The school year after that rough day flew by, Magnus Mortem never contacted Nick over the next three months, and Nicks popularity seemed to simmer down once he convinced everyone he was just a normal fox. The savannah central climate shifted to much colder weather now that the winter began to roll in. Thanksgiving came and went, Judy went home for the break, (Nick was upset but understood why she had to leave, she also promised she would ask if Nick could come over for some of the winter break). And now all everyone worried about was getting a date to the winter dance which at this point was a week away. It didn't normally snow in Savannah Central because of Zootopia's weather system, but Sky High being so high up in the air it got cold enough for it to snow, so now the grey, white, and blue school was covered in a fresh layer of the cold white powder.
Clawhauser had become quick friends of Judy, Nick liked the cheetah but he was still a little wary of how he acted around him. Nick also noticed one thing, a lot of mammals liked to pick on the portly cheetah, and they tended to throw the rest of them into it as well. Nick didn't mind it, he grew up being bullied for being a fox. Clawhauser ignored it for the most part as well, but Judy wasn't. She was taking Nicks advice of 'don't let them see that they get to you' but eventually some of the things would get to her. It was slight things that Nick could notice, the flick of her ears or a fit clenching. Nick could take it and he was okay with it, but as soon as you mess with someone that Nick cares about deeply, well lets just say he wasn't the happiest mammal. He hadn't done anything yet but he was just waiting for one of the mammals to step too far, then he would have to step in.
—
It was a rather a rather snowy Monday for the group, lunch was going on as it normally did. Nick wasn't really paying attention to the conversation but he heard something about the singer Gazelle, he noticed quickly the paw steps approaching, 'oh boy here we go' Nick thought. He didn't even have to turn to know who was coming up, he saw a big paw slam down on the table startling both Judy and and Clawhauser.
"Ooh someone's a bit of a jumpy cat hmm?" The mammal was a large polar bear named Koslov, who had a thick Russian accent, he walked around with a little pack of larger mammals. It made the pack that beat Nick up look like a small herd of prey, and it also made the small group at the lunch table look like a group of mice except for Wolford who was almost as tall as the bear. There were four mammals total in this group, Koslov, a dark gray Timberwolf named Adam Howlson, a Lion named Diego Delgato, and a dark Leopard only known as Manchas.
"Well let's see what were eating here today boys, hmm the fat cheetah eating more donuts. And the rabbit here, oh big surprise rabbit food." Koslov said going around messing with everyone's food.
"Hey Koslov you know what I find surprising, out of everyday we've been at this table I don't think I've ever seen this fox eat." Diego said. It was true, Nick just chose not to eat during lunch, but didn't let say anything or react, he just kept looking at his phone and hope that they would just leave soon.
"Yeah I think you're right Diego. What's the matter fox? I don't know if you've noticed but there's a whole meal at this table just waiting for you" Koslov said leaning down to look right at Nick. He then grabbed Nicks phone sliding it across the table.
"You better pay attention when I'm talking to you, or are you deaf hmm?" Now Nick was glaring directly at the polar bear, trying to keep control of his powers even though the anger in him was becoming almost too much.
"Great now that I have your attention, I want you to answer me, why don't you eat?" Koslov said. Nick didn't respond, just stared at the polar bears dark brown eyes.
"Hmm so he must be mute too" the wolf behind Koslov said.
"Man what a shame, a mute and deaf fox. Well I will continue asking questions anyways. Hey Manchas what did foxes used to eat back in our primal days?" The polar bear asked,
"Hmm I do think that they used to eat rabbits" the leopard answered with a smile.
Koslov's face suddenly twisted into mock surprise, "Really, I had no idea. And would you look at that there's one right next to you buddy". Nick was slipping, he could feel his control going but at this point he didn't mind it. 'They're really thinking that I would something that stupid' he thought to himself. Unknown to Nick a growl was starting to grow from inside of him, but everyone around him could hear including Koslov. The polar bear could also feel the amount fo energy growing off the fox, but it didn't phase him. Yet.
