(A/N: Don't worry, despite the name if this chapter, this isn't the end. It's close though, we've got one chapter left after this one. So you know what that means. That's right, the climax approaches. Both Nick and Judy are on the move, now we just have to hope they can stop Miles from making his. So let's get to it.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, this is just a novelization of a fan-film. All credit for the story and its original characters belongs to Mauricio Velazco/Browntable.

Chapter 12: The Final Act

The sound of applause filled the room as animals of all shapes, sizes, and species clapped for their new mayor as he stepped up onto the stage, some with tears of gratitude in their eyes. Miles stood proudly before everyone as he surveyed all the animals in the room, his disgust at the sight of them hidden behind the façade he put out.

It was almost time. Soon all of these vermin would be taken care of. And then, once the filth was removed, he would finally bring Zootopia into its own, making it all it can be. Miles was practically giddy with excitement and was finding it hard to restrain himself as he addressed the crowd.

"Please, please, no," he said into the microphone as he raised his hand for them to quiet down. "I should be the one applauding you. Because tonight is about you all. I even told a few news reporters to back off from reporting on this move because I knew they'd make it about me." He shook his head. "No, today is about all of you. Today is about making Zootopia great."

Applause broke out again, and he struggled to keep his mask in place. He felt sick over the fact that he was even breathing the same air as such vermin. The city, the world, would be well to be rid of them. They would serve better as food for the worms than they would as being among the living. Just a few more minutes and the city would be cleansed.

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As Miles gave his speech, Judy poked her head out from the bush she was hiding behind as she surveyed the shelter. It was packed full of animals, all thinking they finally had a place they could stay, all unaware that the shelter was actually meant to be where they met their end.

She couldn't go in the front entrance, she would be spotted immediately, but the back entrance didn't look too promising either since it was being guarded by two sheep that looked very much like bodyguards. But that was ok, she could handle just two guards. She may be small and not as strong as them, but she was fast and agile, and she knew how to use that to her advantage in a fight.

The two sheep weren't really paying attention to their surroundings either. Was it confidence, or incompetence? She supposed it didn't matter; it would only serve to benefit her. So she took a deep breath and leapt out from her hiding spot, charging at the two sheep.

Both turned to her at the same time, but neither were prepared for the sudden assault. Using her speed and jumping skills, she leapt up and delivered a well-aimed punch to the face of the first sheep. He went down, knocked out cold, and Judy immediately turned to the second one.

The other sheep was clearly caught off guard, but he recovered quickly and lunged for her. Judy once again displayed her jumping skills by leaping straight up in the air, avoiding his reaching arms. He stumbled over the body of his partner and fell on top of him. Judy came down, landing right on his head just as he was looking up, and she slammed her feet down on his face in the process, knocking him out as well.

Hopping off the two sheep, Judy dusted her hands off. That hadn't been too hard. Hopefully any other guards she ran into would be just as easily dispatched. The real problem would be Miles. No matter how incompetent his men were, Judy knew that he wouldn't be.

Slipping inside, she carefully crept along. She could hear Miles talking as he addressed the crowd. They cheered for whatever it was he was saying, and her eyes narrowed as she knew that whatever it was, it was nothing but lies. Quite literally everything about Miles Walker was a lie. From his name, to his words, to his motives, to the mask he put on to fool the public. And she was ashamed to say that he had fooled her as well.

Well, no matter, that was in the past. She knew who he really was now, and what he was planning. And she was going to put a stop to it. She would see to it that he never harmed another soul, and maybe get a little payback for all he had put her and Nick through. She couldn't believe she had allowed a creep like him shake her so much that she had actually doubted that she and Nick could make what they had together work.

Creeping along, she glanced around the corner, and her stomach tightened as she saw just how crowded the room was. Miles was planning on killing all of them. She had to stop him before it was too late. She could see him now as he continued to address the crowd, and her eyes narrowed in disgust. She hoped he was still planning on talking for a while yet; it would give her more time to figure out how to take him down.

But before she had time to come up with a plan, she felt someone grab her from behind. She opened her mouth to cry out, but a hand clamped down over it, affectively silencing her as she was dragged off.

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As the applause died down, Miles resumed his speech, his heart beginning to race with excitement. This was it, the moment he had been planning for so long, and he was going to enjoy each and every moment of it. These poor, miserable fools were so dead that they didn't even realize that they were clapping for their own upcoming deaths.

