paul suddenly spoke through the mic in Marvin's earpiece.

"Something horrible, Paul. Something I'm not even sure I should tell you." He got scared. Paul was Patrick's son and he still had rough feelings about his death. He still mourns it. Just like Sheila does. He just suffers in silence.

"I can handle it." He knew that wouldn't be true once he told him. He sighed and began speaking to him.

"There's a strange group of people here. They look like a cult. They're burning three mammals who seem to be the ones who attacked us this afternoon. It seems like they're a cult who praises Milo." After he said it he waited for the worse. But what came next surprised him.

"What are you waiting for? Kill those fuckers." The sudden violent response from Paul was highly unexpected.

"W-what? Paul, you realize what you've said, right?" Still surprised and shocked, Marvin answered with the only thing that came to mind.

"What's the problem? They don't respect dad's sacrifices. They should be dead and burn in hell." Marvin could sense the Fury on his eyes from that sentence alone.

"I get what you're saying. I want to kill them too. Patrick was a good friend of mine. I'll avenge him. A second time." There was a quiet silence for a few seconds until it was stopped by Paul.

"Do whatever you want." The mic turned off and the earpiece got silent. Marvin knew the subject was a touchy one. He hopes he doesn't tell Sheila about it. He knows he won't. He hates seeing his sister cry.

"Jesus Christ." Kii finally spoke after being speechless about what she was looking at.

"Literally." He chuckled faintly as he tried to lighten up the mood. It worked a bit. Kii got a chuckle as well.

"These people are cynical." she said.

"Tell me about it." Marvin agreed.

One of the mammals in the cloaks looked back and saw both of them. He got up and turned around. He quietly walked towards them. Soon enough another one got up, and another one. And another one. In total they were six figures. All walking slowly and quietly into their direction. Kii got behind Marvin as he put a fighting stance. He was ready to kill them. In any way possible.

"Marvin Cooper and his girlfriend Kiyosawa Catano," suddenly a voice in the front spoke. It seemed like it was a young male. His face couldn't be seen, so his specie was still a mystery. "You were part of the assassination against Milo Clawmez. But Milo isn't actually gone. He lives through us, and through him we live. Milo isn't gone. We're his remnants!" They all raised their hands. It seemed like it was their cult sign, or just a religious thing.

"After Milo died, this group was created." Someone else from the group spoke.

"His child became the leader, but he was still too young." Another one followed.

"By the time he got older, he assumed total leadership on us, and said that waiting would be our best bet." The next one continued.

"So we waited and waited. And our wait finally paid off."

"We made Andrew, our Leader, Milo's son, search for you while we sprouted chaos into the city. We accomplished our objective. But Andrew didn't." The last one stopped speaking and it went back to the first one.

"We encountered the body of our beloved Andrew and two of our members. Dead. Andrew's head had been completely blown off. Now who's the monster?!" He screamed, blaming Marvin for the death of Milo's son. Marvin could care less.

Everyone started chanting "Who's the monster now?!" and kept getting closer and closer. They made the mistake of not checking behind them, as two other members had sneak up on them. He furiously grabbed Marvin in the neck and pinned him down into the floor. Kii wasn't given a second to scream his name as she too got grabbed violently. But not thrown into the floor.

"For your violent sins against Milo and his son, you're condemned to violent execution," The leader spoke in an eerie tone. "Prepare for your atonement." After he said this, he got out a big kitchen knife, already filled with blood. Kii doesn't want to find out what damage they already did with that knife.

"I will proceed to slit both of your throats now." The leader said this with killer eyes. His head went upwards and they could see his face. It was a fox. The others quickly revealed their face as well. A sheep, a wolf, a tiger, another tiger, a cheetah and a pig. The two mammals holding them down never revealed theirs.

"N-no, don't do this. I didn't have anything to do with Milo's or Andrew's death! He didn't either!" Kii tried to lie desperately.

"Stop it, Kii, they probably know everything already. It's not like they'll stop. They're just filth who thirsts for blood." he spat on the fox's face and in response he dealt him a blow to the head with his right leg. It was very hard and hurtful. Marvin almost fainted from it but he stayed strong.

"Your will to live offends me. It offends all of us. You're the real filth here. Be happy I'm not condemning you to a worse death." The knife kept getting nearer and nearer to Marvin. Kii kept crying for the fox to stop but she knew he wouldn't. Marvin looked at Kii, almost crying and said:

"I love you, please look the other way." Kii kept crying.

"That's a noble thing to do, Marvin. I'll be sure to make your death quicker now." The fox said. No compassion whatsoever.

