My dearest audience, I regret to inform you i have lost my mind. If anyone finds it,... please do feed it some bacon bits and ship it back to me. Other than that tidbit,... I'm suffering tribial dain bramage.

... wait... that's not right. Oh well, i'll take two more lefts and it'll bring me back around.

Am i Rambling? No... I'm Drekk. similar definitions though.

I know what you're thinking... I've lost my marbles. and no, i have not.

They are safely in my nightstand drawer, where i keep such misinterpreted metaphorical items for one's sanity.

Forgetting all that nonsense, let's move on to introducing my next chapter for Dusted.

Before i gorfet... trefog... rogtef... FORGET, I removed the post telling about my 'Lemon' insert called Love Dusted (Dusted 10.5 so far) and if you would like to include that in your read through of this story, go to my author page and read the first chapter of that before continuing with this official chapter 11 for Dusted. It is rated M and has a theme of a sensual and sexual nature to warn those who prefer to keep their noses figuratively clean throughout this story. Any future additions of the M rating will be added through that title with appropriate labeling for continuity.

Enjoy, review, maybe have a few snorting laughs.


After having arrived at Nick's apartment, gone through a wondrous series of 'strenuous' activities, and fixed a breakfast to satisfy, the two mammals decided to lay around for a short while. Freshly showered and splayed out on the couch, Judy and Nick gave each other a thoughtful and lazy stare.

"So," Nick started, "I was… 'gone' for a week. What'd I miss?"

Judy looked a bit dumbfounded as her nose twitched in disbelief and an errant ear shook lightly.

"I tell you that you were catatonic for a week and all you want to know is a social update?" she nearly shouted in inquisitive disbelief.

"Yep," the fox replied without missing a beat.

"Oh… well in that case," Judy began to explain. "I pined like a teenage kit, nearly kicked my own father's head in, found out Clawhauser isn't actually gay but Delgato apparently is, told Bogo all about us, and struck up a friendship with a rabbit who I'm pretty sure hates your guts for some reason."

"Huh," Nick said thoughtfully, "so, Clawhauser isn't gay. Didn't see that one."

The rabbit rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Again, you focused on the wrong thing. Did you even hear everything else?"

"Too tired to tease you about pining for this fine fox, your father would've deserved it, sort of knew about Delgato, I'll deal with worrying over Bogo later, and I'm assuming this rabbit is that squirrely, pardon the derogative term, assistant from forensics?"

The grey doe seemed astonished at his apparent comprehension and retention of the conversation.

"Why can you remember and respond to all of that, but you have trouble filling out reports with professional accuracy?" Judy asked with a deadpan expression.

"You're far more interesting than paperwork," came the almost emotionless reply. Judy couldn't even respond and wondered whether she should be frustrated at his nonchalant reply or swoon over the implicitly sweet thing he just said, whether purposefully or accidentally.

"Anyways, that rabbit… uhhhhhh… Harry, right? He's usually been pretty twitchy around me. When I go to hand over stuff and he's the only one around, he gives me quite the eye."

Judy perked up a bit and shot him a disconcerted look.

"How come you never told me? I would've set him straight. I definitely wouldn't have gone to dinner with him, as friends and coworkers mind you, if I knew he was like this."

The red fox laughed a bit before replying, "It's nothing new for me. Disconcerting looks, disapproving stares, cautious reactions to my walking in a room. Comes with the permeating stereotypes."

Judy's ears flopped down her back at the prospect of imagining this, along with all the new information concerning Nick's past that she was recently aware of.

"I didn't know," she nearly whispered, noticing Nick's ears flick upon hearing her.

"It's ok," the fox comforted her, smiling gently at the rabbit, his emerald orbs washing over her with a caring gaze. "I'm used to it by now. Not to say I've still accepted the flow of things, but I can't change everyone out there by shaking a fist at them and giving them a good lecture."

"Makes me curious how you survived on your own at 12 years old," Judy said, instantly regretting it and clapping a paw to her mouth for not thinking that through before saying it… or not saying it.

To her relief and Nick's credit, he didn't even flinch, as he sucked in a deep breath and began to explain.

