Hey everyone I'm BACK. I know it's been 120-ish days since my last chapter and I know the world is kinda topsie turvy right now so I just want to thank you all for sticking with me. I also hope you all are staying safe and healthy, and aren't going too crazy during this time of social isolation. Now Chapter 26 was originally supposed to be longer but I was advised to cut it pretty much in half so I hope you enjoy it even if its shorter than I planned for. Also I have a good chunk of chapter 27 done so I'll put that chapter up in a week or less so look forward to that!

As Always I have two people to thank for adding some ideas for this chapter and making it significantly better, so give thanks to

Anteroinen - He catches plot holes and adds logic when I go off the rails,

and

LakesideMiners - He gives me helpful and fun suggestions

AN: Thanks as always to my other editor's SaberGatomon and Toren6000.

AN PT2: You all should know by now that i'm gonna respond to some comments now.

kittykitty59527 - I Promise I will, it may take me some time, and I don't know how it will all play out but I give you my word that I will finish the story, unless I were to kick the bucket, then there's not much I can do, lol.

CheshireCat272 - You found me indeed, and welcome to the story. I'll say that the words you used for your comment were plenty good enough, I appreciate everything you said and I appreciate your understanding on the long wait even more. I welcome anyone and everyone who finds enjoyment in my writing so I say again, Welcome, from a kinda sorta author.

StoryWriter2015: Not the direction I was planning on, but that wouldn't have been a bad idea either. And yeah it's high time Nick confided in his friends. Anyway, thanks for reading and commenting, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

AnimeKing7777: Challenge accepted, I'm sitting on 858 songs currently, so I'm sure I'll find one you haven't heard of and that you'll like. As for who calle dJudy and why.. you'll find out eventually.

CameraSkunk - It's nice to hear I'm worthy of a speed reading, and I apologize for the lost sleep. I'm also happy to hear you enjoyed the music of the story, music is a big part of who I am as a person and I like to share it with any and all who will listen. Thanks for reading and commenting and I hope you will continue to enjoy my story.


Disclaimer: I did not acquire the rights to Zootopia on my work trip so I still own nothing.


Chapter 26: Retaliation

ZPA Classroom Building, Tuesday Night 9:00pm

"Then they told me to think about their offer and I left and headed straight to class" Nick explained as he finished his story and waited for his friends to react.

I wouldn't blame them if they went and reported me right now. Better to push me in front of the bus instead of us all getting hit, Nick thought pessimistically, either that or they just walk away and leave me to figure it out on my own.

The room was only quiet for a few seconds but to Nick it felt like hours. All he could do during that time was stand there and wait, all the while, preparing himself for the worst.

"Wow Nick, that's a really tough spot those two put you in." Tony said, his tone much more mellow than usual. "I'm here to help though, however I can."

"Mmmmh," Paul grunted in agreement.

"Same here."

"Me too, and since we're all in agreement let's start brainstorming," Tom said as the group came to an agreement.

"So, first things first, is what they're doing even legal?" Arlo asked, "I mean a cop can't harass a mammal into doing what they want, so why can IA?"

"I don't think it is," Paul said in agreement. "But I don't know the rules IA plays by well enough, to be sure."

"It's n-"

"What the hell is wrong with you guys!" Nick nearly shouted, cutting off Tony before he could speak.

"What are you talking about Nick?" Tom asked, surprised by the sudden outburst.

"What am I talking about? Tom this is ridiculous. You three are willingly putting yourself at risk for me, someone, who a few months ago, was a complete stranger. Not to mention we only became friends like last week." Nick ranted, baffled at the turn of events.

"Nick, you were the one who asked us for help." Paul calmly reminded the irate fox.

"Yes, I did, but I never expected you all to actually help me, you'd have to be either crazy, or stupid, or both, to willingly start a fight with IA and potentially endanger your whole career for someone like me."

"Nick you're our friend," Arlo said firmly, "It doesn't matter if we've been friends for ten minutes or ten years. Since you're my friend, I'm going to help you if you ask for it."