"So fox, since you never eat why don't you just take a bite" He said. 'I will never hurt her, Don't let them see that they get to you' Nick thought closing his eyes and turning his head down to the table, it was becoming harder to breath as his mind started to blank out and his breathing became ragged 'just control yourself' he thought. His mind flashed images of his nightmare in which he was hurting innocent mammals
And Judy…
"Hey why don't you just leave us alone" Everyone looked over at the rabbit who just spoke up. Judy was now standing on her seat trying to make herself look as big as possible.
"Oh boys look at that, the snack decided to speak up" Koslov said moving away from Nick and towards her. "That's awfully brave of you, such a meek little prey standing up against a bunch of blood thirsty predators" Koslov got right in her face, but to Judy's credit she didn't back down at all.
"Why don't you just go back to the carrot farm where you belong" Koslov said, "there is no way someone of your size could take down a mammal like me or anyone else here for that matter"
Judy didn't even flinch as the polar bear spat in her face, "why don't you try me" Judy said in response.
"Pssh" was all that Koslov said as he lifted his paw up, flicking Judy in the nose. The flick wasn't hard but it was enough energy to knock Judy off her seat. If you blinked you would have missed it, but right as Judy fell something orange flashed by and suddenly Nick was holding Judy up. Everyone was speechless, including Nick but he was speechless for a different reason. The energy emanating off of him was enough to make the polar bear step back. The sight in front of Koslov actually made him scared, the fox was standing there fangs drawn, his eyes were nothing but two vertical slits, his hackles raised as if he was about to attack.
Nick set Judy down as carefully as he could, and then stepped up to the polar bear who was still just sitting there in awe. The fox reached up as with his strength, grabbed the bear by the collar bringing him down so that Nick could speak right in his ear.
"If you ever set a paw on that rabbit or anyone at that table again, I will personally take each of your fingers and peel them like bananas and feed them to the monkeys here, I'm sure they would appreciate it. I know what you're thinking, 'why should I be afraid of a fox?' Well you should be afraid because right now I don't see a polar bear, I see a small little stuffed animal that I would love to just chew up and spit out do you understand?" Nick said just loud enough for Koslov to hear, after awhile of no response Nick shook the bear a little, "Do you understand?" The polar bear finally woke up from his shock and nodded.
"Excellent" he said patting the polar bear on the chest. He then let go and stepped back putting his paws behind his back and reigning in on his powers. And just to top it off he put his classic smirk back on, it was an impressive mask but anyone who knew him well could see that he was struggling at that moment. The polar bear finally snapped out of his trance regained his composure, signaling to his friends to move out. The whole group left quickly, each one of them surprised by the fact that their brave leader got so scared by a red fox. They could all feel the power but didn't think it was that bad.
Now that the big group had left Nick noticed once again that all eyes were on him, he looked back at his own table to see both Wolford and Clawhauser with their jaws hanging open. Nicks mask was cracking as he quickly took off out of the cafeteria to get away from everyone's stare. Gradually the silence ebbed as people started whispering amongst themselves.
"Did you see that?"
"I thought he said he didn't have any powers"
"He really just scared the pants off of big bad Koslov"
"That was impressive"
"Did anyone else feel that energy coming off of him?"
Judy got up from her seat and walked inconspicuously out after her fox, leaving Wolford and Clawhauser with their jaws still hanging open.
—
Judy walked through the halls feeling for Nicks power coming from anywhere. When she walked the janitors closet she felt the energy spike. She approached the door feeling safe as she walked up. The opened the door carefully, the lights were off but Judy could see the reflection of two eyes looking directly at her.
"Nick?" Judy asked calmly.
The fox sighed, "Hey Carrots" he responded. He sounded upset, 'he just stood up for me why is he upset'.
"What's the matter Nick?" She asked walking in, the sight in front of her made her feel afraid but the overwhelming sense of safety in the room kept pushing her forward. Also she knew that Nick would never hurt her. Nick was sitting in the corner of the room his fur sticking up in certain places and his eyes were narrow slits again.
