The sun began to rise on the horizon, seemingly ascending from the Below towards the Upper as it sent its warming glow between the twin planets. While the Upper sparkled and prospered in light and beauty, illuminating the yet dark city of Zootopia, the gloom and smog above the Below laid down upon the poverty stricken city like a heavy blanket, smothering any light or warmth out of the skyline.
Among the downtrodden buildings stood a small apartment complex. Worn down brick walls from which the paint was already peeling off decorated the facade as the faint orange light flickered through one particular grimy window.
After checking his resources for the upteenth time and flipping through the pages of the book he had received from Becky all those years ago, the adolescent fox returned his emerald gaze towards his newest creation. He had spent year after year, invested blood, sweat and tears after studying the book through sleepless nights until he had finally figured out the essence of the pink bees.
The bees were able to collect pollen from both worlds, the Upper and the Below. The resulting honey the bees then produce would therefore be affected by both worlds at the same time, meaning it feels both gravitational fields at once.
Ten years have passed since Nick was released from prison because of good conduct and he had spent his days doing odd jobs here and there, until he decided he would do something with what he had inherited from his great aunt. Studying the book and its contents, Nick finally had the revolutionary idea how to capitalize on his discovery.
Packing up his invention and his tools, the fox quickly strode through his tiny one-room apartment and put on his jacket, before leaving his home. Mounting his bike, the tod began to ride through the slums he lived in. The air was chilly and rain occasionally poured down from the clouds above, the rotten smell of disease and trash wafted through the air, as Nick made his way to work, paying no mind to all the things that were wrong in the world; he was used to it after all.
Passing through the ruins that once were a marketplace, he maneuvered around the debris and rubble, trying not to trip over anything as he increased his speed. His heart was racing from excitement, barely containing his joy for finally having a breakthrough after all these years. Bright emeralds roamed through the streets as he watched the passing mammals that were on their way to work. A wide variety of mammals, ranging from tigers and bears to does and elephants, passed Nick by as he rode through alleyways and streets.
Rain began to pour down from the heavy clouds looming over the city as Nick entered the industrial area. Dark smog laid itself upon the sky like a glooming blanket and it was almost impossible for the fox to ride down the streets. Fortunately his workplace was right around the corner. Passing by wired fences and brick buildings, the soaked young fox steered towards a downtrodden warehouse, waving at the security guard who greeted him with a friendly "Morning, Wilde!".
Glad to finally escape the pouring rain, he dismounted his bike and entered the dry and relatively warm warehouse, where upon his arrival a girthy black bear greeted him, his booming voice echoing throughout the interior.
"Nicky! You're late!", the elder bear greeted him, his tone light and warm, showing Nick that he wasn't actually chiding him.
"How's it going, Albert?" Nick replied as he scurried to his table. The warehouse wasn't by far big. The grimy tiles and dirty windows, as well as the numerous metal shelves containing several nic-nacs, only added to the messy atmosphere one would find here. But it didn't bother Nick. After he had been released from jail, Albert had been gracious enough to offer him a job at his workshop. Of course Nick had to sweet-talk him first, showing him his book he had inherited from his great aunt and his speciality in pink matter. Upon hearing about the wonderful effects of the pink matter, Albert had immediately decided to take Nick in, under the condition the fox would work on something that would get him out of this gutter.
And Nick had held his promises. After working tirelessly on his project for years, Nick had finally something to show, so he thought. After making himself comfortable at his workstation, a simple desk adjacent to his co-worker's desk, and perpendicular to Albert's desk, the fox began to unpack his equipment.
Soon after Nick finished unpacking, an elder doe entered the warehouse as she slowly strode towards the black bear, who had been busy screwing around on his little TV, trying to get a signal through.
"Hello, Albert," the doe greeted the predator. Her smile was warm and her greeting soft, yet polite. She had been visiting the premises for quite a while now after hearing about Nick's project, and he was nothing short but eager to finally see the fruits of his work.
"Mrs. Nathanson, what do you have for me?" Albert boomed as he regarded the prey mammal, halting his work on the TV as he saw the object the doe was holding in her arms. She smiled friendly as she answered.
"Inverse-matter, to pay my debts." Handing over a mason jar and its content, a two inch screw, the bear accepted it with scrutinizing gaze, inspecting the matter closely without opening the jar. "Will this cover it?"
Albert continued to inspect the content of the jar, watching how the screw was seemingly stuck on the underside of the lid as it was affected by the gravity of the Upper world while he listened to Mrs. Nathanson's explanation.
"My husband says it's stainless steel. From the pipeline," she told him, a proud smile on her aging face. Upon hearing this, Albert tore his gaze from the jat to the doe, a smile and wide brown eyes creeping onto his face, "Oh, is that so?"
