Chapter 1: The Guild Gathers

4:55pm in Nick's Minivan

Nick was driving Spots, James, Suzie and a friend of theirs over to Jerry Jumbeaux Junior's Ice Cream Cafe. The kids were tagging along with James on his weekly get together to play "Castles and Dragons" at one of the tables.

"Thanksh for pick me up mishter Wilde!" said Amy Spitz. A zebra who's a friend of Suzie. She wears thick glasses and even thicker braces that make her spit when she talks.

Nick Wilde was wiping the spit of his face and cursing himself for letting her ride shotgun. "No problem Amy. Any friend of Suzie's is a friend of the family. Just...let me get my wipes."

"Shorry."

James and Spots were sitting in the back seats while Suzie was sitting in the far back with her head popping out of the sun roof and snaking around the corner to talk to Amy. "I'm so excited! There's gonna be games!"

"And boysh!" Amy added.

"And ice cream!"

"And boysh!"

"And music!"

"And boysh!"

"And Junior-Junior! EEEEE!"

"Who's Junior- Junior?" Spots asked.

"A boy my size! Finally! There's no kids my size at school. He's the youngest son of Jerry Jumbaeux Junior of..."

"Jumbaeux's ice-cream cafe." Nick finished. "Yeah. I remember that place. It's where me and Judy first met. Heh! I hustled her out of twenty bucks and made $200 off the jumbo pop me and Finnick got."

Spots leaned in. "So the first time you met mom, you ripped her off?"

"It's called a hustle my sweet, little hyena and yes, it definitely wasn't love at first sight but over time she earned my respect and I earned hers and eventually, we fell in love. By the way, if he's youngest, how come he has the junior moniker instead of his older brother?"

Suzie shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno."

"Here we are!" James said as they pulled up to the cafe. "Now remember Suzie. Junior Junior's kinda shy and a huge introvert. He likes having friends, yet he hates company and loud people so try not to be too forward. You gotta let him come to you. Okay big little sister?"

"Okay little big brother!"

"What's all this?" Amy asked.

James explained. "It ends up I'm the half brother of Suzie's foster sister, Sarah. So that makes me a half sibling to Suzie too. It kinda felt weird calling her my 'little sister' considering how big she is, so we came up with this."

"I think it's cute!" Spots added.

Everyone but Nick got out of the van. "Have a good time kids!" Nick shouted. "Pick you up at ten!" They headed to the door of the cafe' and the owner, Jerry Jumbaeux Jr. opened the door for them.

"C'mon in! Sylvester, Sam and my son are waitin' for ya!" It was then that Jerry saw Nick in his van about to leave. "Heeey wait a minute! I know you!"

Nick saw Jerry approaching. "Oh no!" His heart filled with fear as he tried to quickly roll up the window and take off..

Jerry jogged across the street which caused the ground to shake a little. "Hold up! I wanna talk ta you!"

"S-Sorry! In a hurry. Got...things and such! You know how it is with...things."

Jerry held onto the door. "Yeah, I know you! You were 'dat fox 'dat was in my cafe' about two years back."

"Oh. Ha-Ha! Well, you know. All foxes look like."

"I remember you were with 'dat little kid dressed like an elephant and you conned 'dat rabbit inta buyin' a jumbo pop."

"Well you'll be happy to know we're engaged now so everything worked out fine. Goodbye!"

Jerry leaned his arm on Nick's door which caused the whole van to lean to the point that Nick thought he might fall out. "Hold on! I heard what happened. You took that fifteen dollah popsicle and melted it down inta jars, then made molds outta yer paws and re-froze and re-sold those popsicles, making you and yer partner about two hunerd dollahs! That's $185 profit!"

Nick was getting more and more nervous. "I SWEAR to you sir! I'm not that fox anymore!"

Jerry started leaning his trunk to Nick's van. "When I found that out, I told myself that if I evah foun that fox...I was gonna reach over..."

Nick was starting to whimper. "Oh please don't kill me!"

"...And shake his paw!" Jerry grabbed Nick's paw with his trunk and shook it.

Nick was very confused. "Sooo..I'm not dead?"

