Chapter Review(s):

Guest/Cactus52: Well, true that she 'doesn't find it strange' because she's more of focus on get the job done as soon as possible, like I mentioned that in previous 'Chapter Reviews' post. More secrets will jump out of the bags later on.

And yes, Judy and Nick will be set to meet in next 6 chapters after this one. I have the chapter titles already planned even before I started to work on the chapter summary and stuffs. You will see.

Kass: Without further ado...

Credit

* Zootopia characters that appeared in this chapter belong to Disney

* Small reference found in this chapter credit to Arrowsight, hope you found the specific easter egg

I groaned as I slowly regained consciousness. My head still hurt where my ears were attached. But I didn't see the red lightning anymore. However, I could still hear the argument within the room, but that hardly damaged my hearing. I focused on the 'argument' that I had just discovered.

"Ye boy jus' lost his dinner! I must tell ye!" the male zootopian shouted. He was close and made a loud noise.

"Well," the female zootopian whispered proving that she was far away. I could hear a soft clink before she continued, "Whatever he ate yesterday didn't agree with his stomach."

I slowly stirred in… my bed? I slowly opened my eyes and I saw Finnick sitting next to my bed. I was looking at his back at this minute. I groaned as I sat up.

"Told ye he's still alive!" the fennec fox shouted. I winced at the suddenly noise.

I heard the shove turn off and a pair of hind paws lightly shuffle their way into this room. My old bedroom.

"Nicholas… you must be careful. We cannot afford to make your favorite bed a mess," she said as she entered the room.

This female zootopian was my mother. She wasn't getting any older as of late, thanks to her doctor's skill. Finnick hopped off the seat before my mother sat down on it. She reached for my ears and examined them lightly. The sensitivity of my ears was quit high, but I didn't let it bother me. Carrots told me about bunny ears when I teased her. This proved that she was right, demonstrating that I was cut from the same cloth as her.

"Hm, can you hear us loud and clear?" my mother said as she lowered her forepaws onto her lap.

"Yes," I responded. I wiggled my ears and felt something plugged in my ears. That would explain the reduction of sounds at the time I came back to life.

"Alright," she sighed in relief before she concentrated on a point, "But you're not going anywhere with the device in your ears. I am tasking you to get your hearing work in your favor."

I sighed as I felt my stomach growling. That brought my mind to the concern that I had 'lost my dinner' earlier.

"Well, let's get ready for breakfast. I doubt that losing your dinner would do you any better," my mother said as she stood up and left the room.

I sighed again before I pulled the blanket off my lap then jumped onto the floor. I followed my mother to the kitchen. I sat on the chair and waited for the meal to come. I laid my forearms on the table and exhaled softly.

"So, how d' ye d'ing?" Finnick asked.

I shook my head as I responded, "Confused."

"I see… ye confused that yer a rabbit, right?"

"Yeah. How did I end up like this…? I still feel normal, but being a rabbit is just something different."

"Well, at least it didn't kill ye."

"Also, I am sure that Carrots' parents would be happy to have me as Carrots' boyfriend… and perhaps her future husband," I finished the discussion.

My stomach growled again, which reminded me of how hungry I was.

"Oh, and how long was I out?" I turned my head to Finnick.

He leaned on the back support of his chair. He answered, "Two hours. At least yer not as heavy as yer fox self."

"Ok, the meals are ready. Eat up," my mother said as she brought in the meal. On her right forearm were two plates, filled of meats, and on her left was a bowl of salad.

She laid the bowl in front of me while she served the plates to herself and Finnick. I looked over the bowl, which was packed with salad and blueberries. I picked up a fork and started piercing the green leaves. I ate them slowly so I wouldn't have to deal with an upset stomach again. I took a second bite as I shifted my attention to my mother.

"So do you know anything about the… my change of appearance?" I asked after I swallowed my bite.

I took a third bite of leaves along with blueberries as she responded, "I am a doctor, not a scientist. You made a bad impression, Nicholas."

I put the leaves in my mouth and chewed on them, then I nearly smacked my face with my palm. I glanced down at the bowl and discovered that I had practically devoured my meal in this short time.

"Well, after breakfast is done, I must be off to Precinct One," I admitted as I lifted my fourth bite.

My mother swallowed her bite while she shifted her attention to me. She spoke, "I will let you go after you get your hearing back on track."

"Aye, I agree with yer madam. Ye need to focus on that sound and not any sound that suit ye well," Finnick added.

I frowned at Finnick's words, something I couldn't understand well, before I scooped up what was left of the salad in the bowl. I put the fork down in the bowl and my mother took the bowl out of my grasp. She put our plate and bowl away. She came back to me and guided me to the roof.

"Sit down," my mother said once we reached the roof.

I grunted before I sat down on the spot where she pointed. I winced as she removed the ear plugs from my ears allowing the noises to flood my head again.

"Now focus on stabilizing your hearing," she said. I could easily pick her voice out of all the loud noise.

My head started to hurt from the pressure of the noise. That made it even harder for me to concentrate on my goal. I blinked as my eyes teared up. I slowly twisted and pointed my uh… bunny ears, in the way I believed that would help me control my hearing. But it didn't improve anything. I felt a paw on my shoulder and turned my head to Finnick. My mother was not present on the roof at this point.

"Recall that time of how ye found me," he advised.

I blinked as I recalled of how I had managed to find Finnick two hours ago. All I did at that time was focus on the music he had played. The minor sounds vanished, lessening the pain in my head. I started to focus on the major sounds that were necessary to me.

I blinked as I picked up the conversation between my friend and my mother; "…morning he came out as a rabbit?"

"Yes, madam, the first thing I saw him when he asked me to come out. Never know that he came to me yapping."

"And then he 'lost his dinner', as you described once you told him that he's like 'a darn rabbit like that copper girl ye alway' b'ing with'?"

"Yes, but at least he wasn't that hard to drag into da van and drove my way ovah here."

I shook my head and put my focus on interpreting the sound differently. I could focus on at least five different sounds at once. All of them were loud enough that pawsteps were ignored. The first sound was from the large truck that was used to transport the army. The second one was from the grandfather clock downstairs. The third one sounded like a dishwasher - perhaps our meal had filled it up. Fourth was the door slamming in the van. The final one seemed little difficult to figure out - I guess I should take a rabbit class from Carrots, if she would offer one. I exhaled gently as my head was cleared of the pain. I stood up and worked my way back to the door. I walked my way downstairs and rejoined the foxes.

"Even though I didn't ask you for help," I admitted once their attention was on me, "Thank you for bringing me back on my hind paws, you two."

"Glad that we made an effort to do so," my mother responded as she approached me.

We wrapped each other in the hug. She pulled from me and put her paws on my shoulders with her eyes on mine.

"Take care. Be sure to give your partner this meal. Do not question your mother's intuition," she told me.

I raised an eyebrow as I watched her reach for meal basket. She passed it to me. I figured out that this was what the fifth noise was - she was making a meal for my partner, how slow I am. I decided to take her advice because I knew that one from the mother would worth the trouble.

"Sure. I will see that it gets to her as soon as I can," I accepted as I walked to the front door.

Finnick gave me a silent but friendly nod before I pushed the door open. My sight faded into white as I let myself out.