Hey, guys. I'm back with another chapter. This one will feature Louie, and finally, we get a chance to meet Hugo. I know apes are not featured in Zootopia, but we'll let ol' Louie explain how that's possible in this AU. Don't forget to review, guys. They're important. Thanks. Enjoy.
It was already in the afternoon when the group made it out of the underground, and it had taken them to the other end of the mountain. Vicky had volunteered to scout the area ahead with Nick, while Judy stayed to watch the kids, as they told her everything that happened since they got separated, minus the part where they found the cub.
Nick was using the binoculars, scoping out where the abandoned camp was, while Vicky just stood beside Nick, scoping him. Nick noticed Vicky was staring at him in an almost too friendly matter.
"Uh, Vick? Why are you staring at me like that? Do I have something on my face?" said Nick.
"Huh? Oh, sorry." Vicky giggled. She then coughed, and looked serious. "Actually, Nick. There's something I wanna get off my chest."
Nick turned back to see Vicky again. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Vicky took a deep breath, and heavily sighed. "Well, it's about when I asked for yours and Judy's help. The truth is, when I found out about you and her, I was a little envious. I did my best not to show it, but it started tearing me up a little inside, seeing someone with you other than me. I dunno, I guess part of me still feels like I still had some feelings for you. Those kind of feelings like when we were dating. I know I was the one who broke up with you, and I know it was what happened to you as a kid, not you and me personally, but part of me still felt like we could still be something more. That's all I wanted to say."
Nick took a big sigh. "Well, Vicky. I do appreciate you being honest with me, and I'm flattered that you still have some feelings for me, but I-"
Nick never got to finish his sentence as he was interrupted by Vicky's lips meeting his in a desperate kiss. Nick's eyes bulged, and pulled away frantically from her. That's when Nick and Vicky's ears perked up from a sudden noise, like a shocked gasp. They both turned to see Judy, with a heart-broken face. Judy turned fast on her heels, and just ran, tears falling from her eyes.
"JUDY!" Nick called out.
"Oh, no. JUDY!" Vicky called out, more frantic than Nick.
"Now, look what you did!" Nick looked at his childhood friend with a harsh look.
"Nick, I'm so sorry!" Vicky pleaded. "I don't know what came over me. I didn't mean to. I was just so caught up in what I said, I guess I just..."
"Look, we'll figure this out when we find Judy. C'mon." said Nick, as he and Vicky ran after his wife, his one and only love, Judy.
Vicky didn't say another word while running other than silently whispering to herself, "Smooth move, Vick. Real smooth."
...
Judy had left the kids under the watch of Finnick when she went to go check on Nick and Vicky. What she saw when she got to where the foxes were, the scene before her broke her heart into little, tiny, bite-sized pieces. Her husband and his ex were kissing. She just turned heel and ran as fast as her rabbit feet could carry her. She stopped running and at sat at the bank of a river, staring at her reflection, and the tears fell into the water, blending into the moving stream.
Judy sadly looked at her wedding ring. Part of her had every good notion to tear it off her finger, and throw it into the river after the scene of betrayal her eyes beheld. However, the part of her that made her still love Nick just couldn't throw away something so precious. It signified the decade of love and family they had, and all those sweet memories to go with it.
Her mind at war with the emotions in her heart, she just hugged her legs and sobbed out her pain. As she did, a strange creature appeared an arms length from her, sitting on top of a rock, and looking at her. Judy noticed the strange mammal and looked at it oddly, but she shrugged it away, too miserable to care.
The mammal just put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. Suddenly, a whole swarm of the same species of mammal appeared from behind the leaves and branches of a tree, and one swooped down and snatched Judy.
"Hey! Put me down!" she shouted.
The mammals just ignored her, and passed her to the next one, carrying her through the trees.
"NICK! HELP!" Judy cried out.
Nick and Vicky looked up to see Judy being carried away by the most bizarre mammals.
"Judy!" Nick called out, running after them. "What are those things?"
"I've read about those mammals. They're called monkeys. But, they all went extinct after the stone age." said Vicky, following behind Nick.
"This island keeps getting weirder and weirder." said Nick. "Wait, which way'd they go?"
Nick and Vicky scanned the trees to see the monkeys and Judy were gone. "How does a group of supposed extinct mammals with a bunny just disappear?!" said Nick.
"Guys!" The foxes turned to see Finnick and the kids catching up to them. "What happened? Where's Judy?"
"Finnick! There's monkeys on this island, and they've got Judy!" said Vicky.
"Monkeys?! But aren't they... You know what? I'm not gonna question it. Nothing about this island makes any sense to me. Did you see where they took her last?" said Finnick.
"I'll check it out." Vicky walked towards a nearby cliff area, and looked through her binoculars. "Hey, guys! I see them! They're headed to that ruined temple over there."
"Come on! There's another trail I saw back there that might lead us to it." Finnick led the others back the way he and the kids came to find the trail.
