Chapter Eighteen: Ominous Art (Final Chapter)

A/N: Congratulations! You've reached the final chapter to the semi-final story of the Big Cheese arc. Only one more epic story to go before it's all wrapped up. As Nick and Judy head back to the city, Cotton finds out that their future isn't looking so bright.

No Epilogues this time. As far as this story goes, as a semi-sequel to "Sacrifices", I'm happy with it. I didn't want to go as dark as that one and I'm glad Nick and Judy equally shared the spotlight this time. Often, I'd make Nick the hero and Judy the side character and that's just not right. Next story, they're staying together through the whole thing. Oh, and when that concludes, it will have a TON of epilogues!

The only thing I wasn't happy with is that I think I went too light in tone sometimes, considering the story's climax has savage bunnies attacking people in a mall. It was a little too jokey at times.

One thing I like in the friendship campaigns in Disney Heroes is that they have some stuff that makes good head cannon. For instance, Finnick has friendship campaigns with Judy in which she needs him as a mural artist. That means that more than likely, Finnick is the one who did the mural on the sides of his van.

Earlier in the day. 4:45pm at Nick's restaurant

As Bogo was talking to a group of predator volunteers, he was was keeping his eyes on the news. He saw the riots already happening on the streets, the restlessness, the panic the citizens were in. It was then that he finally realized the truth, "Nick was right. The only way we'll get through this, is for predators to protect prey directly. Calling the police won't be enough."

Bogo then changed his speech. "I know I'm not a predator myself. I've...had privileges that many of you have not just because of how I was born and it's not right. It's not. But that doesn't mean predators have to become savages! Nick was right. We need to make an example together. I was wrong to try and disband this. I said what he was doing was making a militia. That's not true. You are all concerned citizens who want the streets safe for ALL mammals. Technically, I haven't fully quit my job. Swinton is acting chief of police for today, but that doesn't mean I don't have any power. Effective immediately, I am deputizing all of you citizens for today. Today, you are ALL ZPD!"

The crowd applauded. "Now hold on! Hold on. That doesn't mean I want any of you to put your lives at risk. All of you smaller predators should arm yourselves, probably with mace or some sort of equalizer. You bigger predators should be able to protect yourselves as well as others. If you think the situation is too much for you to handle, don't get involved. My number one order for you all is...don't die! Now, are there any questions?"

Several predators came up with some questions and Bogo answered them as best he could. "Lord help me, maybe Swinton was right." Bogo thought to himself. "Maybe we need those cadets after all."

6:05pm at the Hopps family home

"WOAH!" Spots and the young Wilde children said as they entered the living room.

"Noticed the difference hunh?" Rose replied. "Stu turned the living room into the Hopps home theater."

The gigantic, spacious living room now had a wall that supported a massive, 200-inch screen. In front, was a long couch, followed by by another long couch a foot above and behind and another couch that was another foot above and behind the other like a set of inclining couches. Michael marveled at the living room. Sure, he'd lived there most of his life, but that was when he was blind and had to feel around to get anywhere. The living room was the heart of the Hopps home. Not unlike the mall, it was wide open and you could see the other floors above. These floors lead to the hundreds of bedrooms and at the railing were chairs that acted like a balcony so if the couches were full, you could watch from above.

"Don't the long ears get in the way?" Spots asked.

"Nah. The first two rows tie their ears down." Rose replied.

Cotton suddenly grabbed Michael by his paw. "Come with me! I want to show you something!"

Michael didn't know what was up. "Oh! Unnnnh okay."

Petey, Cindy and Wiggly all followed while Spots plopped down on the couch and grabbed the remote. It was quickly snatched up by a Hopps bunny. "HEY!" said the bunny.

"What's up with you?" Spots asked.

"It's MY turn with the TV!"

"Sorry Spots." Rose said. "Getting to use the home theater is a luxury. All Hopps family members go into a lottery to decide who gets to use the remote for the evening and what movie they get to watch."

Just then, Rose heard someone calling for her . "ROOOOSE!"

"Ah nuts! It's Bean."

"I just made a doodie!" the limbless bunny said. "Come upstairs and wipe my butt!"

"UGH! I gotta go." Rose replied. "I swear, I'm more of a mom to him than mom is!"

"I can relate." Spots replied. "I'm gonna check up on my little brats."

Meanwhile, Cotton had led Michael to one of the bedrooms. "Do you remember this place?" Cotton asked.

"It's...familiar." Michael said.

One of Michael's bunny brothers shouted. "DUH! It's your old room!"

"Oh! Everything's so different now that I can see."

Cotton held Michael's paws. "It's where we first met. You came over and felt my face and said that I was the prettiest thing you ever felt."

"I did?"

"Yes." Cotton said a little miffed. "Then, you asked me to marry you!"

"I remember that." Michael replied. He then smiled at Cotton. "Now that I can see, can I do it again?"

Cotton giggled. "Okay!"

Michael held Cotton's hooves in his paws and got down on one knee. "Cotton. Will you marry me?"

"Of course I will!" She hugged the boy bunny and kissed him. "In about 12 years or so."

"AWWW! 12 years?! I wanna get married now!"

"Hee-Hee! Sorry honey! Daddy says we can't until we're old enough."

This scene gave Wiggly the idea to do the same. "Petey, will you marry me?"

Petey jumped up and gave Wiggly a kiss. "Of course I will! But..."

"But what?"

"We're both boys. Which of us...BARFBUTT!... is the daddy who works and which of us is the mommy who has the babies?"

"I'll ask my dad." Wiggly said. He saw Gideon around the corner. "Daddy! If me and Petey get married, which one of us goes to work and which one of us has babies?"

Gideon's eyes bugged out of his skull and he backed away. "...Nope. Nope Ah ain't touchin' that."

"I think Wiggly would be the one with the job." Julie said.

"Whut makes you say that darlin'?"

"Because he'd be the one who brings home the bacon!"

"UGH! Darlin' please! That was a bad one."

"Actually, it should be Petey." Spots replied. "He has his own business."

Gideon's ears perked up. "Say whut now?!"

"Dad bought him the same tailor shop dad's father was going to buy, Petey's great at fashion so he could make a success at it."

"No kiddin'! Looks like yer the mamma then Wiggly. 'Course yer both boys so you'd have 'ta adopt when yer old enough."

Spots was a little peeved. "Y'know this whole talk is sexist right? A mom can be a breadwinner too!"

"Well shoot! Ah ain't the one that brought it up!Wiggly did!"

"And where did Wiggly get it from?"

"Well, err...look, Ah'm still learnin' how this new-fangled world works. Things were different when I wuz your age. Gimmie a break!"

Just then, Julie got a call. "I'll see you in a bit. I've got a call. Hello?"

Bonnie panicked voice was on the other side. "Oh thank God you answered Julie! I need a big, big favor from you! Me and Stu dropped th little ones off at the front and we took Nick's van out to the barn and shut the doors and well...we started rocking the van if you get my drift."

"Okay?"

"HominaHominaHomina.."

"Who's that?"

"You father. He hasn't well...climaxed in nine days because the scars from the vasectomy needed to heal. He's never gone that long and he...well...he just blasted off and ...we completely befouled Nick's van!"

"What?!"

"Did you see the end of Ghostbiters when they blow up the stay-puft marshmallow mouse and the white goo goes all over the city?"

"Oh my God."

"HeebeedeeHeebeedeeHeebeedee!"

"Quiet Stu! Sorry Julie, he's still in the afterglow. It's everywhere! On the windows, on the dashboard...on the ceiling! He was like a fire hose!"

"I can't feel my toes. Is that normal? I don't care! That was...INCREDIBLE!"

"Oh hush! Julie dear. I need you to bring us two new sets of clothes, air freshener, TONS of towels and a power hose. SIGH! Looks like me and Stu just bought Nick's van."

"I'll be there as soon as possible."

"Thanks so much dear. And try to keep this discreet okay? Did you need anything from Julie Stu?...Stu?"

"My prostate hurts."

Meanwhile, at the ZPD interrogation room...

Swinton had just finished interrogating Dapper Dan. They were running low on guards as several of them were found out, so Wolf and Stein were put in charge of taking him back to his cell.

Higgins talked to Swinton. "Do you think it could be him?"

"Not a chance." the chief replied. "He's as gay as Purris and doesn't even know what a modern smart phone does. He may have killed in the past, but from what I can tell, that killer instinct is gone."

"Him being gay doesn't mean he isn't dangerous." Higgins warned.

Wolf and Stein escorted Dapper Dan back to his prison cell. He looked at the buttons on their shirts. Both had the lions emblem on the third button. He got a wicked grin on his face. "So Stein, I see you got with the program. Good! Wolf didn't want to have to kill you."

"The Stein dug his claws into Dapper Dan's arm. "How did you know about that?!"

"The same way I know about everything. All the contacts I've made. I put up quite the act in there with the smart phone don't you think? Also, Wolf has talked with me on the phone before." Suddenly, Dan lowered his tone. "Do you recognize this voice, Wolf?"

The wolf's ears shot up. "Oh my God! You mean?..."

The fox's grin rose. "Yes. Accompany me tonight and I'll see that it's worth your time."

Stein was still confused. "I don't get it Wolf! Who is he?!"

"Who do you think?" Wolf replied. "He really IS the Adviser! Now let's keep this to ourselves and put him back in his cell...for now."

"Good man." the Adviser replied.

Meanwhile, on the train heading to Zootopia...

Nick, Judy and Finnick were enjoying a beer and having a good laugh. Finnick's good laugh was at Nick's expense.

"HA-HA! S-So, he's flirtin' up this vixen like mad while I'm in the baby carriage in my diaper. He was supposed to be hustling her out of some money as a single father. Much like he did with you. But he was soooo into himself and telling this chick what a good father he was. Well...Hee!-Hee!...I was needin' to go to the restroom real bad and he wouldn't leave this vixen be! So I decided to just BAM!...drop a deuce right in the diaper!"

Judy chuckled. "Oh em goodness! What happened?"

"Well..Heh!-Heh! He could smell it and she could smell it. So she says to him 'Oh! You need to change him? I know a station nearby. I want to see how good you are at changing a diaper.' "

"He didn't!" Judy said.

Nick ears drooped "I had no choice."

"He...Hee! Hee!...He gets me on the table and takes off my diaper. His little girlfriend says 'You must be so proud! He's so well endowed!' "

Judy started laughing.

"So then...Now this is the best part...Then, he took off the diaper and while he was changing me in front of her, I took aim and fired! HAHAHAHAHA! Right in his face!"

Judy fell to her side laughing. Nick was real upset. "Oh Ha-Ha! You blew my once chance to be with a vixen you jerk!"

"No I didn't!" Finnick argued. "You slept with that stripper girl about six years ago. What was her name? Candy?"

Judy looked upset. "What's this now?"

Nick explained. "I told you on the train to Bunnyburrow last week. Remember? It didn't count because I was too damn drunk to even remember."

"HA! Well, it counted to her."

"What do you mean?"

"She kept trying to call you on my cell phone. You didn't have one at the time. Had to block her like, five times. Ha-Ha! She reeeeally liked you!"

"...Why are you telling me this now?!"

"Relax! It's all in the past. Besides. You don't wanna date a stripper. They ain't nothin' but trouble."

"Very ironic that you'd say that considering all the trouble you got me into."

"Touche'...Nick, I'm ummmm...I'm scared. When you're as tiny as me, prison life can be hard."

"I know...Look Finnick, you're tough. Much tougher than you appear. Despite your size, I was very intimidated by you at times. While you're in prison, you need to do the ultimate hustle. Make yourself the toughest fox in the yard. Now, I did an undercover job in that prison last Friday. Even got my own little gang going. 'Wilde Boys'. Talk to Jake and Manchas tell them I sent you. It's...gonna be a little hard since I was talking shit about you once I found out you were 'Big Ears'.

Finnick threw up his arms. "Oh great!"

"There's plans for a break out tonight. Jake has already promised me he and the gang would help stop it as best they can. I want you to help them out. See if you can find out anything on just who this "Adviser" guy is. He may be the key to stopping Lionheart. All you gotta do is act tough. Give them the hustle."

