It felt so wrong to run from the sounds of police sirens. Even before she joined the force, Judy always obeyed the law and would never do anything that would get her in trouble. But she couldn't turn back now. She couldn't stop and let them catch her. She just kept running, with her partner being a couple feet ahead of her.
She was starting to regret everything she did in the past two weeks. Every decision she made only seemed to cause more trouble for her and Nick, and now they were running from the police because of it. She didn't even know what was going to happen next. If they somehow made it back to the apartment, they were still going to be discovered. No one was going to stop until the savage fox was found, and they were going to know she was the one hiding him. She was screwed no matter what.
Her pace had slowed a bit after a while. It wasn't easy running with the extra weight along with the uncertainty of what was to come. Eventually she stopped and bent over to catch her breath. Nick noticed soon after she stopped and quickly walked back to her, wondering why she wasn't keeping up with him.
"No," She huffed, pointing forward. "Keep going, Nick. I'll be fine in second."
The sirens were getting closer now. Judy could tell they were turning a corner and were about to drive down the street they were on. There was no time to stand still and pant, they had to keep going. She let out one last exhale before resuming the run, with Nick immediately following her actions.
Red and blue lights flashed behind them. Had they turned around they would've been blinded. There were several cars in pursuit now, and they were only getting closer. Judy knew she was kidding herself as she kept running. There was no way they could outrun a group of cars.
"Let's try and lose them!" She called out to Nick, pointing at a metal fence guarding a passageway between two buildings. "Cut through here!"
Judy swiftly climbed up the fence and jumped over it, while Nick had to crawl under the ripped wires at the bottom. Luckily they made it through just in time for the cop cars to pass by. Now they had a chance to breathe again, but not for long. Eventually the cops would find out where they were hiding, and then they'd just have to keep running. Judy wasn't sure how much longer she could keep doing this.
She wiped her forehead, trying to think of what to do next. The right thing to do would be to turn herself in, but it felt like it was too late for that. And she feared what would happen if she did. They would take Nick away and she would probably lose her job. She shook away the thought, refusing to give up now.
Cautiously, she led him to the other end of the passageway, where there were a couple trash cans and boxes stacked high enough to get them over the fence. She hopped up each box with ease while checking to make sure Nick was following her. It wasn't quite as easy for him since he was bigger and more likely to topple the pile, but he managed to stay close.
They carefully got down on the other side of the fence, but now it was going to take even longer to get back to her apartment, especially if the other cops were heading that direction. They were going to need a different place to hide for now. Just as long as they remained unseen—
"Hopps? Is that you?"
Judy instinctively jumped at the sound of her name. She turned around, just as a bright flashlight landed directly on her and her partner. She gasped, realizing exactly who it was that recognized her.
"Higgins!" She said, nervously.
The officer seemed confused by her startled reaction. "What are you doing out here?" He asked, lowering the flashlight a bit so it wasn't shining directly in her face. "Shouldn't you be—"
Before he could go on, his eyes landed on the fox standing next to her. He knew it was Nick, but he also knew something was off considering he was standing on all fours. Realization slowly came to the hippo the longer he analyzed the pair.
Judy frowned anxiously, taking a small step back. "Higgins, wait. It's— it's not what you think."
"Is that..Wilde?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. "He's the savage fox?"
"No!" She shook her head, "Well, technically yes. But he's not dangerous, I swear! If he was, he would've attacked by now."
Now Higgins was even more puzzled than before. Being informed of a savage fox roaming the city was one thing, but now discovering it was a co-worker who wasn't trying to hurt them was beyond what he could wrap his head around.
"Wh..Hopps, what is going on here?" He asked, demanding an answer—hopefully one that would make sense.
"It's a long story." She responded, "I'll explain everything later, and I'll tell Bogo myself, just please don't report him. You have to trust me on this!"
She knew pleading with him wasn't going to work, but at this point she was desperate. She didn't know how to make him understand, but if she could, maybe he would listen. Although the way he was looking at them now wasn't assuring. "I know it looks bad, but please! Nick's my friend, he would never hurt anyone!"
"I'm sorry, Hopps. I wish I could help you, but I have to do my job." He sighed, turning off the flashlight. "And so do you."
Her fear began to increase as she watched Higgins walk to his squad car to grab his radio. She looked over at Nick, and she could tell he seemed nervous. Did he know what was going to happen now that he was caught? Maybe not exactly, but since it's what they've been avoiding this whole time, he probably knew it was bad.
And Judy refused to let him go through that again. Without wasting another second, she made a run for it in the other direction, with Nick immediately treading behind her.
Higgins turned around, only to find the pair getting away. "Hey! Hopps, get back here!" He shouted, "Hopps!"