"Well for a long while, I treated it like camping. Even if I didn't make it into the Junior Ranger Scouts, I read up on things like that. I basically panhandled for a few months before using my misinterpreted age to my advantage. I couldn't continue a normal education but jobs that paid under the table were abundant for inexperienced mammals such as myself."

Sitting on opposing ends of the couch, with their legs pointing at each other, Nick stopped a second to pull at Judy's legs and run his paws along her legs and feet. She assumed it was a calming method for him as he relived something not so fond, not that she was complaining. Closing her eyes and giving his voice her full attention, she laid back and enjoyed the feeling.

"Despite my seemingly aversive nature to things of an academic leaning, I was pretty adamant in my pursuit to keep up my schooling. I visited the library constantly, seeing as it was basically a free source of entertainment as well, and increased my knowledge. I think I was able to get my G.E.D. within two years or so."

The grey rabbit jerked her head up and stared wide-eyed at Nick.

"What?" he asked locking his gaze with hers.

"You're telling me you basically graduated the equivalent of high school at the age of 14 or 15?" Nick nodded slowly.

"I didn't think about that really. By that time, I was living with the mentality that I was over the age of 18."

"But that's still amazing," Judy vented. "You didn't even get to go to school like normal and found the knowledge to pass Zootopia general education exams from a public library… not to mention…"

"University," Nick corrected.

Judy could swear her mind was about to snap.

"What?"

"I used the public library constantly but when I tried for my G.E.D., I shifted my focus over to a more specialized library with the material I would need. After that, I continued to go and while at that point I had been doing simple hustles, I devised a couple ways I could make more money. So,… I worked my tail off to get a two-year associate degree in accounting and business in roughly one year. Made it so much easier to get those permits and other documents you saw me using for my hustles."

If the rabbit's jaw wasn't so well attached, she would have been worried it would fall off with how loosely it was hanging.

"How did you do that in ONE year?" she inquired with no shortage of surprise.

"Well I didn't have much money at that time and I wasn't sure I could afford a second year, so I pushed myself to get it done in one year," Nick explained as if the answer was that simple.

"Is it wrong if you suddenly became more attractive because of that?" Judy asked in rhetoric.

The fox barked a good string of laughs.

"I don't see a downside to that, so no."

"You must be a genius or something, getting a degree before most mammals even enter Junior year in high school," the rabbit stated, not caring whether or not she boosted the fox's ego. Instead of playing into that for his own benefit, Nick simply shrugged. Judy eyed him strangely, thinking this humble reaction was unbecoming of him.

Before she could goad him into breaking what she believed was a façade, the door resounded with a loud and rapid series of knocks.

Nick got up and rounded the couch to pad over to the door. He opened it as Judy lazed on the couch, lamenting the loss of his paws stroking her legs.

"Hey there, Harry," Nick said loud enough to catch Judy's attention. She bolted upright instantly and turned towards the door. Sure enough, there stood Harry, waving happily at her, entirely clueless to his slip up when she was listening.

His smile looked a bit forced as Nick stepped between him and Judy.

"So, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, buddy?" Nick asked, displaying the default grin he was known for.

"Right, I was told to deliver this to you," Harry replied, "Bogo's orders." The buck lifted a moderately large folder labeled with the medical symbol of the hospital he just vacated.

"It's the apparent findings of the Z.M.I.S. after having done a bunch of tests to you."

Nick took the file from Harry and flipped it open to take a peek at the results.

"Um… if it's ok, I'd like to talk to Judy… I mean Officer Hopps," Harry barely stuttered out. Nick laughed a slightly warm laugh, drawing a heated gaze from the rabbit buck, who was clearly not liking the lack luster response.

Nick sighed, "That's entirely up to her. I may be her partner, but she doesn't need my permission."

Judy took that moment to walk up saying, "Hey Harry. Whatcha need?"

Harry's gaze looked over to the fox, as if trying to bore into him and drive him away, implying to Judy he had hoped for a more private moment. Nick turned away and focused on the files in his paws, ignorant of the gaze Judy could see Harry throwing his way. He suddenly smiled pleasantly and turned back to Judy.

