Broken Clockwork Chapter 4, a zootopia fanfic

Hello this is Last speaking

I have an order number four for a flashback chapter

Hello? Anyone? Hmm, looks like they left. Guess I'll just leave it here.

Chapter 4

Ten years ago

Downtown, the shining centre of Zootopia, with soaring buildings, bright lights and happy animals. Or so it appears on the surface. As is often the case, if you can scratch away the glossy exterior you'll find the inner workings of the city, and it's often far darker, grittier, and grimier than you expect. Despite the city centre seeming so bright and open, there are shadows, if you know where to look.

Tucked away in a gap between two skyscrapers, which could only be accessed by first going through one of the towering buildings, was a tiny alley. Well, it was more appropriate to call it a courtyard since it was completely sealed between the skyscrapers. And at one end of this courtyard was a small building.

It seemed remarkably out of place, obviously not built at the same time as the buildings surrounding it. It was only big enough for one room from the looks of it, no windows, just one door with frosted glass making it hard to see inside. There was only one thing of interest and that was that the glass was carved with hundreds of small interlocking gears. It looked very pretty as a pattern but gears would never turn if you built them like that.

A figure stepped out of one of the back doors into the skyscrapers and furtively made its way towards the tiny building while glancing up at the surrounding walls. Stepping into the only light in the courtyard, located directly over the tiny building's only door, was a nervous looking male zebra. Hesitating slightly the equine reached out and knocked on the door.

"Come in" came a muffled voice from within.

Opening the door, the zebra stepped into darkness, no not darkness, dimness. Especially compared to the light over the door outside. As their eyes adjusted to the change they began to make out parts of the room. There was a thick oak bookcase directly to their right covering the entire wall, the slightly musty smell of old books filling the room. Straight ahead of them was a giant grandfather clock slowly ticking away. To the right, in the centre of the room was a sleek wooden desk with a dim desk lamp and a series of filing cabinets running along the wall behind it.

The only other thing in the room was the mammal sat at the desk. It was a red fox dressed in a smart business suit wearing sunglasses despite the low light levels in the room.

"Welcome to Broken Clockwork" said the fox gently making no effort to move.

"A fox?! A fox runs Broken Clockwork?" blurted the zebra before he could stop himself.

The fox made no sign that he'd taken offence at all, his face still a picture of calm indifference, his eyes hidden behind the dark lenses of the glasses. A deep growling however filled the room setting the zebra on edge, hurriedly he looked around but the room was empty of just the fox and himself.

"We are a two-person business, sir" said the fox gesturing at the chair in front of him "my partner is always present" the zebra cautiously approached and sat down while glancing around again. The room was definitely empty, right? "So how can Broken Clockwork assist you today?"

Shivering slightly despite the fact that the growling had stopped, the zebra decided to ignore the fact that he was dealing with a fox. The mammal hurriedly pulled out a large, brown paper envelope. He was only a messenger and his employer had told him that the less talking he did the easier it would be for him.

The fox had seen his type before and didn't push anything, simply picking up the envelope and slicing open the top with a claw. The zebra sat in silence, fidgeting slightly as the fox removed the documents and sat back in his chair to read through them. The only thing that filled the room was the ticking of the old grandfather clock.

Tick… tock, tick… tock…. Tick… tock, tick, tock, tick… tock… tick, tock… tick, tock, tick…

Only now in the silence did the zebra pick up how… broken the old clock sounded, the off-tempo noise grating on his mind and just adding to the pressure he felt. After what felt like an age the fox placed the documents back inside the envelope and sat forwards.

"You can tell your employer that Broken Clockwork will accept their request, they do not need to return here, we will visit once the task is complete"

The zebra felt a wave of relief before he mumbled some sort of parting and dashed out of the room as fast as possible. There was silence for a moment as the fox leafed through the paperwork in front of him before there was a throaty chuckle that filled the room. The fox snorted as the mask of calm indifference broke and he burst out laughing as well. The shadows at the top of the large bookcase stirred and a pair of green eyes loomed over the edge.

"For once would it kill you to meet a client with me, Noct?" asked the fox reproachfully.

"You know I don't like dealing with strangers Nick" came the reply as Noctis Lacerda stretched out on the top of the bookcase "besides, old habits-"

"Keep you alive" finished Nick Wilde with a snort as he took the sunglasses off his face and flicked the envelope up to the big cat "Some important political family, their kid got in a bit of a scandal, they covered it but a competitor managed to get their hands on some pictures"

"So, they want the evidence gone?" asked Noct as he flipped through the sheets of information slowly "That's fine, I can deal with that, this doesn't look any more difficult than the groundhog case last spring"

"I know, that's why I took it"

"Why Nick, it's almost like you're looking out for me" drawled Noct lazily as his ears flitted towards his partner "You okay? I know that twitch"

Nick smiled sheepishly and stretched out over the edge of his chair "yeah, it's just that tingle down my spine"

"Well we both know to trust those hustler senses of yours" grinned Noct "especially after that case with the hyenas by the docks, you think it's this job?" Noct batted the envelope he was holding.