"Nothing I just surprised myself a little" He said turning away from her. She took a step closer and Nick turned, "Stop… please I don't know if I have control yet". She may have stopped for a second but then started coming forward slowly. Nick could tell without looking that she was still coming closer, and each step closer he growled a little louder until finally she was next to him. She reached out her paw and rest it on his arm, this caused him to turn and snarl at her. Judy didn't flinch again and started to hug his arm,
"Nick its okay, the threat is gone, you showed them not to mess with us. I'm proud of you Nick, I'm proud and I love you so much."
Nicks growling slowly lessened as his breathing slowed and his fur lay flat. They sat there for a minute while Nick continued to calm down in silence, the only noise being their breathing.
Nick was the first to break the silence,
"You remember that nightmare I told you about that I kept having awhile ago?" He asked calmly. Judy only nodded in response.
"Well in that instance where he was antagonizing me about… about…" he trailed off, he couldn't even bring himself to say it.
"Eating me?" Judy said
"Yeah uh that, but in that instance right before you stepped in, I felt that feeling that was identical to the one I felt in my dream, like I wasn't in control. But when he hit you all of my focus went to that so something happened and I got it all back and it felt insane. that wasn't me moving… it was like this sixth sense that automatically made me move like that. And… the worst part is, it felt good."
There was another moment of silence as Nicks words set in. "Nick listen to me, that dream is just a dream, that does not reflect what you really are. I know you, you will never hurt anyone unless they truly deserve it. And if it felt good then embrace, as long as you know what is good verses what is bad then you can easily control it."
"But"
"No buts, I believe in you okay? I think you can do it and that's what matters got it?" Nick didn't respond, he simply looked at the wall. Judy jostled him, "got it?"
Nick smiled, "Ha, yeah I got it"
"Good, now lets go the bells gonna ring soon and we need to get back there" she said standing up, holding out her paw to pick him up. Nick reached out and took her paw, Judy had to pull very hard to get Nick up and once he was up he pulled her into a hug.
"Thank you Judy" He said.
The pair left the closet and made their way back to the cafeteria, the halls were still empty but soon they will be full of students heading to their next class.
"Wait do you think anyone was really paying attention and knows I have powers now?" Nick asked,
"I don't think so, and when did get the ability to go that fast?" She asked back
"Uh I don't know it kind of just happened, I honestly didn't even know I had it"
"How many powers do you actually have?"
"I really don't know, maybe three or four"
Judy looked up at him confused, "You don't know how many powers you have?"
"I just have never thought to really check out how many I have" Nick said shrugging.
"Alright well I think it would be good to find out" Something about him using his powers made him uncomfortable, and that's feeling was evident on his face, so Judy grabbed his paw,
"Don't worry I will set up everything up all you have to do is show up" she reassured him. They made their way back to the cafeteria just before the bell rang. Luckily no one seemed to notice their return and they went onto their next classes.
—-
The rest of the day went by smoothly. No one questioned whether Nick had powers, or at least no one voiced their questions to him. He decided to not go to Judy's today and opted to instead go back to his house which was now rebuilt almost entirely so there was no more any need to hide down in the cave. Nick opened the door to see his parents relaxing in their new chairs,
"Hey champ how'd the day go?" His dad asked peeking over his news paper.
"Pretty good I guess" Nick said heading towards his room.
"Nick sweety" his mom spoke up, "why didn't you tell us that you got selected as a hero in school?" She asked.
"Oh that was months ago, sorry I guess it just slipped my mind" he said.
"Nick do you have powers and aren't telling us?" His dad asked getting serious.
"What no, I promise the day I get powers I will tell you, and as far as getting selected as hero maybe the polar bear felt sympathy for me and wanted to give me a chance who knows." He said shrugging,
"Well we are proud of you" his mom said,
"Yeah and we wanted to celebrate so were taking you out to dinner tonight" his dad said.
"Cool just give a bit to go drop my stuff and then we can head out." Nick said opening the door to his room.
"Oh yeah and you can invite your friend Judy if you want" his dad said. They couldn't see it but Nick smiled at that,
"Uh yeah I will ask her" he said closing the door. Dropping his bag he took out his phone and dialed her number.
"Hey Nick whats up?" She picked up,
"Nothing much other than my parents found out that I made hero in school" Nick said a little panicked, he wasn't worried but the thought that they found something out like that makes him a little nervous.