"Today we are ushering in a new era," he declared proudly as his mask began to slip away. "An era where homelessness is no longer a problem. And by this…" his face twisted into a sinister sneer, "I mean you are no longer a problem!"

This time, there was no applause to accompany his words. Instead, the animals in the room suddenly looked confused, most exchanging bewildered looks with each other. Miles couldn't help it and began laughing. He laughed at how so utterly stupid all these fools were. They actually thought they were important enough, that they mattered enough, for him or anyone else to actually care for them. That they were actually worth spending money and resources on for anything other than getting rid of them. Such naïve, ignorant, useless fools.

He continued to laugh as mutterings began to spread amongst the crowd. The sound of their voices utterly sickened him. "Please, be quiet. Be quiet!" His furious shout stunned the crowd into silence, and he grinned at them mockingly. "Thank you."

Clearing his throat, he regained some semblance of control of himself, but he was no longer bothering to hide his total and complete disdain for them all. "Now, as I was saying. To make Zootopia great, we need to do one thing really, and its simple." He gave the animals a suggestive look. "We need to cut down on all of the filth. And all this filth, is you."

He closed his eyes and shook his head, wondering if this was how his father felt whenever he had showed the man incompetence. His father had been right to treat him the way he had. It had helped shape him into the person he was today. So no matter how much he hated his father, he would always be grateful to him for that.

"Look at all of you," he continued, and gave a disgusted laugh. "You're weak, pathetic, simple-minded individuals. None of you have ever worked a day in your lives, and look at where that's got you." He waved his hand, as of presenting himself. "Now look at me. I worked hard to be where I am, and I'm now the mayor of this fine city. You see where hard work puts you? At the top of the food chain." He sneered at the crowd. "It isn't about predators and prey anymore. I am helping you. I'm putting you all out of your misery."

The shock of his words was beginning to wear off, and he could see that his words were beginning to offend some of the animals; as if any of them had the right to be offended for their own actions leading them to where they were in life. One mountain lion even had the nerve to begin to approach the stage, as if he were going to make a move on him.

But Miles had been prepared for this, and immediately pulled out a gun and pointed it at him as his face twisted into a mask of madness. "Don't! Don't you even think about it!"

The mountain lion drew back, as did most of the animals in the room as he wielded his gun. It was amusing how they were so concerned for their miserable, worthless lives. They meant nothing, no one would miss them when they were gone. They would only be a burden if they stuck around.

Seeing all the frightened eyes locked onto his gun, his grin widened at how misplaced their concerns were. "Oh, you don't know what's about to happen," he commented. Dropping the microphone, he pulled out his gasmask and slipped it on, raising his voice so he could still be heard by everyone in the room. "Alright, let me fill you in. You know the Night Howler flower? Well, guess whp managed to turn it into a gas."

He glanced to his side as two more sheep, also wearing gasmasks, entered the room, one wielding a rifle, the other, surprisingly, escorting none other than Judy Hopps.

"Walker," the one holding Judy said, "found this cop sneaking about."

Judy was shoved to her knees in front of Miles. She let out a small grunt but then glared defiantly up at him. A sneer spread across Miles' face as he bent down to her level. "Ah, ex-Officer Hopps."

"The one and only," she said proudly, not rising to the bait.

Miles just found her defiance amusing. "You seem to be in a tight situation."

"Been in tighter."

The sneer on Miles' face just became more menacing, bordering on sadistic and utterly psychotic. "No. No you haven't."

If she was intimidated, she certainly didn't show it. In fact, she actually smirked at him and let out an unimpressed scoffing laugh. "Look at you, Mr. Mayor. Nick was right, you really were taking advantage of poor, helpless animals."

Under different circumstances, he would have grown angry at the way she spoke to him, but knowing that he had won, that there was nothing she could do to stop him, it kept his spirits high.

"Hopps," he said with a shake of his head, "I… I can't exactly say I'm happy to see you. What are you doing here? Coming to die along with the rest of these outcasts?"

"Dying isn't on my agenda today!" she snapped, staring him down as if he were nothing. "I'm not letting you eradicate these poor animals."

Miles almost wanted to sigh. "Oh, isn't that sweet."

Even now, he still admired her fiery spirit. If only her faith wasn't so misplaced. She, like so many others, just couldn't see the big picture. Poor, misguided fools, all of them. If only she could share in his vision, they could have been the saviors of this city together. Such a tragic loss.

He glanced at the sheep holding her. "Kill her first."

