The Fox Phantom of the Opera

by ZooCross0vers

At L'Opéra Populaire, down deep within its old torture chambers lies a secret long since buried and believed to be dead. Judith Hopps, an aspiring singer, becomes the object of affection of an unseen mysterious voice. The ghost - the Phantom of the Opera - her Angel of Music and the holder of a secret conspiracy that once brought death to the vengeful phantom himself.

5. Ch 4:The Anonymous Admirer (Memories II)

A/N: Hey everyone, sorry for the long wait, but March was a pretty busy month, plus I'm going to be taking a family vacation outside of the country in a few days, so I've been busy with that too. I'll try to get the following chapter out much sooner than this one, but not sure when that'll be yet.

In the meantime, hope you enjoy this new chapter! :D

…

Chapter 4: The Anonymous Admirer (Memories II)

It was early morning and L'Opera Populaire's actors, dancers, musicians and crew workers all sat in the mess hall eating breakfast. A long and bountiful buffet table had been spread out for everyone.

Almost everyone had already gotten their food, but there were a few stragglers still in line gathering their breakfast. Among them were Skye and May. The two stood near one end of the table collecting their meal.

"Does your hangover feel better?" Skye asked, half jokingly as she grabbed a raspberry cream filled pastry.

"Yeah, I feel a lot better. Gotta say, I'm surprised I managed to stay on my feet during the performance given the big headache I had."

"Yeah well, that'll happen when you don't listen to me," Skye smirked, confidently.

May rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You know instead of using that confidence on me, maybe you should try using it on yourself more often."

Skye raised a confused brow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Duh, Jack?"

Skye jerked nervously in place, dropping the pastry she had just grabbed. She scrambled her paws quickly gathering it back up on her plate and chuckling nervously at the mammals down the other side of the table who were staring at her.

"You think you can say that any louder?!" Skye hissed angrily, her voice close to a harsh whisper.

"What? You know I'm right," said a smug May.

"I've already told you, I'm over Jack. He likes Judy, not me."

"Just because his dad said so? It's been years, maybe he just needs to see you again before he makes a definite choice with Judy."

"Are you kidding me?" Skye replied, "Do you know how sleazy that sounds? Judy's my childhood best friend. I can't do that to her. You heard her yourself, she still loves him and...he loves her, so..." Skye paused for a moment, looking completely and utterly defeated. "It's best I just walk away and move on."

"But you love him too," May argued.

Skye turned to her, ready to deny the pig's claim, but she couldn't deny the truth. Much less when she knew well that May would never buy it.

Skye moved down the buffet line, grabbing a small cup of fruit. May followed the sulking vixen, "It doesn't matter whether or not I may or may not have feelings for him." May's eyes half lidded, really not believing that 'may not'. "But I really have no business butting in between them if they like each other. And besides, I'm a fox. There's no way he could ever find me more attractive than her."

Skye took her full plate and headed over to a table with her head low. May immediately followed close behind.

"Come on, Skye, we both know Jack's not like that," May said confidently. "If anything, I have reason to believe that he might've liked you too."

Skye paused for a moment before reaching her seat, then slowly turned to face May, "W-What?"

May smiled and directed Skye to sit. The two girls took their seats and continued talking. "You know how I told you that Jack and I were both part of this Junior Business Mammals club that our dads made us join?"

"Yeah, I remember attending one of those once when I was staying with his family. I hated that club. Bunch of snobby rich kids looking down on me just because I was poor," Skye mumbled, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah, don't worry. I hated them too. But anyway, I remember this one time we were talking and he kept mentioning you...a lot. A lot more than Judy even. And this wasn't too long before he left and shared a...ahem...kiss with her. He even mentioned how much he thought you had a beautiful, fluffy tail."

Skye glanced back at her puffy appendage and blushed a little. To foxes, complimenting their tails meant a lot. Particularly coming from someone special. She knew May knew this, but she now wondered if Jack did. She did explain plenty of things to him about foxes, but she wasn't sure if she had ever mentioned the tail thing when they were kids.

"He...likes my tail?" Skye asked, bashfully.

"Mm-hmm. Maybe you ought to consider at least taking another chance with him. He and Judy aren't technically courting each other, so I'd say it wouldn't be so bad to try your luck. Just tell Judy about your feelings for him. I'm sure she'd understand. And tell Jack, of course. He needs to know before he makes a definite choice."

