(A/N: Alright, here we go with the next chapter. Juts a quick FYI before we get started. I'm going on vacation soon, so the next update may be a day late. Just wanted to let you know in advance. That's all for the announcements, let's get right into things.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 8: Fallout

The Cloven Hoof was a standard bar as far as appearances went, but it was the customers it normally saw that were what stood out. But then, that was the case for most of the places on this side of town. This was, after all, where most of Zootopia's more deplorable types frequented, a source of crime that often spilled out into the rest of the city.

It was here that a certain artic fox was currently tucked away after having failed, once again, to kill Nicholas Wilde at the charity event three days prior. After having escaped from the badger that had interfered, who he later found out from Tim was the same badger that had been watching over Mrs. Shell, preventing the meerkat from finishing the old armadillo off, he'd reported back to his boss with his tail tucked between his legs, hoping that he wouldn't end up like March.

It seemed that someone up there was looking out for him though, as the sheep decided to spar him after he gave his report of what happened. His boss considered it useful information regarding this badger, letting them know that there was someone who was onto them. And Healy having his arm end up in a sling after it had been dislocated, as well as receive a black eye, from his scuffle with the mysterious badger seemed to be a suitable enough of a punishment for the boss, for now anyway.

That wasn't to say that things had gone well for him though. But, fortunately, his boss was in a good mood after the results of the election came in. As such, all those involved in the operation were called to The Clover Hoof for an important meeting that was meant to double as a celebration of sorts. Healy didn't feel much like celebrating though as he stared blankly at the game of pool his associates were playing, not really paying attention to the game at all.

Then, suddenly, the door burst open as the man of the hour arrived and cheerfully announced his presence. "Hello, everyone, your mayor has arrived!"

Slowly, Healy turned around to see the very smug looking Miles Walker, the newly appointed mayor, make his way into the room with a briefcase in hand. He waltzed into the room as if he didn't have a care in the world, a very different air about him than what he normally showed to the public.

"Remind me to call you guys whenever I need to sleep," Miles joked in reference to what a majority of what most of the animals in the room were. He then unnecessarily followed this up with, "Counting sheep really helps."

Healy nearly let a growl escape him, not because of the sheep stereotype, but because of the nerve of the rabbit being so cheerful. While Healy hadn't been able to get the sight of March's dead body out of his head, Miles looked as if there was nothing that could possibly bother him. In fact, with the way he looked at all of them, it was as if he considered all of them beneath him.

As Miles headed over to them, his gaze landed on the meerkat standing next to Healy, and his smiled widened. "You helped to keep this deal a secret, Tim. Thank you for that."

The meerkat shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, she's still comatose, as far as I know."

Miles walked right up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, thank you." Then his gaze shifted to Healy. "But you…"

Then, before Healy even saw it coming, Mile's fist came up in an uppercut, striking his lower jaw and knocking him back, and he fell hard on the floor. He looked up at Miles, feeling dazed, and the rabbit towered over him menacingly. In this light, his brown eyes almost seemed to look red as he glared down at him.

"I told you to stop them from investigating," he scolded. "I did not tell you to kill them!"

"Enough," the boss said, sounding bored. "You don't need to add him to the list of people you've killed."

Miles turned to him. "Oh, I'm sorry it's just that I expect… I expect competence."

The boss didn't say anything in response. It really surprised Healy at how he allowed this puny little rabbit to speak to him. Very few animals could talk back to the boss, let alone in such a manner, and get away with it, but he supposed that the boss tolerated it because there were still things he needed from the rabbit.

Miles, it seemed, gave no care to what the boss thought about the situation as he lifted the briefcase up onto the table. "Now, it's time for me to hold up my end. I have it. I am a rabbit of my word."

Smirking, the boss made his way over to him, and Miles stepped back to allow the sheep to examine the contents of the briefcase. "Let's see it." He popped open the briefcase and the smile on his face grew larger and more sinister as he looked at the two lone flowers within the glass containers inside it. "Night Howler flowers."

Miles folded his arms and nodded. "Yes. The flower has been outlawed, but I am the mayor now. I reported the flower to archives as missing. No tracing it back to me, or, uh," his eyes quickly darted around to the other animals in the room, "you all either."

Healy harrumphed as he got to his feet, wiping the blood from his nose and mouth. This had been the deal his boss had arranged with Miles. Well, part of it anyway. Healy really couldn't care less about what his boss' plans were; he only worked for him.