"No I don't think so, I think it's something else that's going to happen today, speaking of" said Nick focussing his attention back on the door "visitor number two"

Nick slipped his sunglasses back on as Noct faded back into the shadows above the bookcase. There was no silhouette at the door this time before it was slammed open. A much smaller mammal walked into the room, took one look at Nick all dressed up and burst out laughing. Nick sighed as he took off his shades again as Noct reappeared over the top of the bookcase.

"Alright Finn?" asked Noct partly hanging over the edge "or you got a job for us?"

"Yeah right" snorted Finnick in his usually deep voice "as if I could afford to hire the fancy Broken Clockwork to fix my problems"

"You know the sights, smells and sounds are a show right" said Nick exasperatedly gesturing at himself, the dusty old books and the broken grandfather clock"It's all a hustle Finnick, besides, if you did have a problem we'd give you a discount"

"Yeah, how's 5% sound" grinned Noct from up high "but seriously, you got a problem, Finn?"

"Nah" said the fennec fox hopping up onto the other chair in the room "ain't seen the two of you in a while so I thought I'd drop by"

"You know we keep asking you to join us here" said Nick slouching in his chair "Broken Clockwork doesn't need to always just be a duo"

"You know what I said last time you asked" said Finnick waving his paw dismissively "this gig is way too uptight for me, I'll stick to hustling less important people, and no way I can do Noct's part of the job"

It was true that the three of them hadn't met up for a while so, since business was always rare but profitable and it was getting late ayway, they closed up shop and went to get a drink. Nick hung his jacket over his shoulder and suddenly he appeared far more casual. Now, often when Nick and Finnick went drinking by themselves they'd get shady glares for both being foxes. With Noct around they still did but the cat was extremely observant and each glare would find itself matched by a rather intimidating pair of emerald eyes.

"Woah buddy" said Finnick slightly concerned "You're really putting those beers away Nick, what's up?"

"Ah don't worry about that Finn" replied Noct in the fox's stead "we, uh, actually have a meeting with Mr. Big this evening, I think Nick's just filling up on some liquid courage"

Nick knew enough about what he was doing, no way was he going to meet Mr. Big drunk, so he soon moved onto water. The three friends wiled away the hours catching up since their last drinking session. Gradually the sky outside grew dark, as if the whole city was now inside the little courtyard their office was in. Finnick waved his goodbyes as he wandered off to find his van while Nick and Noct headed for the nearest train to Tundratown.

Nick's POV

Thankfully the trains were regular and efficient, the two of them were going to have plenty of time to get to their meeting. Nick quickly put his jacket back on as he felt the cold rush through his bones. To be honest it really wasn't enough but thankfully the station they had chosen wasn't too far away from Mr. Big's mansion. Noct on the other hand was still just dressed in a black shirt and trousers like he always was, Nick often wondered if the panther didn't have any Siberian tiger blood in him. It was dark now and the constant snow storm around Tundratown made it very hard to see. Two pairs of green eyes floated through the flurry of snow as Nick and Noct walked along in silence.

Nick felt a shiver run down his spine, one that wasn't anything to do with the temperature. Noct obviously picked up on it as he stiffened up as he walked next to Nick.

I really hope that this tingling isn't for our meeting with Mr. Big thought Nick feeling like there was an unseen pressure pushing down on him I, I mean we have these meetings all the time, Broken Clockwork has his approval, which has saved our hide more than enough times.

The night seemed to be leaning in around him which was a very unnerving feeling for an animal with nocturnal instincts. The snow storm seemed be blowing stronger, blocking off the rest of the world. A tingling numbness the like of which Nick hadn't felt before shot from the back of his skull all the way down to the base of his tail.

Concerned Nick looked over at his partner and then… the next few moments seemed to pass by in slow motion.

The snow was like a curtain floating gently in the air.

A faint buzzing whine filled Nick's ears.

Something struck Noct's left shoulder knocking him off his feet to lie in the snow.

A flash of crimson joined the white hanging in the air.

Nick stared at Noct in shock, frozen as a patch of red seeped into the snow around the big cat's shoulder. Sounds of movement close enough to be heard over the snow caused Nick's head to flick round. In a daze, he watched as three silhouettes appeared out of the night walking towards him and Noct.

Noct!

His head spinning round fast enough to feel his joints click Nick felt a coldness far worse than the weather take hold of him. Noct was gone, the only evidence he was there was a red stain that was already disappearing in the constant snowfall.

In the dark a fox backed up against the wall as three timber wolves moved in growling, knives in hand glinting in the flurry of snow that surrounded them. The fox whimpered and tried to make himself as small as possible eyes darting everywhere looking for an escape. And also looking for him, the fox felt cold inside, how could he have just disappeared now of all times.