"NOOOO!" Kii screamed at the top of her lungs. The fox just kept going. It's as if he was deaf to her cries. The knife touched the neck. He will keep his promise about giving Marvin a quick death. Marvin was waiting for it quietly. With anger in his eyes that even the most fearless lion would be scared of. The fox looked directly at his eyes and Marvin at his. The fox was ready to slash his throat open…

But a sudden burst of gunfire made him look the other way and stop the slashing. It was a dark figure atop the building with the cult name on. The dark figure jumped out of the building and was clearly holding an AR-15 on his hand. He fired his gun repeatedly at the members, killing the two that were holding Kii and Marvin. The fox dodged the attack but that couldn't be said for the other members. Two were dead on the floor and another one had received a bullet to the waist and was on the floor agonizing. He was furious. They had played him dirty.

"You… you Scum! You're nothing without those guns of yours!"

The dark figure broke the fall only with his feet. He was wearing one of the suits from Marvin's lab. He caught on to it but at the moment it didn't matter to him. He was comforting Kii.

The figure, now more visible, was two feet taller than the fox cult member. The gun in his hands seemed short for his size.

"Get the hell out of here if you don't want this whole entire magazine in your fucking head." The mammal said with extreme anger and fearlessness. The fox was surprised, but he was still crazy enough to not run away until he said his part.

"You damn sinners. Bad luck will come your way soon enough. Milo and Andrew were like Gods. A serious atonement will come your wa-" he was interrupted by a bullet on his head. His body dropped face first into the concrete on the street. The ones that were still alive were surprised. He opted for also killing the one agonizing on the floor. He won't be able to walk anyways.

Only two remained. A sheep and a wolf. He just let them run away. They wouldn't be of any trouble. The masked figure got closer to Kii and Marvin. He took his helmet off and talked.

"I'm sorry I took so long. One second more and you would've been killed." His voice was familiar to Marvin. He looked up and he saw Bryan. The same Bryan who hated his decision. He was there to help them.

"Bryan? I thought you wanted me dead after how everything went down." Marvin said, surprised.

"I admit I was angry. But I would never want you dead. You're a great person, Marvin. And a great leader as well," he spoke with honesty and calmness. "I thought of it a little bit more and I realized I was a moron. I thought about what Patrick would've done in this situation, and he really would've done the same," Marvin was really surprised. About Bryan's change of mind but also about what he said about Patrick. Would he really have done the same? Bryan added another sentence. "Could you be able to forgive me?"

"Of course, Bryan. You did nothing wrong. You just got mad because it wasn't the turn you thought this company would take. I forgive you." Marvin isn't a very spiteful person. Bryan is still his friend and still a great help for the company.

"Thank you." He hugged Marvin with his crazy strength.

"Uhh… Bryan, you're choking me." After he realized he put him down.

"Oh God I'm so sorry." Marvin shook his head in indifference. Kii laughed. For a second they forgot about the three bodies that were still being burned atop the pile of cars.

"Do you…think we should get them down from there?" Kii asked. Marvin thought about it.

"Well we gotta get them down anyways, they can't be there forever." Marvin said in a witty tone. Kii gave him a hard look.

"You know what I meant." She said harshly.

"I know what you meant. I definitely know. It's all about that moral thing about letting someone rest in peace even though they've lived a life of crime."

"Exactly." she told him. He sighed.

"Ok. We'll do it. Care to help out, Bryan?"

"Not at all," he said, "but how are we gonna put out the fire?"

"We'll figure it out. We always do. About that gun though… where did you get it?" Marvin asked. He really wanted to know.

"I feared this question might come up. This gun came fr-" his answer got interrupted by a sudden call from the earpiece. It was from Sheila and she seemed distressed. The sound from it wasn't the best and some parts were incomprehensible.

"Marv…*static* Pedr…*static* Rainforest Di…*sigh* Big Sna…*static*"

"W-what? Sheila, speak slower, I can't hear you. There's a lot of static there!" he tried to communicate but it was impossible. She couldn't hear him. She kept screaming.

"Please hel…*static* We're gonna…*static* killed. Call m…*static* please I need you!" The last part was loud and clear. Sheila was definitely in danger.

"Kii, you hear this?" he asked fast and worriedly. She nodded.

"Paul, hey Paul. Did you listen to this?" He called Paul as well.

"Yes I did. My sister seems to be in trouble. You need to go there asap, Marvin. You promised I wouldn't lose her!" Just what he had feared. Paul was also distressed. He was gonna try to keep calm, but it seemed it was too late already.

"And you won't. But I told you you have to get ready for anything, Paul. You have to be strong. Trust in your sister as well. She's agile enough to escape out of whatever situation she's in at the moment. We'll go help her in a heartbeat. We'll make Bryan turn on the power and help nearby mammals."

"Yes yes I know, but she's my sister, I worry about her. I really should've gone with her. Wait Bryan is there? With you? I thought he was mad. Oh what the hell I don't care just go help my sister!"