"Yeah, plus even if you weren't our friend, risking your own neck to help a stranger is kinda a big part of being a cop." Paul explained, sounding like it was the most obvious thing in the world, with the others all nodding in agreement. "But since we are friends, I'll help you however I can."

"Exactly," Tony said in agreement. "Now if we could get back to the topic at paw, I happen to know IA's rules and regulations very well and I can tell you that what they're doing is blatantly against the rules."

"How do you know that?" Nick asked suspiciously, "I searched through all the books the library had on IA and couldn't find anything worthwhile."

"Well you see my dad's actually a former IA agent, and I'm trying to follow in his footsteps." Tony admitted sheepishly.

"If we told your dad about this do you think he'd help us out?"

"Sorry Arlo, but my dad's one of those, 'the proof is in the pudding,' type mammals, so unless we bring him proof, he won't help us."

"So we need to prove that these IA guys are threatening you then," Paul summarized as he scratched his chin in contemplation.

"Why don't you just record you next conversation with them then, then you have your proof and we can say goodbye to those guys for good" Arlo quickly suggested.

"Not going to work," Nick shot back immediately.

"Why not?"

"Well these guys are pretty smart, they caught me off guard last time, that's why they didn't have to worry about being recorded, but next time they'll definitely be on guard since they know I'm looking for a way out." Nick explained as he slowly started pacing again. "Even if they did let me keep my phone, they would either check and see if it's recording or they'd just not say anything about the blackmailing that happened last time."

"So, what do we do, can we put a wire on you?" Tom asked as Nick finished talking.

"No, they'd check for that" Paul replied as his eyebrows creased as he went deep into thought.

"They definitely will check for something so obvious," Nick agreed with a chuckle. "And if for some reason they didn't then you can be sure they won't actually threaten me. Those two are arrogant for sure but they're not stupid, and I've known a few mammals like that, and I've seen firsthand that arrogant mammals won't incriminate themselves on tape unless you trick them into doing it."

"So how can we prove IA's threatening you without recording them?" Arlo questioned as the room went quiet again.

"Well… what if…. instead of recording them, Nick calls one of us and we have Major Friedkin listen in. I'm sure if she knew what was going on she'd help us." Tony offered thoughtfully.

"Tony my man what makes you think they're going to let Nick make a phone call right in front of them? And even if they did why the hell would they continue threatening him when they know someone else is listening?" Arlo asked, completely stupefied by the seemingly stupid idea.

"Yeah, come on dude, be serious. We're trying to help Nick out of a serious jam." Tom chastised.

"I am being serious!" Tony protested. "There's this app you can get on your phone that allows someone to remotely access and control it. The program is called PackViewer and it's normally used by IT mammals so they can take control of their client's computers and fix their problem without the need to actually be there, but the company just released the app not too long ago."

"So, we take control of Nick's phone and then what?" Paul asked curiously.

"Well first, Nick would show the Hyenas his phone, letting them see he's not recording them or doing anything suspicious, then to make them relax even further he places his phone in the middle of the table, this should make them more open to talking. At that point we use the app and make Nick's phone call one of ours, then we bring it to Major Friedkin and have her listen in to everything."

"That's…. actually, a good plan," Arlo said in surprise to which the others agreed.

"No Arlo, that plan is more than good, it's great!" Nick corrected enthusiastically while he pulled out his phone and started looking for the app.

"Hey Tony, I don't see the app in the app store, what was the name again?" Nick asked aloud as he continued swiping down the list of available apps.

"Nick, please don't tell me your phone is an iCarrot," Tony groaned.

"It's the iCarrot 6, why?"

"Well besides the fact that iCarrots are inferior to Anzoid's in pretty much every way, the iCarrot app store doesn't carry the app."

"Oh, well I happen to like the iCarrot, it's easy to use and being able to send messages on Wi-Fi is awesome." Nick replied.

Before Tony could speak again Paul spoke up. "Plus its damn near impossible to get a virus on any device made by Carrot, the security is top notch."