The sheep holding the gun leveled the rifle at Judy and Miles took a step back, not wanting to get any of her filthy fox-loving blood on him when she was put down. As regretful as it would be to lose her, it would be all the more satisfying for all the worthless animals in the rom to see their hero cop die right in front of them.

"Stop!" a familiar voice suddenly cried out, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

The crowd parted, and Miles was surprised to see Healy making his way down the center. He blinked at the arctic fox, having never expected to see him again after he kicked him out of The Cloven Hoof that night.

"Everyone, just chill out," Healy said loudly. Then he smiled up at Miles. "Geez, you are all really tense. Whatever happened to inner peace?"

"What?" Miles exclaimed, completely baffled by his sudden appearance. "Ok, you know what would be great? If someone could explain what you're doing here!"

Healy continued to smile, but his grin became more mocking as his eyes narrowed angrily. "Well, I told you, you killed my friend. My best friend actually. And it hurt."

The otter? Miles couldn't even be bothered to remember the guy's name. Merch or Mark or something along those lines. He really didn't care. But no, actually, he hadn't killed him. That had been Mike's doing, but Miles supposed Healy was holding him responsible since all of this had been his plan, and he had been the one to have them try and stop Nick and Judy from investigating, a job they had failed at, and so Mike had killed the otter as punishment.

And speaking of Mike, while Healy was busy running his mouth, the big boss sheep came up behind him. Healy realized it a little too late though, and Mike grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed him face-first to the ground. Judy cried out for him, and Miles turned back to her.

"You better take a deep breath," he told her, "because in a few moments, you'll be breathing in Night Howler. Then your mind will be lost, and you'll all tear yourselves apart."

He no longer cared about making an example of her to a bunch of worthless, doomed animals. It would be far more fitting for her to be torn apart by the very fools she sought to protect. He glanced back at Healy as the arctic fox lay pinned to the floor by Mike, his nose and mouth bleeding from the impact. Maybe he would even have Healy be the one to kill Judy. That would be so poetic, the fox-lover killed by a fox. Such sweet irony.

But as Miles thought about how amusing such a fate for her would be, he was once again distracted, this time by a dut-dut-dut-dut sound. The noise steadily grew louder, and he frowned as he wondered what it was. No, wait, it wasn't getting louder, it was getting closer.

And suddenly, a bright light was shining in his face from up above. He looked up to see a helicopter through the glass ceiling. It came down lower, hitting the ceiling, and the glass shattered as a voice spoke out over the helicopter's loudspeaker.

"Miles Walker, the jig is up! You're under arrest!"

A growl escaped Miles as he recognized the voice. Nick Wilde was here.

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"Myrthil, get everyone out of here," Nick told the leopard. "Lopez, take down the guards."

Throwing down ropes, the wolf and leopard leapt down into the crowd, rushing to follow Nick's orders. Judy took advantage of the distraction to break the hold of the sheep holding her. Whirling around, she jumped up and delivered an uppercut to him, knocking him back, then she lunged for Miles.

It seemed, however, that she had underestimated the rabbit, and Miles' hand shot out, quick as lightning, and grabbed her by the throat. Apparently, him punching that sandbag when she and Nick had gone to question him about Mrs. Shell hadn't simply been part of his workout routine, the guy actually possessed fighting skills.

He held Judy at bay as she clawed at his hand, trying to break his grip. But perhaps it was actually a good thing that he was strangling her, for at that moment, the Night Howler gas began to fill the room as it was pumped in through the air vents from the ventilation room.

"Judy!" Nick exclaimed, seeing that she was in trouble. "Damn it!"

He didn't hesitate. Grabbing the controls, he turned the helicopter into a nosedive, steering it right through the hole in the roof and towards the stage. Once again, Judy took advantage of the distraction to leap up and slam her feet into Miles, kicking him away from her.

The helicopter crashed into the stage between the two rabbits and burst into flames as it crashed straight through the wall and into the next room. Lopez and Myrthil looked on in horror as the fire quickly began spreading as they ushered the animals out of the room. Nick, however, had been thrown straight through the front window of the helicopter upon impact, but in the process had managed to avoid the flames that gulfed it.

Coughing from both having the wind knocked out of him and the smoke that was filling the room, he forced himself to his feet and began looking around. He was grateful for small favors though when he saw that there didn't seem to be any Night Howler gas in here. Only now they had a problem with the fire that was rapidly spreading as the leaking fuel from the helicopter flowed across the stage.