"We will. I won't waste any more time. Over and out." He stopped the call and quickly ran to the bike. Kii followed. He threw Bryan the phone that contained the location of the power outage.

"You'll know how to fix it, right?" Marvin asked, almost offending Bryan.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Bryan said and smiled. Marvin was glad they were finally on good terms.

"I'll leave you to it then. When you're done, help the mammals around. Some might need your help. Take care, Bryan." Marvin said and quickly sped up the bike, not waiting for an answer from Bryan.

And the techy bike sped up through the Zootopia streets, running at almost the speed of sound to help their friends in danger. Once again, Kii wasn't all too comfortable with that speed. It made her neck shiver, her legs tremble and her fingers were all too fixated in pressing her boyfriend's body. But at the same time a relief. A relief that they were going to help their friends, but also that all that sorrowfulness was also disappearing. The smell of burning flesh was dissipating, the heat was disappearing from her body, and the yellow blinding lights were replaced by the darkness of the city at night. As a kid, she always hated the dark. It was ironic that it was now what she preferred. Well it was different as a child. She only had small plushies she could hug at night. She now had one giant plushie. All to herself. It was now riding the bike they were riding in. She smiled at the silliness of her thoughts. Will she ever grow up?

Second Dream: Anger

"Uugh, I am so nervous." Said the bunny, about to talk at the press conference. She was happy she had solved her first case and kept her badge, but now talking to a big group of people was more terrifying than she remembered. The smug fox prepared to help with her nervousness.

"Alright, press conference 101, you answer their question with another question and then answer that question. Like 'Officer Hopps, what can you tell us about the case?' - 'Well, was the case hard? Yes, yes it was'" Judy laughed at his somehow useful and actually helpful tip.

"You should be up there with me. We did this together." This triggered a feeling in Nick's heart. From those you could never escape, and the ones he didn't have in a long time. He was feeling warm. He was feeling loved. Very deep within him, he knew this was a dream and what would come next, but he wants to savour this moment one more time.

"Well, am I a cop? No, I am not." He answered with his witty self again. And then he got even more nervous for what was to be next. Her utmost symbol of trust.

"Heh, funny you should say that. Because I am looking for a partner." Seeing himself being surprised again by this was almost nostalgic. Almost.

"Take this, if you want something to write with." This moment truly represented Judy as a character for him. She didn't force him to do anything. She gave him a choice. A choice. He could choose to steal the pen and get away from it all and continue on his hustling life, or, get a job as a police officer and live a crimeless life. It was like two complete sides of the coin. He didn't dare throw it. His choice had already been made ever since he protected her from Chief Bogo at Rainforest. He wanted to be part of her life. She was too good to pass on. A partner he could have that was a bunny that didn't have any discriminatory feelings against him. He had fallen for her, although his mind was hustling him to think up excuses at that moment.

Everything would've gone well, if it wasn't for her response at the press conference. It broke his heart completely to think Judy still thought like that. A backwards view. He knew she didn't actually feel like that. She had done the wrong replies and she had listened to the wrong people. She had also kept the wrong tools at the wrong time. Nick just wasn't ready. Ready to be part of the lawful world. As he kept thinking Judy was already about to say the response that would move a whole country against each other. But then it just stopped. Everything but himself. Judy's face had stopped. The reporters were frozen in time. It was like a photograph. Nick was confused. Now this definitely settled it. It was a dream.

"You don't need to see what's next. You know it fully well." A voice came from behind him. It was Judy. Not the Judy at the press conference, but the Judy that appeared to him in his first dream. With the beautiful clothes she picked for the picnic. A purple dress with red roses. Roses that 'popped out' of the dress, moving outward. Even though it was imaginary, he started loving that dress.

"What are you?" Nick asked. "Why am I having two separate dreams that have you in it?"

"Like I said before, I'm trying to help you. This is me, Judy. At least the version your mind created."

"This is still confusing. You're speaking to me as if you're the actual Judy. I perceive you as her. How can it be that you're just the version in my mind?"

"Nick, we've been close to each other for years now. It's normal your brain has picked up every little quirk of mine and way of speaking. The words are the ones that might change." It seemed reasonable. He didn't remember a day when he wasn't talking to Judy in any way, shape or form. Even so, could that have been enough to the point where his mind could literally make a copy of her? It seemed extraordinary. Impossible even.

"You still haven't answered my first question. How is it that I have two consecutive dreams about you?" he asked again.

"It's not impossible to have them but it is pretty uncommon. It's telling you, that you have a problem and you need to take care of it right away." She answered almost instantly.

"Yeah well I don't have any problem," he replied bitterly. "So can you just disappear from my brain and let me sleep? If you're not the real Judy I don't need to speak to you." He kept raising his voice more and more for each word he said. The Other Judy looked at him disappointingly.

