Chapter 46 A Lover's End

Edited by Christhebobcat

AN: Huge shout out to ScaraMedn for helping me with this chapter. Couldn't have done it without ya so everyone, go check out his amazing stories right after reading this one! You won't regret it!

Only Judy's constant training and quick reflexes saved her from a broken back. A quick leap from her position left her inches from being crushed beneath Skye's paws as the vixen smashed down into the dirt where the rabbit had just been. Judy rolled to a stop, kicking up a cloud of dust as she swivelled her head back to glare at Skye.

The vixen growled, wincing as she straightened. "You know this would have been a lot easier on both of us if you would just let me crush you!"

"Not a chance!" Judy snarled back, and in an instant both combatants were back at it, slashing and parrying, cutting and thrusting with astonishing speed. Decorum was forgotten in favor of muscle memory. Strike, parry, dodge...each deadly blow was thwarted time and again in an intricate dance of blades. Over the passing minutes, two more of Skye's henchmammals appeared, each drawing half of Judy's attention away from the arctic fox before her. It was exhausting the bunny…

...and it cost her.

The first mammal, a caribou, distracted her enough to allow Skye a split second to wet her sword's appetite with the doe's blood. It was tiny, but the nick to the base of Judy's ear dribbled blood over her eye was as much a distraction to her vision as it was humiliating to her ego. A flash of anger and the caribou found itself with Judy swinging from its antlers, repeatedly smashing her feet into its muzzle until it collapsed, unconscious.

The second interloper nearly cost Judy her life.

By this point, the feeling of being exhaustion was overwhelming for Judy. While Skye was breathing heavily, the vixen had the ability to rest as her lackeys continued her assault, only striking when she needed and never giving Judy time to rest. While dodging the assailing otter, Judy failed to see the incoming kick aimed at her chest from the arctic fox.

A jet of air shot from Judy's lungs as the otter was now yards away. The bunny flew back, impacting a half collapsed wooden wall with bone jarring force. Splinters of wood cascaded off the bunny as she careened through the brittle wood , a wail of agony ripping from her throat as she collided with the sturdier far wall of the shed.

The jeering laughter from outside roused the bunny from her stupor, wincing as her ribs let out angry bellowings as she tried to stand.

"And here I thought the infamous Capitána Hopps would be less of a pushover." Judy could almost see the leering smile of the vixen through the hole she'd carved through the building. Slowly, painfully, Judy crawled out of the hole, stumbling over the cracked wood and tumbling to the dirt outside the shack, gasping for breath while sucking in each, painful, lungful of air. "Carlos, flip her over."

Judy grunted as she felt a weight against her side and a solid kick to her abdomen had her biting her lip from the pain as she was rolled on her back. The pain was more bearable, but now she got to look into the eyes of her tormentors as she crawled backwards.

"Yes," Skye taunted as she sauntered forward and up towards the shack near the precipice leading to the river forty feet below. "Crawl back into that hole like the bunny you are. You think that you earned the right to be called a capitána?" The fox laughed, her tinkling voice filling the air around them. "You're nothing more than a has been who tried to collect on my fox."

Skye was nearly upon Judy as the bunny pushed herself back until her head thumped against the wall. A glance back found her trapped and when she looked forward, the vixen's paw wrapped around her throat, scraping her up roughly up the side of the shed.

Splinters of wood raked through her shirt and into her fur, yet no scream could come as Skye's paw slowly suffocated her.

"You see now why it was bad to come here," Skye drolled, smiling devilishly. "Now just imagine Don Wilde's face when he happens across her filleted corpse."

Judy's eyes widened as she tried desperately to pry the vixen's paw away her neck, only for the pressure to increase. A gurgling sound escaped her as a blinding light rocked her head, the vixen's free paw slamming into the side of her head.

"What do you think? Do you think he'll break upon seeing your body? Or maybe I'll have the pleasure of breaking him myself, hmm?"

"He'll...never...break." Judy gasped, only to earn another punch as her vision swam. "He...isn't...like...you."

Skye frowned. "I didn't break," she snarled. "I became my better self."

Judy felt the tension against her throat lessen, and sensing an opportunity, continued, hoping she wasn't digging an early grave. "No, you...didn't. Peter...broke you."

"Peter helped me."

"He...weakened you...Capitána Skye."