Skye paused, thinking about what May said. She sighed insecurely, "I don't know May. I know Jack cares about me, but I don't think he could ever like me like that."

"Oh come on. Why are you so sure about that?"

Skye said, nothing. But seemed lost in her own thoughts. Skye grabbed at her snowflake shaped necklace – as she normally did when anxious. May noticed the action but said nothing about it. She merely exhaled and placed a hoof on Skye's shoulder.

"Look Skye, I really don't know how things will go between you and Jack. If it works,then great. If it doesn't then hey, at least you tried. You won't be left wondering about what could have been."

"I guess, but-"

"No buts!" May cut in, "It's tough but I have a real strong vibe about you two. Trust me Skye. I know what I'm talking about. I have a gift for this sort of thing."

Skye snorted, "A gift?"

"Yeah. I got the same vibe between my brother and his wife. They've been married for three years now and are still happy together. And I got the opposite vibe between my uncle and his sixth wife. They divorced after only two days of marriage." May gave a confident puff of her chest. "Yeah, I got the gift."

Skye chuckled, "You're crazy May." Though her friend had managed to make her smile, Skye's smile faded rather quickly. "I know you mean well and don't want me to give up without a fight, but I'm still worried about-Judy! Hi!"

Skye gave a friendly smile to the gray rabbit as she approached them with a plate of food.

"Morning Skye! Morning May!" Judy greeted them with a happy well rested smile. "Are you okay Skye? I didn't startle you did I? You kind of screamed my name there."

"Oh, no. It's nothing," Skye waved off her nervousness. "I think you just surprised me."

Judy giggled, "Sorry about that." The bunny kept her radiant smile as she sat and hummed a familiar little tune as she took a knife and cut a piece of her stack of blueberry pancakes.

Skye and May curiously observed her. They glanced at each other, then back at her.

"Uhh...well, you sure seem to be in a chipper mood Judy," said May, awkwardly and confused by the bunny's strange new behavior.

"Mm-hm!" Judy chirped with a mouthful of pancakes.

Another awkward pause between them and the eerily happy bunny.

"Are you okay, Judy?" Skye asked, concerned. She knew Judy was going through a rough time with her father's passing, and her being away from home, and her refusal to sing. Even the night before, she seemed really depressed to the point of turning in early. So that begged the question...why was she so happy all of the sudden?

"Did something happen last night that you're not telling us about?" Skye asked.

Judy ceased her eating. She grinned eagerly like someone who had a big secret to tell.

The bunny opened her mouth, perhaps to elaborate, but she was interrupted by two new voices approaching their table. Or rather, a high pitched squeal.

"Judy! Please! Oh please, tell me it has something to do with Jack!" Emilia squealed, overflowing with enthusiasm. Sharla came up behind her.

"Calm down, girl," Sharla chuckled, humored by her enthusiasm.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Sharla. But I can't help it! They have such a cute romance! And that look on Judy's face just screams smitten bunny all over! Look at her, she's absolutely glowing!" Emilia sat beside Judy, taking her paws in hers with sparkling eyes. "Spill it Judy, please tell me Jack's finally sent you a letter after all these years, confessing his love for you!"

"I'm so glad you support us so much, Emilia. But, I'm afraid my upbeat mood has nothing to do with Jack," Judy replied good naturedly.

Skye and May glanced at one another again. They, Sharla, and a disillusioned Emilia were all beyond curious now.

"Then what's made you so happy since last night?" May asked.

Judy realized all eyes were on her. She wished she could tell them the whole truth, but she knew they would not understand or believe that her Angel of Music was real and had come to her at last.

Judy stood up, taking her plate in her paws and said to the curious girls, "Sorry guys. I can't tell you. It's a secret," the bunny winked.

"Huh?" uttered Emilia. She then gasped in fright. "Oh dear! Don't tell me you've met someone!"

The other girls' eyes bulged. Could it be that Emilia was onto something?

Judy's surprised expression didn't help, much less because in all her excitement, the true meaning behind Emilia's accusation didn't even register in her mind. She took it only at its face value. More so considering that she literally did meet someone.

"Uh...Well, I guess you can say that." Judy couldn't hide the tiny smile that creeped at the corner of her mouth.

"What?!" Sharla bleated.

"Who?!" May asked.