"I was hoping to take you out again. I had another venue in mind. Now that your… partner is better, I was optimistic that I could make this event more enjoyable." Judy was stuck on how to reply. His tone was laced so obviously with ulterior motives that she was surprised Nick didn't already react.

She glanced back at him, seeing his eyes shifting over to predatory slits as he kept his back turned as much as he could, while still glaring back towards the offending buck.

Harry was thankfully ignorant of his shift in demeanor and was about to try getting a reply from Judy again, until his phone started ringing that is.

He pulled it out and looked at it before contemplating whether to answer it, shaking his head and pressing 'Ignore' before pocketing the device once more.

Judy heard a noisy slap of the file snapping shut as Nick turned and walked over.

"Hey Hopps," he said in an almost cheery tone, making Judy freeze, "want me to make you some carrot tea?"

Judy flipped her eyes up to look at his, back to normal and burning with determination. He rarely called her Hopps unless it was a professional circumstance. In this case, Nick was conveying a message. They had developed this method after a few failed attempts to apprehend someone who so obviously caught onto them figuring out that they were intending to arrest a perp, causing them to attempt to flee.

By calling her Hopps, instead of Fluff, Carrots, Toot-Toot, or anything else he refused to drop to spite her, it caught her attention. Depending on the situation, they had code words pertaining to who they were talking to or what they had to do. They had a whole list of foods and drinks to choose from but decided on mentioning things that neither of them liked. She hated Carrot tea, and thus they used it to let the other know that the person standing in front of them is the perp in a recent case.

What boggled her was they had no pertinent case…

It clicked.

The only thing worth of note to them was the problem pertaining to who leaked Nick's condition. Forgetting for a moment how in blazes he figured that out just now, she focused back on Harry, who looked a bit perplexed and pleased at the mention of tea.

"You like carrot tea? What a coincidence! I love it. I know a great shop that serves the best…"

"I'm sorry but I'll have to pass," Judy forced through her teeth. "I need to make sure this idiot doesn't cause any more trouble."

Harry looked downtrodden but undeterred.

"Please," he soothed, reaching out and gripping Judy's wrist as she attempted to close the door. Harry pushed his way in, seeming to not take no for an answer.

"I just want to develop our professional bond as coworkers," Harry said, his eyes burning with something definitely not professional.

Judy was having trouble trying to speak against him, not knowing what she should chew him out about first. She tugged her arm away from him, only for him to grip her tighter.

"Let go," Judy commanded in a deadly tone.

Harry seemed to miss any part of that tone and held firm.

"I don't care about that idiot over there, he can take care of…"

A fist struck the buck with a speed that shocked Judy, seeing in slow motion the red/black furred paw in a tight ball connecting with the seemingly gelatinous jaw of Harry. His eyes rolled upward at the sheer force of the hit as his grip on her went slack.

The jackrabbit twisted around almost full circle before his body hit the floor with a loud thunk, making him seem deceptively heavier than he looked with the gravity of the dead weight hitting the floor.

The grey doe couldn't think for a second or two as she looked at the puddle of rabbit bleeding slightly from the nose on Nick's floor.

"Why did you do that, Nick!?" she finally yelled.

"Self-defense," he stated simply, his eyes back to slits again as he growled, his tail curling around his mate. "He trespassed, used excessive force on you and refused to relent when you asked. I wasn't about to give him a chance to keep going."

Nick turned the unconscious jackrabbit over on his side and pulled the phone he chose not to answer before from his pocket. Pulling up the call logs, he turned the screen to Judy and waited for the inquiry he predicted would be coming.

"And I am looking at a phone number for what?" Judy asked more out of obligation than actual curiosity.

"It's the number for a reporter in the news, the very news station that first touched upon my condition, alerting us to our leak. His name is Humphrey Hills. A camel. As if the name weren't a dead giveaway. I saw the number when he tried to call just now."

"How do you know the number for a reporter by memory?" She asked in follow up.

Nick smirked smugly at her as he said the phrase she could almost feel coming, "I know everyone."

Judy facepawed and groaned.