"Bu-" Tony started to say before being cut off, this time by Tom. "Carrot is a terrible company, their products are overpriced and poorly made, they're always one or two steps behind Anzoid technology wise, and it's impossible to customize anything other than the home screen picture."

"Guys, guys, let's have this argument after we figure out how we're going to help Nick." Arlo interjected, nipping the growing debate in the bud. "Now Tom it's safe to assume you have an Anzoid, considering your rant against Carrot."

"Yes, I am the proud owner of a Zoogle Pixel 4.""

"Fantastic! Nick can just use your phone then."

"Fine, but you better not break it Wilde." Tom agreed defensively as he began searching the app store for the app in question.

"Are you kidding me Tom. I've seen how well you take care of your phone it's in much safer paws with me." Nick retaliated.

"Nick are you implying that I don't take care of my precious phone?" Tom asked playfully as he started downloading the app.

"I'm not implying anything Tom. You've dropped your phone down almost every staircase in the academy, how that thing still works is a mystery!"

"It's because of the superior quality of the Anzoid." Tom stated proudly as he held his phone up for everyone to see.

"It finished downloading!" Tony said excitedly. "Let's test it out."

Tom quickly opened the app and Tony began walking him through connecting their devices, and after a few minutes Tony began showing off his complete control of Tom's phone and even called Nick to prove it could be done.

"Wow Tony, that's really impressive." Paul admitted as he sat back in his chair.

"It really is," Nick agreed as he took a turn controlling Tom's phone. "But there's still a few thing's we need to work out."

"Like what?" Arlo asked.

"Well we'll need to work out the timing, you guy's can't start the call too soon or Johnson and Smith will notice, and I can't have them reveal everything right away either since you guys will need time to get to Friedkin." Nick explained as Tony and Tom cut off the connection.

"Makes sense, let's hurry up and hammer out the details then since I'd like to go to bed sometime tonight." Tom noted as he checked the time and realized midnight was fast approaching.

After looking at the clock the other agreed they better finish up soon and spent the next hour hammering out the rest of the details of their plan. It took longer than expected but by the end of the discussion everyone in the group felt good about the plans chance at success.

"Well guy's I think we've thought of pretty much everything." Tony said confidently.

"Yeah, this plan is airtight," Arlo agreed as he stood up and stretched. "Now let's get to bed, since we've got to get up and run in like three hours."

"Hey guys I have one more thing to add." Nick said, stopping everyone in their tracks with the seriousness in his voice.

"Tom you need to change your phones wallpaper, because I am not going to try and explain why I have a picture of a young female wolf blowing kisses as my home screen." Nick joked as he swallowed down what he really wanted to say.

"Damn Nick you got me, I thought it was something big." Tony laughed.

"Yeah dude, don't scare me like that." Arlo added as he made his way to the door.

"Don't worry Nick I'll change the picture," Tom reassured. "I wouldn't want you to have to try and explain how you got a girl so clearly out of your league."

"Good one." Paul said with a chuckle as he opened the door and held it for Arlo.

"Wait guys!" Nick shouted, stopping the guys in their tracks once more. "That's not what I wanted to say."

"Well spill it then Nick, what's eating you?" Tom asked, seeing Nick had something he really wanted to say.

"I… I just wanted to say thank you to everyone." Nick finally managed to choke out after taking a minute to compose himself. "I never expected you guys to help, especially after hearing how risky this could be if we fail and IA catches wind that you tried to help me."

Nicks friends were first stunned silent as they saw the normally cool and carefree fox's solemn expression, but they continued to say nothing as they listened to Nick's honest and heartfelt thanks.

"I don't know how I could ever repay all the help you guys have given me, but I just want you to know you have my thanks, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, and if I can one day I'll repay the favor."

The next few seconds were quiet as nobody knew what to say next until finally Arlo spoke up. "Pffft, save that sappy shit for after we've pulled your tail out of the fire Nick." And just like that the silence was broken and one by one everyone else spoke up too.