"That isn't who I am!" Skye barked. The vixen slammed Judy against the wall, all the while shaking her head. "I...I am not a capitána!"

"Yes...you are!" Judy pled, wheezing as she was slammed against the wall again before being dropped to the ground in an untidy heap. The rabbit gasped for air, greedily sucking it in as Skye backed away.

Skye shook one final time before glaring at the doe. "You won't get in my head, rabbit." Snarling, she ripped a knife from her left boot, tossing the blade to her right paw as she advanced once more. "Now let's see how long it will take for Zootopia, and Don Wilde, to break by starting with cutting out that tong-"

A dark blur rammed into the vixen's side, catapulting both of them into a tumbling roll across the dirt towards the river. Judy blinked in surprise as she saw the two figures roll to a stop and separate.

"Nicholas?" Judy gasped heavily. She quickly looked around to see where he had come from, but only saw the otter nearby, unconscious with a rock laying next to him. Her gaze fell upon Nick once more, shocked to see the smiling face she recognized replaced by a vicious snarl and hardened gaze matching in ferocity.

"You will NOT be touching Judith again," he growled, before charging forward at the rising vixen, his sword in his paw. The vixen's eyes widened in shock as she brought her blade up to block the first, angry chop, from the tod. Nick's strikes came with force and fury, pushing the vixen steadily back, as sparks jumped from their clashing blades Nick struck with his words as well.

"You will not break Zootopia."

A heavy left slash sent Skye to the dirt. The vixen scrambled up to her paws, only to find the pommel of Nick's sword slamming into her forehead. A splash of crimson speckled her face fur and she blinked away the stars in her eyes, trying to shake off the blow.

"You will not break Judith!"

Another crash of his pommel into her skull knocked her back to the ground. She rose more slowly this time, yet again took up a defensive position. The groggy vixen's head shook back and forth as one paw went to massage her temple. She inched backwards towards the cliff that rose above the river below.

"Please…" Her words were shallow, weak and raspy.

Nick approached her one final time, whispering so softly that Judy, who had stumbled after the two foxes could barely hear him when he spoke.

"And Skye...you will not break me, and even if I couldn't have saved you, you will not break anyone else I love."

He raised his pommel, the light of the sun glinting off the gold scripting along the hilt. "This is for Gideon, Judith, and everyone you've hurt since you replaced me, Skye."

A third pommel blow swung down, crashing into her skull with such force she was slammed to the yellow dirt dirt at the edge of the cliff. A heavy groan escaped Skye's lips as Nick lowered his sword, sheathing it when he saw the vixen in no position to fight any longer. The tod turned, catching Judy's gaze with anxiety filling his features.

"Are you alright, my beloved?"

Judy nodded. "Thank you."

The two stood in silence, the only sound the rustling of paws from far away and a sporadic gunshot.

"I...you...you used to call me that…"

Two sets of ears perked, as both Don Wilde and Capitána Hopps turned to face the vixen. Skye lifted her head dirty yellow dust fell from her face, wincing in pain as she did so. "Why does my head hurt so much."

"What did you say?" Nick asked, the edge in his voice crumbling slightly.

"You…" Skye repeated, shaking her head. "When did you replace me, mi Compañero Eterno y Confidente?"

Nick's jaw dropped as he took a stuttering step forward. "Sk..Skye? Are...you.."

The vixen turned to face the two mammals, confusion in her eyes as she attempted to gather herself. She used a dead shrub for support as she attempted to stand. "I...where am I? What happened?" Successfully stumbling to her feet, Skye dusted herself off trying to focus on anything but the pain. With a groan the vixen started to clean her snow white fur, wiping dirt from her arms and then her head. She froze when she ran her paw their a slick wet smear on her head. she looked at her paw, freezing at the crimson stain she found. It was blood...her blood. She could smell it hanging in the air like a foul odor. "Who attacked me?" Her eyes shot up to Nick, whose mouth hung agape.

Judy herself was just as confused, her eyes darting between Nick and their, former opponent? She wasn't so sure now. All this could be a trap…

Skye leaned more heavily upon the bush, shaking her head again.

Nick took another hesitant step forward. "What do you remember?"