"What?! Buddy you did me a big favah! I saw 'da loophole you found in the system and used it to my advantage. I got a mouse who works real estate in Little Rodentia to buy me a tiny cafe' there and now I've branched out. I can take one jumbo pop from here and sell dozens and dozens of 'em, makin' me a huge profit!"

A wave of relief fell over Nick. "Well! Glad everything worked out well."

"And another thing. I saw ya on TV last night and...I like what ya had to say. Made me fell like a jerk for refusing service to...certain people for so long. So...check out my new sign in 'da window."

Nick looked over and there was a sign. "Now welcoming everyone."

"AAAWWW!" Nick said. "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah. You and yer family are welcome anytime. We got a small mammal menu now and we took one elephant table out and made several small tables with it."

"Well I'm glad I helped change your life in a positive way. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta get home and wipe these tears of joy...and change my pants...because I peed my pants...because I thought you were gonna kill me."

"Ha! Sorry about 'dat. Have a good day!"

"You too!" Nick drove off and took a big whiff of fresh air. Which unfortunately now had the stench of fox urine. "Phew! Smells like stale cheerios in here. Well, I needed to mark the van as my territory so at least I got that done."

Meanwhile, the kids all walked inside. Amy hid behind Suzie because she was real nervous about meeting Sylvester. "Ish he there?" Amy asked.

"Yeah! I see him." Suzie replied. "Why don't you go say 'hi'?"

"Ooooh I can't! I'd jusht die!"

"Well you're gonna have to! We're playing a game together."

"I know! I'm jusht sho nervoush!"

Meanwhile, James saw a mole sitting next to Sylvester wearing a dragon T-Shirt. It was James' friend Sam. "Dragon! What's up stretch?!"

The mole had to leap up just for a low high five. "Jimaaay! How're you doing? You ready for some medieval action?"

"Yeah dude. As a bonus, I brought some new players. Ladies, this is Sam. We call him Dragon cuz he's into dragons and sitting at the table there is Sylvester."

Sam was happy. "Woah! Actual females! I knew having a popular guy in our group would pay off!"

Sylvester was shy and hid behind the menu. "H-Hi!"

"Guys, this is Susan. She goes by the nickname Suzie. She's my big little sister. I'll explain all of that in a bit."

"HI!" Suzie said gleefully. "Where's Junior-Junior?!" she asked excitedly.

"In the kitchen-kitchen." Sam replied.

James continued. "And hiding behind Suzie is Amy Spitz. Amy! Come out from there!"

Amy timidly came from behind Suzie and walked up to Sam. Sylvester was shaking nervously and hiding behind a menu. "It's an absholute pleashure to meet you guysh!"

"Thank you! I'm charmed." Sam replied. "I'm also soaking wet!"

"Shorry. It'sh my brashesh."

James quickly whispered to Spots. "We're doing the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing, right?"

"Right." she whispered back.

James introduced the hyena. "And this is my new girlfriend, Vivian Wilde. She goes by the nickname Spots."

Sam and Sylvester had the jaws dropped. "Wooooah!"

"You got a girlfriend?!" Sam said in shock. "No way! You were always kinds shy around girls! Let's see you two kiss!"

Spots ears blushed red. "I'm not gonna kiss him just because you say so! I'm not some...kissing whore y'know?"

Suzie was confused. "Spots. I thought you were lesbian?"

"SUZIE!" Spots snapped back.

"Ha!" Sam replied. "I shoulda known. What with that punk rock shirt and the nose ring."

"Oh yeah?!" Spots said angrily. "Well...check this out!" She went to go kiss James, but she still couldn't quite do it. The pressure in front of the other kids was too much. She quickly thought of something else. She grabbed James' paws and rubbed them on her chest. "Check it out. He's feelin' muh bewbs!"

"WOOOAH!" said Sam and Sylvester. They were convinced. "Okay! Okay!" Sam replied. "You win! Now cut that out! This is a family restaurant fer cripes sake!"

James quickly took his paws back and he blushed so hard, they could almost see the redness through his fur. "O-KAY!" He squeaked out. "I-I-I'm gonna go find Junior-Junior. W-why don't you girls take a seat?"