Judy couldn't help but wince when hearing her name being called in such a stern way, but ultimately she ignored him and kept running. There was no time to lose now. She had to get Nick somewhere no one would think to look, and fast.
She noticed Nick was moving slower than before, and she couldn't blame him really. She was exhausted and worn out from the past hour of running. But they couldn't afford to slow down. "Come on, Nick. Just keep going!"
Police sirens blared throughout the city streets. Several more cops were in pursuit of the fox now. There was almost no use in looking for somewhere to hide now. They were already seen and everyone was on the lookout. It was starting to feel like an endless chase with only one possible result. But for some reason, they just kept running aimlessly, trying to shake the cops off their tail, but failing every time.
It must've lasted half an hour before they were finally out of places to go. They had to stop, or else they might've just passed out in the middle of the street. Nick led her to hide in an alleyway, which was the only choice they had left. The second they stopped, so did all the cars. The sirens had ceased, but the lights were still flashing as all the cops stepped out from their vehicles.
Judy panted for air as she took a quick peek out from behind the wall, seeing what kind of trouble they were in. At least four police cars were parked on the street, as well as an emergency ambulance with three medical technicians standing outside of it. But worst of all, she spotted Chief Bogo standing the middle of the scene, and he was not happy. Judy couldn't recall a time where he looked this angry, and that was saying something.
She quickly leaned against the wall to stay out of sight. She was on the verge of panicking. They were literally cornered, with nowhere to go. They were out of options at this point, and there was nothing to do but wait. Wait for what? She wasn't sure, but she knew it wouldn't be a miracle.
Feedback was heard in the distance. Following it was a voice being projected by a speaker from one of the vehicles. Judy didn't recognize the voice, but was still startled by it.
"Officer Hopps! We know where you're hiding, and we know you have the savage fox!"
Judy instinctively put her paw out in front of Nick so he wouldn't think to do anything. Not like he was going to, anyway, since he was confused and was just following her lead.
"We don't want to have to arrest you, so we're going to give you a chance to turn yourself in, hand over the fox, and we'll come to a solution."
She narrowed her eyes, contemplating if that was actually the right decision to make. What exactly did they mean by "come to a solution"? Was that just a code for "send you to jail and take your partner away in a cage"? It was probably her paranoia, but she didn't feel safe turning herself in just like that.
"However, if you don't, we will have no choice but to take away your badge and remove you from your position at the ZPD. You will be arrested for harboring a savage animal and endangering the lives of Zootopia citizens."
Judy gasped quietly, moving her paw up to cover her mouth.
"You have five minutes to make your decision."
So there was no upside to this. Either way, Nick was going to be taken away and she was going to be in trouble. Then again, only one of those options ended with her getting fired from her dream job. She couldn't let that happen! She worked her entire life to get where she was. If she wasn't a cop, then she was nothing.
But she also couldn't let them take Nick away and treat him like some kind of monster. It felt like there was no right choice. Either way they ended up hurt and separated, possibly forever.
The worst part was that all of this happened because of her. There was no one else to blame for this disaster. Not Nick, not Bellwether, no one but her. Every decision she made has led to this moment. She initiated the hookup, she left Nick alone to be turned savage, she kept the secret of his condition from everyone, she chose to steal the Night Howler antidote, and she ran away from the police instead of doing what she should've done in the first place; tell the truth.
All of the guilt and regret was spiraling through her, and finally, she broke down. A loud, choked sob escaped from her mouth as she closed her eyes. She slowly slid down the wall until she was on the ground. Her knees moved up close to her chest, and soon she started to weep.
Nick looked down at her, surprised by her vulnerable reaction. He frowned and gently nuzzled his head against her. Yet again, all he could do was provide her with comforting affection, even if it wasn't that comforting at the moment.
Judy sniffed and shook her head, not even bothering to reciprocate his tender actions. She didn't deserve him after everything she did, especially not his solace. "I'm so sorry, Nick." She said, tears streaming down her face like raindrops. "This is all my fault. Everything I did, it just..made things worse."
Nick whimpered, resting his chin on her knees. He hated seeing her like this, even if it was appropriate for their situation. In his eyes, she deserved to be happy no matter what. All this stress and self-loathing she had been feeling, he dreaded to see it.
"I should've told Bogo when I had the chance." She sniffled, wiping her tears with her sleeve. But it proved to be pointless, since she continued to cry regardless of her attempt to dry her face. "I just didn't want them to take you away, I didn't want them to put a muzzle on you.."
His ears stiffened slightly, but he didn't seem too disturbed by that word like last time.