"Don't worry about it." Paul grunted while trying to hide the growing smile on his face.

"Arlo you ruined Nick's thank you. I bet if you had given it a few more seconds he would have cried," Tony complained, getting a round of laughter from the group.

Tom didn't say anything, instead he just walked up to Nick, put his paw on Nick's shoulder and gave him an encouraging thumbs up.

"Now that that's all squared away, we should probably get to bed, unless you or anybody else has something else you need to say?" Arlo asked as he made a move towards the door.

"No Arlo that was it." Nick confirmed as he too started heading for the door.

"Fantastic, but Nick I got something for you now."

"Yeah, what's up Arlo?"

"It's nothing much really, more of a suggestion if you're willing to hear me out." Arlo explained as he stepped into the hallway with the rest of the group.

"I guess listening wouldn't hurt. What do you got for me?"

"Well, it's just if you really wanted to show everyone your gratitude, then how about after we send those assholes packing, we all go out for a night on the town and you buy the first round." Arlo suggested flippantly, not expecting Nick to agree.

It wasn't only Arlo that expected Nick to decline the invitation, in fact not one mammal in the group though Nick would actually agree. The reason being that in the few months they had been in the academy Nick had passed on every opportunity to go into the city and let loose.

But, the Nick of a few months ago was pretty much gone at this point and in his place stood the new Nick. This Nick no longer found the idea of hitting up some bars in Zootopia to be such an unpleasant one, at least as long as his new friends were with him.

"Alright let's do it." Nick agreed after giving Arlo's suggestion some thought.

"I knew you'd say tha…. Wait WHAT!" Arlo exclaimed.

"I said, let's do it. After this whole thing is settled, we'll all go to Zootopia for a night and I'll buy the first round." Nick explained with a smile.

"No freaking way, Nick Wilde is actually going to go out drinking with us. This is going to be Legenddd…. Wait for it….. Dary, legendary!" Tony shouted excitedly.

Tony's excitement was apparently contagious too since the rest of the group immediately started discussing and planning where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do on this historic night. The conversation continuing all the way back to the dorms. That night as Nick lay exhausted in his bed, he found that he couldn't get rid of the smile on his face or stop his overexcited tail from wagging, as he too looked forward to going out and celebrating the passing of the current crisis.

ZPA Rec Room, Monday Night, 8:00pm

So for the next week Nick and his friends spent every spare minute going over the plan, practicing it, tweaking it, and preparing as much as they could. They practiced using PackViewer so much that every one of them could expertly navigate the app with their eyes closed, timed Nick's walk from the cafeteria to the administration building and discussed how long to wait before calling. They had gone over the plan so much, that according to Tom, Nick had started reciting it in his sleep. So, when the night before the big operation came around Nick decided it might be better if they all relaxed and played some videogames instead of going over the plan again, an idea that was well received by the group.

"Now say goodbye to your tail, now say hello, now say goodbye, now say hello again," Arlo taunted as his fighter proceeded to graphically tear off his opponents tail and beat him with it. "Now to finish my fatality combo I think I'll take your head for a trophy." Arlo then quickly mashed a few buttons and his female tiger immediately dropped the detached tail and cleanly severed the immobile wolfs head.

Then the game announced the end of the match with a booming "Fatality, Catli Wins,"

"I think that's the third time you've lost to me tonight Nick, and that puts you at fifteen losses and what am I at again?" Arlo asked as he turned to face his defeated opponent.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've never beaten you, but I was busy getting laid in high school instead of playing games in my mothers' basement like you did." Nick lied teasingly.

"All I'm hearing is an excuse from a sore loser," Tom chimed in as he grabbed the controller from Arlo. "Now let's see if I can redeem myself after your cheap win last time."

"Nothing cheap about it Tom, pinning your character against the wall and repeatedly using the same attack is a valid strategy, one that I will use to beat you again." Nick smiled as he prepared to select his character and face off against Tom while Paul Arlo and Tony argued about the validity of Nick's 'strategy.'