"Actually, I remembered it from the list of numbers I looked up for all the reporters of that particular station. I planned on helping out when I got back to find the leak."

"You remembered all those numbers? That's pretty impressive."

"Hmm… well I'm just great at remembered numbers and other such things concerning math or codes. Now shush while I call this guy back." Nick pressed the call back button and waited through the rings, holding up his own phone, which he turned the record function on.

"Hey there Harry, my good friend," came the greeting from the camel on the other end of the line. "I heard you had some more info concerning the previous little tidbit you gave me before. You give me exclusive access and I'll see what I can do about sending a larger sum your way."

Nick smiled and gave Judy a show of wiggling his eyebrows as the rabbit tried to stifle a giggle.

"Harry?" came the slightly concerned voice from the phone.

"Sorry, Humphrey," Nick said rather confidently, "Harry is taking a little nap, but I would be happy to take a message. I didn't quite catch all that."

Instead of scaring the reporter into hanging up, he cleared his throat and politely replied, "Uh no. that's… perfectly all right. Just let him know a friend called. He'll know who to call. Um… thank you for calling back." The camel seemed more and more panicked with each word and promptly hung up after making an obligatory reply to seem professional.

"Well that was fun," Nick stated happily, pressing stop on the recording his phone was still making. "Now we have evidence, in many aspects. A phone with call records to a reporter and a recording of the reporter offering what I could only surmise was a bribe. Also, two cops whose accounts would corroborate that this… uh… trespasser… was getting a little physical with you."

"I'll grab my cuffs so we can keep him restrained while you call Bogo," Judy said. The fox nodded as they set off to do their tasks. Checking to see if Nick did any permanent damage, Judy hoisted Harry up into a chair and gave his face and jaw a once over to see if Nick broke something. All his teeth were still there and his jaw hadn't skewed off like it was broken or displaced. A sizable amount of swelling was building up on his cheek and eye though.

Finding her cuffs, the rabbit doe restrained Harry and looked over at Nick, who looked smug with himself as a gruff voice seemed to be congratulating him over the phone line.

"Why thank you, Chief," he voiced with no shortage of snarky satisfaction. "I'm glad I could bring a smile to the face of my dear Uncle Lonnie." Judy's ears perked so she could hear the response, almost fearing a hoof was going to burst through the device and strangle Nick half to death, while his angry tone dealt with the other half.

"As long as you NEVER use that name in public, I will concede to limited usage. You abuse it, you lose it… also… HOPPS!" Judy jerked upright and reflexively smacked Nick on the back of the head, making Nick groan.

"Thank you, Hopps," the Chief stated as he hung up.

Barely fifteen minutes later, Officer's Rhinowitz and Wolford knocked on Nick's door to take away the now awake and irate jackrabbit. Giving Nick and Judy both a few congrats and fist bumps as they also thanked them for apparently saving them from the ire of Bogo, who has been riding everyone about finding this leak. Nick hammed it up, while Judy played it down, saying he basically just showed up at the door and made an error.

It wasn't but a few minutes of statements and taking the recording from Nick's phone, who downloaded it on a flash drive and handed it off to the two fellow officers, before they left with the shouting jackrabbit.

"Chess is gonna be pretty disappointed," remarked Nick.

"I would like to find something else to distract us, if you don't mind," Judy said, rolling her eyes at him.

The red fox picked up the large medical file, waving it at Judy.

"Want to entertain yourself with the results of my deplorable state?" Nick sarcastically asked. "It has pictures and graphs." He held the file out to Judy, teasing her with it like it was a delicious pie still cooling from out of the oven.

The rabbit playfully nipped at it, licking her lips as Nick pulled away, laughing. Judy smiled and joined in with her own warm giggles.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" came her reply.

They both sat at the table, scooting their chairs together and perusing over the pages of preliminary data.

"Boring stuff, boring stuff, more boring stuff," Nick blandly stated, holding up his snout with a paw.

"What are you skipping over?"

"Just something about all the needles I was jabbed with and failed attempts at testing the samples," the fox replied in a relatively melancholy tone. He perked up a bit upon flipping a page and seeing a few other different things.