As he began looking for a door out of here, a sinister voice spoke up from behind him. "You destroyed the machine."

Nick turned to see Mike stalking towards him, or at least who he assumed was Mike based on Healy's description of him. He wasn't exactly sure what machine the sheep was talking about though.

"The thing that was going to flood the place with Night Howler gas," Mike continued, as if reading his mind. Anger twisted his face. "You've ruined our plans."

Nick's eyes darted to the helicopter, and a short distance away, he saw a toppled over machine that was smashed against the wall. It seemed that this had been the room that the machine Mike was talking about had been stashed away in, and upon crashing the helicopter through the wall, he had indirectly destroyed it. Someone up there must have been watching over him, and he had never been more thankful for small favors.

Despite the murderous look on the sheep's face, Nick couldn't help but to let out a mocking laugh. "Yeah, I have a knack for that." But then he allowed his smirk to give way to the mask of fury he truly felt beneath the surface for all the boss sheep had done. "Now, let's dance."

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Judy had removed her jacket and was using it to cover her mouth so she wouldn't breathe the smoke as she made her way across the stage. She hoped Nick was ok after that dangerous stunt he had pulled; she swore she was going to scold him for doing something so reckless later. For now though, she had a psychotic rabbit to find.

But it seemed he found her first. Emerging amongst the flames, she briefly caught sight of him in her peripheral vision before he lunged at her. She turned to him a second too late, just in time to have his fist slam into her jaw.

She stumbled back, dropping her jacket in the process, and crashed into the stage, managing to catch herself on it so she wouldn't go down. She looked up at Miles to see that half of the glass on his mask had broken and fallen out, revealing his deranged face twisted into a psychotic sneer. It was almost strange how a simple change of expression could make someone look like a completely different person.

"Liam!" she shouted at him. "That's your real name, isn't it?"

"Be quiet!" he snapped before lunging at her again.

This time she was ready though. She side-stepped him as he threw another punch at her, twisting her body around and slamming her own fist into his face, her punch landing on the missing portion of his mask, and he stumbled back. He recovered quickly though and turned back to her, and she put her fists up, ready to fight.

But while Judy preoccupied herself with Miles, Nick was having a much tougher time with Mike. Although he had been lucky enough to not receive any real injuries from the crash, getting thrown from the helicopter like that had still hurt, preventing him from moving around the way he normally could. That coupled with Mike being a lot bigger and stronger than him, and the fight wasn't exactly favoring him.

Another blow from Mike knocked Nick to the ground, but the sheep didn't give him time to rest. He grabbed hold of Nick and lifted him off his feet, holding him by his shirt collar. Wincing in pain, Nick gave Mike a hopeful smile.

"Hey, how about we take a break," he suggested.

Mike just glared at him, then suddenly threw him at the wall. The structure must have been weak from the helicopter crashing through it, because Nick broke straight through it and the next wall. And as fate would have it, he ended up crashing right into Judy as she stood facing off against Miles, and they both ended up going down.

They both landed horizontally to each other, both of the facing the other as Miles smirked down at them. But neither of them even noticed the psychotic rabbit as they stared at each other, so close they could reach out and touch hands, their eyes speaking volumes, as if they both realized that one of them might actually die.

"Judy," Nick whispered.

"Nick," she whispered back.

The moment was broken though as Mike stepped through the hole in the wall and grabbed Nick around the ankle. "Come here."

He began dragging the fox away, and Nick could barely muster up enough strength to fight back, only managing to futilely dig his nails into the ground as he was pulled away from the love of his life. With him out of the way, Miles approached Judy and grabbed hold of her, pulling her to her feet.

"Wait, I…" Nick practically begged, not sure who he was pleading to. Mike? Miles? Someone else? "Wait. Judy. Stop. Judy!"

But Mike ignored him as he continued dragging him off, and Nick could only watch helplessly as Miles slammed Judy against the wall, wrapping his hands around her neck to strangle her. Judy's own hands grasped his wrists, but there was no breaking his iron grip, not this time.

"You don't need to do this," she pleaded with him, but Miles just continued sneering at her in that maniacal way.

"Liam," Nick called out as well. "You don't have to believe what your father believes!"

Miles glanced back at him, only now his insane smile was gone to be replaced with a look of pure rage. "My father, as awful as he was, was right! The homeless are a weakness. Just like I was." He turned back to Judy as he tightened his grip on her neck. "I was weak then, but I'm not weak now. I showed him, and now, I'll show you!"