"Looks like you guys are having fun." A voice called out from the doorway. The sudden unexpected noise, causing everyone to jump slightly, before looking over to see who it was.

"Oh, hey James, what brings you here at this time of night?" Arlo asked sourly as the cheerful mood vaporized in an instant.

"It's nothing big Arlo, I just have something I want to discuss with Nick." James stated calmly as he sauntered over to the couch where Nick, Tom, and Arlo were sitting, seemingly unfazed by the tension in atmosphere that the rest of the room felt.

"And what might that be?" Paul grumbled, not happy with the wolf's intrusion. "We're in the middle of a tournament here."

"That… is between myself and Nick, nobody else needs to stick their snouts into our business."

Nick could see James's attitude was getting to Arlo and Nick decided to interject before the cheetah started cursing James out.

"Alright James let's talk?"

"Follow me, I want to go somewhere more private that way nobody…" James gave the room a once over his gaze lingering on Arlo and Tom. "listens in…"

"Fine." Nick shrugged as he got up from the couch. "Hey Arlo kick Tom's ass for me alright?"

"Y-yeah, sure thing."

"Nick, are you sure about this?" Tom whispered, making sure nobody else would hear him.

Nick said nothing, but he could hear the worry in Tom's voice, and even if he hadn't Tom's expression looked like Nick was about to go Infront of a firing squad. All Nick could do was give a reassuring smile before walking out the door behind James.

The next few minutes were spent in silence as Nick followed James through hallway after hallway seemingly at random. Despite the confident act he had put up for Tom and the others Nick's was already on edge because of the plan, his intestines working themselves into knots as the seconds counted down to that fateful day. That was before however, now because of James all of Nick's internal organs seemed to be joining in, his heart speeding out of control, his stomach doing flips as his intestines, kidneys and liver tied themselves together like the Gordian knot. Thankfully just as Nick was reaching his limit James finally stopped at a blank corridor, with nothing but a window overlooking the campus at the end of it.

"Ok, this should be far enough." James said as he leaned against the wall arrogantly. "Now let's get down to business."

"Alright," Nick replied, as he stuck his paws in his pocket, pretending to put up a relaxed front, while secretly setting his phone to record the conversation.

"You know Nick I've been thinking about this for a while," James began as he stared out the window thoughtfully. "Thinking about what I should do, and what I wanted from you."

Nick said nothing, even though he knew exactly what James was getting at Nick wanted him to say it aloud. So, emboldened by Nick's silence James continued his little spiel.

"You see it was rather hard at first to find something you could do for me since I'm a pretty capable mammal and if I want something, I can usually just get it. But, recently I've noticed that the class has lost some of its cohesion, and I'm struggling to connect with a few of our fellow cadets."

"If you don't get to the fucking point soon, I'm going to need to take a bathroom break" Nick interrupted angrily.

"Oh you're no fun Nick. Basically, the point I'm trying to make is that ever since you stopped being an outcast and started being friendly again the class has become more and more divided, and that has put a real damper on my previously entertaining academy life."

"So you're not having fun anymore? Poor James, what a burden you bear. If only there was some way I could alleviate it." Nick mocked, his patience running out.

"Oh but there is! You see all you need to do is fade back into the background. As long as you return to your old loner self, the balance will be restored. What the class lacks right now is a common enemy, something or someone that we all can complain about together. You used to fill that role perfectly since you distanced yourself from the class and acted like you were better than everyone else it was easy for the rest of the class to hate on you." James explained the smile on his face reminiscent of a smarmy used car salesmammal.

Nick was blown away. Not only was James blaming Nick for the clear divide that had shown up, but he was actually telling Nick to jump on the proverbial grenade just to bring everything back to normal. I mean it's not like his idea wouldn't work, everyone did seem to be closer when I kept my distance, but still to think James would try and force me to ostracize myself, I don't know if I'm more shocked or angry but one thing's for sure I'm not giving up a damn thing for him. Nick thought angrily as he suppressed the rage that was beginning to bubble up in his stomach.