"Here we go. Physiological analysis." Judy leaned in and read through the page quickly, locking in on the key details.

"Well that's confusing," Nick remarked. The rabbit looked up at him, his expression focused and investigative. "Primal condition, among resulting factors of exposure, have triggered a redistribution of body mass. Increased muscle and bone density since exposure has been noted. Brain activity to portions controlling senses and baser instinct have nearly quadruple the input as opposed to recorded normal parameters. Expected sensory level of subject is expected to be 1.5 to 3 times as sensitive as recorded levels of exemplary subjects of same or related species."

"So basically, you're going to get stronger… ish, be capable of using your nose on par with some of the wolves on the force if not better, and probably hear as well as the best of us rabbits. Yeah, I'm good with that. A little jealous actually." The rabbit scratched under Nick's chin and relished the sound of his happy little whine.

The red fox shook his muzzle a bit and groaned slightly, "I'm not exactly excited by the prospect of gaining more muscle. I like being able to fit in my clothes at the size they are now."

Judy bonked his nose, rolling her eyes while chiding him, "It says density not mass. There's a difference. Being naturally more lean as a fox, you might make your clothes a bit snugger but I don't see you becoming bulky."

Nick rubbed his nose, giving it a twitch and huff as he replied, "Good… I think. I don't like the prospect of looking like I had Bogo genes spliced into me." The small grey bunny froze in place, a grin growing on her muzzle as she imagined the comedic image. Her shivering tail the first sign of breaking through the haze, Judy started laughing uncontrollably, leaning forward onto the table and letting her ears lay across wood surface.

Nick tilted his head curiously and rested a cheek on his propped-up paw, taking in the adorable display. He even peeked under the table to see her bunny feet thumping away at the air in a fervent blur.

Wiping away a few happy tears that fell in her manic laughing episode, Judy looked over to the thoroughly entertained fox, whose tail was swaying slowly and happily behind him.

"You done?" he asked politely, his grin never faltering.

"Yep yep," Judy conveyed with a slight hop in her seat with each word.

"Good, because…" Nick leaned in and licked her nose. The rabbit scrunched up her face and couldn't stop the reflexive twitching of her nose.

"Why?" she cried, putting a paw over her nose to stop its wiggling.

"Because I find your reaction worth messing with you," came the calm reply.

"Ugh… I can't argue with that logic… or lack thereof," Judy groaned, finally able to wipe away the excessive wetness on her nose and get it to stop twitching. "Can we keep reading this stuff?"

"I guess," resigned the fox, turning back to the file. "This is less interesting than I initially thought it would be."

"You want to be informed of your condition, don't you?"

Nick nodded non-committedly, tilting his snout down to continue reading and fiddling with pages.

Over the next thirty minutes, they stared at anything worthy of note, realizing that everything was restricted in scope seeing as Nick was mostly motionless during the time they made their observations. A few helpful details did come to light when they saw the summary pertaining to the chemical permeation of the compound in his brain. The original Nighthowler serum was of such a high concentration that all the toxic factors would latch onto nodes and interfere with higher brain function, debasing a mammal to not only basic instinct, but indiscriminate fight or flight responses to any mammal the affected individuals encountered.

Nick's exposure was to an incomplete form that should have been stopped by the blood/brain barrier should it have entered in a cut or wound anywhere else on his body. All the cuts on his muzzle and head area bypassed that and allowed a controlled amount to flood the same nodes over time, taking several hours instead of seconds. According to the preliminary theories of those examining him, Nick's brain was experiencing a mitigated level of exposure to the compound that affected him in a similar way but was acting more like a filter to his higher function instead of blocking it entirely. While seemingly useless for future encounters, the report inferred that Nick might be highly resistant if not immune to further Nighthowler exposure because the new compound had other elements adding to the bulk of the molecules, accounting for the incomplete effect on him, but still able to hinder access to the nodes pertaining to new doses of similar compounds.

"Huh…" Nick said, shrugging in slight relief. "That's a load off my mind. I was actually a little worried I might grow progressively more savage or something."