However, things had gone far beyond what he had expected. He wasn't above doing some pretty shady or dirty work, but he had gotten in way over his head, and it had resulted in the death of his best friend. Now it looked like this job was almost over, and he was glad for it

"What about me?" he asked irritably. "What do you want me to do?"

Miles glanced back at him, looking as if he viewed him as a joke. "You?" He let out a laugh. "No, no, you're done. You're of no use to me anymore." He thrusted his thumb at the door. "Get out."

Healy stared at him, at the cold, careless way Miles was dismissing him. He glanced up at his boss, but the sheep said nothing. What more, he actually looked amused at Miles' dismissal of him. He then turned to look at Tim, then at the rest of his associates, but none of them rose to his defense.

Healy's fist clenched as barely suppressed rage filled him, and he glared at Miles hatefully. "No… No, my… my friend died because of your plan."

He knew he was really pushing his luck, but after everything that had happened, after he had foolishly gotten March killed with his careless attempt to deflect blame of a job they had botched, there was no way he was going to let it all be for nothing.

"Look," Miles said impatiently as he turned towards him fully, "I didn't kill him," he looked into Healy's eyes with deadly promise in his seemingly red orbs and a cruel smile on his face, "but I will kill you, if you keep bothering me. Now… Get. Out."

A chill ran down Healy's spine. He absolutely believed the rabbit's promise, and he knew that his boss wouldn't so much as lift a finger to stop him. If he didn't leave now, he was dead, he still might be anyway if Miles decided he wanted to tie up loose ends.

He decided it would indeed be best to leave before the psychotic rabbit did just that.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Nick was worried sick. He hadn't seen or heard from Judy in days, not since the night Miles had exposed their relationship to everyone and she had… dumped him.

He still couldn't believe it, but it was true. She had broken up with him. He'd hoped that she had just been too upset over what had happened and had just been saying things she hadn't meant, or that she would at least calm down and think about things more rationally and want to talk to him about it, but that didn't seem to be the case.

She'd actually left Zootopia. She left days ago. No phone call, no letter, nothing, she was just gone. She hadn't been in to work, nor had she even contacted them at all to ask for a leave of absence. She was just… gone, and no one knew where she was.

If he had to wager a guess, he figured she'd gone back to Bunnyborrow to be with her family. Unfortunately, there was no way to confirm that since she wasn't answering any of his calls or returning his texts, and he didn't have her parents' contact information, so he had no way of getting in contact with her, if that was even where she really was.

Perhaps she just needed to get away for a little while. After what had happened at the fundraiser event, he couldn't exactly blame her. Talk of their relationship and spread all throughout Zootopia. He wasn't exactly surprised by that. Not only was she the first bunny cop, she was a hero of the city. And him, he was the first fox cop, and the other hero of the city. So of course animals would be interested in them.

A juicy story like this, an utter scandal featuring the two of them, animals would just eat it up. And not just eat it up, but add to it, gossiping and exaggerating, just as it was with all rumors. But no matter what the story was, it always seemed to be met with utter disgust.

So yes, he could understand why she needed to get away for a while. The only question was how long it would last. Or, and this scared him most of all, if she would ever come back at all. But if that's what she decided, then what could he do besides respect her wishes and let her go, even if doing so felt like he was tearing out his own heart.

A sigh escaped Nick as he headed in to work. He really didn't feel like going in, but he had a job to do. The case had yet to be solved, and with Judy gone, that meant he had a lot more work to do. He was tired and depressed, not sleeping well, and his mind was always on Judy, wondering how she was doing and wishing she were back here with him so he could take her pain away. He was so lost in a daze that he was practically moving on autopilot, not paying attention to where he was going, and he ended up bumping into someone.

He opened his mouth to apologize, but then he realized that he knew the animal he had bumped into, and he actually smiled for the first time in days as he recognized his sloth friend. "Oh, Flash, hey…"

He trailed off as his gaze landed on the sloth's arm, seeing that it was in a cast. He winced at the sight of it, feeling overcome with guilt. He hadn't even seen Flash since the night of the train, he'd been too concerned with Judy. Different ambulances had arrived at the scene and they'd been taken to the hospital in separate vehicles; Nick had refused to leave Judy's side. He'd known that Flash had been injured after falling from the train, but he hadn't even stopped in to check on him. Some friend he was.

Letting out a nervous laugh, he rubbed the back of his head before sighing. "Uh, look, sorry about your arm, buddy. I didn't want to put you in harm's way."

He was about to say more, but then he suddenly caught sight of what the sloth held in his other hand as he held it out to him, and Nick's face lit up as he realized what it was.