"How? That was months ago, do you know when they found out" She asked,
"I have no idea, I just walked in and they asked me about it. The good news is they are taking me out to dinner and said I can bring you too"
"Oh, wait so are you asking me on a date Nick?" Nick could tell she was trying to be funny,
"I guess if you think dinner with me and my parents as a date" he said back to her. She laughed over the phone,
"Well I'll be with you so that's what matters" she said, now it was Nicks turn to laugh 'wow that was really cute' he thought.
Nick changed into a red shirt and black slacks before leaving his room. His parents were also dressed fancy, his mom in a nice dress and his dad in a suit. They made their way to Judy's apartment where she was waiting outside in a black sundress with sunflowers on it. Nick could barely keep his jaw closed when he saw Judy. The pair still had no idea where they were going as they drove through a fancier part of Savannah Central. Finally they pulled to a restaurant called Chez Mammal.
The restaurant was fancy, very fancy. The group walked in and were greeted by an elephant in a white tuxedo.
"Ah bonjour and welcome to Chez Mammal, do you have a reservation?" Edward stepped up to the hostess podium,
"Wilde party of four" he said
"Yes Mr. Wilde, right this way monsieur" they were lead back to a large table, and right when they sat down the questioning began,
"So Judy, how do you think Nick got assigned hero in school?" Amelia asked
"Uuuuh" Judy looked at Nick who made a signal for her to create a link.
'Say that you have no idea' he thought to her.
"I have no idea" she said
'tell them I've been doing all the work I need to and that I'm preparing myself when my powers show up'
"I mean he's been doing all his work preparing himself for when he gets his powers, so maybe they saw that work ethic in him"
'Nicely done'
"Nicely done" Judy instantly regretted saying that, Nick simply put his paw to his face. Luckily, his parents didn't seem to notice and accepted Judy's answer.
"Well that's good to hear, when we went through that course it was a lot of work and we had our powers but I'm proud you're pushing through it even without them Nick!" Edward said with a smile on his face.
The rest of the dinner went swimmingly, Nick ordered a play of synthetic chicken parmesan, Judy ordered a salad, and Nicks parents ordered a large platter of spaghetti and synthetic meatballs. The food was great and because they were eating the conversation was very minimal if there was any. Eventually they finished payed the check and left. When they arrived at Judy's house it was a struggle for Nick not to lean over and kiss her. But he withheld himself and simply waved her off,
"Nick if you want you can stay here for a little and walk back" His mom said with a knowing smile on her face. Nick sat there for a moment contemplating how his parents seemed to know everything without telling him that they knew.
"Yeah I guess I'll do that" he said unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping out of the car. "Hey Fluff wait up" he yelled running up to the door just as Judy was going in. She looked back at him confused, and she got even more confused when she saw the worried look on his face. Nick waved to his parents who waved back before driving off.
"What happened?" Judy asked, Nick pushed his way in and started pacing around the room.
"How do they know?" He said ignoring Judy,
"Nick?" She asked again.
"I've never told them, its been months how would they just now know?"
"NICK!" Judy screamed. Her voice finally caught Nicks attention who stopped pacing and looked over at his bunny. "What is going on? You've been like this the whole dinner, and before you say anything I can read you like a book whether you like it or not. So now stop pacing, breath, and tell me whats going on"
The room was silent for a moment while Nick closed his eyes and breathed. "I think my parents know just about everything." The room was filled with silence while Judy thought about what he said,
"Okay well what is everything" She asked.
"Well, they know about me being a hero in school, I think they know that I might have powers, and I think they about us" once again the room was full of silence. Judy's face didn't change, she didn't seem phased at all.
"They probably know you're a hero because of like a parent teacher conference that we didn't know about, I doubt they know that you have powers you've been doing good at keeping that a secret, and so what if they know about our relationship its been like five months I'm okay with everyone knowing… are you not?" Judy's ears folded behind her head, her voice turned to pleading as she looked Nick directly in the eyes.
