As the year draws to a close, so does the first part of my story. Here you guys go.

Why Am I Nick Wilde?

By VoltienDalchen

Chapter 12: The End of A Dream

The trip to the hospital took longer than usual, but once we made it to the large triangular shaped building we rushed to the lobby in search of Finnick. Both of us were out of breath, yet adrenaline and excitement kept us on our feet. After being given his room number, we hurried down the hall, past patients and employees, and found him alone in a brightly lit room with a view of the city outside. All he can do is smile and we return the gesture. Hopps and I proceeded to hug the fennec fox in what can only be described as a bittersweet reunion, and he didn't seem to object the motion…perhaps he thought we were dead? Very soon after our hug begins, however, he wanted us to break away, "Okay, okay…get off me."

"Finnick…thank goodness you're okay…" Hopps is the first to speak before Finnick nods, he weakly says, "Yea…and I'm glad you both are good too…" He notices my bandages, "How bad was it?"

I nod, giving a nonchalant shrug, "Pretty bad."

"How did you make it out?" Hopps asks.

Finnick turns his attention to her, he frowns not because of her but because of the pain he is experiencing, "I woke up next to the water a while back…ow…my side still hurts like hell…I got help and was brought here…"

"Well, he looks better than I was." I put my paws on my hips.

"What did they say?" The rabbit asks to the fennec fox.

"Broken ribs…"

"Ouch." I squint at the thought, "Well, you'll be okay now." Hopps says.

"Hopefully the same can be said about Nick." He retorts before I raise my eyebrows, he looked directly at me as he said this. Silence dominates the room for a short time.

Suddenly, Hopps gets a call on her radio. She pulls it out of her belt and moves toward the door while facing us, "I'll be right back." We don't say a word back. I turn to face Finnick in a confronting manner.

"I know you're not Nick." He simply says. This kind of catches me off guard. Then again, there have been hints that he had a suspicion since day one.

"How long have you known." I ask calmly.

"It took a while to convince myself that you were different...where is Nick?" With that last part there is anger present in his voice.

I try to answer as truthfully as possible, "I don't know. I woke up as him a few days ago for no apparent reason. I'm in the dark just as much as you are." I retort.

"What are you?" He asks more calmly, his imminent sad harangue never happens. Instead, his voice has an unusual softness to it, like he's just trying to understand what is going on.

After looking down for some time, I look back up to him and draw in a generous amount of tense air before I say, "I am a human."

"Whatever that is, you're not from around here, are you?" He raises an eyebrow before he grabs his side in pain after moving a little too much.

"You're taking this pretty well…" I retort, quite surprised.

"Where are you from?"

"I don't know."

"Are you a shape shifter?"

"Stop asking these questions."

"Why are you here?"

"I said I don't know!" I spread my arms out in frustration, "I don't know where I'm from, why I'm here, what my name is, or why I'm suddenly an anthropomorphic fox!"

"Anthropomorphic?" He asks, almost sitting up again despite his pain.

So, I sighed softly before grabbing a chair, and for a few minutes I told him about what few things I know about my world. Despite not knowing my origins, I did know that there were no human-like animals where I come from. I explained to him about humans and what they look like and how we're very similar. This came as a surprise to him but he was interested nonetheless. I guess he wanted to know everything about me, so that maybe he could try to find Nick? He took this information better than Hopps, now I'm not sure why but does it really matter?

"I felt as though something was wrong ever since that day I woke you up."He says.

"You mean yesterday?" I roll my head to the side.

"Shut up." He continues, "I felt like…something that was supposed to happen, didn't happen…"

"Okay…déjà vu basically," I shake my head, "I know my arrival here messed up a lot of things…or at least I think it did...honestly, I don't believe I was meant to do this…mess up things I mean…I just want this to end…I'll do anything to go back home…wherever that is…" I sigh softly as I stare at the shiny hospital floor beneath me, "I honestly think that I'm also in denial too…maybe my human life is not actually real…but that I am actually Nick Wilde…I just forgot who I am…"

Finnick shakes his head softly before he leans toward me slowly to avoid sharp pain, "No…you can't be him…"

"But what if I am? There has to be a way for me to find out! Officer Hopps has been my lead so far…I think I have to help her to find my way home…"

"How so, genius?" He continues with his usual frown.