"Wait a second, the fur!" he exclaimed excitedly. "You got it!"

He couldn't believe it. It was the fur found at the scene of the crime from the attack on Mrs. Shell. Judy had said that it had fallen out of her pocket at some point, either during the fight on the train or when they fell in the water afterwards. They'd thought it was lost for good, and that the only physical evidence that they'd had of who the perpetrator might be was lost, but it seemed that Flash had picked it up at some point.

"I owe you," Nick told him as he gratefully accepted the small bag, and he clapped his friend on the shoulder, wary of his injured arm. "Whatever you want, tell me. J-Just tell me and I'll do it. You have no idea how much I owe you."

Flash's expression, however, was far from friendly. And while it could be difficult to read, Nick could tell that he was not in a good mood as he glared at him. "Whenever… you… need… my… help… don't… call… me."

Nick was taken aback. Well, he couldn't exactly blame Flash for being mad at him, he had been a pretty rotten friend to him with his apparent lack of concern for his wellbeing after what had happened. Flash had every right to be angry at him, and yet he had still cared enough to bring him the evidence they had lost.

"Oh… ok…" he muttered, not knowing what else to say, but it seemed that Flash wasn't interested in listening to anything he had to say right now, as he was already slowly walking away. "Got it. Thanks, buddy."

He would make it up to him, he swore. Once things had calmed down a bit and he gave Flash some time to cool off, he would properly apologize and fix things between them. For now, he had a lead on a big case he needed to get back to. And hopefully, this new evidence would help in bringing it to close.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

MILES WALKER OFFICIALLY ELECTED MAYOR. Those were the words on the screen of the news station, ZNN, as it played on Bogo's laptop. He watched as Zootopia's new mayor stood on the podium, waving at the news crew and other animals who had come to see him.

"Thank you, and thank you all!" Miles said to the crowd as they cheered for him. "Remember, if we work together, we'll all make Zootopia a better place."

Bogo certainly hoped that was the case. Things had been rather chaotic the past several months after the whole thing with Bellwether taking over. Miles had done a lot of good for the city, and, hopefully, as the new mayor, he would be able to do even more. Maybe that would make their jobs a little easier; they had enough problems as it was with all the talk going around thanks to a certain rabbit and fox.

"Chief!"

And speak of the devil. Bogo looked up from his laptop to see Nick rushing into the room, waving around a small evidence bag. A light growl escaped him at how the fox had just burst in without even knocking, but rudeness was something he had come to expect from him. It was a good thing that Nick was such a good cop; it was the only reason he tolerated his constant sarcasm and snarky remarks.

"I have some fur that needs to be analyzed by our ZSI Department," Nick told him as he walked up to Bogo's desk. "It's the fur of whoever attacked Mrs. Shell."

And there it was, proof that Nick was indeed a good cop, despite all his flaws. Lopez and Myrthil had examined the scene of the crime, yet had somehow overlooked what Nick and Judy had not. If only she were here to be presenting it with her partner.

"Excellent work, Wilde," he praised as he accepted the little bag. "I'll be sure to send it down there at once."

He hesitated as a matter he had been putting off nagged him, and he realized that he couldn't put it off any longer. He really hated having to do this, but he was really left with no choice in the matter. He may be the chief of police, but even he had those he answered to.

"And I saw the news," he added, trying to keep his voice neutral so as to hide his displeasure of what was to come.

There was no need to feign ignorance, he could tell that Nick knew right away what he was talking about, and the fox rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "Yeah… everyone did."

Holding back a sigh, Bogo gave him a sorrowful look. "I can't have something like that in this department."

Nick looked up at him, clearly taken aback. "What?"

Bogo took a deep breath, finding this just as unpleasant as he had anticipated. "We encourage fraternization, Wilde, but Hopps hasn't been here for days, and… it's unacceptable."

He saw Nick wince, but to his credit, he stood his ground. "Chief, she was, uh… she was exposed on live TV. She was humiliated. I was there."

Yes, Bogo was perfectly aware of that, and he truly felt sorrow for her. She certainly hadn't deserved that, neither did Nick. But regardless of that, it put him in a difficult position as their superior. He didn't really care what the two of them did in their free time, so his opinion on whatever their relationship might be didn't really concern him, but if it affected their work or the department itself, then he had to take action.

"If she comes back to the ZPD, she could try to distance herself from the situation," he explained seriously. "And she could even say that she was harassed by you."