Realizing that there would be no getting through to him, Judy resorted to her only way of fighting back, and that was with defiance. "You won't… get away with this…"

Miles' crazy smile returned as he leaned in closer. "You don't realize I've lost already. The homeless are evacuating." He let out an insane chuckle, as if he truly found his failure funny. "But it doesn't matter. All I care about is destroying the two of you." And just like that, his anger returned. "You've meddled in my plans for the last time!"

Judy realized that his mental state was completely unstable. The rapid way his mood was shifting, he was possible close to a mental breakdown. With his mind in such disarray, was it possible that she could reach that scared little boy he once was? Was he still in there somewhere, buried beneath all that anger and pain? Was it strange that she was suddenly feeling… sorry for him?

"Liam, please," she begged.

"Liam, please," he mocked, his eyes blazing with unsuppressed fury and pure hatred as they practically rolled around in his head. "You do know that I wanted you to be by my side as I accomplished my plan." He let out a chuckle, as if he now found the very notion to be utterly ridiculous. "But, alas, you chose Wilde. Disgusting. Too bad he's a goner."

As Miles taunted Judy, Mike continued to drag Nick along. He continued to try and get away from the sheep, but Mike's hold on him was like an iron grip.

"It won't work," he told the sheep. "Those homeless animals are already safe and sound, and they know about their precious mayor. Miles will be fired tomorrow, and you won't get the chance to get your precious Bellwether back."

This, however, simply caused a resigned smile to creep up Mike's face as he glanced back at Nick. "It doesn't even matter anymore. I just want you dead."

He kicked out, smashing the floor to ceiling window in front of him. Fear the likes of which Judy never knew hit her as she realized that Mike intended to throw Nick out of it. From this high up, there was no way he would be able to survive the fall. She was going to lose him!

Miles seemed to pick up on the fearing her eyes and glanced over his shoulder, watching as Mike picked Nick up and moved him towards the broken window as the fox struggled in his hold. His wicked grin returned as he relished the thought of Judy having to actually witness her beloved's death.

"Don't worry," he taunted, sounding as if he were trying to hold back the need to laugh, "after the first death you see, it gets easier to watch."

Mike was now holding Nick out the open window by the collar of his shirt. Down below, a long open drop waited for him that was sure to end with a deadly splat on the pavement below. Nick realized he wouldn't be able to get himself out of this one, and all he could do was give the sheep a look of defiance.

"If you're going to throw me, do it!" he snarled. "Your breath stinks!"

Judy's eyes shined with emotion as she watched Mike dangle Nick out the window. No, this couldn't be happening. She couldn't lose Nick, not now, not ever. There had to be a way to save him. But what? What could she do? How could she get to him before it was too late?

Her eyes darted back to Miles, and she saw the insanity in his eyes as they shifted back and forth between her and Nick. He was such a pitiful creature, so full of anger, so full of hate, so filled with pain. In a way, he was a victim too, a victim of how cruel this world could be, twisting a poor, innocent child into a monster. Didn't he see that he was just continuing the cycle of hate and pain by inflicting it on others? Just as his father had inflicted it on him.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to her. She didn't like it though. It was cruel, manipulative, but it was the only card she had left to play.

"Dad, stop," she whispered in a terrified broken voice; she didn't even need to feign the fear.

Miles' gaze shifted back to her, only now there was a look of surprised and confusion present in them. "What?"

She closed her eyes and turned away, as if she were a scared child afraid of facing their parent's wrath as she cried out, "Please, Father, don't! Don't hit me again, please!"

She couldn't believe she was doing this. Using someone's trauma against them. She'd seen victims of abuse before during her time as a cop, and it wasn't pretty. She'd also seen other cases of victims who had faced abuse in the past, and how such things could trigger past memories and remind them of their trauma.

It was truly a horrible thing to do, reminding an abuse victim of the horror they faced, but she didn't see any other options. If this was the only way to hit Miles in a way that would allow her to get away from him and save Nick, then she would do it.

And her plan seemed to be working. His grip on her neck loosened as his hands began to shake, and a look of fear filled his eyes. "W-What are you…? Be quiet!'

"I didn't do anything, Dad!" she shouted, attempting to make her voice sound as terrified, as desperate, as pleading as possible.

"Shut up!" Miles raged, a faraway look appearing in his eyes. "Shut up! Shut up!"