As the wolves closed in the fox huddled up and wrapped his arms round his head waiting. All he could hear was the snow howling in the night, looking up the fox saw he was alone. No wolves, just snow. The fox ran in panic from the area as the snow quickly buried five sets of tracks. The fox never saw him again.

Noct's POV

Noct could feel his partner shivering next to him, this was expected when you take a stroll in Tundratown, but the panther knew Nick inside out. That definitely wasn't a shiver due to the cold. To be fair, Noct agreed with Nick's sixth sense, there was something about today that had been grating on his nerves. His senses were running on overtime, testing every scent and sound that wasn't smothered under the blanket of snow.

The fox next to him suddenly shook visibly, concerned Noct glanced to the side as he felt a powerful force hit his left shoulder. There was a flare of pain as he was knocked off his feet into the snow. Shock ran through his system, pain and adrenaline dulled his thoughts for a moment, and while he wasn't thinking he acted as he was conditioned to.

Noct rose on all fours and slunk a few meters away into the night, bright green eyes watching from the dark. His sense of pain was quite reduced anyway as he stood stretching his shoulder up and down feeling the wounded muscles. The bullet had passed through cleanly, wouldn't leave any problems in the future and wouldn't impede him now.

Why go for a shoulder or body strike? Noct's mind was running like haywire Ah, bad conditions, sniper must be to immobilise.

As he watched, three silhouettes appeared walking to where Nick still was. The three wolves there to finish him off obviously hadn't been filled in much as they started to surround Nick. A flash of anger in Noct's mind was swiftly supressed.

Under instinct Noct stood up straight as pole with his left arm tucked into the base of his back above his tail. As he approached the wolves silently his right hand clenched with just his index finger extended and a single claw exposed. Before the wolves could discover his presence in the storm Noct struck, lightly stabbing the backs of their necks as their bodies went slack. Noct grabbed the three before they could fall and dragged them into the night.

He winced, dragging three unconscious wolves was a bit of a struggle with an injured shoulder. Judging from their reactions they were just random thugs picked up to finish the job. He wouldn't get any important information out of them so he dumped them on the roadside.

Looking up Noct was just in time to see Nick running for his life into the night. He watched his partner, his best friend, hell, his brother basically, disappear into the blizzard. Noct slowly approached where he'd been shot. Standing in the same place he frowned as he touched his bullet wound.

On the roof of a building at the end of the street a moose in winter gear was packing away a rifle and fitting it into a briefcase next to him. He was awaiting a call from the three wolves who were supposed to be on clean up. He didn't notice a shadow slipping over the lip of the roof and sliding up behind him. The first thing the moose did notice was a sharp pain at the base of his neck and a few points down his back. Before he could reach a hand back the moose suddenly found that he couldn't move at all. His eyes widened as a panther slunk out of the dark in front of him, a panther that he had previously only seen down the scope of his rifle.

"Who hired you?" rumbled the big cat, his eyes dull like he was looking at an ant or beetle.

Who do you think I am, an amateur? Like hell you'll get anything from me

"Ursa Major hired me" said the moose as a look of horror gripped him and the mouth he didn't seem to have control over anymore.

"Why?"

"The Lacerda's are gone, I'm clearing up loose ends"

The moose could only sit there in fear, unable to move a muscle as the panther closed his eyes. Opening them Noct held his palm out in front of the moose and blew gently. The moose saw black dust billow strangely into his face and that was the last he remembered.

"Figures" spat Noct bitterly "they can't even die out without messing around with me"

Noct heaved the moose up onto his good shoulder and disappeared from the rooftop. The next morning a delirious moose was found wandering around Mr. Big's inner territory, he was never seen again. Nor was Noct.

Present Day

Nick Wilde and Albert Dreamington were staring at Noct in a daze. Nick had only ever known his own experiences from that night and Albert hadn't known anything of the sort since Nick had not told many what had happened that night. Noct sighed and reached for his drink only to realise he had finished it while retelling the past.

"Another?" asked Albert quietly, who began rustling up another Brandy Alexander at the panther's nod.

The open bar was quiet except for the clinking of glasses.

"You know" said Nick slowly causing Albert's ears to pick up as he carried on mixing the drink "after everything had calmed down, I mostly pieced together what should have happened. Still sounds a bit out there hearing it from you"

"Really? You know exactly why and how all of that could happen" said Noct with a grin before they both began to recite "Extreme physical training from a young age. Advanced knowledge and application of chemistry, biology and psychology. And a little black panther magic"

Albert gave a snort at this as he handed another drink over to Noct. Taking another sip, the cat settled back down to continue.