All the while along the way, Vicky couldn't feel more guilty about what she did, and partially responsible for what could happen to Judy now she was taken prisoner.
"If anything happens to her, I'll never forgive myself." Nick heard Vicky whisper behind her.
Sure, Nick was a little bit mad at Vicky kissing her, but he wasn't gonna blame her. She was his best friend since childhood. Ever since he solved the Night Howler case with Judy, he learned to never hold a grudge again. He just hoped Judy was the same too, when they rescued her, and hoped to reconcile afterward.
...
The temple stood tall surrounded by the rest of the jungle that threatened to cover it in grass poking out of the cracks in the floor, and vines curling around the walls and pillars. In the midst of the temple, the monkeys were just lounging around with mountains of fruit scattered around the throne room. On the throne was the orangutan and King of the primates on the island, Louie.
"Hey, Louie! We're back with the lucky rabbit!" called one of the monkeys carrying Judy, and dropped her into a cage by the king's throne.
"Ha, Ha! So, you're one of those 'evolved' mammals I've heard so much about. CRAZY!" said Louie.
"Not as crazy as you are. Who are you?" said Judy, clearly not having a good day.
"Call me Louie. I'm the king of the last of the primates that live on this secluded isle." said Louie.
"Primates?! But aren't you guys supposed to be-"
"Yes, I know. Extinct." said Louie. "However, before the end of the stone age, only a handful of us were able to survive on this island for as long as any of us can remember. Mammals like you used to live here, before those army guys showed up, but like them, they left too, and this temple is all they have to show for it. And now, here's the part where you come in."
"What do need me for?" said Judy.
"Have a banana." Louie offered the fruit to Judy. "I've got ears, and they've heard that you want off this island."
"Yes, now more than ever." said Judy, taking a bite of the banana.
"Well, ol' Louie here can fix it for you." said Louie. "Have two bananas." Louie shot two more bananas into Judy's mouth. "All you gotta do is help me rule the island."
"Rule the island?! How does that work?" asked Judy.
"Well, now. That's too easy." said Louie. "All you gotta do is lay me the secret on how to make the 'Red Flower', or what you guys call it, fire."
"Fire?! You mean to burn down everything on the island?!" said Judy.
Louie and the monkeys just laughed, rolling on the floor laughing, like her question was a cheesy pun.
"Oh man, girl. I'm gonna have to lay it on the line for you." said Louie, as he began to break into a song and dance number.
Now, I'm the king of the swinging zone,
The jungle, VIP.
I've reached the top, and I had to stop,
And that's what's bothering me.
I wanna be like you, rabbit,
And strode right into town,
And be just like the other mammals.
I'm tired of monkeying around.
Ooh, bee, do.
I wanna be like you.
I wanna walk like you, talk like you, too.
You see it's true.
Someone like me,
Can learn to be like someone like you.
"Y'see, the lions think that they own this island. All that talk of them being 'king of the jungle' and all that. But, with the power of the 'Red Flower', I can be king of this isle." said Louie. "So, you help me, and I get you off this rock."
"Really? Because, I'm thinking you're not telling the whole truth here about leaving. I think it's either stay locked up in here, or help you, and get locked away, again. Thanks, but I think I'll choose stay locked up in here." said Judy.
Now, don't try to kid me, Rabbit.
I made a deal with you.
What I desire, is the 'Red Flower',
so I can be like you.
So, let's have it, Rabbit.
Come on, clue me what to do.
Give me the power, of the 'Red Flower',
So I can be like you.
Meanwhile, the group had caught up to the temple, and were hiding from a broken piece of wall, peeking out to see the primates dancing around the caged Judy.
"Fire?! That sounds deviant." said Vicky.
"I'll tear those dirty apes limb from limb for laying their stinking paws on my Ma." Cody said, rolling up his sleeves, and storming out for a fight, until his father pulled him back.
"Easy, big guy. This'll take some of my brains, not brawn." said Nick.
"How are brains supposed to help?" said Cody.
"I knew the old bush disguise I made before we got here would come in handy. Now, I'll use this to get close to your mom, and the sooner you guys get their attention with a distraction, then I'll break out Jude at the same exact moment." said Nick. "You got that?"
"Um, Nick? I think someone beat us to the distraction." Finnick pointed to two strange looking mammals disguised as monkeys dancing among the monkeys, who oddly enough, didn't seem to notice.
"Who are those guys?" said Cody.
"Who cares? We can get to Judy, now." said Finnick.
"Be right back." Nick whispered, as he hid behind a makeshift wall covered with leaves to look like a bush, and slipped into the open.
Ooh, bee, do.
I wanna be like you.
I wanna walk like you, talk like you, too.
You see it's true.
Someone like me,
Can learn to be like someone like you.
"Psst. Judy." Nick whispered.
"Nick?" Judy whispered.
"Listen, we can talk, later. Let's get you out first." said Nick.
Judy nodded in understanding that this was no place to argue.
Can learn to be like someone like you.
