Zootopia: Converging Fates

It was late at night in Zootopia, which was pretty much like daytime for the young fox known as Nicolas Wilde, for most nocturnal animals like him the sun tended to hurt his eyes so he was glad when they decided to have his Junior Ranger initiation at night.

It was Nick's dream to join them and become a scout, even if he was the only predator in the group he wanted to become part of a pack and make his mother proud of him. It hadn't been easy for her since his father was sent to prison so he had to make sure he didn't end up like him and become the most trustworthy fox he could be.

As he entered the building where the Junior Ranger Troop was meeting the butterflies that were in his stomach slowly began to increase, he couldn't believe that his dream was gonna come true. He rushed down the steps and up ahead he saw five scouts already there and talking amongst themselves before noticing him. The beaver scout spoke up first.

"Ok Nick, ready for initiation?" The Beaver Cub-Scout asked.

"Yeah! Pretty much born ready!" Young Nick said full of confidence as he made his way down the steps.

He felt so proud of himself as he stood alongside the other scouts, even bumping paws/hoofs with a Zebra Cub-Scout and held his breath with anticipation as the Beaver Cub-Scout held up a flashlight while the lights turned off. "Swear the oath," he said as Nick held up a paw and two fingers.

He had practiced the oath a hundred times in the mirror back home, preparing for this and now it was becoming a reality. He was going to become one of them: a scout. Nick struggled to contain his excitement as he opened his mouth and said the words;

"I - Nicholas Wilde - promise to be brave, loyal, helpful, and trustworthy!" The little fox said with a bright smile, so happy that his dream was about to come true.

However, what he did not expect was the eyes of the Beaver Cub-Scout narrowing and speaking in a bitter tone. "Even though… you're a fox?

Hearing this, caught young Nick off guard. "What?" he responded before the flashlight shining on him suddenly went out and the other scouts tackled Nick to the ground and held him down firmly despite his struggling. Nick had no idea what was going on, he felt so confused and upset by what was happening, he wondered if it was some kind of initiation prank and that they'd let him up in a second, but they didn't.

Fear filled Nick's mind as he wondered what he could have possibly done to deserve what was happening, he had just got their, so why were they being so mean to him?

"No! NO! What did I do wrong, you guys!? Please, what did I do wrong!? What did I do!" The little fox pup wailed in distress as the scouts continued to hold him down and strap a muzzle on him. "NO!"

"Did you ever think we'd trust a fox without a muzzle? You're even dumber than you look!" The Beaver Cub-Scout mocked him

Unable to take the laughter and all the mean things that were being said about him, Nick finally managed to break their grasp, got up and rushed up the stairs, toward the exit. As he continued to dash towards the front doors, he could still hear the mean laughter of the scouts behind him.

"Aww, is he gonna cry?" He heard the Beaver Scout-Cub asked, mockingly.

Upon reaching the exit he forcefully pushed the front doors open, zipped down the stairs and hid behind the steps of the building, panting and trying to catch his breath. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates, the fox kit was completely traumatized by what had just happened, so much so that he couldn't believe that it actually did happen.

Getting sick of the thing that was on his face, Nick struggled to remove the muzzle. He claws and pulled at it till finally he succeeded and threw it away from him, struggling to hold back his tears. The muzzle skidded across the sidewalk while the little fox cub finally couldn't hold back his tears and slid down against the wall of the building, crying his eyes out.

He continued to wonder what it was that he did wrong, why they did what they did. And slowly, he began to think that it was because of what he was; a fox, who were infamous for being shifty and untrustworthy.

Nick's mother always told him that he wasn't like that, that he could be whatever he wanted to be, but after what had just happened, he began to wonder if she was wrong. That folks could only be what they were. And if those guys only thought of him as a sly fox and expected him to be one no matter what he said or did then why shouldn't he?

And what was worse was the fact that he had pretty much wasted all the money his mother managed to get to pay for his uniform, he couldn't imagine how disappointed she would be once she heard and also didn't think he could face it and considered running away.

Before he could think any more of those thoughts, a voice suddenly spoke up to him, a small, female voice filled with concern.

"Hey, are you ok?"

He sniffled and turned his head and saw a little female bunny looking around the corner and gazing at him worried with her big purple eyes.

What really caught Nick's attention was the little police uniform she seemed to have on, with a little hat and a fake badge and everything, he figured it was for some dumb play or whatever and in any case he really didn't feel like talking to anyone at that point, much less another prey animal that would hurt him or make fun of him.

"Leave me alone…" he said, upset and teary eyed.

Despite being unsure of what to do or say and looking a bit scared the bunny stepped a little closer to him. "Um, my name's Judy. What's yours?"

Nick looked a bit hesitant to answer and even turned his head away but eventually he answered. "It-It's… it's Nick. Nick Wilde…"

The bunny, known as Judy, noticed the scout uniform that he had on with intrigue. "Hey… are you a scout?" she asked, innocently.

This question filled Nick with even more bitterness and sadness as he turned away more. "No."

Judy coked her head, confused and concerned. "Why not?" she asked him.

"Because…" Nick said between sobs. "Because I'm a fox… and fox's can't be trusted… just muzzled…! They were right… maybe all I am is a shifty fox…"

Nick burst into tears after saying that, filling Judy with a great amount of sadness and sympathy. She glanced at the tossed muzzle that Nick had thrown previously and gasped softly as she quickly figured out what had happened despite not personally being there herself.

Not wanting to let the bunny see him cry, Nick desperately tried to wipe the tears from his eyes despite the fact that they were stinging him, because of his he did not notice right away the little bunny holding out her paw to him. When he finally did, he was quite surprised and glanced up at the bunny with wide eyes while she smiled a warm smile at him.

"Well, I don't think so." Judy told him. "And you shouldn't either, you know why?"

"Uh… w-why?" Nick asked, nervously.

"Because this… is Zootopia." Judy said, sincerely. "Anyone can be anything, and that includes you, and I believe in you, Nick Wilde."

Surprised and touched by how much faith she had in him, despite not knowing him very well, the little fox stared up at the bunny with wide eyes as he slowly reached out and took her paw, allowing her to help him stand back up.

"W-Why…? Why are you… helping me?" Nick asked, nervously.

"Because you trust me to, silly." Judy smiled, surprising Nick more. "Now, tell me what happened to you."

Nick began to stutter a bit. "W-Well… t-the other scouts… t-they held me down… p-put that m-muzzle on me… and…" he tried to say but couldn't finish as a new set of tears rolled down his face.

Judy gazed at the little fox sadly and sympathetically. How could scouts be so cruel? she wondered. They were a disgrace to their uniforms.

Wanting to do something about what the mean scouts had done to her newfound friend, Judy quickly made up her mind and turned toward the building.

"Come on!" Judy said as she began to pull him away.

"Hey, wait! Where are we going?" Nick asked, alarmed as he continued to be pulled.

"Can't live in fear." Judy stated as they began to go back up the stairs, which made Nick panic a little.

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" he pleaded, fearfully.

"Don't worry! I'll right there with you!" Judy assured him as they re-entered the building.

Upon entering the building and two soon found the steps and rushed down it to find the scouts that tormented Nick earlier still there, laughing and talking amongst themselves before noticing Nick, along with Judy standing in front of him, and each gained a frown on their face as they glared at the scared fox.

"Well, well, look who it is." The zebra scout observed.

"You got some nerve showing your face back here." The Beaver Scout-Cub scowled making Nick shake in fear behind Judy.

"Hey! Knock it off! Leave him alone." Judy told him, firmly.

"Who are you?"

"Judy Hopps."

"Hmm, not from around here, are ya?" The Zebra Scout-Cub remarked.

"No, I'm Bunnyburrow, thank you." Judy stated.

"Oh? A tourist? Well, have a nice trip home." The Hippo Scout told her as they began to turn and walk away until Judy stomped the ground with her foot.

"Not so fast!" she said. They all stopped and turned to her.

"Yeah?" The Beaver Scout-Cub asked, irritated.

"Did you guys put a muzzle on him!?" Judy questioned, sternly.

The beaver folded his arms. "Yeah? So what? He's a fox! They can't be trusted! He deserves to be muzzled!"

"Yeah, he was stupid if he thought a fox like him could be a scout!" The zebra added.

"But you don't even know him!" Judy pointed out.

"We don't need to! All foxes are alike." The hippo stated, firmly.

"No! Your wrong! This fox is my friend!" Judy declared, firmly which surprised Nick greatly. A Prey animal, a bunny, called herself his friend, despite the history between their two species and was trying to protect him… "Now stay away from him!"

"Yeah? You gonna do something about it?" The beaver challenged as he and his fellow scouts started to approach her threateningly, causing her to back away.

"I-I'm warning you! I'm not afraid!" Judy tried to tell them, her nose twitching greatly.

"Oh, yes you are." The hippo stated.

"And you should be." The Beaver Scout-Cub added as he cracked his knuckles.

Unable to just stand there and let them hurt his new found friend and seeing how scared she was and what they were going to do to her, Nick's animal instincts quickly took over, only instead of attacking Judy like his ancestors would have his instincts saw her as something that he needed to protect as he quickly got in front of Judy and growled, making the mean scouts back up.

"Get away from her!" Nick snapped at them.

"Move, Nick." The beaver told him.

"Yeah, you trying to some kind of 'hero' or something?" The zebra questioned. "Don't you remember? Fox's and rabbit's are natural enemies! They can't be 'friends'!"

"Shows what you know!" Nick retorted. "This bunny is my friend, and I'm hers!"

Despite being a little scared of the young and angry fox, the scouts all stood their ground, though they were a bit shaky.

"You want us to muzzle you again, fox!?" The beaver threatened.

Judy stepped forward and stood beside Nick. "Not if you want your Troop Leader to you know what you did when he gets here," she said, seriously. She then held up a Carrot-like pen in her paw. "I got it all right here, check this out."

Judy pressed a button on the pen and stunned looks began to appear on the scouts faces as they heard their voices coming from it:

"Yeah? So what? He's a fox! They can't be trusted! He deserves to be muzzled!"

"Yeah, he was stupid if he thought a fox like him could be a scout!"

"And unless you want this played before your Troop Leader, you'll apologize to my friend and let him be a scout!" Judy told them.

"You wouldn't." They all said in unison, their eyes all narrowing.

"Try me." Judy challenged.

A long period of silence filled the room as Judy stared down the scouts, who were all pondering what they were going to do. Nick stared at Judy, completely stunned and impressed by her clever little feat before snapping out of it and joining her in staring the mean scouts down.

Eventually, said scouts knew they had no choice and all let out a collective sigh.

"We're sorry, Nick…" They all said.

"If really want to be a scout… our next meeting is on Thursday." The Beaver Cub-Scout told him. "You wanna come?"

"Uh… yeah! Yeah, I do! Thanks." Nick said, gratefully as he held out his paw which the beaver soon shook after working up the nerve.

Following the initiation, Judy exited the building with Nick, who had a broad smile on his face now that he was officially part of the scouts and he couldn't wait to tell his mother the good news.

"Hey, thanks for that back there." Judy said, appreciatively.

"Eh, no problem." Nick shrugged, trying to pretend like it wasn't a big deal, though the proud smile on his face gave him away.

"You know, if you keep this up I'm sure you'll be a great scout!" Judy told him as she faced him.

"Really?" Nick asked, happily surprised and touched.

Judy nodded, smiling. "Hmm-mmm! And I also think that you and I are gonna be the bestest of friends!" she added.

"Yeah!" Nick agreed with a big smile also. "Hmm-mmm!"

Judy then embraced Nick in a tight hug that caught him by surprise at first but he soon returned it. After the two separated they stared and smiled at each other for quite a bit before they both sheepishly turned away to hide their blushing faces. Eventually, Judy broke the silence between them.

"Well… I'd better get going, my parents are probably worried sick." Judy said.

Nick held out his paw. "My I escort you, mam?" he offered in a deep voice.

Judy giggled. "Why thank you, scout."

The two joined paws and began to walk down the sidewalk together, happy as clams.

"By the way, what's the Police outfit you have on?" Nick inquired.

"Oh. It was for a play I put on here, I'm going to be a Police Officer when I grow up!" Judy revealed.

"Wow! That's so cool! Well, I'm sure you'll be a great cop!" Nick told her, sincerely.

"Thanks! Course… some don't believe I will…" Judy admitted, sadly. "Like my parents and this… one other guy… who said I'd never be anything more then a dumb bunny…"

Nick looked at her sad face with sympathy and quickly realized that the two of them were the same; they both had dreams that everyone else's doubted because of their prejudice thinking and that made him angry. "Yeah, well… who cares what they gotta say!?" he questioned. "I don't think you're a dumb bunny, you're the smartest bunny I've ever met! And I believe you can be a cop and so should you! After all, in Zootopia…"

"Anyone can be anything…" Judy finished softly with a warm smile.

"Yeah! Exactly!" Nick nodded. "A smart bunny taught me that."

Judy giggled. "Silly fox," she said as the two continued on their way together and also began to form a friendship that would last a lifetime and define them in ways they couldn't imagine…

15 years later…

In a park located in Savvanah Central, where young predator and prey animals were playing soccer together and laughing happily while the rest of the mammals of Zootopia went about their everyday lives together, a now grown up Judy Hopps was seated on a park bench reading what appeared to be a very fascinating book before a flower was held out to her.

She glanced up in surprise and smiled when she saw none other then her dear friend, Nick Wilde, also all grown up and smiling at her fondly.

"Now what's a fox gotta do, say or scam to pull you away from that old book of yours?" he inquired with a grin.

Judy chuckled as she closed it. "I don't know… but I know if you scam anyone I'll have to arrest you," she reminded in a playful tone.

Nick started to speak in a fake, hurt tone after hearing that. "Oh! You would arrest your own partner… Officer Hopps?" he inquired, as a smile appeared on his face,

The bunny shrugged, still grinning teasingly and suggestively. "If I have to… Officer Wilde," she admitted.

The fox chuckled. "Sly bunny,"

"Dumb fox." Judy replied as she resumed reading her book while Nick leaned down closer to her.

"You know you love me," he told her, knowingly and with a grin.

Judy put down her book and looked a bit stumped. "Do I know that?" she asked aloud before turning to Nick, smiling and leaning up to give him a kiss. "Yes. Yes, I do."

As Judy closed her book and hopped off her feet, her fox boyfriend held out a paw toward her. "Shall we, madam?" he asked, trying to be as suave as possible, which amused Judy and made her giggle.

"We shall, my good sir," she nodded, talking in a fancy tone as she took his paw and began to walk away with him.

"Boy… we sure have come along way, haven't we?" Nick remarked to his bunny girlfriend.

"Yeah… to think of what might have happened if we had never met as kids." Judy admitted.

"Eh, I'm sure we'd still be alright, and knowing our luck… we'd probably run into each other anyway." Nick pointed out.

"I guess so." Judy admitted. "I'm just glad that I did meet you, Nick. I really am."

Nick smiled at that. "Heh, me too, carrots," he said. "And… thanks again for standing up to those scouts for me back then."

"And thank you for helping me get through the Police Academy, couldn't have done it without you." Judy told him.

"Well, now that we've achieved our dreams, now what?" Nick inquired.

"I think it's time we go out… see what the future brings us and face it together." Judy declared, confidently

Then, once Judy had her eyes wandering somewhere else Nick reached into his pocket with his other hand and took out a small black box, which he opened up briefly to reveal a shiny diamond ring. He smiled at it before closing it and putting it back in his pocket before Judy could see.

"Sounds good, Judy," he said as they continued on their way, ready to face whatever the future had in store for them.

End