"If the real Judy was speaking to you, you wouldn't be having this dream at all. You're having these dreams because she's d-"

"You don't have to fucking remind me!" He yelled at her. With anger in his eyes. He was so distracted by his anger he didn't realize time kept going again, but this time a little bit faster until it got to the part where he gets mad at Judy for what she said.

"Do you know why the setting has changed from last time?" She asked him. Nick looked at her blankly.

"I don't know, and I could care less." He said, with more calm in his eyes and mouth.

"It represents a feeling and a burden you currently possess and your mind is trying to erase. This place represents Anger." Finally something clicked on Nick. Anger was the Second Stage of Grief. The Other Judy had said he was in the First Stage, but now he's in the Second.

"Wait so I'm gonna have five goddamn dreams where you torment me?" His voice raised again. He wasn't all too happy on his discovery.

"You're gonna have as many dreams as needed. If you do not try to overcome it, it will be harder to pass. Judy's dead. I'm dead. Understand it and move on." Nick's look completely changed. He was furious. How dare she talk like that.

"You… How do you fucking expect me to move on after only a few hours? Are you crazy? Judy meant the world to me! I can see you didn't care about that, stupid brain." He felt like an idiot, talking to his own head. But even so it hurt him being so severe with it, because it had Judy's look and almost her personality. But anger controlled him.

"Nick, all your life you've had a motto. You've had a code. It's like a law to you that cannot be broken. 'Never let them see that they get to you'. Are you gonna abandon your code now?" Whatever The Other Judy was doing, it wasn't helping.

"You foolish mind. You haven't realized it. Or rather I haven't? That code was already broken by Judy. Right here in this room. And now… now I got no way of getting it back." He lowered his head.

"All laws have at least one exception, Nick. Judy was one of them. You still keep that code even though you don't see it."

"I don't think so. Don't you see how angry I get all the time? I hurt Marvin. I almost made Kii die because of it. My code got broken once and it literally never came back!"

"Maybe it's time you get it back."

"How do you suppose I do that?"

For once, it seemed like his question had caught The Other Judy off. She didn't know what to say. She put one of her paws on her chin and got in a thinking state. She held both her legs in the air, floating, as if she was sitting in an imaginary chair. Spouting words silently like 'Maybe this' or 'Perhaps…no no it's nonsense'. She stayed like that for some minutes and Nick was getting anxious. He wanted out of this dream. She finally spoke again after 3 minutes.

"Ok, maybe I have the answer. Your code was triggered by an event. Maybe if you remember that event, you'll get it back." He heard the insecurity of her voice. He started fearing what was to happen. Trigger an event. What event…? All of a sudden it clicked. The Other Judy knew. She looked at him apologetically.

"No...no don't you dare." Nick pointed at her, demanding her not to do what she was about to do.

"I'm sorry." She apologized and closed her eyes as she snapped her fingers. A white light brightened the room and blinded Nick. He couldn't see anything but felt as if he was moving. And shrinking? The light also started getting smaller and smaller until it became a small circle. Like a flashlight. The one holding the flashlight looked like a kit woodchuck. He was now sure in which memory he was in. His worst memory ever.

Going through it a second time wasn't better. At all. He promised himself not to see those faces again or even think to step on another place like that. He could only stand there and watch, on his own naive mind that they will all accept him. But the truth remains unforgivable. He was having a panic attack. Each word being spoken was equal to 50 forced breathing and an excruciating attempt to keep calm. He was suffocating on his own mind, wanting to get out of it. He felt the push that the Woodchuck gave him, now more hurtful than before as they started putting him the muzzle. Heartbeats skyrocketed when he saw himself again with that demonic device.

"You think we'd trust a fox without a muzzle?" he never forgot that quote, that was being cited to him right at this moment. Moment of shame, hate...and anger.

Being savagely thrown out of the place he used to call a home was as heartbreaking as he expected it to be, and taking out the muzzle was as refreshing as he remembered. But going to this memory a second time messed him up again in a way he didn't remember at all. He was feeling more pain than ever. After the memory stopped right when his child self started crying hurtfully, he moved again. But he didn't know about what place he got transported to because he was too busy with his own cries. Curled into a fetal position, feeling backed into a corner, Nick lied, crying openly. All the punches and insults came back to him like a midnight train. His tears roamed freely out of his eyes in content to be out.

"I'm sorry…again." The Other Judy spoke, coming out of nowhere. "I thought wrong. You still do not have your code back. I've made a mistake. I've made you more distressed. I've made a mistake. I've made a mistake." She spoke feelingless, robotically. Nick's own feelings also affected her, of course, since she's part of his mind. Nick opened his eyes. He saw Judy's face. Even though he knew it definitely wasn't her, it was still her face. As beautiful as ever. His heart automatically felt sweeter and calmer. His burning tears were drying up. He imagines what could've happened if Judy had been there to defend him. His life wouldn't have been so rough and maybe he would've become an actual Boy Scout. Maybe…just maybe.