"Let's sing it one more time!" Louie shouted, a hard pat on the back to one of the disguised mammals, unknowingly knocking off the disguise he was wearing to reveal a slight chubby male cat wearing a light blue Hawaiian shirt.
Yeah, can learn to be like someone like me!
Everyone turned to see the cat still singing and dancing, and then stop to realize his cover was blown.
"Yipes! Baloo, cover blown! Let's grab our new friends, and scram!" the cat shouted to the other disguised mammal.
"You heard him, party's over." Baloo threw off his disguise to reveal himself as a large bear.
"It's Hugo and Baloo! How those guys get in here?" said one of the monkeys.
"You're Hugo?!" Vicky said, accidentally revealing her hiding spot. "Oops."
Nick just busted the cage door open, and grabbed Judy, ditching the disguise.
Everyone made a run for it as the monkeys began to chase. One of the monkeys grabbed Judy, but Louie grabbed Judy, but Hugo grabbed Judy back, bonking Louie on the head for good measure. Another grabbed Judy, but a panther jumped out of nowhere, and tried to swipe the monkey. The monkey dodged, but into Baloo, holding a club. The monkey dodged Baloo's swing, and Baloo hit the panther. Nick ran, and grabbed Judy back. Louie chased after Nick and Judy into the interior of the temple. Nick and Judy kept switching between pillars to hide behind from Louie.
"Come on out, lucky rabbit." called Louie. "Okay, so maybe I was bluffing about leaving the island, I'll admit it, but come on. I can make it for you to live on this island much easier. Now how's that for an offer?"
Nick and Judy turned to run and take cover behind another pillar, but Louie beat them to it. "Gotcha!"
Nick and Judy ran to the entrance, just as Louie grabbed Judy's arm. Nick grabbed Judy's other arm, and pulled her free, pulling Louie away, and causing him to knock down a pillar. The temple was being supported by only a few, remaining pillars, and now with one less, it began to give away. Louie grabbed onto the roof of the collapsing temple, trying to keep it from falling.
Nick flashed a mischievous grin, set Judy down, and ran over to tickle Louie. Louie guffawed, but still kept his arms up to suspend the temple. The monkeys charged with a battering ram, and knocked Nick into Louie, which knocked Louie into another pillar, and the pillar collapsed, leaving Louie to suspend that part of the roof. Nick glanced up to see him in Louie's former spot, cautiously stepped out, and waved bye-bye to Louie, and made a run for it. Louie was struggling to keep the temple balanced, but everything was starting to collapse.
The group made a run for it, but Nick and Judy were falling behind. Nick helped Judy up onto his back, piggy-back style. Nick kept dodging collapsing pillars and debris from the temple crumbling above them. Dodging and jumping, they next had to just cross a stone bridge to make it safely to the outer jungle, but the bridge was starting to crack. Nick jumped the parts of the bridge that were starting to fall off, but the end of the bridge was gone, separating the couple from the rest of the group, who made it to the other end of the bridge just in time.
"Jump! I'll catch you, guys!" Vicky called, extending her hand.
"Hold on tight, Carrots!" Nick said.
Nick leaped, with Judy tightening her grip around his shoulders, and Nick grabbed Vicky's arm just in time. Vicky used every muscle she had to pull them both up with ease. The group resumed running as the temple finished collapsing behind them.
Meanwhile, poor king Louie looked up to see himself still holding the remaining piece of the roof, unharmed, as his entire temple laid in dust and crumbled rocks.
...
The group stopped to catch their breath.
"Everyone okay?" asked Hugo.
Everyone nodded, but turned to see Baloo and the panther behind them with worried looks.
"Oh, don't worry. Baloo and Bagheera are with me. They're cool." said Hugo.
"So, you're Hugo. The one whom I picked up on my radio?" asked Vicky.
"Yeah, are you guys here to rescue me?" asked Hugo.
"Yes, but the bad news is, we lost the plane we took to find you." said Vicky.
"Oh, well. I do have a boat. Only there's no battery or gas." said Hugo. "But I do know where to find some. Follow me back to camp. We'll be safe there, and we can talk more."
The group followed Hugo and his companions at the lead, with Judy moving up ahead behind them, away from Nick and Vicky. She was grateful for them rescuing her, but she was still hurt. Nick could see it in her eyes, and all he could do was hope it wasn't too late to make things right with her when they get to the camp.
Another chapter done. So, upon someone's comment, they thought it would be cool to see Nick having both feelings for Vicky and Judy. I still like Nick's heart to belong only to Judy, but this brought the idea of Vicky harboring some remaining feelings for Nick to add to the drama. Let me know what you guys think. I also wasn't gonna feature the song, "I wanna be like you", at first, but I decided to, anyway. So, I'll see you guys in the next chapter, where Kopa finally wakes up, and we're introduced finally to the lions like Simba, Nala, Kiara, and Kion. I own nothing, including the song, except a few OC's. All rights go to original owners. No copyright intended. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic.