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This chapter took me all day to write. Thanks to your reviews, it was easy for me to continue on and finish this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this little chapter… Okay maybe it's slightly longer than normal but I'm sure you won't mind. :)
Also, for those of you who are curious (And I have no idea why you would be.) There will be no domestic cats or dogs in my story what so ever. Those are evolved species that were under the influence of humans. For example, dogs were specially bred to fit their needs. Since they don't exist in my story, the only dogs you'll see is wolves. Period.
I've also decided to change my image of this story if you can't tell already. I figured the new image would match more of my story's title: Doors of Change and it looks way cooler!
Enough of me! Enjoy this story! Next chapter? Graduation...
"Ugh!" Nick moaned, slamming his head down onto the table in front of him in the process.
"C'mon Nick, it's easy. You've got to get this right." Judy's voice rang through Nick's pointy ears. Nick looked up with emotionless eyes at the phone on the table.
"Easy for you to say miss elephant's memory. You've already got this stuff memorized." Nick complained.
"I'm pretty sure that's offensive to elephants." Retorted Judy back.
"Judy's right you know. It's not that hard." Bella agreed as she returned the police academy book back to Nick's view. The fox then raised a questioning eyebrow at the sheep after he finished reading the page.
"Wait... I got that one right! 211, that's what it says here. What gives?" He asked stubbornly, crossing his arms in the process.
"We told you to give the code for Robbery Alarm, silent. That's just Robbery." Judy said as if she was teaching a kid in school. Both Bella and Judy giggled as Nick groaned and slammed his head on the table once more.
Nick then looked at the page again. "What?" Nick wheezed breathlessly. "The code for that is 211 S… Seriously…" He said unimpressively while picking up the phone to allow the camera to face the fox.
"Yup! As simple as that." Bella giggled.
"Like we said, it's really not that hard."
"Uh-huh…" He hummed. "And let's just say something is an attempt. What? Do they just add an 'A' to the end of the code." Nick asked sarcastically with the roll of his eyes.
"Yes, well for most of the codes! But see, I knew you were starting to get the hang of this!" Judy cheered loudly.
"Yup. That's me, totally getting the hang of this." He responded with false pride.
"Don't worry. You'll get it eventually." Bella encouraged as she snatched the book back from the fox's grasp. Nick slammed his fist down on the table in disappointment, whining in the process.
"Alright, what about… Indecent exposure…" Suggested Judy.
"314." Nick replied almost instantly.
"Huh?" Said both other occupants of the conversation, wondering why the sudden response compared to the other codes.
Nick turned his head to the side a little, curious at their response. After a little bit of thinking, he finally realized their confusion, eyes growing wide in the process. "What? It's not what you think! I only remember that one because it's hard to forget a naked animal… and the code reminds me of pi…" He claimed defensively with a shrug, raising his arms in the air in surrender.
Both females didn't seem to buy the story, only nodding with a 'uh-huh' before returning their attention back to their task at paw.
"Why can't we just say the word?" Nick complained.
"What if someone was listening to the radio?" Judy answered with another question. Nick didn't respond, only slamming his head on the table again for what it seemed to be the hundredth time.
"Judy! Could you come and help me prepare dinner?" A voice called out from the phone. "Oh! Sure thing!" Judy called back before returning her attention to her own phone. "Sorry guys, I've gotta go." With that, the call ended.
Nick raised his head from the table to look at the sheep. "Wait, she can cook?" He asked curiously with fake surprise.
"Don't let Judy hear you say that." Bella giggled while she closed the police textbook and returned it to its rightful owner. "I think it's time for your daily muzzle therapy." She said sympathetically.
Choosing not to respond, Nick just slammed his head on the table before sighing. Obediently, he shuffled out from the table and followed behind the black sheep through the gym. "Let's get this over with."
"You know the drill." Bella said as she brought a muzzle from the red cabinet from the gym.
"Yea, yea." Nick replied unenthusiastically. Exhaling deeply, Nick took the metal device from the sheep's hooves and inspected it. No physical change in the fox's behavior could be seen by Bella. As an added measure to show his mood, Nick started to toss the muzzle up and down in his paws while he looked at Bella with a smirk.
"Not bad, that's definitely an improvement." Bella congratulated with an approving nod.
"Now can we please get back to the book? Judy is having way too much fun shoving the fact I don't know something she does in my face." Nick asked while attempting to give the muzzle back to the sheep.
"Not so fast…" She said while pushing his paw away from her. "I… I actually wanted to try something new today…" She said quietly, lifting an arm in the air as a signal.
"Coming!" Judy yelled throughout the household while stuffing her phone into her pocket. Slowly and carefully, Judy navigated out of the cluster of brothers and sisters that surrounded her in the lounging room and into the hallway.
Once Judy was sure she wouldn't accidently kick one of her rambunctious siblings, she picked up her pace and began to speed walk to the kitchen. Even in the large hallways of the Hopp's household, she still managed to encounter a few of her rabbit family along the way.
A small tug brought her attention downward to the group of kids hopping up and down in excitement.
"Yes?" She asked sweetly, turning her attention to the couple of kids.
"Play with us Judy! Play with us!" One of them answered to Judy while receiving nods from the others.
The older rabbit chuckled at their behavior, shaking her head from side to side before replying. "I'm sorry, I can't. I've got to go help our mom with dinner. Aren't you guys hungry?"
"Oh, yeah! Very much." They responded as they rapidly nodded their heads, causing their bunny ears to flop around in the air.
Judy chuckled at them, ruffling a bit of their heads as she weaved through the group. "Maybe Jeremy wants to play." She suggested with a sly smile, receiving gasps from the bunnies before the sound of running followed.
She smiled at the warm feeling that now filled her heart. Home. No matter how long she had been gone, nothing ever changed. The kids always ran throughout the household, bugging the older rabbits to do other activities with them. Even old uncle Charlie still sat in his beloved rocking chair and told stories of his adventures to any willing ear.
The occasional shouting from an argument somewhere inside the labyrinth could be heard. The sound of dishes clanking introduced itself into Judy's ears as she neared the kitchen. Once she got to the archway of the door, the sound of a plate breaking echoed. Home…
"Clean that mess up right now Jessica. Just because you're in a bad mood doesn't mean you have to destroy plates." Bonnie scolded the younger bunny, who now ran to go get a broom.
To Judy, the kitchen didn't seem like much. But for any other city animal, it seemed like it was built for an army. Countless other little rabbits ran in and out of the large area, helping prepare dinner in every way they could, occasionally stealing a taste.
Bonnie, the leader of said army, was currently looking through the industrial grade refrigerator. Looking at it from such a distance, Judy thought that if one of her siblings were to close it right now, no one would ever know she was inside it in the first place. With a small giggle, Judy eventually called out, introducing herself to the ever busy kitchen.
"Is she upset that you interrupted her free time to do the dishes again?" Judy's voice slightly startled the aged rabbit, causing her to hit her head on one of the many shelves of the fridge.
"Oh, Judy! I didn't see you there." She chuckled, "Yea, interrupted her play time."
Judy hummed understandingly. "How's your side honey?" Bonnie asked with a wavy voice.
"It's fine mom. A little pain here and there if I stretch it wrong but other than that, it's good." She replied with a caring smile, grateful for her mother's care. The sudden push of one of her younger brothers against her legs brought her out of her trance as he tried to get past Judy. "You said you needed some help?" She asked.
"Yes please! Can you be a dear and cut those bell peppers over there. Can't have the little ones handling the knives yet." The older rabbit asked sweetly, pointing in the direction of a chopping board with a dozen peppers to the side of it.
"Sure thing mom. What are we having tonight anyways?" Judy asked curiously as she made her way over to the counter and began to gut them of their seeds.
A couple of kids responded before their mother could. "Vegetable soup!" They shouted enthusiastically.
"So Judy, how's the city?" The eldest asked, striking up conversation.
"It's pretty good. Different though."
"Really? How so?" She asked with interest.
"Well…" Judy began, looking up to the curved ceiling in thought, stopping her task in the process. "For starters, the type of animals around are very different. Back here there are mainly bunnies. But over there, there isn't a majority. If anything, it's larger animals; deers, elks, wolves, cows… You get what I mean…" She chuckled.
"Well, there must be a few rabbits over there… You meeting someone?" Her mother asked curiously.
"Ugh…" Judy complained, "Yes, there are a few rabbits in Zootopia but no, I am not meeting someone."
"You can't wait forever." She replied matter-of-factly.
"I know but I'm still a bit new to the city and my job. Just… allow me to take it at my own pace, alright?"
"Alright," she agreed with a smile before she pushed on more. "How's the city treating you?"
"Pretty good." Judy responded easily, leaving out the rude speciest comments she received almost daily. The bunny didn't want to worry her mother after what already happened. "Been great with Nick around."
"The fox from the hospital?" Her mom asked hesitantly.
The injured rabbit gave the 'are you serious' look to her mother. "Yes… that fox." She said with a sigh. Realizing what she said, her mother stopped her current task and looked to the empty counter for comfort.
"I'm sorry sweetie… I'm just not used to be so close to another… uh, predator." Bonnie said shamefully.
With a heavy exhale, Judy dropped the knife onto the cutting board and walked over to her mother. "I know, and I also know you're trying too." Judy said with a smile, hugging her mother from behind.
"You'll have to bring him over sometime, you know." Her mom said, accepting the hug.
Breaking herself from the hug, the officer went back to chopping the helpless vegetables before responding. "I know, and I will. But right now he's at the police academy."
"Really?" Bonnie asked breathlessly, startled by the new information.
"Yup! If we can convince the chief, he'll be my new police partner." The bunny stated joyfully.
From that moment on, the conversation ceased to continue. This was because both of the contributors of the discussion were too deep in their thoughts. The older bunny mind rambled at the thought of having such an animal so close to her daughter at work. While the other bunny's thoughts were occupied by the countless scenarios of daily tasks at the ZPD.
A new image presented itself into the bunny's joyful mind of an unamused fox walking throughout the streets of Zootopia, wearing a bright orange vest and a small little ball hat to top it all off.
She giggled at the thought. "There! A dozen diced bell peppers." Judy announced proudly. "Anything else?"
"Nope, I think that's it. Thank you." Informed Bonnie while grabbing the bowl of vegetables in the process. Judy turned around and was just about to leave the kitchen when her mother called out to her one last time. "Oh! I almost forgot."
"What is it?" Judy asked curiously.
"Could you drive down to this address here. They ordered a few vegetables and there isn't anyone else available right now." Her mother wiped her paws on her kitchen apron before pulling out a folded piece of paper from its pockets.
"Sure! Where's the keys?" Agreed Judy.
"I left them over by the front door. Should be on the table in the hallway."
With a nod, Judy lightly jogged out of the kitchen. "I'll be back!"
"And Judy?" Her mother quickly called out before her daughter was out of earshot. Peaking around the doorway, she listened to what her mother had to say. "Don't be picking up those boxes yourself. Vet's orders." She scolded.
With a light chuckle, Judy nodded and headed out the door.
…
"Ah! Here we are…" Judy told herself as she carefully parked the truck onto the side of the road. Stepping out of the driver side door, she was greeted with the peaceful structure of an ordinary Bunnyburrow home.
To outsiders, these homes would normally startle them, due to the fact that they looked like a large mound of dirt with windows. But on the inside, the occupants were usually greeted with fancy wooden carvings and decorative hallways. Personally, Judy's home was decorated with various bunny shaped carvings and designs. A topic guaranteed to get teased by, especially from a certain fox. Around said structure lay fast lands of empty fields, ready for crops.
Bringing her attention away from the vacant fields, Judy spotted an incoming male rabbit, casually walking toward the vehicle. A small part of her consciousness spouted a seed of suspicion, but she wasn't exactly sure yet why.
"Hello!" Judy greeted politely, not allowing her thoughts to showcase themselves.
"Hey." He responded friendly. "Is this the shipment of produce we ordered from the Hopps?" He asked, eyes wandering past the bunny.
"Yup!" Judy said before she hopped over to the tail of the truck and opened the gate. Right as she finished this duty, a question suddenly popped into her head. "Wait, you have farms all around your place… Why do you need someone else's produce?"
"We had a bad harvest, not enough to feed the family. Hopefully this will last us awhile." He responded.
"Why haven't you replanted then?" She asked curiously.
"Winter's approaching. Too cold to be growing crops right now." Judy facepalmed at the reasoning.
"Right, forgot." She sighed and watched the single bunny pull the crates off the end of the truck. "Uh… I'd like to help you… but I can't." She informed helplessly.
"That's okay, I think I got this. Why though? If that's alright to ask." He replied while dusting off his paws before grabbing the next crate from the truck.
"No, it's fine. I actually was shot a week ago." Judy responded with a slight shrug. Her response slightly caught the other rabbit off guard, causing him to stumble a little with his load but caught his balance before he fell.
"What now?"
"My bad…" Judy giggled, "I'm a police officer in Zootopia." She informed the startled rabbit.
"Ah, that explains it. If someone would've shot anyone around here, I'm sure everyone would've known already." He chuckled.
The doe giggled with an understanding nod. With being mainly family animals and living in a small community, secrets were rarely kept. If anything different happened, everyone would know. Judy thought this was because nothing interesting ever usually happened. The smallest little thing would peak the interest of any bored animal around these parts.
"I never caught your name by the way." The buck said as he finished unloading the last box from the bed of the truck.
"Oh! Judy, Judy Hopps." She announced, offering a paw to shake.
"Aaron Cobalt." He greeted, accepting the paw in the process. "Say, aren't you that Judy Mrs. Hopps kept talking to me about?"
And there it was… Judy now fully understood her previous suspicions. Of course she should… Judy thought sadly. It was all a setup from her mother. No wonder she asked the question if she was seeing someone earlier. Noticing Aaron was still waiting for an answer, she shook herself from her thoughts.
"Sorry, lost in my thoughts." Judy admitted, rubbing her arm in the process. "And, ah, yea. That'd be me." She admitted sheepishly.
"Really? Well, are you doing anything later today?" Aaron eagerly asked while closing the door to the bed of the truck.
"Yea..." Judy lied, "Sorry, maybe some other time." She apologized politely.
"Sure! Well, thanks for delivering this stuff to us but I better get these boxes refrigerated before they start going bad. See ya later?" He outstretched a paw.
"Yea, sure. See you later." She agreed, shaking his paw in the process. With a heavy sigh, Judy opened the door to the truck and hopped in.
As she drove out of view from the house, her thoughts were occupied by a different matter. He seemed nice enough at first glance but she wished her mom would stay out of her private life.
One thing was for certain, her mother was definitely hearing from her.
"What do you want to try Fluff?" Nick asked with the slight turn of his head. The sound of footsteps, along with claws hitting across the concrete floor drew the fox's attention. Turning around, Nick was met with a familiar white wolf.
"Hey Nick." He greeted with a slight wave. The presence of the wolf only confused the fox even more.
"Hey?" He said before turning his head back toward Bella, hoping for an explanation.
In return, she breathed out heavily before speaking. "Echo here… uh, volunteered for us." Bella responded vaguely.
"Volunteered? For what?" He chuckled, "Seriously would someone please-" He stopped once he looked down at the device in his paws. After a few seconds, he rapidly looked between Bella and Echo with wide eyes.
Seeing his reaction, she confirmed his suspicions. "Nick… I want you to- to put the muzzle on Echo."
The fox now made eye contact with the arctic wolf, this time, his eyes were covered in concern and hesitation.
Echo shrugged before placing a comforting paw on Nick's shoulder. "I'll be fine. This is for you, not me."
"Are you sure?" He asked suspiciously. The wolf calmly nodded before he knelt down in front of the fox, lowering his head in the process to allow easy access.
Nick then looked to Bella for support, who said nothing but gave a reassuring nod. With a shaky sigh, he lifted the muzzle up with his paws and brought it towards Echo's face.
As he inched closer, the fox could start to feel his heartbeat, which unsteadily quickened in speed with each passing second. The background of his surroundings seemed to fade away, being replaced by the familiar scene of the Ranger Scout basement.
Nick hesitated when his mind played tricks on him and changed the appearance of the white wolf before him. Slowly but surely, his body morphed into that of a small and helpless fox. Staring at the animal in disbelief, he took note of the green uniform the crying fox wore. Only a few seconds later, Nick's vision started to darken on the outer rims. At this point, he needed to open his mouth to breathe in order to stop himself from passing out.
Bella's comforting hoof snapped him out of his daydream, bringing the original surroundings back to light. Looking up to her, she gave him a supporting smile and motioned her head back to his current task.
Breathing in deeply and exhaling, Nick brought the muzzle up to Echo's face, quickly strapping it onto him, making sure that it was loose. Once it was on, the fox removed his shaking paws from the wolf's face and cautiously stepped back.
Nick then watched Echo stand up from his kneeling position and chuckled. "See, that wasn't so hard." The wolf said as best as he could from behind the muzzle.
"Yup! Only froze up once. Good job, that's definitely an improvement." Bella complimented before helping the wolf remove the muzzle.
The sounds of clapping from behind the mammals drew their attention away from their own conversation. Looking back, they saw Kenya, Luna, and Max all clapping in congratulations. I could get used to this… Nick thought warmly at the idea of having genuine friends, who would be there for him if he needed them. If… He still wasn't too keen on the idea of relying on others.
"What's going on here?" Said the instructor with her booming voice. Her sudden introduction caught the recruits off guard, causing the slightly jumpier ones to… well jump.
Once they recovered, Echo decided to speak up. "Uh, Wilde here is progressing on using muzzles ma'am."
After listening to Echo's explanation, she turned to the fox with a raised eyebrow. "Is that so?"
"Guilty as charged ma'am." Nick said with an exaggerated bow.
Unimpressed by the fox's show, she turned away from him and looked to the others inside the gym. "ALRIGHT CADETS!" The instructor shouted. The recruits nearest to her lowered their ears in an attempt to stop the ringing due to being so close to the source of the noise. "Great work today, I expect to see some improvement tomorrow! Have a good night." With that, the instructor turned away and left everyone to their thoughts.
"I swear, if she keeps doing that, we're gonna go deaf." Nick finally said once she was out of earshot, which was quite a distance due to her large ears.
"No kidding." Echo chuckled, "Well, I'ma head off now. That fight with Ryan really tired me out. See ya later guys." Said the wolf as he excused himself from the group.
A collect set of 'goodbyes' were exchanged between the cadets as they each departed to their own business. A few walked out of the gym and into the cafeteria in hopes to get a quick meal while others disappeared to the respective restrooms for a nice, calming shower. Nick on the other paw, walked in the direction of the dorms with his phone in his paw. Scrolling through his contacts, he dialed a familiar number.
After two rings, she finally picked up. "Hello?" Judy asked.
"Yes hi, I'd like to order a standard grasshopper pizza."
"Nick… The inside of your ear looks fascinating, but could you use the camera properly?" Judy sighed, causing Nick to smirk as he opened the door to his room.
Bring the phone down from the side of his head, the fox smiled into the camera. "Hey Carrots."
"Hey… Wait, why did you call so early? It's only…. 7:08 PM." She asked while checking her bedside clock.
"What?" Nick said with the quiver of his bottom lip, giving her the puppy eyes. "I can't call you earlier than planned?" He whimpered.
"Oh please don't give me those eyes. I was just curious. Did something happen?" She giggled.
"As a matter of fact, something did happen."
"What happened?" Judy asked drowsily with an exaggerated yawn.
Snickering at her response, he spoke. "Well, turns out I'm making progress with muzzles."
"Wait, really?! That's great Nick!" She shouted, completely forgetting her previous act. "Now all that's left for you is those codes."
"Of course you'd bring that up." Nick chuckled with the shake of his head. "How's it been back home for you?" He said, easily changing the subject.
"Ugh…" She grunted, looking away from the camera.
"Ready to come back to the city?" Nick teased with a sly smile.
"More than ready… You will not believe what my mother did." She groaned, dropping her smile in the process.
"Did she give you a long lecture on how dangerous the city is?" He guessed, trying to get that smile back on her face.
"No…"
"Feed you till your belly exploded?"
"No." Judy giggled.
"Wrap you in bubblewrap?" Asked dumbfoundingly.
"No Nick!" She laughed. Bingo… "She tried to set me up with another bunny." Judy explained.
Ever so slightly, Nick's smile faltered as an unknown feeling built up at the bottom of his stomach, causing his fur on the fox's neck to spike up. "She did?" He managed to sputter out.
"Yea, she's all worried that I'll be alone for the rest of my life. But I just moved to the city!" She shouted while rubbing her forehead.
"Well, how was he?" He curiously asked, more than trying to tease.
"He was alright I guess… But I don't think I'm ready for that stuff yet." She said uncomfortably.
Seeing her discomfort, Nick changed the subject again. "How's that country air doing for you? Anything change?"
"No… That's the thing, nothing's changed..." Said Judy with a heavy exhale. "It's me."
"Change isn't necessarily a bad thing." He replied matter-of-factly.
"I know… It's just…" Judy trailed off, trying to think of the right word.
"Scary?" Nick finished easily, knowing exactly where she's going.
"Yea, scary." She agreed, staring into Nick's emerald eyes.
A knock on Nick's bedroom door surprised both fox and rabbit. Getting up from his sitting position, Nick went to go open the door. Peaking through it, he was greeted with a striped, orange tiger.
"Snowflake?" Nick asked curiously, not expecting the tiger to show up at his door.
"Hey Nick. Sorry to bother you at this hour, but could you help me with something?" He asked politely.
"Yea, sure. Sorry Carrots. I'll call you back later." Nick said, staring down at the phone in his paw.
"Sure, see ya." Judy said as she parted from the connection. Once the call ended, Nick stuffed his phone in his pocket and followed Ryan out the door.
"So, what you need help with?" Nick finally spoke once he was out of the building.
"Hm? Oh, just need help carrying a few things." He responded with a slight shrug. Finding the situation odd, the fox tried to press further.
"What kind of things? I can't really help you with some large objects." Nick joked but the tiger didn't laugh. Instead, he continued to walk on forward, guiding the duo toward the front gate of the academy.
The light up in the sky slowly set itself over the horizon, darkening the atmosphere. A few stars were present in the night time sky while the sweet sound of crickets was the only sound that could be heard. Both tiger and fox stopped once they got to the front gate. Looking for answers, Nick looked up to Ryan as he searched around.
"Huh… He should've been here by now." Ryan thought to himself, tapping his chin in the process while he looked up and down the street. Nick was about to ask who but the sound of crunching leaves interrupted his train of thought. Both predators turned around to see the approaching figure.
"Ah! There you are." Ryan said excitingly, giving a brotherly hug to the bull.
"Told you I'd be here. Had to make sure the coast was clear." Jason chuckled, while Ryan nodded understandingly.
"What's going on?" Nick asked suspiciously stuffing his paws into his pockets.
"Is everything set?" Ryan asked, completely ignoring the fox.
"Yeah, I got everything. Sure you weren't followed?" Jason asked while double checking his satchel on the side of him.
"Definitely, it's as quiet as a mouse out here." The tiger chuckled.
"Good, now we can finally get rid of him." The bull said, waving his arm toward Nick's direction.
Shocked at the sudden mood change, Nick fumbled with his paws in his pockets and clicked the button on the carrot pen that was always in his pockets. Let's hope the fabric doesn't destroy most of the recording. "Get rid of me?"
"Once and for all." Ryan nodded, "I think we'd be doing the world a favor." Agreed Jason as he started to take something out of his satchel.
"Oh? And why's that?" Nick said unimpressively, crossing his arms.
"Come on! We're not as gullible as the instructor. A criminal will always be a criminal, just like Luna said! We're only doing this for the good of Zootopia." Ryan said easily with a shrug.
"Well, believe it or not, I have changed. Jason I sort of expected, but you Ryan?" Said Nick as he watched the tiger slowly approach him.
"Really? Wow, you're just too easy… All those times I laughed and joked with you were nothing more than an act. I'd never trust a fox. And here I thought your species was suppose to be smart. Guess that bunny is really rubbing off on you, eh?" Ryan said smugly.
"Leave her out of this…" Nick grumbled, aggressively stepping forward.
"I'd watch what you're doing fox. Or I just might slip a finger." Jason said as he pointed what seemed like a gun toward the fox. Not wanting to take any chances, Nick backed off.
"What do you want?" He finally asked, finally getting tired of their game.
"Leave the academy."
"And never return."
After studying both their faces for a long moment, he finally spoke. "And if I don't?"
"See this gun here?" Ryan said, gesturing toward the device in Jason's hooves. "It contains a low dosage of Night Howler. Not a lot, just enough for you go do a bit savage for a couple of minutes. I wonder what the others would think if they found us crippled here with you over our wounded bodies?" He finished with a dark laugh.
"Let's not forget to mention what happened in The Outback district when you were… twenty I think? I'm not sure why the police haven't figured that out yet." Jason shrugged but Nick's eyes wide at the bull's comment, slightly stumbling back. "It's amazing what you can find if you ask the right guys." He finished smugly.
"And don't think about telling anyone else. Wouldn't want that bunny of yours to get hurt again." Jason said darkly.
"You wouldn't…" Nick managed to breathe out from his panicked state.
"Try us…"
Seeing the serious look in their eyes, fox growled in frustration. "I can't just leave unannounced." He said as he crossed his arms across his chest again. Nick thought best not to taunt the two, seeing he was on a very thin wire. The last thing he wanted to do was put Judy into danger.
Jason stepped forward, pointing the gun closely to Nick's forehead. "Sure you can."
With another growl in frustration, Nick turned around with his paws in the air and slowly walked away seeing that as his only option. He only made it a few steps before one of the two snarled.
"Ugh! You're going too slow. I have other things to do. Faster!" Ryan yelled as he pushed Nick, causing him to stumble and hit the ground.
Grunting, Nick picked himself back up and dusted the dirt off his clothes.
"Well look what we have here…" Ryan said, kneeling down and picking an object up. Nick's heart felt like it stopped when he saw what he was holding. "Sly fox was trying to record us the whole time."
"Let me see that…" Jason ordered, holding his unoccupied hoof out while never leaving eye contact with the stunned fox. Ryan complied and dropped the orange carrot pen into his awaiting hoof.
Now Nick started to breathe heavy, the empty threats finally taking its toll. His last hope was now in the paws of the enemy and he couldn't react, unless he wanted to be shot of course. Jason examined the device up close, clicking the button on the side and stopped the recording.
"I knew you were fond of your bunny friend but I didn't expect this much…" Jason laughed.
What he did next made the world stop for Nick. Time seemed to slow as he watched the dust from the lone pen fly from his crushing grip. Spouts of the recording sounded off before dying out. Nick watched the debris slowly make it to the ground. To antagonize the fox even more, Jason decided to throw what was left of the pen in the fox's direction. Ever so slightly, released himself from his calm and collected mask, causing him to slowly ball his fists and bare his teeth at the two.
At that moment, Nick didn't care about the consequences. Just then, a symbol of his everlasting friendship with the only animal who truly believed in him was destroyed right in front of his eyes. Even with the gun pointed directly at his face, he felt no fear. No...
Nick felt savage.
Without even thinking, Nick blitzed behind both mammals in the blink of an eye and grabbed both their tails. Both of them didn't have a chance to react before they were tripped to the ground when the fox ran forward with all his strength, using their own tails as a tripwire.
With a grunt of pain, Jason was flipped onto his stomach, causing the gun to stumble out of the bull's grip before he had a chance to pull the trigger. Now, Nick stood on top of his back holding his arm dangerously far back.
"GAHHH!" The bull cried as Nick pulled his arm slightly. The fox brought his muzzle up to Jason's ear and snarled loudly.
"WILDE!" A new voice yelled out before he could go any further. Looking up with beating red eyes, he saw an elephant quickly approaching. "Calm down!"
Her hard, disapproving glare allowed Nick's more rational mind to snap himself out of his bloodlust. Blinking a few times, Nick slowly released his grip on the bull and backed away slowly, looking down at his own paws in disbelief.
"MA'AM! Help! That fox ju-"
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH PHANEX!" She yelled extremely loud, enough to rattle the metal of the academy's front gates.
Slowly, Jason pulled himself from the ground, gripping his left arm in pain. "I'm disappointed in you… all of you." She said, looking at everyone.
"But he just attacked us!" Ryan cried out, pointing an accusing finger toward the still dazed fox.
"Well what do you expect? You had a gun pointed at his head. What was he supposed to do?" A new voice called out. Stepping out of the shadows of the distant trees, a rhino calmly approached the aggravated tiger.
Slowly Nick continued to back away, eyes never leaving his paws. The sounds around him sounded slurred and muffled. It was only when he bumped into the approaching rhino's leg that he broke free from his trance.
"Wait.. wha?" Ryan said dumbfoundedly, snapping his neck back and forth between the elephant and the rhino.
"I thought you guys were acting rather suspicious today… So I informed the instructor and followed you." Maxwell explained, putting a comforting hoof on Nick's shoulders.
"But-"
"ENOUGH! You're both under arrest for possession of an illegal substance and weapon, assault and battery, vandalism, harassment, framing, and theft. Anything-"
"THEFT?! I didn't steal anything!" Ryan said as he struggled out of the elephant's tight grip.
In an attempt to control the squirming tiger, the elephant slammed the suspect to the ground and held him there till he calmed.
"Actually, when I was investigating who stole the items, I found it odd that both you and Jason were sometimes the only ones who weren't there at any of the moments the stuff were reported missing." Max explained, heading over into the direction of the bull.
Seeing his approach, Jason tried fighting back by throwing a lousy punch in the rhino's direction, which he easily dodged. In a quick motion, he threw the bull to the ground and used his injured arm as a weakness to get him to comply. "Let's add resisting arrest to those charges..."
Pointless shouting and screaming were exchanged by the bull and tiger as they were hauled from the ground and away from the gates. Because of all the noise, many other cadets and staff gathered on top of the green grass of the courtyard, all wondering the same thing. Nick just sat there astonished at the events. Everything seemed to happen so quickly. The fox slight jumped when he heard his name from the booming voice of the instructor.
"WILDE! Meet me at my office… NOW." The instructor yelled sternly while escorting the defeated cat toward the academy's main building. Without resistance, Nick hurriedly made his way over toward the staff building without looking up.
…
Nick fumbled with his fingers, trying to find anything to get his mind off of what just transpired. The hard stool he sat on didn't help his condition as he constantly readjusted himself. His tail flicked back and forth at the constant rhythm of the wall mounted clock as seconds slowly ticked by.
Nick wasn't sure what come over him. Nothing like that had ever happened to him before. Sure, he had his fair share of bullying, being pushed around, and plenty of prejudice during his times on the streets. But every time, he just dusted himself off and laughed at them.
Now, it was different. Unlike before, this time it involved something he cared deeply for. Something that he carried with him almost daily. Something snapped within him after viewing the destruction of that carrot pen. It was a new feeling that he never experienced before…
And it was terrifying.
The sound of loud thumps came from behind the fox as the door to the office swung open. Although Nick knew who it was, he still refused to look up. His ears followed the sound of their heavy footsteps creaking against the wooden floor until they stopped. His ears slowly lowered once he heard the sound of compressing fabric and a heavy exhale.
"Wilde," She spoke with a calm and collected voice. "Look at me."
Shutting his eyes tightly, he lifted his head up to the direction of the instructor and slowly reopened them, linking eye contact.
With another heavy sigh, she spoke, "Although I'm glad you made it out of that situation safely, I am deeply disappointed in how you handled that situation." She began, causing Nick to break his eyes away from hers and back to his restless paws. "I want you to know that you are my best cadets I've had in over seven years… But that kind of behavior was unacceptable. What happened?"
Nick looked up at her and opened his mouth to speak, but the words he needed failed him. With a sigh, he shut his mouth and looked back towards his paws. After a few tense seconds, he finally sputtered out the words, looking up towards the elephant as he delivered them. "I'm sorry…"
With a shake of her head, she got up from her seat and walked over towards the nearby bookshelf. "This isn't my first time dealing with one of these situations. One cadet even got shot by somebody else." She said while she picked up a framed portrait off the shelf before setting it back down and looking towards the fox once more. "But never have I seen someone take down two large animals in under a second with a gun pointed at their own head."
Nick opened his mouth again to speak, but nothing came out. After a few more tries, he finally spoke. "To be honest, I.. I don't even remember how I did it." He chuckled lightly.
Aurelia nodded understandingly, returning herself to the comfort of her own chair once more. For the next few minutes, no one spoke as the elephant was deep in her thoughts, rubbing her chin with her trunk. Nick passed the time by concentrating closely on his rough, padded paws.
"It's getting late." She finally spoke. "Get some rest Wilde. We'll deal with this more tomorrow." The elephant then got up from her chair and headed in the direction of the door, opening it up with her trunk.
Jumping down from the high plastic chair, Nick left the office with a shaky two finger salute. For the rest of the night, he didn't speak another word. For what felt like the hundredth time in his life, Nick Wilde was speechless. No amount of sarcastic or witty comments could shake him from his stunned state. He didn't even think Judy could break him from his condition.
Flopping down onto the blankets of his bed, he soon fell into a dreamless sleep with only one thought lingering in his mind.
What is that bunny doing to me?
Aurelia Longhorn (Elephant /F) - Strict instructor. Doesn't like to go easy. Doesn't believe in Nick at first but realizes his potential
Nick Wilde (Red Fox /M) - Sly and trouble maker. Often avoids sensitive subjects and deflects with humor. Strong fear of muzzles
Jason Crown (Bull /M) - Strong and self-centered. Thinks to highly of himself and often speciest. Main antagonist, gets kicked out of the academy later on. Anger issues
Luna Carson (Arctic Wolf /F) - Strong family wolf. Caring and kind. Often doesn't give herself enough credit. Family drama involving criminals. Hates criminals with a passion, father dead.
Echo Carson (Arctic Wolf /M) - Strong family wolf. Wise and intelligent. Jokes around a lot but cares a lot. Hates criminals with a passion, father died before his eyes.
Maxwell Hero (Rhino /M) - Independent hard worker. Secret guardian protecting Nick and Bella from Jason. Secretive and mysterious
Kenya Blake (African Zebra /F) - Brother of Ranger Scout kid who bullied Nick. Hates brother. Strongly independent. Hates Nick at the start but realizes who he is.
Ryan Phanex (Tiger /M) - Charmer, two-face. Allegiance to Jason but tries to get onto Nick's good side. Self-centered. But caring at the center who cares strongly for justice
Bella Cotton (Black Sheep /F) - Childhood friend of Judy. Inspired by the deeds of her. Selfless, very intelligent, not very strong physically. Bullied for being small in the academy
WEW! I'm beat. That took me all day to write but I think I'm glad with the results. This one was a bit longer than normal but I guess that's alright. I hope you guys enjoyed that.
When I first started writing this story, the first thing I created was a personality chart, as you can see above. I thought it would be important that the reader could experience the different and vast personalities of my OC's in the story. Now that I've revealed all their secrets, I can show you what they were. I hope I hit those personalities on the nose when I was writing these chapters. :D
Also, please do leave a review for my story and tell me what you think! I kept writing and deleting what I wrote for that scene with Ryan and Jason because I kept thinking it was a bit cheesy at moments. I hope the whole situation was satisfactory. :)
If you like what you've read and want to see more, please do follow/favorite! I have more planned!
Another thing, I use the term 'Vet' (short for veterinarian) in this chapter. I know in previous chapters I used the word doctor. Well, looking up the definition, both words basically mean the same thing in a world inhabited solely by animals. Just something I wanted to clarify.
Bah, enough about that, let's go to the fine 7 who reviewed!
MrAndersIversen - Thank you for your kind words! It really is a big encouragement to keep on going! Great story by the way, I'm looking forward to reading it. (Still haven't read your second chapter yet but I'll get to it. xD)
Junick is awesome - Thank you and I'm glad you are liking it so far!
Foxlover91 - Hehe, did you expect Ryan? Was I that obvious? *shrug* I tried. I'm glad you liked what I did with the point of view thing the previous chapter, I was unsure on how it would turn out but it's nice that you liked it.
Story Writer 2015 - Now that would be a great twist… Too bad I was already too deep with him in the story to pull him out. Oh well, I'll have to find some other way to create a twist. HEHE I already have one planned… next chapter…
Anette090 - Thank you for the words of encouragement! They really do mean a lot. By the way, was the point of view switch here distracting? I wasn't exactly sure when I put that in. It'd be good to know.
Pedo-Sandwich - Haha, sorry about that. I can't resist a good cliffhanger. But I couldn't figure out a nice one this chapter so I guess you got lucky :P Anyways, thank you for your support and I'm glad you liked that chapter!
Anne (Guest) - YAHOO! I love cake, thanks! I'm really glad you are enjoying my story so far and thank you for the many words of encouragement. Those are the words that help me keep going when I'm writing these chapters. Really, thank you. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!
Wew, long Author's Note xD Well, that's all I have to say for now. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Reviews are much appreciated!
Until next time! Peace!
Edited by zeh NickelAz! BIK TANKS!