"Wow… I knew you could do it, Nick." Suddenly she spoke again and with her normal and beautiful voice. The way Nick loved it.

"Wuh-what do you mean?" he asked. His tears still streaming.

"You finally shifted. You're now on the Third Stage. The memory I gave you might have not been successful in trying to make you yourself again, but it did make you turn over a new leaf. I'm very proud." She smiled while looking at the mess that was him. Even though his memory got brought back because of her, he couldn't bring himself to get mad. Not now, not ever. Somehow he knew he had to relive that memory. Still wouldn't save her from his quirky commentaries.

"Thanks, but would you mind telling me where I will go in advance next time? I want to get ready for whatever comes." He slyly demanded.

"Yeah sorry about that. I thought the surprise could've made it better and more shocking for you."

"Well it worked. Jeez you're so like Judy. It's hard to think you're not the real one."

"Everything will end soon, I promise." She got close to him and put her hand over to his left cheek and kissed him. It didn't feel at all like the kisses he had with the real Judy. It was cold, vibrant and electric. It still managed to make him succumb to it and closed his eyes. After his eyes closed he felt as if he was floating in mid-air. But still locked to her lips, he cared not. Moments later, he was awake.

Sheila and Pedro: Rainforest Menace

"We're here." Said Pedro, as he stopped the bike. "Or at least, we're almost here, because we can't keep going on the bike."

As they got off they saw what was in front of them. A plethora of vines and rainwater covering every place of the sinking jungle. The smell and feel of humidity was rather uncomfortable for both.

"Have you ever been in Rainforest before?" asked Pedro, trying to make conversation out of the eerie silence from the desolate place, which was very strange.

"Not really. I was once here before because my dad brought me when I was a child. I was here for only a few hours and didn't even meet anybody," she explained.

"I see. I am also not familiar at all with this place, but thanks to the location on our phones we can get to the generator easily," said Pedro with confidence.

Pedro was an interesting character in Sheila's eyes. He looked very young but at the same time he seemed skilled and experienced. He had the eyes of a fighter filled with warmth and valor. His voice gave off confidence and spirit. It was unbelievable she had never seen him or paid any attention to him at the base. She could've swore he was never there. To think a soldier would be transferred as an Assistant Scientist.

"Hey Pedro why did you stop being a soldier." She suddenly questioned as they were walking in one of the bridges sweating with rain water. He stopped in his tracks.

"Working as a soldier was much more than I could handle. Marvin probably didn't tell you what goes on at Zibia but it is rough. There are certain groups that we are at war with. They are brutal. They tortured me and almost tore my right arm. I applied to be out of the army the next day." His words shocked her. Was it really that horrible? Was Zibia that unstable.

"I…am sorry I made you bring that up. It was probably traumatic for you," she said in embarrassment.

"No it's fine. Remembering your past builds you up for a better tomorrow. Thank you, Sheila." He smiled warmly, making her blush.

"N-no need to thank me." she looked away.

They continued through the darkened bridges and eerie silence that followed them. All the faint lights in the distance didn't help. Not even their ability to see in the dark was enough to comfort them. Pedro had lied to Sheila. Remembering what he had gone through gave him more than some skipped beats. He still remembers the pain of his arm almost being taken out. The agonizing crack that the terrorists gave to it. But the worst pain wasn't that, but the pain of losing his friend. Of not being able to do anything. He lost too much on that day, so he couldn't get himself to go back, knowing he had failed to his best friend. He chose to do this because it was a call for redemption. If he could help the city reach its light again maybe he could forgive himself for his past mistakes.

Suddenly, a vibration was felt at the bottom of his feet, startling him. It was quiet, but notable. Sheila noticed it as well. He looked directly at her.

"You feel that?" he asked as he held himself from one of the bridge's railings.

"Yes I do. Is it an earthquake?"

"I don't think so. It's a small vibration, and we're way above ground. These trees would also be moving more frantically," he looked at the trees and they weren't making any rash movements except for the leaves and smaller branches, product of the rain.

"Then…what is it?" Sheila asked eerily.

"I don't know. But we must keep going. The generator is close," He said, and kept going through the bridge.

All of a sudden a deep pain came to his head, making it unbearable to give another step. He lost his balance and got on his knees, almost at the end of the bridge. The pain was pulsating and stinging, shaking every part of his being. The vibration was louder and he could sense it through all his organs. Sheila approached him in distress, not knowing what was happening. All of a sudden he heard an eerie voice coming from the distance. The pain didn't allow him to focus so he didn't know the exact direction of the mysterious voice that definitely didn't belong to Sheila.

