"In English, please…" Chief Bogo cut the goat's scientific jargon short as he pinched the bridge of his snout in frustration.
Nick nodded towards the imposing Cape Buffalo as he stared down the frantic goat Scientist. Having "subdued" the hyena whom had mauled his officers, Chief Bogo now set his sights on the Crisis at paw.
"The wall's heat sink has been tripped…" explained the scientist, his tone thick with dread and urgency. "The wall has a fail-safe measure, which was designed to counter the possibility of a nuclear melt-down. In the event an atomic-inferno; the heat sink was designed to absorb an inordinate amount of thermal energy from its environment."
"Meaning?" asked Nick, still entirely confused as to what was happening.
The goat ground a hoof into his eye-brows before answering; "The wall is about to pull the equivalent energy of a small nuclear detonation from its environment… it's essentially about to b-become a-an…"
"Ice-bomb…" finished Nick.
"No!" snapped the scientist before recomposing himself. "I-I mean… I wouldn't have put it so bluntly, but… y-yes. If we don't stop the wall… it will send everything in a ten mile radius back to the ice-age. Even mammals which currently live in Tundra Town would not be able to survive"
Bogo, Judy and Nick all stiffened at the notion.
"So how do we stop it" asked Chief Bogo.
"Well…" the goat scientist fidgeted and shifted back and forth as he thought. "There is… one way…"
"Well then…" asked Bogo, frustration taking hold in the massive mammal.
"There's a kill switch…" the goat swallowed hard in preparation for the final bit of information; "but it's a dead-mammal switch; someone's going to have to hold it in order for it to work."
"Of course it is," spat Nick, throwing his paws up in disbelief.
"The wall was never meant to be turned off!" defended the disheveled goat. "The climate control walls are what allows Zootopia to be… ZOOTOPIA!"
"So I s'pose we 'Nose-Goes' to see who gets to go hold the switch till help arrives" Nick joked as he looked about the cabin of the helicopter, where sat next to his mangled partner. "Shouldn't there be animals already in the wall; specifically for this kind of thing?"
"Well, normally… yes" the goat shifted nervously under the police force's combined gazes before continuing; "but the climate union is currently on strike."
"Are you serious?" asked Nick, all humor having been replaced with a volatile mixture of disgust and disbelief.
The goat's deadpan stare told Nick everything he needed to know.
"Unbelievable…" Nick threw his paws up a second time at the situation. "Guess I'll go get the light-switch then… you want to draw me a map?"
"You can't go in there!" spat the Billy Goat so forcefully all three officers were taken back a little. "You'll freeze to death in a matter of minutes! Already it's at least negative twenty degrees Fahrenheit (-28 C) in that wall and dropping. With no winter gear and only a summer coat of fur; you'll be hypothermic before you even reach the switch! And even if you do make it; the three o'clock blizzard hits in ten minutes. It will freeze anyone unlucky enough to be inside when it hits, regardless of whether the switch is thrown or not."
The circle of mammals stood in sober silence at the death sentence which had been passed down to them. Blowing out a thick cloud of vapor into the freezing air, Nick volunteered.
"No..." Judy whispered, shifting her attention from Nick to Bogo and back. "You can't go…" Judy attempted to move forward from her position in the cab of the helicopter to better protest, but was wracked by the pain in her mangled leg. "Y-you can't go… w-we'll figure something else out; help is on the way!"
Nick opened his mouth to reply before being interrupted by the goat; "If the blizzard hits while the wall is still in overload, it will encase it in ice, sealing the city's fa-"
Nick grabbed the offending scientist by the muzzle before shoving him out of the conversation. "We get it!" barked Nick before returning his attention back to Judy. "Somebody has to do something, Carrots."
"No… Nick" a tear ran down Judy's cheek as her own words were used against her by the fox whom couldn't even remember having heard them. "Someone else can go, Nick. I-I… Forbid you from going!" Judy's sadness made a sharp turn to rage at the implications of their current situation.
"Carrots…" Nick tried to settle Judy's distress, reaching a paw for her shoulder.
"No!" snapped Judy, swatting away Nick's paw. "Do not touch me, Detective! As your senior on the force, I-I am ordering y-you to stay!"
Nick blew a heavy sigh as he clenched his eyes shut tight. The white cloud of breath rolled across his chest as Nick unclipped the badge which had so proudly lived on his uniform for two years.
Judy's rage vanished; leaving behind only shock and heartbreak as Nick placed the token in her paws, in a symbolic gesture of defiance. "N-Nick…" Judy tried to speak but choked on the lump in her throat.
"Judy…" Nick silenced the heart broken rabbit with a single digit to her lips. "This is my choice…" Nick planted a somber kiss on Judy's head. This time the rabbit made no attempt to intercept the kiss, instead electing to let it land where it may, in sober silence.
Swallowing the lump which had formed in his throat, Nick turned his attention away from his devastated girlfriend to Chief Bogo and the nameless scientist. "Use the helicopters radio to give me directions…" said Nick as he turned and began his trek towards the imposing wall.
A shiver ran down Nick's spine as he approached the icy tomb. Curiously, it was not the biting cold which made the fox shiver, but rather a mixture of dread and bitter disappointment. Chuckling to himself, Nick realized he was not scared by his looming death, but rather disappointed that he was going to leave so much unfinished. Nick took a moment to steel his resolve.
"Do it for her," Nick whispered to himself as he thought of Judy's loving smile. "Give her a future," Nick continued as he thought of his girlfriend's eternal optimism. "This is bigger than you; somebody has to do something…"
"Detective Wilde…" Nick's radio barked at him, refocusing the fox on his job. "This is Doctor Wringer; let's get you to that kill-switch."
Nick followed the corded piece of "police-Junk's" directions through the bitter cold of the deserted facility. Frost bit at the fleshy pulp of Nick's battered lung, burning an icy hole in the fox's chest. The unprotected paw-pads of Nick's feet burnt like fire on the icy-corrugated-metal cat-walks. The relentless cold bit deep into Nick's worn body stiffening his muscles as he made the slow pilgrimage to his destination and ultimately, his grave.
"I think I see it…" Nick said, blowing a billowy white cloud as he spoke into the receiver. Limping over to the solitary console, Nick scrubbed the frost off of the switch's metal label. "Yeah, that's definitely it…"
Outside the wall, three mammals huddled around a single receiver in the back of an armored helicopter. Like an olden family listening to a radio-drama, the mismatch trio pinned their ears towards the speaker, hanging on its every word.
"I'm glad you guys had the foresight to install a giant Frankenstein-style switch…" Nick's voice crackled the airwave. "I was worried I was just going to be able to set a coffee mug on a button and leave." The sound of Nick's grunt as he threw the massive lever trailed over the hand-set, before being replaced by a coughing fit. "I got it…"
The mighty Cape Buffalo passed the receiver to Judy, whom took it with shaking paws. Tapping the goat doctor on the shoulder, the massive mammal nodded for them to leave the conversation. Jumping from the cabin of the grounded machine, Bogo left Judy and Nick to each other.
The line was silent for an impassable minute. Judy let a single tear roll down her cheek as she regarded the alienating piece of technology, her last life-line to her fiancé.
"Judy…" Nick's voice crackled across the system.
"I'm here…" replied Judy in a weak, shaking tone.
"I think we're gonna have to reschedule our vacation…"
Judy pressed her eyes closed as she fought to maintain composure. "That's ok…"
The line sat stagnant for an immutable span of time before Nick continued; "I was thinking we could go back to Bunny Burrows… You know? I could final meet your family…"
The broken bits of Judy's heart shattered into fine dust. Judy wondered why she hadn't been strong enough to tell Nick the truth. She wanted to confess, Judy wanted to tell Nick everything in that moment. Judy wanted to recount Nick's disastrous proposal. Judy wanted to share their spot at the earthen amphitheater. Judy needed to tell Nick how much she loved his singing, and his carrot ice-cream. Unfortunatley, that ship had long since sailed. Soon, the single most important mammal on the planet to Judy would be gone; and he would have no idea just how much he had meant.
"I think my dad will like you…" Judy chuckled weakly, biding her time before the inevitable storm. The engagement ring, turned necklace, felt like an inescapable anchor about the rabbit's neck.
Nick laughed over the air-way before a coughing fit cut him short. "How do you think he'll take the news when he finds out his little girl is dating an ex-con-mammal fo-"
The line went static.
"Nick?" Judy tried the receiver again. "Nick?"
Static continued to spill through the deadened life line.
"Nick… please…" Judy slammed the button in a desperate bid to reopen communications. "N-Nick, come on… I n-need you…" Judy's pleading devolved into a cry, and her crying into a bitter sob. "Don't g-go..."
On a beautiful August day, snow began to fall in Sahara Square. The storm had arrived, and with it;
The End
Dear reader,
Come, sit with me for a bit. It's ok; I know you're probably a little upset, but all good things must come to a close. While I have had an amazing time writing for all you wonderful people, it has come time to move on. Wait, Wait, don't go just yet... We're going to have a candle-light vigil for the dearly departed on Sunday. I know it's a long time to wait, but preparations must be made. The Hopps family will be there, Nick's friends and the Police Force.
If you are looking for closure, I suggest listening to; A House, A Home by The Alialujah Choir
-Duke