"And you actually expect me to do that?" Nick asked incredulously.

"I do Nick, because if you don't then I'll bring that photo not only to the entire class but to the instructors too since I doubt the ZPD wants an emotionally unstable fox for an officer, so just play along like a good little fox and we won't have a problem"

Nick took a deep breath, calming himself before he spoke. "James you really are an idiot."

"What did you just say?!"

"I said that you're an idiot," Nick repeated casually. "I mean you must be if you expect me to actually do all that. The photo you took means nothing, it shows me breaking a muzzle, and that's all. This muzzle was not academy property so there's no issue there, and I broke it because Tom bet me that I couldn't, not because I'm unstable in any way. So, if you're trying to blackmail me with something like that you must be an idiot."

Nick expected James to yell, storm off, or at least start arguing in some way but instead he just pulled out his phone, pulled up the picture and stuck it in Nick's face and let the evidence speak for itself, and oh man did it speak. Nick's fangs were borne in a feral snarl while his green eyes were bloodshot and had an almost savage look to them, which caused Nick to shudder a little. Nick could also see the dark tear tracks that lined his fur, and Nick had to agree that the crazed look, coupled with the snarling and the tear tracts really gave off the appearance that Nick actually was mentally unstable. As Nick looked closer he could see bent and twisted shards of metal scattered across the ground as well as flying through the air, and to top it all off Tom was staring in wide eyed shock in the corner of the picture, his expression almost fearful as he watched Nick.

Shit! This is way worse than I thought it was. Nick thought to himself as he stared in shock at the picture while James just stood there looking smug.

"As you see Nicky my boy, this picture is more than enough to get you toss out of the academy." James said as he put his phone back in his pocket. Having delivered his threat and made his point James figured it was a good time to leave, but just as he about to skirt past Nick and leave, he decided to get one last jab in a choice he would soon come to regret.

James roughly patted Nick on the shoulder as he stood next to Nick and said. "Just stay out of my way Nick, go back to being the conceited outcast you were born to be, it's what's best for everyone."

Nick wasn't an easy mammal to anger. He had always been this way, ever since he was a kit. Nick could get annoyed, disgruntled, and even upset, but it was only in rare moments or extreme situations that Nick would get truly angry, and it was even rarer still that if he was angry that he would act on those feelings. Normally a weak provocation like that wouldn't have made the slightest impact on Nick, but this was no normal situation, Nick was stressed, uncertain, concerned, and under an extreme amount of pressure, and so, instead of brushing James off like he usually would, Nick snapped.

*Bang*

James landed suddenly with a thud, he didn't know how it happened but in the span of a few seconds he went from standing tall, to on his ass with his back pressed up against the wall. Nick was now leaning over James, forearm pressed aggressively against his throat making it slightly difficult to breath.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" James wanted to yell out, but the look of rage and contempt in Nick's eyes stopped him in his tracks. It looked to James as if Nick was trying to set him on fire with just his glare, and in the face of such pure unbridled hostility James couldn't make a squeak let alone an actual word.

"It seems I have your attention." Nick whispered, not wanting anyone to overhear and investigate. "That's good. It also seems that you've realized it's in your best interest not to say a word." James just nodded his head, not wanting to antagonize the irate fox any further. Nick smiled menacingly at the new submissive attitude James was taking.

"Now you aren't going to show anyone this photo, because if you do not only will I get you kicked out of the academy, because it's against the rules to photograph any cadets on academy grounds unless permission is given by the administration. But, I will also make it my personal mission in life to ruin yours, I will dedicate myself to destroying every opportunity that comes your way, every job, every relationship, everything that brings you any joy will be taken away or destroyed by my paw." Nick continued to stare James down until finally he let out a snarl and shoved James against the wall one more time before casually dusting himself off and walking away.