"I don't know! I just have a feeling…since this all started with her…since we started helping her, I haven't stopped thinking about how important this all is...speaking of Hopps…" I stand up and head for the door, "I'll be right back."

"Stop." I hear Finnick say before I do as he says, "Can I trust you?" He asks.

"I don't even trust myself." I retort.

"Answer the question."

"…I guess you can. I just want all this to be right. I don't want to keep living not knowing who I am…no one should live like that." I exit the room, leaving him alone.

Once I am outside in the hallway, the lobby has a television set which is tuned to the news channel: the events that transpired at the nightclub are being reported, but the animals here are going about their daily routine with some occasionally glancing at the screen with momentary interest. I try finding Hopps but she is nowhere to be found. I search the floor for her but I am unable to see her. I continue in my attempts until I finally give up and head back to Finnick's room with the belief that she probably returned there. I ask Finnick, but he says that she hasn't come back yet, which makes me wonder…has she left the hospital? Where could she have…oh no…don't let it be!

I leave the hospital in haste, taking a tram to head to the police station. It takes ten minutes and once I arrive there she is…sitting on the steps leading up to the prestigious establishment. She has her face buried in her paws and is sobbing…I know exactly what happened. All I can do is sit next to her slowly and wait for her to stop, but she doesn't. Her only response to my presence is her standing up to leave. I follow her to stop her escape, "Judy…" I am unsure what to say.

"I thought I could do it…I thought…" She says to herself as she walks away.

"They can't do this to you…I won't let them. I'll go in there and make them change their minds." I emphasize a finger, bringing it down as if a bomb is falling down from the sky.

She continues to walk away, "Stop, Judy. Please…" I run to her and she finally stops, "It's over." She simply says with her back still turned to me.

"No it's not. We'll prove to them that we can do this, with or without your badge."

"Nick…go home…"

"After all we've done together? You're going to give up, just like that, cause of some stupid deal you made with some stupid chief?"

She finally turns and faces me, "Nick…it's always been my dream to be an officer. I worked very hard to get here and I lost it all because they…they thought I was useless…okay. They thought a bunny couldn't be a good cop." she spreads her arms outward in protest.

"But why, I don't understand…" Then, my ears rise all the way up upon realizing something, "So…it's all about prejudice…"

She remains silent.

"And that, that shiny thing you have on your belt," I point towards the pinkish object, "Is a repellant, for foxes?"

Her expression turns to that of disappointment towards herself, disappointment for not getting rid of it: Did she use that specifically for foxes…does she considers foxes…pests? Though I do not want to identify myself as a fox, since I still think I'm human, it still raises questions about how she views other animals.

"No…please, Nick…it's not."

"So you think I'm a pest, is that it?"

She pulls out the repellant, and I close my eyes; however, instead of feeling pain I hear it hit the ground nearby and break. I open my eyes again.

"I was very stupid to have that…"

I am initially silent. I look at the repellant, or what is left of it, before I decide to look back at the rabbit, but she is walking towards a tram. I chase after her. Once we are by the station, she looks back at me, with tears in her eyes.

I can tell Hopps was broken…shattered into pieces by this, but so was I. We were both like the repellant.

"I'm sorry…I am such a bad person for doing that to you." She tries all she can to reject my attempts to reason with her, "I don't know why I had that STUPID thing on me."

I don't respond back, but I ponder: maybe I was the same way in my past life? Maybe I was being punished for doing this as a human? Maybe I'm meant to help her change? Honestly I'm not sure about anything anymore. What I do know is that I am scared, scared of being alone, and I believe she had been truthful in her apology, for some reason.

"Judy, honestly, at least you had apologized, there are people who might not even consider that possibility after hurting someone. But, we have to look at the bigger picture here…there's a city that is counting on us, the both of us, to solve this case!"

The tram arrives and she steps on.

"Wait, Judy!"

She turns around, and shakes her head, "I can't, Nick."

The doors close and the tram leaves. I do not pursue her. I remain by the station, alone.

"Why am I Nick Wilde?" I say softly to myself as the wind blows softly against me.

End of Part 1