"After that first attempt failed I couldn't stay in Zootopia. Not when my presence put you in danger Nick, hell next time we could have been with Finnick or Albert. So I left though I made sure to finish that job we just picked up, something about a scandal"

"I did spend a good few weeks in hiding" chuckled Nick "but when nobody ever came back to the office I realised what you'd done"

"Well I couldn't go leaving you too much in the lurch now could I, that was the best I could think of before I left the city"

"The Lacerda's" said Nick tersely, his distaste evident "Are they?"

"Yes" said Noct with a deep sigh "whatever the catalyst was, the family obviously managed to make some dangerous enemies. I travelled in the vague direction of the family home, I stopped by various safe houses on the way, they were mostly still secret and useable" the panther paused, deep in thought "despite how much I hate them all, and perhaps only you understand quite how much Nick, I am still a Lacerda. Seeing my family home razed to the ground was a pain I was not expecting to feel about them again"

Nick clenched his fists, he hated Noct's family just as much if not more, listening to stories of his childhood, and to the nightmares his friend would get. But more than that he felt his heart clenching at the thought of Noct standing there forlornly in front of the ashes of what was once his home.

"They were obviously past their prime" said Noct disapprovingly "couldn't even take all of their enemies with them. Still, I guess that's partly my fault for not accepting my place as the next head of the family. They deserved it too. After that I just started to drift."

"Did you?" asked Nick a bit nervously playing with his drink "you know?"

"No Nick" the panther smiled at the visible relief on his old friend's face "You know I wouldn't touch the family business with a giraffe sized barge pole. I actually took a leaf out of your book I'm afraid to say, started to run hustles as I moved from city to city. I was never as good as I remembered you being though"

There was quiet as the panther pondered for a while before finishing his drink again, Nick joined him this time.

"Made some acquaintances, wouldn't get close enough to call them friends, and a fair share of enemies. But you know me, disappearing is my favourite hobby, nobody ever knew they wanted to catch me before I was on to the next town. And I guess that's that, eventually I ended up wandering back into Zootopia, against my better judgement"

"Yeah? I want to have a word with that better judgement of yours then" Nick knew that wasn't all there was to this. As the two of them settled back into their old ways he noticed he could still read his friend like a book "Okay is it Mineral? Vegetable? Animal?" Nick read the twitches on his friend's face "So Animal…" he took a gamble "Male or female?" and got a reaction "Oh-ho, now I never expected Noctis Lacerda to have girl problems"

"Can we please… avoid that for now" winced Noct before an evil smile bloomed on his face that Nick didn't like the look of "So Nick, tell me about this rabbit of yours"

"She, Carro-Judy's not mine" replied Nick a little too quickly Noct noticed "I said it before she's probably the best cop in Zootopia, definitely a cup half full kind of girl, it's rather infectious actually, I mean, just look at me" he gestured at his uniform "I knew her, what, three days bar a bit of time apart and she saved a city and managed to convince me that I could do something right for once. I trust her with my life and it's in good hands believe me, she could probably give you a run for your money"

Noct, though Nick would never, ever admit it, could read his foxy friend just as easily as Nick could him. Nick running his mouth about the glory of Judy Hopps was as good as looking into the fox's soul for Noct. The panther smiled gently at something the fox obviously hadn't noticed himself yet.

"Ah right" said Nick remembering something "my hustler senses had been going off all day before I saw you across the street. That wouldn't have anything to do with you right? I am a cop now and I would really like to not have to arrest you for anything"

"Nick" said the panther holding up his paws and crossing his heart "I swear on us as brothers that I have never killed anyone nor ever will, nor do I plan on crossing the law" the fox relaxed at this "well, not that would get you in trouble anyway"

"What are you going to do?" asked Albert who had been keeping quiet this whole time, in fact he'd made himself a drink and joined in "If you need somewhere to stay this place is always open to you"

Noct smiled genuinely, enjoying the warmth of friends that he hadn't felt in a very long time, not properly.

"You don't need to worry about me" he said smiling "I've somewhere to stay, and actually" he looked over at Nick slightly apprehensively "I, I was planning on reopening Broken Clockwork"

Nick's eyes widened at the thought.

"I'm not asking you to quit being a cop and join me" said Noct quickly "and you know that we never did anything bad, it'll feel a bit odd I expect but I reckon I can keep it going with just one of us"

"Yeah" said Nick his voice breaking a bit "it'll be good to have you back"

"Okay" said Albert loudly clapping his hands, breaking the quiet "now that we've all caught up, my boys are back and I think we all need several more drinks" reaching under the bar he pulled out some heavy-duty jugs of alcohol "I haven't brought this stuff out since the opening celebration of this place" the tapir chuckled at the terrified expression on Nick's face before he turned to Noct "Why do you think this place is called Moonlight?" he said pouring out three shots of the crystal clear liquid.

The bar started to fill with happy noises, talking, shouting, laughter as they drank away the past.