"Don't hit me again! I'm sorry!"

"Stop!" Miles exclaimed, his own voice now becoming desperate and pleading. "Stop!"

He released her, covering his eyes, as if to block out whatever it was that he was seeing. Judy didn't hesitate. The moment he released her, she threw a punch with all of her strength. Her fist collided into Miles' gasmask, shattering the other half and slammed into his jaw.

He went down, but Judy was already on the move, charging at Mike and Nick. The sheep must have heard her coming, because he turned to her, pulling Nick back inside in the process. She jumped up and delivered a kick to his head, causing him to stumbled back. Judy grabbed hold of Nick as she came down from her jump, causing Mike to drop him as he himself fell out the window. His cry rang out as he fell, and a few seconds later, he went silent as the sound of his body hitting the pavement below was heard.

Judy and Nick lay in a pile, her on top of him, clinging tightly to his shirt, as they stared at the shattered window, both of them panting. They continued to lay there for several seconds before Judy slowly inched off him and moved over to the window. Nick joined her, and they both poked heir head outside as the rain poured down around them.

"You know," Nick said after several long moments of silence, "a fall like that would have killed me, but he'll be fine. Hopefully."

There was no hopefully about it. Far below, Mike lied broken and motionless on the ground. Judy didn't need Nick to give her any false hope that she hadn't just killed the sheep. It had been a choice between him and Nick, meaning it hadn't been a choice at all.

But there were more important matters to worry about than how the sheep's death would rest upon her conscience. Glancing back to the place where Miles had fallen, she saw that the rabbit had gone, using the opportunity to flee while she had been distracted with saving Nick. This wasn't over yet.

"We just need to find Walker," she told him.

Nick reluctantly agreed. But first thing was first, they had to get out of here before they either burned to death or passed out from smoke inhalation, and so they quickly made their way outside. The shelter continued to burn, but thanks to the hole in the ceiling, the rain was doing a good job of taking care of the fire and ridding the place of smoke.

Much to their relief, they found that with the exception of Mike, there had been no casualties. All the homeless were ok; Lopez and Myrthil managed to get them all out, and had even been able to apprehend all of Mike's men. Even Healy had managed to make it out with little more than a bloody nose and a split lip. The only one missing was the mastermind behind the whole thing, and Nick and Judy began making their way around the shelter, searching for any sign of him.

"Walker couldn't have gotten far," Nick noted as they walked around to the back as the rain poured down around them. "If he's not insides, he's… he's got to be around here somewhere."

Judy hoped so. After everything that had happened, she just wanted this to be over with. This whole case had turned out to be so much more than she thought it would be. She'd had her suspicions that it was more than a simple assault and robbery, but she never could have expected how deep the case would go.

Though his plan had failed, Miles was still a dangerous threat. There was no telling what he was capable of, or who else he might hurt. At the very least, he would be out to get the two of them, Judy had no doubt about that. This wouldn't be over until he was safely behind bars.

And then, hopefully, he could finally get the help he needed.

As they continued searching, Nick let out a frustrated sigh as he turned back to her. "Maybe we should check over by those bushes–"

The words were barely out of his mouth before the sound of a gun going off echoed through the night. Both Nick and Judy froze. It was as if time itself had stood still, the rain coming down being the only indicator that it hadn't.

After several seconds of silence, with only the sound of the pouring rain hitting the ground, Judy managed to get out only a single word in a barely audible voice. "Nick?"

He didn't reply. Instead, to Judy's complete and utter horror, he fell to the ground, a trail of blood pouring from the gunshot wound in his side.

"Nick?" she exclaimed. "Nick! Nick! Oh my… No!"

She rushed towards him as he let out a pained groan, pressing a hand to his bleeding chest where he had been shot. "Judy… go…"

From out of the shadows, Miles stepped forward, pointing his gun at the two of them with a big smile on his face. "Guess he won't be around long enough to keep that promise."

(A/N: Well, dang, this just took a bad turn. After all that, after stopping Miles' plan and taking out Mike, Nick is down and he and Judy are now at gunpoint. You know, when I first saw the video, this scene really surprised me, and I didn't know if Nick would survive or not; it felt like it could really go either way. If you're reading this before watching the video, I won't spoil what happens, but let's just say things get… emotional next chapter. Which, BTW, is going to be the final chapter. Wow, I can't believe we're really here. So stick to the edge of your seats and I'll see you next time for the final installment.)