Amy tried to sit across from Sylvester due to her shyness, but Suzie blocked her. "Oh no you don't! You little horsies should get to know each other."

Amy had no choice but to sit next to Sylvester. Butterflies were turning in her stomach as she tried to make the attempt to talk to appaloosa. "H-ha-hi -th-there. I-I-I-I'm ummmm...umm...I'm..."

"Amy Sptiz." Sylvester said. His eyes peeking over the menu that hid his face.

"Y-Yeah!"

He slowly started to lower the menu. "I-I'm S-Sylvester..."

"Shtallion!" Amy finished. "Vishe preshident of the shecond charter Shtar Boarsh fan club."

Sylvester put the menu down. "That's right! Boy! You know a lot about me."

"I-I shubshcribe to your Ewetube channel. I loved your 40 minute video on the morality of the Jedi nightsh."

Sylvester ears perked up in happy surprise. "Really? Wow! Thanks!"

Amy was happy. "Thish ish going much better than the lasht time I tried to talk to you. I tapped your shoulder, puked, then ran like hell. I wash sho nervoush!"

"Why? I'm nobody special."

"Are you kidding? You're sho cool! And I'm jusht thish dork with thick glashesh and brashesh that make me shpit everywhere."

Sylvester sat closer. "I think the glasses make you look real cute."

"Really?!"

"And I say 'spray it, don't say it'!"

Amy giggled with glee. "NEEE-HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEE!"

Meanwhile, James went to talk to Junior-Junior. He found him washing dishes in the back. The cougar leaped onto the giant sink to talk to him. "Hey Jay-Jay! We're ready to play some C&D."

"In a minute." said the young elephant. "I have to finish these dishes. And get off the sink! You know my dad hates it when you do that."

"Hurry up! I got some new players over. They're girrrls?!"

Junior-Junior looked worried. "More people?! You know I don't like a crowd Jim. I hate crowds! Especially if they're loud."

"They're not loud. It's a zebra, my new girlfriend Vivian and my big little sister, Suzie."

"Big little sister? What?!"

"I'll explain once we sit down. She's a giraffe. See her out there?"

Junior-Junior leaned over to look out the window at the table that the kids were sitting at. "The one siting near Sylvester and that zebra he's making out with?"

"WHAT?!" James looked out the window himself. Sure enough, Sylvester and Amy had a full lip-lock going. "Well THAT escalated quickly! Anyway, do you think Suzie's cute?"

"Yeah. Pretty cute."

"Good! Cause she came with me just to meet you."

"ME?! Why me? I'm nobody."

"There's no giant mammals at her school other than her. She wants someone her size."

Junior-Junior's dad Jerry came over and nudged his son. "Ya hear that Romeo?! Ya already got a girl waitin' for ya!"

Junior-Junior got real nervous. "I-I don't know. Maybe I'll just skip the game and go home."

"NO!" James and Jerry shouted.

Jerry was getting angry. "Listen boy! You're gonna get out 'dere and be friendly with 'dat giraffe! I'm sick'a you bein' such a wallflower!"

James tried to calm Jerry down. "Woah! Hold up. Putting pressure on Jay-Jay isn't gonna work. That's just gonna push him away."

"He needs 'ta stop hiding in his room and start socializin'!"

"Mr. Jumbaeux sir. Would you PLEASE let me handle this?"

"...Alright. Look son, I think you'd like this girl and you'd have a lot of fun tonight if you'd just go out there. Okay?"

Junior-Junior tried to give a smile. "Okay dad."

"Cool thing buddy!" James said. "Let me ride out there on your shoulder."

Junior-Junior picked up James and put him on his shoulder. "Thanks for calming my dad down. You understand me well. You're a good friend."

"Well I read up on introverts, so I try to give you your space. But you do gotta try to socialize more."

"I-I know. I'm just not comfortable around crowds."

Meanwhile, Amy was snuggling with Sylvester who was ecstatic. "Wow! I have an actual girlfriend! I can't wait to tall all of my friends!"