Nick could sense her sadness growing and quickly kneeled down in front of her putting his paw on her face which she nuzzled into. "Judy" she opened her eyes at the use of her real name, something Nick rarely does. Like getting called by your full name by your parents, except instead of fear she felt comfort. "Of course I'm okay with everyone knowing, its just that inter species relationships are already uncommon, pred and prey relationships are even more rare. I just wanted to be sure that you were okay with what might come from this" he said
"What do you mean?" She asked
Nick paused for a moment not wanting to giver her any ideas, he really loved her and didn't want to lose her. "Well, as soon as this goes public we are going to get a lot of attention, I'm used to it being a fox and all but other mammals are gonna ridicule you even more than now. I just want to be sure that you're ready for this."
Once again the room filled with silence, Judy leaned in and placed her forehead on Nicks, "listen to me Nick, I love you. What some other mammals have to say doesn't matter to me I want you and if being ridiculed is a part of it then sign me up" She said confidently. Judy opened her eyes to see Nick staring directly at her, the sight of his emerald eyes so close to her caused a shiver to run down her spine. Judy was glad to see the nervousness leave his eyes and was replaced by happiness.
"Well gosh Carrots I just took you out for dinner and you said you want to have me, well I'm ready" he said with a smirk.
"What the. Wh… I didn't…" She said flustered. Nick pulled back laughing falling onto his back, Judy stood looking at him angrily before jumping on top of him and hitting him playfully. Eventually Nicks laughter died down and Judy got tired of punching him, Judy lay across his chest with Nicks arms wrapped around her. They lay there for awhile just enjoying the warmth of each other. Nicks mind wandered to how he got here, he was at one point a hustling fox who was okay with being labeled by society and would never live up to the level of his parents, but now he was a fox who had the powers to live on his parents legacy he now just had to figure out how to tell them. 'And its all because of the mammal laying on my chest right now' he thought to himself.
Their wonderful night was ended by the sound of Nicks phone ringing, he groaned reaching into his pocket pulling out his phone. He looked at the caller ID to see an unknown number,
"Hello" he said after hitting the answer button.
"Hello Nick" the voice was enough to make his blood run cold, "So nice to hear your voice after all this time. Don't react abnormally to anything I'm gonna say to you, just refer to me as Mother right now or a certain bunny you are getting cuddly with will become a stain on the wall" Magnus Mortem said.
"Y-Yes mother I understand" Nick said, his stutter caused Judy to look up at him,
"Ah ah ah, don't stutter to much, speak naturally like you would with your own mother" they said
Nick had to work hard to calm himself down, "Yeah yeah mom I get it"
"Excellent, now its almost time for you to come into work. I'm not gonna tell you what you are doing until it is time to do it, I'm going to send you a location soon and tomorrow night you are going to go there where we will discuss, understand?"
"Mmhm" Nick responded.
"Excellent, well enjoy your night I will see you tomorrow" the line then went dead.
Nick took his phone and put it back in his pocket. Judy was still looking at him confused.
"That was my mom, she's upset about the fact that I've been here for so long so now I gotta get back home"
"Okay I get it, it is pretty late" Judy said getting off of his chest. Nick sat up and grabbed Judy pulling her into a kiss. The kiss was brief but conveyed a longing that Judy noticed, they finally separated and Nick stood up and went towards the door.
"Nick" Judy called just before he left,
"Yeah Carrots?" He said
"You trust me right?" She asked, Nick flinched slightly, not enough for Judy to notice.
"Oh course Judy, I trust you with my life"
And with that Nick left, starting his long walk home.
Unknown to him as soon as he stuttered on the phone she created a link with him and heard who he was talking to, she also heard every bit that they said to him.
"Oh Nick what have you done?"
—
Wow that was a lot smoother to right than the last one, maybe because I wrote it in three days (a new record) I told you things were gonna start picking up eventually, well here we go. I really hope you enjoyed that chapter as it was a real joy to write. Hopefully you are all staying safe out there, shit is really starting to hit the fan and people are still going outside and hanging out, that's absolutely bonkers, there's a virus out there. Meanwhile I've been doing online school work and playing lots of video games. And of course writing this story. Once again I appreciate you all talking the time to read this and I hope you do enjoy and I will talk to y'all next chapter to give you a little update on the situation. Go wash your hands and stay inside!