"This ain't gonna work Nick! I can't do what you do."

"What are you talking about? You taught me everything I know about hustling."

"And you perfected it. Do you know why?"

"...No. Not really. My charm? My good looks?"

"Because people can sense when someone is genuinely good. That's you. That was always you. Deep down, you were always a nice person even if you didn't believe it. Not me. I've always been scum. Your mother was right. I just dragged you down."

Nick patted Finnick on the shoulder. "You didn't drag me down. You helped me survive. You were there for me when I was at my worst. You can do this Finnick! In no time you'll be running that jail. I believe in you."

"...I'll do my best Nick. But I can't make any promises."

Meanwhile, back at the Hopps Family Farm...

Some young Hopps sister siblings had grabbed Petey and Cindy and were bringing them into their room, giggling and laughing. "Hey! What are you doing?" Petey asked

"Well, you two are twins, so you should dress like twins!"

"No! Nooooooo!" The door shut behind Spots, Michael and Cotton who were hearing what was going on inside. "No! I...SHIT!...I want my clothes on! Don't put that skirt on me!...What do you think you're doing?! A pink top with a blue dress?! Everyone knows you're supposed to combine pink with black! How do...CRAP!...How do you even dress yourselves in the morning?!"

Spots and Michael were laughing as a wave of fear washed over Cotton. "Oh no! No! No! NOOO!"

Spots was confused. "What's going on?!"

"I need a piece of paper and a pencil! Quick! I hate this gift of mine! I hate it!"

"Rose! Help me find some paper!"

Rose got some paper and a pencil for Cotton. She immediately started drawing as fast as she could. "I don't get the full image in my head until it's on paper, but I know it's real bad! Call mommy and daddy! Quick!"

Spots got on the phone. Inside the train, Judy answered. "Hello?"

"Hey mom! Cotton's freaking out. She's drawing something and it's real bad."

"Well, you better tell me quick, we're about to head into the tunnel, then we'll be in the city."

"I don't know what it is yet! Hold on...Oh my God."

"What is it?!" Judy said with concern. Nick was listening in too.

Spots tried to tell her, but the train went into the tunnel. "MOM! Head back! You're going t-...Rus-...Buildi-...Shot!"

Judy was in a panic. "Who?! Who's shot?!" The call was disconnected. "Hello?! Spots!" She then got a text. "We'll send image."

Spots took a picture of Cotton's drawing. She texted it as an image. Judy was impatient to receive it. "C'mon! C'mon!"

"This sounds bad Fluff." Nick replied. "Cotton's drawings always come to life."

"Your sheep daughter has psychic powers?" Finnick asked.

"Yeah. Only she has to draw them out. She's really talented."

At the Hopps home. Spots hugged Cotton tight as she cried in her arms. "It's gonna be okay! Mom and dad are tough! It's gonna be fine, okay?!"

Cotton was still crying. "B-But...but my drawing!"

"To HELL with your drawing! It'll be okay. It HAS to be!"

Meanwhile, the train was pulling into the station and the data of the image finally went through. "It's here!" Judy said.

Everyone looked at Judy's phone as they saw the image. "Sweet...biscuits!" Nick said.

Finnick tried to comfort Nick. "Look on the bright side. Your daughter is a talented artist."

"Finnick!"

"I...I don't know what else to say Nick! Are you sure her premonitions come true?"

"Every time so far."

Judy and Nick looked at the image again. It showed Judy lying on the ground. Her leg shot to pieces as Rusev held Nick over his head and was in the middle of throwing him off a high building. The fox's chest bleeding from open stitches.

Nick looked to Judy for guidance. "What do we do now?"

"What can we do?" Judy replied. "We keep moving forward. We have this knowledge in our hands now. Maybe we can prevent it from happening."

"Maybe." Nick said nervously. The three got out of the train and headed towards the Zootopia police department. What Nick and Judy didn't know, is that this would be their final night as police officers.

TO BE CONCLUDED!

Stay tuned for "The Purge Part Two: The Fall (and Rise) of Zootopia."