Junior-Junior peeked out from the kitchen and slowly made is way to the table. James introduced him. "Hey girls! This is Junior-Junior. His dad owns the cafe' and he's the reason we're getting free ice-cream tonight.

Sylvester spoke up. "Sam! Jay-Jay! James! I have a girlfriend! There! I told all of my friends.""

"I already know you have a girl." said Sam. "You were practically fornicating right in front of me!"

Suzie waved her arm. "Junior-Junior! Sit next to me!"

The nervous elephant agreed. "Oh. Ummm...okay."

The elephant hesitantly moved around Sylvester and Amy to sit next to Suzie. The giraffe was excited to meet him. "Wow! You're almost as tall as me! Only shorter by about three feet. You're kinda cute too."

"Ummm...thanks?"

"Can I hug you?"

"Wh-WHAT?!"

"I've never had my arms around a mammal my size. Not even another giraffe. Please?"

James gave her a mad glare. "Suzie! What did I tell you about being too forward?"

Junior-Junior was getting real nervous. "I-I better go get the ice cream."

As he started to stand, his father pushed him back down in his seat. "Relax son. I've got this," He then shouted out to the kitchen to his other son. "Hey Greg! We need more menus!"

Suzie apologized. "I'm sorry for being so forward."

"It's okay." Junior-Junior replied. He raised his arms up "I guess it wouldn't hurt."

Suzie wrapped her arms as best she could around the large elephant. "Oooooh! This is nice." She then started to cry. "I...SNIFF! I can't even put my arms fully around him! This is wonderful!"

"That's enough Suzie!" James warned.

"Sorry!...Sorry."

Sam interrupted. "No offense, but I'm getting a bit sick of this lovefest going on. So what's new with everyone? Where are you ladies from? Amy?"

Amy was too busy having her ear nibbled by Sylvester. "HEHEHEHEHEE!"

"Well she's fully twitterpated. Hyena chick! What's your name again?"

"Vivian. I came back to Zootopia after being gone for a few years due to my parents being in witness protection. They're...they're gone now."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. While in Bunnyburrow, I saved some kids, including my foster sister from being eaten by hawks and even lost my foot in one of the fights. See?!"

She put her leg and metal foot on the table. The boys were impressed. "Wooooah! That's awesome!"

Spots smirked. "Yeah. I'm a badass. I got used to walking on it pretty fast. But it's weird. I still have that phantom pain. Like...it's still there y'know? I know it's gone, but my brain doesn't. I met James last Saturday after his mom died."

Sam, Junior-Junior and Sylvester were shocked. There was a moment of silence in the room until Sylvester spoke up. "Your mom passed away?!"

Junior-Junior was starting to tear up. "I'm so sorry Jim! I know what it's like to lose a mother."

"Thanks guys." James replied. "Things aren't so..."

He was interrupted by Sam the mole who latched onto James and started bawling. "BAAAAW-HAW-HAAAWW! I'm so sorry Jim! I met your mother several times at your place! She was always so nice to meeee! I know you did everything you could for her! Even though you did some purse-snatching and stole medicine, it was all for her!"

"Thanks Sam. Except for mentioning my criminal past."

"Do...SNIFF! Do you need a place to stay? I can see if I can fit you down the hole into Moleasia town, but I might bury you alive by accident."

"That's okay! It's okay. I'm actually doing pretty good all things considered. I don't wanna give all the details right now, but I already have a new mom and dad. They're wolves. They met my mom before she passed. I met Spots on Saturday."

"Spots?"

"Vivian. It's her nickname. I found out that Suzie's foster sister Sarah is my blood half-sister so that makes Suzie my little sister too. My weekend's actually been great. It's like...it's like God blessed me a ton to make up for taking my mother from me."

There was a moment of silence. It was interrupted by Suzie. "Well, as far as what's new with me, besides James being my little big brother, I found out Gazelle will marry my uncle soon so she's gonna be my aunt. By the way, she'll be at my Thanksgiving party and you're all invited! What else?...Oh! I bleed from my vagina now! It's like a waterfall...of blood."

There was another moment of silence until Sam spoke up. "Congratulations?"