Now that she was saying this out loud, she began to question if that was the only reason. No, she didn't want to see him suffer like he did in his childhood. But it was also the thought of not being able to be around him. Especially now that they knew the antidote didn't work, she didn't know what doctors were going to do to him. Most likely they would keep him for observation, and she wouldn't be allowed to see him for safety reasons.
And not being allowed to see him was something she couldn't handle. He was her partner, her best friend, her other half. A life without him wasn't a life she wanted to imagine. Even if the last time they actually had a conversation, it was kind of awkward. But truth be told, she didn't care about that anymore.
Maybe that night they hooked up wasn't by accident. After all, if someone did something when they were drunk, it meant they wanted to do it when they were sober. Maybe the alcohol didn't cause her to act irrationally, maybe it just caused her to act on her feelings.
Oh god, did she have feelings for Nick?
It made sense now. No wonder she felt so awkward about it. No wonder she actually liked the thought of marrying him and having a family together.
Had she known about this earlier, she probably would've acted differently. If she hadn't been so oblivious to her own feelings, she could've saved them so much trouble. Still, everything was her fault. And there was nothing she could do to fix it.
She sighed heavily, wincing from the pain of guilt. "I don't want to lose you, Nick." She whispered, hesitantly placing her paw on his forehead. "I can't believe I did all these stupid things because I love you."
Nick slowly lifted his head as he tried to decipher those words she used. They sounded familiar, and not in the way the word "muzzle" did. No, these words brought him comfort. They were sincere and endearing. They made him feel warm inside and he couldn't figure out why.
I love you. He had definitely heard that before, and if Judy was saying it at a time like this, it must've been serious.
He glanced over at the silhouettes of cops and technicians, and the flashing lights of the vehicles in the distance. He knew they were here because of him, and if it was him they wanted, then it was him they were going to get. It was the only way he could help Judy now.
Nick stood up and began to walk out from the alleyway. Judy didn't notice at first, as she was too occupied with her own thoughts and self-scolding to know what he was up to. But once she did, she immediately stood up and stepped onto the sidewalk, watching him walk away. "Nick?"
He made himself present to the mammals ahead of him. They all grew silent and alert, observing his every move. He might've been calm now, but savage animals were unpredictable and they had to be prepared for anything. The medical technicians had restraints ready, just in case.
"Nick?!" Judy whisper-yelled, puzzled by his intentions. Didn't he realize what he was doing? The danger he was putting himself in?
Once he was close enough, he stood still for a moment, glancing at each and every figure above him. It seemed like he was ready to comply, like he was actually going to behave.
But their assumptions were short-lived, as soon the fox's eyes grew dark, a low growl emitting through his bared teeth. Everyone instantly stepped back, warning each other to be careful. To add to their discomfort, he suddenly leapt up and pounced one of the technicians to the ground.
Judy's eyes went wide with horror as everyone pried her partner off of the mammal and began to hold him down, like he was some kind of criminal. She couldn't stand watching them treat him like this, not even after what he did. "No! Wait!" She exclaimed, immediately running to the scene. "Stop! Let him go!"
It just kept getting worse. Not only were they dragging him into the ambulance, but two of the technicians were placing the muzzle over his snout, all while he was squirming and whimpering, trying to wiggle out their grasp. But it was no use. It was one fox against half a dozen cops. He wasn't going to get away so easily.
"NO! DON'T HURT HIM!" Judy cried out, trying to pick up her pace to get to them faster. "PLEASE, STOP! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
The muzzle straps were secure on his head by the time they were able to get him into the ambulance. He tried shaking it off, but quickly realized that was useless. As Judy got closer, she could see the fear and terror he was feeling at the moment. Memories he didn't know he had were coming back, rendering him paralyzed. He no longer resisted. All he could do was stand there and let them strap a leash around him to keep him in place.
Judy's vision became blurred by her tears. Her persistence turned into fear, knowing she wasn't going to be able to stop them from taking him away.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" She shouted, as loudly as she could. "PLEASE! NO!"
She caught a glimpse of his face just before the doors closed. The look in his eyes, the desperation to be set free. She would never forget seeing it, all while knowing there was nothing she could do to help him.
The ambulance drove away, and finally Judy stopped in her tracks. She dropped to her knees, watching her best friend being ripped right out of her paws. The one thing she tried so hard to prevent, the thing she risked everything for, and it happened anyway.
Judy was lost now. She was literally out of options. Her partner was gone and her enemy was still out there, slowly winning the battle. How was she supposed to fix any of this?
She didn't know how, but she wasn't going to let Bellwether win. She was going to get Nick back somehow and they were going to take the sheep down once and for all.
But first, she'd have to deal with Chief Bogo.
(Pls don't leave any hate comments the story isn't over yet. Just stick around and see what happens ok?)