"Pablo, it's ready!"
Their conversation was interrupted by the young tod behind them as he talked to his co-worker Pablo, a young grey wolf in black dungarees, who stumbled from his desk over to Nick, a stopwatch in his paws. Intrigued by the outcome, Albert and Mrs. Nathanson quickly followed the wolf to the fox's desk.
"Okay, don't start till it's fully applied.." Nick regarded the wolf while he put on rubber gloves onto his paws. On the fox's table was the head of a canine mannequin, the fake fur and skin of the puppet hanging limply on the surface, resembling a mammal of advanced age. Opening a jar containing the fruits of years of work, Nick began to excitedly apply some of the pink lotion onto the fake skin of the mannequin.
Upon contact with the lotion, the skin seemed to be affected by both gravitational fields of both planets, resulting in an effective face lift, the seemingly elder canine puppet now appearing younger.
"Wow, that stuff is amazing!" Mrs. Nathanson exclaimed as she witnessed the effect of Nick's lotion. Just like his co-workers, the fox could barely contain his joy, wide smile and sparkling emeralds on his face as he watched the result of his work.
His smile quickly faded as the lotion suddenly lost its effect, the skin of the puppet again slumping and hanging limply on its form. The lotion wasn't perfect.
Albert sighed disappointedly while Pablo gave Nick a reassuring pat on his shoulder, "Cheer up, Nick. You can do it," before the wolf returned to his desk, leaving a bummed fox behind as he stared at his work. How could it be? He was so sure his project would work, that he had the right concoction. What if he could never figure this out? Huffing to himself, Nick decided it wouldn't do any good to mull over what-ifs, instead the young fox immediately began to start working all over again.
"We're all settled, doll," Albert said, as he shook Mrs. Nathanson's hoove, the doe smiling friendly as she regarded the elder bear.
"Thank you, and uh.. can you keep me posted on that beauty cream?" she asked in a hopeful tone.
"We'll do, you take care, alright?" Albert replied warmly as he winked at her, causing the doe to chuckle as she went ahead to leave the warehouse, leaving the males alone.
"Did you hear that, Nicky?" Albert asked as he turned around, looking at the red fox, "We have to get to finish this cream."
"Well, I would love to, Albert. But..," Nick sighed as his gaze remained on his work. The fox slumped into his seat as he sighed, "With this equipment," he waved at the many test tubes and machines on his table, "You know, it'd take years! I'm not getting any younger Albert, and this-"
"..ransWorld will fulfill everyone's dream and transform his working for TransWorld."
The sudden blaring of the TV interrupted Nick's rant, pulling everyone's attention towards the screen as a game show host, a well dressed moose, talked euphorically into the camera, "We're live down Below with out nine finalists feverishly awaiting the results."
The camera cut to show the nine contestants of the game show. Nine mammals were smiling broadly into the screen, jumping and rocking restlessly on their heels. But Nick wasn't paying any attention anymore as soon as he heard from the company that had taken everything from him.
TransWorld. Just to think of it left a bitter taste in Nick's tongue. These bloodsuckers deserve to rot in hell for what they have done, Nick thought resentful. No matter how low he would steep, Nick swore he would die first before he would ever consider working for these criminals. Nick was about to return to his work, as the words of the game show host reached his ears, freezing the blood inside his heart upon hearing the name he hadn't heard in such a long time. A name he had thought of countless nights inside his dreams.
"I'd like to welcome Ms. Judy Hopps of Trans Publicity, a division of TransWorld!"
Wide and disbelieving emeralds slowly turned towards the small TV screen across the room. The world around him disappeared, Albert and Pablo, his work, everything dispersed as he watched how a gray furred bunny with beautiful amethyst eyes hopped onto the stage, a bright smile on her stunning face Nick had missed oh so much.
"Hi, how are you? Welcome! Now, she'll tell us more about what she does. But more importantly, let's hear about our winner's new job!" the host continued to talk, but Nick was barely paying attention to the moose as he was way to distracted by the mammal he had considered his soul mate. And as she opened her mouth to speak, her angelic and chipper voice still sounded like the same optimistic Judy from all those years ago, the Judy he thought had died, "Well, our division handles all of TransWorld's graphic designs. Right now, we're going to work on…"
And then the realization hit him like an oncoming train.
Judy was alive. And she was working for TransWorld.
PN: Hey guys! Took some time to write this, sorry! Was a little busy writing "Hidden" and studying for finals, but oh well!
Hope you guys liked it! Either way, you should definitely check out my main story "Hidden"! And if you might want to cry tonight, you should read my one shot "Hardest To Heal"!
Be sure to leave a review! It would make me very happy! Love you guys, until next time!
~Bye!