"I'm sure you would've found some way to beat the condition," quipped Judy heartily. She picked up the file and close it up, waving it about to get Nick's attention. "I'm gonna put this in your room on the nightstand." Nick only grunted an affirmation as he got up and went to the kitchen.

Judy padded into his room and dropped off the file, hearing a phone ring… hers.

She pulled it out of her pocket and proceeded to answer it, seeing that Clawhauser was calling.

"Hey there Benny," she greeted the vibrant cheetah. "You like the gift me and Nick sent you guys?"

"Sorry Judy, I mean Hopps," came the near panicked reply, "we need to pull you and your partner in right now. Bogo is too busy to call himself but as I understand it, we need all paws on deck."

Her blood went chill. What could have happened between Nick's call and now… Did Harry get hit harder than she thought and ended up with a bleeding brain?

"We'll be there right away but what is the problem?" Judy inquired thoughtfully, sensing that Benny was worried over something.

"It's..." he started, trying to find the words, "someone impersonated an officer and threw these gas canisters into a couple department stores in Sahara Square."

"I don't understand why that's a huge deal. We have plenty of idiots playing with smoke bombs, though I will concede that the officer bit is new."

"No, Judy," Clawhauser interrupted. "They put Nighthowler in the gas. Nearly 15 mammals went savage. No deaths but a few near fatalities and too many injured. Bogo wants everyone in so we can find where it came from."

"On our way," Nick said from the door, loud enough to carry into the phone line. His expression was far more stern than Judy had ever seen it. It sent chills through her as she wasn't sure whether to be worried for him or anyone in his way.

After a rushed goodbye, Judy hung up the phone, locking her gaze with Nick's.

His look softened ever so slightly as he put a paw on Judy's head, saying…

"Ready to make the world a better place?"


Thank you for reading. I think I'll end this story right he... OW!

Who hit me?! OW!

Ok ok... fine. I was joking. lay off. _

Honestly though, thank you for all your support up till this point and hopefully into the persistent future.

Now to a review of reviews.

Firstly, Archangel12575:

You are absolutely correct. I tried to give her a fiery attitude and determinate force behind her sense of justice without turning her into a domineering overly feminist male crusher. So far only her mother, Nick, and Bogo can effectively keep her furry fury from reaching critical mass.

GUNSLINGER99:

Thank you for your complement and at least you're not silently judging me. that would be far more uncomfortable. XD

Matri:

Awesome name. Mysterious, foreign. And I'd like to think Nick is one of those people that becomes kinder instead of darker because he has suffered such a life. When you see such hatred fester in such mammals as the one who inflicted it upon him, you might try to break the cycle by showing others kindness instead of spreading said hate like an infection.

Guest (who posted on April 1st):

I am very relieved to see such a thoughtful analysis of everything pertaining to my writing style and story. Not to say others haven't, but you definitely touched upon quite a few questions I had about my own writings and story progression, etc.

Thank you for your descriptive analysis and honest opinion about everything. I know it click like that with every reader but suffice it to say that i love hearing that i have done well and will continue to try giving a similar level of quality if not more as i get better at this.

Mewtwo-TheLoneShadow:

Your appreciation is met with much gratitude (I can only say thank you in so many ways. haha). I do hope you like how i dealt with that 'idiot rabbit'. I couldn't wait to do that. originally was gonna have Judy deal a blow but Nick hasn't had a chance to show off in that aspect.

Wierdodood116:

As long as you are honest and aren't spewing unnecessary disconcerting comments, I will respect, recognize, and relish in the effort one makes to convey their potential affinity of my work, as inexperienced as i may be. I do worry about pacing but i find that writing it the way i would want to read it helps me figure that out. I dislike redundant phrases and filler sentences that remark an action someone just explained themselves doing.

I love instilling that sense of excitement when one sees those alerts, seeing as i get that feeling from my favorite fanfics as well.

I shall keep mindful of repetitive chapters as that annoys me a little bit as well. And I'm glad my story can warrant a reread.

Whew, there was a lot of you this time with thoughtful reviews. Love you all like a furry enthusiast loves to wear a tail.

Until next time, It's been a hustle, Sweethearts.