Nick didn't even glance backwards as he walked away from the form slumped against the wall, formally known as James. Instead he kept his eyes forward and forced himself to keep his expression from wavering as he picked up the pace, wanting as much distance James as possible. A few seconds later, having got what he considered adequate distance away Nick finally let himself relax.

"Holy shit that was intense." Nick said to himself as he put a paw against the wall for support. "I haven't threatened anyone like that in a long time."

Nick spent the next few minutes collecting his thoughts, steadying his breathing, and replaying the conversation over in his head until eventually he let out a heavy sigh.

"I shouldn't have gone that far, I overreacted…" Nick shook his head as pictured the expression on James's face again, no longer feeling any joy in the look of fear and submission that he had. "What the hell is wrong with me."

Pushing himself off the wall he'd been resting on Nick started to walk, his mind a mess of thoughts and feelings interspersed with clips of what just happened.

Back at the Rec Room…

Nick took the long way back at half speed, trying to take as much time as possible so he could sort everything out in his head before running back to the guys, and as Nick reached the Rec room door he realized he was out of time. So doing what any healthy mammal would do Nick took his unresolved emotions and pushed them to the back of his mind while he threw on a mask.

I wish James had taken me farther away, it took way too long to recompose myself and I'm still not completely finished, Nick thought to himself as he reached the rec room door. For now, let's just pretend nothing happened, that way the guys don't get any more stressed then they already are.

You're losing it Nick, Cyn-Nick mocked, getting too emotional, getting violent, you're getting sloppy and for what? If you're just going to lie to the mammals you say are your friends then what was the point of fighting to keep them?

Nick said nothing and instead just took a deep breath, opened the door and walked into the rec room, a casual, confident smile on his face.

"Heyyyyy, Nick's back!" Tony called out as Nick walked in.

"So what did James want?" Arlo questioned; his eyes glued to the screen as he ruthlessly beat Paul's character into the ground.

"Oh it was nothing serious, he just noticed how shiny my fur is and wanted to know what conditioner I used." Nick lied effortlessly.

"Really, why did he need to pull you out of the room for that?"

"Well Tom, James is surprisingly a shy guy despite his boisterous appearance, he didn't want to ask in front of all of you guys because he was worried you'd make fun of him for it." Nick explained, making sure to lock eyes with Tom, signaling that they'd talk about it later.

"James is shy about his fur care routine, who would have guessed," Tom shrugged. "Now Nick I believe you still owe me a rematch. So, once Arlo finishes Paul off you and I are going to settle a few things."

"I'm not losing this time." Paul grumbled as his health bar went into the red while Arlo's remained full.

"Just take your beating with honor like the rest of us," Nick joked as he reclaimed his spot on the couch.

So, for the next hour and a half Nick and his friends distracted themselves with games and banter as they all tried to take their minds off of what was about to happen tomorrow and what was at stake if they failed.


Editor Note: This chapter is brought to you from afar from our esteemed author who's been abroad, risking life and health to provide to his family. Let's all welcome him back, so that we may enjoy this story's continuation. And don't forget to leave a comment, welcoming him back.

SaberGatomon


I had nothing to do with the above note, but I kept it since my editor works hard for this story.

Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed it feel free to drop a review down below, tell me what worked, what didn't, what you want to see, ect. I love hearing from you all. Also If for some reason you don't want to comment but still want to suggest something or talk to me personally don't hesitate to PM me, I'll respond when I have time.

Well I hope those song's kept you company while I was gone, now here's another - Title: I Know it Hurts By: Alter Bridge

I'm sure my music recommendations get ignored by some but I continue to put them out because of the intense impact music has. My life specifically has been drastically influenced by music and because of that I've decided to share that with you fine people in the hopes that you may find a new song that stirs something in you and gets to you in some way. Music is such an amazing thing that can connect experiences and people in ways you'd never expect, it's a strange and beautiful thing that I can never get enough of. Now of course I know that not every song will be like by everyone so I don't expect everyone to check out what I recommend but if even one person finds solace in a song I recommended that's enough, and if not... well it's my platform so I can have my fun too. lol