Skye's muzzle scrunched as the decaying shrub's branch creaked in protest against the full weight of the confused fox. "I...a room..and a...a cloth, over my face. Water...cold…" She stopped, eyes filled with a pleading longing as tears streaked down her face, mixing with the blood to sully her fur a dark pink. "Pain...I...I don't feel so good."

The vixen stumbled on her paws, eyelids fluttering as her azure toned eyes nearly rolled backwards.

"You're going to be okay…" Nick said, cautiously approaching the vixen. He still wasn't sure what had happened, but a small microbe of hope beat within his heart.

The arctic vixen stumbled once more. "I know...death…" Her gaze slowly raised, meeting the pair of eyes before her. "I don't want to go. I don't want to-"

Snap!

The branch she was leaning on could take no more, the loud cracking of the wood splintering beneath the weight of the vixen sending her tumbling backwards.

"Skye!"

"Capitána Winters!"

Nick and Judy rushed forward as the vixen tipped backwards, one foot unsteadily on the ground while her arms caterwauled in the air. Nick reached forward, attempting to grab her, rushing forward with horror filled eyes as the vixen's paw swiped across his own.

Her body tipped...

The precipice crumbled...

And as Nick's fingers touched the tips of her own claws...the white vixen plummeted.

A blood curdling scream echoed up from the chasm. Nick and Judy reached the edge and peered over, the look of horror in the vixen's eyes haunting their memories for the rest of their days. Her body twisted and turned, bouncing off the side of the cliff until her cries were silenced, her body finally splashing into the river below, disappearing into the churning waters.

...and then she was gone, leaving Nick grasping empty air, his paws flexing and unflexing around...nothing.

Skye was gone.

Judy was by his side a heartbeat later, head and ears craning over the edge in a desperate attempt to find the vixen, but to her dismay, she saw nothing but white caps to the frothing waters below.

It seemed like an eternity before Nick took a step back. His gaze stared blankly ahead, arms limp by his side as Judy leaned against him, rubbing his back for support. She knew how close her lover had been, at one point, with the vixen and hopefully she would never have to feel what it would be like to lose someone you once called amor. The thought sent a shudder through her frame and tears trickling down her cheeks when she felt the same quaking shifting through her fox.

A quick glance at his face showed the tears streaming down. His head finally bowed, and as Don Nicholas de la Wilde looked down at his empty paws...he wept.

And Judy wept with him.

Hours later, the pair trudged back towards the center of the encampment, Nick's eyes hollow and steps lifeless. Judy stayed by his side, his right paw clasped in both of hers as she rubbed it gently, soothingly. The mammals at the edge of the circle, mostly warriors from Ake'cheta's tribe, made way for them, dividing the sea of fur and flesh seamlessly until they reached the center of the group.

"I was hoping you wouldn't make it back."

Peter lay on the ground, his wounds covered in blood stained clothes. His legs and arms were tied underneath him with heavy, gator leather straps while more ropes secured him to the makeshift bed he lay on.

Ake'cheta's eyes narrowed upon the moose. "If it wasn't for el Zorro's unspoken rule about taking life, you would have been killed immediately without qualms and nea'kwana tah'helo okwaho."

"You kept him alive."

Judy's words were more of a statement than a question. Her gaze caught Nick's attention and the tod returned her gaze. A silent conversation took place, the two speaking all they needed with just a couple looks. Slight brow rises and nods confirmed Nick's decision for Judy, the bunny waving a paw forward as she smiled. "Just save some of this interrogation for me after you're done with him."

Nodding, the fox strode forward casually, yet the flicker of the tip of his tail back and forth showed his irritation at the mammal before him and Judy hoped he could keep his emotions in check. The tod had to stop and recompose himself several times on the walk over, and seeing the mammal who was the reason for his distress could yield any number of possibilities.

So Judy watched, and waited nervously, hoping that Nick could keep it together and not let the moose get to him.

The moose glared at Nick, pulling the ropes taut as he strained against the straps. His struggles ceased when the sharp edge of a tomahawk touched his throat, a hair's width away from carving out his jugular. The color drained from Peter's face as the blade tip graced itself beneath his fur, his breath hitching when the blade pressed against his windpipe.

"Let him struggle," Nick stated off-pawingly. "I'm sure he could make it far on two sliced legs, and even less without a throat."