Blood. Blood. I desire to kill. Let me see your blood. Let me taste it.

The voice kept repeating the same sentence over and over. Through the pain he saw Sheila trying to comfort him, which led him to believe she didn't hear it. It was way too loud in his mind not to be noticed. Out of the blue his right hand moved swiftly to the direction of her waist. As it made contact with it he stood up and jumped to safe ground. Confusion invaded him. He still had no clue why he had done such a thing. It wouldn't be long until he got an answer. His headache had dramatically decreased. Sheila was about to protest his sudden action but a loud cracking sound and vibration prevented her.

As tall and big as the Rainforest trees, a creature rose from below, destroying completely the bridge they were walking in a few seconds ago. The creature kept going up, maintaining a vertical position, blending almost perfectly in the background if it weren't for it obviously moving. Sheila was in shock and so was Pedro. Did the headache somehow warn him about this?

"W-we gotta move, let's go!" Pedro said. Sheila needed no more reasons to run. They ran, passing frantically through the other bridges.

Running won't be enough to get away from me. I'll cut those legs of yours right off.

It was the voice again. Again, Sheila had no reaction to it. Another minor headache came to him, and his legs started moving a different direction from the one he was supposed to be going. He took Sheila's hand and directed her to the new path his body had taken. They took another bridge but this time they ran as fast as their hearts could take them. When the bridge was passed Pedro saw a seemingly abandoned house. Temporarily hiding in it was what he felt his instinct was telling him.

"Let's hide on this house for a moment. To catch our breath." Sheila nodded as they both struggled to breathe properly.

Somehow he knew the door was open and without a moment to think he twisted the door knob and it opened. The inside of the house was still as dark, but they felt safer. With their augmented vision they stopped a sofa and sta besides each other. Both of them stayed silent for some minutes, trying to take in what had happened. They were still like statues, tense with fear and confusion. Pedro managed to say the first word.

"That…thing. It probably was what your brother warned us about." Pedro assumed, with a silent voice.

"Yeah," she replied. "Whatever that was, I'm pretty sure it's not friendly, heh." She chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood.

Pedro was severely debating if he should tell her about the voice he heard, because he now was sure she hadn't heard it. Maybe she would think he was crazy, a freak. She might think of him on the same level as the beast from outside. He finally opted to tell the truth, whatever the cost may be.

"Sheila, I…" she tensed as her name was heard through his voice in a serious manner. "I might've heard his voice. I know it sounds crazy but hear me out. Right before it destroyed the bridge I heard it talking about blood and his desire to kill and then it struck the bridge. It all connects. I don't know how in the world I can hear it but I just did. Please you have to believe me." He took her paw pleadingly. She was surprised. She got flustered. His paw was rough, but warm.

"I…i believe you. After all the crazy shit that's happened, I don't think being able to understand a monster is that weird anymore," she spoke truthfully. Pedro gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, really." His response was genuine. He let go of her paw.

"Wait what about the headache? It disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. Does that have to do with anything?" she asked.

"I expected you to ask about that. I believe it was. That headache saved us both from death at that bridge. My body suddenly moved by itself before the bridge collapsed," he explained.

"So it's like a Sixth Sense of sorts," she pondered to herself.

"Probably. I don't know where it came from. It's never happened to me before. It happened again when we were running, which is why I went for a different direction."

"Maybe it's because of all of this that you're experiencing it. A manifestation of the power of the Infinity Gems," she stated.

"Infinity Stones," he corrected her. "Yes, maybe you're right about that."

Sheila sighed and asked: "Just what kind of monster was that?" Pedro answered almost instantly.

"It was a snake. A very big one," He said with a serious face.

"W-what? A snake? A-aren't those extinct?" she asked, fearing the possibility that it might be true.

"Well it fits the description. I saw no paws or legs. It was just a lean, gigantic body. Too gigantic for its kind," he exclaimed in anger, scaring Sheila in the process.

"What can we do against it?" she said hopelessly.

"Nothing but run," he said with a hard and eerie look.

Another burst of pain streamed in his brain like a fountain. This time it was somehow different. He saw glimpses of the house he was in, completely demolished and falling to the bottom of the jungle. Was he looking at the future?

"We have to go, now!" He took Sheila by the hand and rushingly got out of the house. Moments later the same lean body appeared and used what mostly resembled a tail to destroy the house completely, burying itself into the depths of darkness from below.

Sheila didn't get to say anything because Pedro was already leading her somewhere else away from the massive animal.

Oh how I love it when my food tries to run. I so love it. I haven't tasted you but I already crave for you. Tasty, tasty.