Judy giggled, "I'm not telling!" The bunny playfully sing-songed her response then left the mess hall with her plate in paw. Leaving the other girls baffled with mouths agape at the revelation.

The awkward pause lasted longer than any of the girls had expected. The silence was only broken when Emilia started to weep quietly, "And they were such a cute couple."

"How would you know? You've never even met the guy," Sharla asked.

"That's not the point!" the heartbroken romantic snapped at her. "It sounded like they would have a fairy tale romance and she threw it all away for some random guy she just met!"

"Calm down, Emilia. We don't even know if it's a guy she met. She just said that she met someone," Sharla said as she went around the table and grabbed Emilia from the shoulders, escorting her away from the mess hall, comforting her.

"You really think there might be hope yet?" Emilia sniffled.

"Yeah, of course I'm sure," Sharla comforted. The black sheep turned to the other two girls and gave them a wave good-bye.

May waved back as the other two girls left.

Once they were out of ear range, May turned to Skye. "So...what do you think about all that?"

"I don't know. What do you think I should think about it?" Skye replied, somewhat snarky and already knowing what the pig was thinking.

"Come on, Skye. I'm just looking out for you. And you know it's a guy she met."

"Like Sharla said, we don't know that for sure. Judy said someone, not a guy specifically."

"The way she was acting, it's obvious that it was a guy she was talking about. There's no other explanation for her sudden change in mood! Which means-"

"Which means, we're assuming. And we don't really know," Skye interrupted, "Besides, how could she have met a guy in the middle of the night?"

"Maybe he was in attendance at our performance last night and asked her to meet him after hours?"

"Come on, May. We both know Judy turned in early last night and looked pretty depressed."

"Which would've given her a perfect reason to want to distract herself with a guy," May said as a matter of factly.

Skye scoffed, "You're grasping at straws. Besides, Judy's not that kind of girl."

"I'm not saying she slept with him. But she obviously met someone and...if it was a guy then this could be your chance. You know...with Jack?"

Skye paused, taking May's words into consideration for a moment before speaking again, "May…" she began, sounding exhausted, "For the last time. I'm not-"

"Not willing to be honest with yourself," May finished the vixen's sentence as she stood from the table with her meal. "I'm just trying to help you at least figure out how he feels before you truly give up. You're my friend Skye, and you deserve as much of a chance at happiness as Judy does. True, we don't know who Judy met. But if she met a potential boyfriend, then what's stopping you from at least talking to Jack about how you feel?"

May left with her plate, leaving Skye alone at their table.

Skye exhaled frustratedly, "Not honest with myself, what's she talking about?" she muttered under her breath. The vixen absentmindedly poked at her small fruit salad with a fork. She rearranged the fruit until she made a rabbit-like head and face with the fruit pieces.

She sighed, May was wrong. Skye was honest with herself and she knew that the hare did not feel that way about her. Perhaps he never would. It hurt so much to admit it, particularly because she did still love him.

She had always loved him, ever since the first moment that they'd met…

..

Zootopia 1864 (17 Years Earlier)...

A four year old Skye ran around a snowy playground. "Heeheehee!" the little vixen giggled as she skipped about. She fell on her bum, but continued giggling. A single flake of snow fell on her nose and the little vixen giggled again.

"Huh?" she glanced to her side and noticed something elevated in the snow. "What's that?" She cleared up the snow and noticed a blue pansy flower hidden underneath. "A flower! It's so pretty!" Skye chirped happily, bringing it to her nose and sniffing it…

Until a hard snowball flew to her face and thwacked her on the cheek. "Hey!" Skye shouted angrily.

Two older boys, each about 7 years old, an arctic fox and a badger walked up to her laughing. "Hahaha! Aw, did we hit you?"

Skye's lip quivered and tears started to gather at her eyes. "Aw, look at that Blanc," mocked the badger, "The baby's gonna cwy!"

They both laughed harder, until the arctic fox boy named Blanc noticed something about her. "Hey, wait a minute, I've seen this kid before. Her mom's one of the dancers from the circus that's in town."

"Hey, yeah! Maybe we can get some free tickets off her!" the badger boy agreed.

"Yeah!" Blanc grabbed her by the collar of her dress. "Listen up kid, you better tell your mom to get us some free tickets to the circus or you get another face full of snow! You got that?!" he threatened, looming another snowball over her head.