The spit from the moose caught Nick on his shirt just below his neck. Flicking it away with a forced chuckle, Nick quietly sauntered around the bound mammal. "And here I was thinking only llama's did that. Are you by chance, one?"

"Shut yer trap, pelt!"

Nick shook his head and sighed. "Does anyone have any original, clever or witty comebacks these days? Didn't your boss teach you how to insult someone?"

"He only told us what we needed to do here. That and most recently kill you and that rabbit."

Nick's eyebrow arched. "So he didn't tell you anything else?"

The moose realized his slip, the retort on his tongue died as he clamped his mouth shut. Nick's smile widened. "Good, good. It seems like you've realized you're an idiot. Judy, darling?"

"Yes?"

"Would you mind terribly if I asked you about any bull mooses' you've known? Their general attitude, et cetera?"

Judy nodded, though was curious about the line of reasoning. Knowing Nick and his sharp tongue, however, she knew he had something in mind. "Ask away."

"Right," Nick began. "Does a bull moose like to be told what to do?"

Judy shook her head. "Not in the slightest. Major Bullgano at the military academy frequently spoke back against his superiors, even under threat of punishment."

Nick's ears flicked up as his smile grew. "Do you happen to know why?"

She shrugged. "I wasn't paid to ask, but he was generally ill tempered."

"I think I know the reason." Nick swiveled back to face Moosebridge. "From my studies, I've found that the only way that a bull moose will take orders from another male without complaint is if they've been...oh, what is the polite way of saying this..." Nick rolled his paw before snapping his fingers. Grinning towards the assembled warriors, the fox made a quick snipping motion with his fingers, bringing a hearty round of guffaws, along with a slight blush within Judy's ears.

"There you all are!"

As one, the mass of mammals turned towards the shout as Eliot ducked between the circle of warriors. "I was wondering where you went off to! I was watching from the cliff top with Pumpkin when I couldn't take it anymore and had to come down here to help you against the vile vindictive vixen!" Eliot looked around, spotting Judy. "Capitána Hopps! You're alive!"

Eliot darted forward. Judy was too tired to dodge the frantic wolf, who scooped her up and hugged her tightly. "I was so worried for you! If you would have died, then I wouldn't have been able to be at yours and Nicholas' wedding and then plan your future together!"

"It's okay...Don Fanghanel," Judy said with a grimace as she attempted to pull herself from his grasp. The white wolf wasn't letting go...at least until Chloe appeared by his side and yanked upon his ear.

"Eliot, you will cease mammalhandling Capitána Hopps this instant!"

The wolf winced. "Si, Pumpkin." Judy was gently placed back on the ground as Chloe pulled Eliot away from her, chiding him over his actions as they walked past a shyly approaching Oce and Zieg, walking so close that even a thistle couldn't be placed between them.

"Well...now that's over with." Nick clapped his paws together and looked again towards Judy. "Judith, my dear, would you be so kind as to lend me your sword?"

Judy undid her scabbard and tossed it to Nick, who withdrew the smaller blade with a flourish. The air purred as he swung it experimentally, the gentle hum of the blade as it swung music to his ears. "Now then, I think we have an easy way to figure out who we are dealing with."

For being a mammal over four times the height of the approaching fox, the tremors shaking Moosebridge would have suggested he'd seen a monster, or mammoth approaching him. He yanked on his bindings, not in an effort to attack, but to flee. The tip of Nick's borrowed blade gracefully trailed along the mammals' clothes as Nick circled from his head down his chest, tapping the blade against the reptile leather vest Peter wore.

Nick halted, pausing as he glanced over his shoulder at the bull. "You aren't a eunuch, are you?"

"...no."

It was a pitiful whine from such a formerly arrogant mammal. Nick shook his head. So the mammal who killed my mother really is a coward at heart...

Nick drew the blade down until it hit the clasp of the belt buckle, barely restraining his growing anger. "Ah good. Then this will hurt quite a bit I imagine."

Nick drew back the blade. Hearing a deep intake of breath from the larger mammal, he paused, letting the situation soak into Peter's mind until his trembling form could take no more.

It was then he trust his blade forward...

...stopping it a hair's breadth away from his target.

A wet spot appeared around the moose's loins, growing in size as chuckles, then laughter filled the gathered mammals.

A grin split Nick's face. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun."

"I still think he went too far."

"Have you forgotten who he was and what he did?"