There was its voice again, more chilling than ever. He heard it from above but all he could do now was run and hope for the best. Sheila suddenly got off from his grip.

"I can run as fast as you, no need to take my hand," she said through quick breaths.

"Ok but stop talking, you need your stamina," he informed her.

"Right," she agreed and both of them kept running.

The bridges jolted and struggled to hold on as the pair ran incredibly fast through them. Pedro could still sense the snake. It was close. Insanely close. It was as if it was actually toying with them and it could break their bodies apart if it wanted, and that's what kept him on the edge. The headache came back. The sharp pain crawled up into the back of his head and got the instinct of looking back, and there it was. He stopped abruptly. Sheila did the same.

He finally got to see him face to face. Even though it was extremely dark and their vision only slightly made it better for them to see, it was still terror-stricken. Its big green eyes stared directly into his. The gaze deepened and Pedro was completely petrified. He couldn't move. His body was telling him to move but his brain said otherwise. Pedro what are you doing, let's go. her voice was distant, faint. Now it was only him and the snake.

So he too posseses it, huh? The ability of foreseeing. Ugh people like him are annoying. That's why I'll take him down right here and now.

The snake hissed as it quickly made its way to Pedro with killing intent. He was still unmoving. Fortunately, Sheila was there and she had already developed a plan.

He took his petrified body and jumped to a nearby tree branch. She knew they wouldn't stand a chance running in a straight line.

The snake opened its mouth menacingly and angrily, showing its fangs, bigger than both of them combined. Pedro regained its senses and quickly shifted his head against the creature.

''Don't look at his eyes,'' he said. ''They can hypnotize you like it did me.'' She nodded her head in understanding and continued to climb the tree away from the beast as fast as she could.

Technically, wolves weren't designed to climb trees, but her claws are sharp and long enough to adhere to the tree's bark. So she climbed as fast as she could with Pedro in his back. She thought it was kind of funny that this time she was leading him, and on her back, nonetheless.

She managed to get to the top with a lot of branches and leaves surrounding it. A simple misstep could mean their deaths. Sheila never stopped to look back to see if the snake had followed them but it probably did.

''Uhhh, Sheila can you put me back down? I'm fine now.'' Pedro said, embarrassed. Sheila blushed and instantly let him down.

''Y-yeah sure. Just be careful where you step on, you can fall down,'' she said awkwardly.

''Thanks for saving me out there. I could've really died,'' he told her wholeheartedly.

''No problem. I don't want to lose anyone else today,'' she said calmly.

''You won't, we'll find a way out of this,'' Pedro assured her.

''So the snake can hypnotize, huh?''

''Apparently so,'' Pedro sighed. The problems kept getting bigger.

''We need to defeat it,'' Sheila said bravely. ''We can't let it roam around here doing whatever it wants.''

''I agree. We need something big enough and sharp enough to pierce his head''

''Maybe this suit has something like that,'' Sheila said and quickly began to inspect the suit for something useful to use.

''There's nothing. Dammit,'' she said, disappointed.

''Maybe we could ask Marvin about it,'' Pedro said.

''You're right, maybe we could. Hold on.'' She touched the earpiece to contact Marvin but it wouldn't work. She kept trying to use it but the device kept saying the same words on the screens of his helmet. No Coverage.

''Damnit. It doesn't let me contact him, there's no coverage.''

Out of the blue a massive clash was heard from below, which made the entirety of the leave-filled trees shiver. Some branches were falling out. That wasn't good at all. Pedro felt another pain in the lower back of his brain but this time it wasn't as hurtful and made him focus more.

''He's going up the bark of this tree, we gotta move,'' Pedro shockingly stated. ''Now should be a good time to call for help.'' They started running as fast as they could through the unstable branches. The tree was making very uneasy sounds that weren't exactly giving them happy feelings. Sheila could get a little bit of signal and started speaking frantically into the earpiece.

''Marvin, me and Pedro are in danger! We're in Rainforest District and it sounds crazy but there's a big snake and we can't possibly kill it alone.'' She kept running and didn't even care if he heard her correctly. She kept talking. ''Please help, we're gonna be killed. Call my brother, please I need you!'' A branch broke suddenly and she almost fell to her death if it weren't for Pedro, that caught her at the right moment. For a second she saw it. The snake was hugging the tree with its entire body, squeezing it like a fruit. It was gonna take the whole thing down. Pedro lifted her.

''Are you okay?'' He asked her. She looked at him with shocking eyes.

''The snake...it isn't trying to get to the top of this tree. It wants to destroy it'' Pedro widened his eyes.

''We really need to get down from here, let's go.''