Nick held up his hands. "Whoa, whoa," he exclaimed, giving a nervous laugh of disbelief. "No, no, that's uh, that's uncalled for. And frankly, that's a little disrespectful."

Yes, perhaps it was, and while Bogo doubted that Judy would do such a thing, it was also a chance he couldn't take. It wasn't like such things never happened, and he had an entire department to think about after all. "Even so, you know what this means. You created a dysfunctional work environment."

But Nick just shook his head. "You know what, chief, I'm gonna… I'm gonna, I'm gonna look for Judy, ok. And when I find her, we're gonna sit down here and talk about it–"

"We won't talk about anything," Bogo interrupted, suddenly growing frustrated, and he pointed at the fox accusingly as he glared down at him. As far as he was concerned, this whole situation was all Nick's fault. "You know, from the moment I saw you, I knew you were trouble. Just another conniving fox. And guess what, I was right. You may have done a decent job here, but with you, we've had more property damage, we've had innocent bystanders get hurt because of you, and while I truly appreciate Hopps, her current state makes me question whether she's ready for work. And if she has any resentments towards you, her partner, then I don't know how we can properly work as a unit."

He took a moment to take a breath before continuing. "I even received a call from Mayor Walker, and he told me that he was sorry for publicly revealing your relationship," he regretfully averted his eyes, "but he also told me to fire you both… for the reasons I'm telling you now. So, I'm gonna need you to look for Hopps, and when you find her, please bring her back so we can settle this situation, and I'll take your badges, together, as, you know, you're partners, and partners share the blame."

He hated saying that, but there was truth in his words. He'd had his doubts about Hopps, but she had really proved herself to him. And while he'd had reserves about Nick too, he never truly gained Bogo's respect the way Judy had, even if he did appreciate the fox's work. And, as he had pointed out, Nick did seem to invite trouble. He'd always looked the other way or gone easy on him though because he was a good cop, and out of respect for Judy.

But this had been something he couldn't ignore. And when the new mayor had ordered him to let the two of them go, having legitimate reasons to make such a demand, Bogo couldn't refuse. Now he was down two cops, one who he greatly respected and was one of the best officers he'd ever seen, despite being a mere rabbit, and he blamed Nick for the loss.

The fox in question just stared at him as if he were slowly taking this all in. A look of disbelief crossed his face that soon became one of resignation, and he shook his head. "Wow… I didn't know you had an intimate relationship with a bunny too, chief."

Bogo resisted the urge to growl. Even now, it seemed Nick couldn't drop that snarky attitude of his. "Wilde," he said in a resigned voice, "get out of my office."

"Don't worry, I'm on my way out," Nick told him, and turned around and left without another word.

Once he was gone, Bogo sat back and rubbed his eyes. He really hadn't wanted to do that, but his hands were tied. Even if he had been willing to let whatever was going on between Nick and Judy to play out, even if it ended up resolving itself, he still had the new mayor breathing down his back. And unless he wanted to put his own job on the line, he had to follow orders.

Reluctantly, he got up and made his way through the station to the front desk where Clawhauser sat. Out of all the officers in the department, the cheetah had been the closest to Nick and Judy, which gave Bogo no amount of pleasure to tell him what he had to.

"Clawhauser," he said, trying to maintain an authoritative tone, "Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps have been… terminated. Please stop all contact with them, yeah? Put it down on file too. Thank you."

He saw sadness fill the cheetah's face before he turned to make his way back to his office to further lament the loss of two of the ZPD's finest.

(A/N: Ok, so a little shorter than what I would have preferred, but it was a good stopping point, and it would prevent the chapter from being too long if I included what's going to take place next time. Miles has revealed his true colors, and they're even worse than we thought. I think we could all say that we knew he would be the jerky love rival, but was it obvious that he was going to straight up be the villain? Well, main villain, I guess, with the sheep boss being the secondary villain. I tried to keep it not so obvious if you haven't seen the video yet. And, oof, poor Nick. Judy broke up with him and took off for her parents, Flash is understandably angry and at odds ends with him, and now it looks like both he and Judy are going to be out of a job. I know that Bogo was supposed to be a kind of low-level antagonist, but I always felt that it was reluctantly. He may give Nick and Judy a hard time, particularly Nick, but in his defense, they have been undermining his authority and using unorthodox methods that cops shouldn't do. And, technically, he is following his own superior's orders in firing them. I guess I thought he should be cut some slack, even if he is kind of against Nick because he does try and remain respectful and professional regardless of how he feels about things, for the most part anyway. I guess we'l just have to wait and see where things go from here.)