"He should have faced trial for his crimes. Not suffered...that."

"Did you simply want to see him hang yourself instead of what happened?"

"..."

"I was surprised by what he did though. He was a cowards to the end."

Judy grumbled her assent. The beginning of their interrogation of the criminal mammal had gone smoothly. Nick's hustle had worked its wonders, quelling the larger mammal to the levels of a chided schoolkit. The moose spilled everything; plots, plans, mammals involved…

...all except his boss's name.

No matter how much Nick pushed, then how far Judy made him sweat, did he reveal the name of the mammal who hired him.

Nick's thoughts pertained to the moose as well, though for a different meaning. Peter told Nick how he had murdered his mother, as well as the reasons why and everything that led up to it. It corroborated his father's story, and forced Nick away for several minutes as his tears once again threatened to spill upon the dusty ground. It was during this time that the moose made his biggest, and last, mistake.

He had attempted to escape by taking a hostage.

Being suspended in the air for so long, and his hindquarters higher than his head, his words were slurred and breaths coming in a more rapid pace. They had cut him down, though all the guards nearby held their weapons at the ready.

A minute after Nick and Judy had left, realization of his predicament must have occurred within his mind and he made a futile and ultimately fatal attempt to escape. The other bunny, Oceane, had strayed a bit too close to Peter, thinking he was too indisposed to be a danger. A warning shout from Ake'cheta became a distraction as the moose snagged the bunny from next to Zieg's side.

Without any weapons, and being quite unable to hide behind his hostage, he had done the only thing he could, threatened to snap her neck if any further injury befell him. Knowing the odds of taking down such a large mammal before he killed the innocent doe, Ake'cheta had ordered his warriors to stand back, his mind rapidly flying through scenarios to free the damsel.

Yet Zieg, the white tailed fox, had other plans.

With a snarl that sounded like his feral ancestors of old, Zieg leapt forward. Too stunned to move, Peter spent the last few seconds he had for his precious sight watching the fox's claws aimed at his eyes.

Moosebridge's bellow of pain and agony attracted Judy and Nick's attention, who hurried back just in time to see everyone scattering in all directions. The reason why became evident as Zieg raced past, cradling Oce in his arms while the doe trembled into his chest. Their ears flickered toward the frenzied moose, eyes widening in horror before bolting with the others at what they spotted.

A final lit stick of dynamite jammed into Peter's nostril.

The image still haunted both Nick and Judy's minds. The explosion had shook the ground collapsing part of the landslide they used to enter the camp, forever eliminating that entrance.

It also revealed something far more precious.

And now, two days later, that cargo followed along their caravan in several confiscated wagons. The trail behind the fox and bunny was filled with mammals of all shapes and sizes; from those who they'd rescued at the mines, to warriors from Ake'cheta's tribe, as well as refugees from Zootopia itself. The later told tales of Bellwether's drunken cruelty, especially to the predators of the city, only her tigers escaping the harshness of her edicts.

Already there had been executions.

Those weary refugees, mainly predators and their families, quickly joined in with the group in the reclamation of their homes and livelihoods. The group pushed itself at a brisk pace, not wanting the element of surprise to be thwarted by any escapee's from the Battle for the Pit of Despair. Ake'cheta's scouts made sure their approach would be unhindered and the stout warrior himself disappeared for a day in order to, "commune with others and acquire friends to our aid."

He had simply melded into the shadows after that, disappearing just as quickly as hoar frost before the morning sun and returning the next day with news that several would meet them in Zootopia for the coming purge. The following days included more mysterious mammals joining the nor burgeoning army. A group of feline soldiers from a nearby settlement, led by a lynx named Colt joined the group, followed by a lumbering behemoth of a fox the size of a horse. A grizzled wolf calling himself Ol'Micky soon joined in, raving about how he'd love to, 'Gunna siz' em up and shoo' 'um dow righ' here".

Their growing numbers gave both Nick and Judy hope.

It was after several more days the city of Zootopia appeared. From Fort Zootopia towering above all, to the merchant vessels and warships docked at its port, Judy and Nick took it all in.

For in the next twenty four hours, it would all be redeemed.

Translations

mi compañero eterno y confidente: My eternal Mate and Confidant

nea'kwana tah'helo okwaho: May the dread wolf come for you