They quickly rushed to find some other tree they could climb down from. The sound of the tree was getting more and more tense, and finally it snapped. The snake let go of the destroyed body of the tree, and started falling down. All of the branches were falling down and both mammals were struggling to find ground to stand in. They couldn't deny it anymore, there was a good chance they were gonna fall. They looked at each other worriedly. Sheila shed a single tear. It was all in slow motion. The tree branch she stood on fell with her. Pedro watched hopelessly. It reminded him of how he couldn't prevent the death of his best friend.

This wasn't your fault, Pedro. Just survive. You have to. Who else is going to tell the others what happened? One soldier must always come back. I've accepted my fate.

His friend's last words still resonated in his head. A soldier must always come back. Survive. Survive… bullshit. Surviving at the cost of others wasn't surviving. this time he wouldn't make the same mistake. He will die with his friend if he needs to. With no regrets in his mind he jumped with her and held her hands. The snake saw them and was about to catch them in the air. The odds were definitely against them. He held her tightly to his body with his back facing the floor. He would die, but at least he'll die trying to save a friend. Sheila hugged him back, very fearfully.

No matter how difficult it might seem, you can always find another way. There are multiple choices you can make on a critical moment. The hardest part is moving the pieces in the right direction.

Always another way. Another one of his friend's teachings. He thought of no other way. There was nothing he could grasp to rid himself from falling. He couldn't think of anything. The pieces wouldn't line up for him, there was no way he could do it. He closed his eyes. If only he could...all of a sudden he felt himself floating. Did the snake catch him? Was he now about to be swallowed by it? All he could do was open his eyes. He was flying! There were propellers in the suit's gloves and shoes. Sheila was still hugging him tightly.

''Are we dead now?'' she said, her face still sunk in his shoulder.

''We're not dead, Sheila. Open your eyes.'' She trusted him and slowly opened her eyes. She looked down. They were in the air.

''Y-you can fly?'' she asked.

''Unfortunately no, the suit is the one responsible for this.'' He said comically. He was relieved he wasn't dead, although they were still not out of danger.

''I am seriously gonna kill Marvin for not telling us the suit can fly,'' Sheila said angrily. ''How'd you turn it on?'' she asked.

''I really don't know. I had my eyes closed, and all of a sudden I felt as if I was floating.''

''If your suit can do it, mine can as well.'' She closed her eyes, focusing on her legs and paws. In mere seconds, she managed to pull it off. ''YES!'' she screamed in happiness. She finally noticed she was still tightly hugging him. ''I-i'm gonna let you go now.'' She blushed and smiled.

''I got an idea on how to defeat it, follow me.'' Pedro flew over to another tree. It was incredible how easy it was to maneuver the suit. Sheila followed behind. The snake was furious.

Oh so you can fly now, huh? I'll cut those stupid grins off your faces!

They were going fast but the snake was just as fast, they had to go faster if they didn't want to get eaten. Pedro surrounded the tree making sure the snake kept following him. Sheila caught on to what he was doing and smiled. If they can't kill it, the can at least restrain it. Sheila rushed to his side. She didn't want to remain the one on the back. They looked at each other and laughed, because they had hope. A few minutes ago all hope seemed lost but now they had regained it. They passed through another tree, and another, and another, the snake still behind their tails. It wouldn't be long until it doesn't move at all. Just one more tree. After surrounding the other tree they saw a perfect place to land. They passed through one of the steel bridges they landed on one of the gondola stations. As they touched floor the snake was still plunging to them, with its mouth open, ready to eat them with a single bite. Right before killing them it abruptly stopped. The snake kept opening and closing its mouth trying to kill them but it couldn't. They managed to distract the snake enough to tangle it with the trees. They had won. Sheila and Pedro panted in relief. It was over for now.

Not so fast, I won't let the two of you leave

Pedro looked back and saw that Sheila had accidentally seen its eyes. He remembered what the snake could do with them. He tried getting Sheila away from it but he couldn't. Somehow his gaze was much more powerful now.

Come to me

Sheila moved one step. It was bad news. She was like a brick wall, he couldn't move her and she kept walking to the snake at a slow pace. This was bad. Very bad.

''Sheila, come on you have to snap out of it, it's gonna eat you, and me. Come on!'' He said to her hurriedly, hoping his words would get her out of her brainwashed state. He still tried pushing her, but he couldn't move her a single centimeter. The snake opened its mouth, they were getting even closer…

A sword was pierced through the snake's skull from above, instantly killing it. Sheila was back to her normal state and would've fallen to the floor if it wasn't for Pedro holding her. Since he was facing her he had no idea what happened. He slowly looked back while still holding his friend. The sword that killed the snake was being held by a mammal. A fox, if his eyes didn't deceive him. The strange person took the sword out of the now dead snake and sheathed it.

"Good grief.'' The mysterious swordsman said.

TO BE CONTINUED

I will try to get the next and final Act by September. Expect some epicness and some more references ;)