Skye covered her face, scared, "No!"

"Sounds like somebody's gonna get another face full of snow!" The boy named Blanc pulled his arm back, ready to toss the snowball right at her face!

When suddenly…

SWOOSH!

WHAM!

A random snowball flew right at Blanc's face and hit him hard right on the cheek. The fox boy released Skye. "Ow! Hey! Who threw that?!"

A little hare with gray fur, black stripes, and ice blue eyes stepped forward, "I did!"

Skye slowly removed her paws from her face and glanced over at the young hare. She could tell that he was shorter than her, but in his bold and brave state, he seemed much taller. Which was odd, since he couldn't have been more than 5 years old.

Skye's eyes sparkled in awe at the brave hare

"Release her, you ruffians!" shouted the young hare. "Or else!"

The two older boys scoffed at the smaller hare. "Or else what?"

WHAM!

Yet another snowball hit the fox boy in the face. "Hey!" Then another suddenly flew at the badger boy's face.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" the boys yelped as a rapid succession of snowballs hit them repeatedly! They tried to block, but it was useless against the fast hare. "Stop! Stop! You dumb hare! Ow!"

"Let's get out of here!" yelled the badger boy. Blanc nodded in agreement, releasing Skye as he and his friend ran off with their tails between their legs.

Skye watched the two older boys run away before a small gray paw came into her line of sight.

She looked up to see that it was the brave little hare offering his paw and a sweet smile to her, "Are you alright?"

She stared into his kind eyes, then slowly nodded and gave him her paw, still in complete and utter awe of him. "Y-Yeah, thank you." He took her paw in his and helped her up.

The little hare nodded and helped dust her off, "They were quite rude weren't they? Mother says that a true gentlemammal must always be polite to a lady. I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Miss…?"

"Skye! Oop…" Skye covered her mouth, embarrassed of her overly enthusiastic reply. She cleared her throat before answering again, toning down her eagerness, "Skye Winter. And you?"

"I'm Jack. Jack Kurtis Savage," the young hare took the little arctic vixen's paw and politely kissed it, "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Skye."

One of little Skye's paws pressed itself against a bright red cheek. She found herself blushing and giggling bashfully, all the while her long fluffy tail wagged happily behind her. "Nice to meet you too, Jack." The shy little vixen replied, wanting to forever memorize the brave young hare's name.

"Are you new in town? I play in this playground all of the time and I've never seen you here before." Jack asked.

"Kind of," Skye replied. "My mommy used to live here before I was born, but we travel a lot because she works at the circus over there. We live there too!" Skye pointed over at the nearby circus across the street.

"You live at the circus?!" Jack squeaked in awe.

"Uh-huh! I get to play all the circus games and travel around the whole world with my mommy and her circus friends!"

"That must be a lot of fun!" Jack said.

"It is!" Skye chirped back with a wag of her tail, "Except, when mommy's performing. She's a really good dancer, but she never lets me see her perform. Or talk to Monsieur Foulfellow, even though they're really good friends. She also doesn't let me go to the back side of the circus where they have all the Freakshow stuff. She says it's not for children, but I see a lot of other children go there with their mommies and daddies all the time! It's not fair," Skye pouted, crossing her arms.

"That does seem rather unfair," Jack replied.

"Yeah. Hey, have you ever gone?" Skye asked curiously.

"No, but father said he'll be taking us on Saturday! Perhaps we'll be able to see your mother perform and we can play some circus games together!"

"Really?!" Skye squeaked eagerly, before blushing and grabbing her tail, bashfully fidgeting with it. "You…want to be friends with me?"

"Yes! Of course!" Jack replied earnestly. "I'm homeschooled, so I don't really have too many friends. And, I like you, you seem really nice."

"You…like me?" Skye blushed again, twirling the tip of her tail between her fingers.

"Uh-huh!" Jack chuckled kind heartedly, completely missing her obvious feelings for him. The bashful Skye, placed her paws behind her and looked up at him. Their eyes met and they smiled at one another.

"Jack!"

They heard a female voice call to him in the nearby distance. Jack looked back, "Oh, mother's calling me."

"Aw, do you have to go home now?" Skye pouted sadly.

"Yes, we have to attend an event for my older brother's Junior Business Mammal's club. But we'll see each other again soon, won't we?"

"Yeah," Skye smiled.

Jack crouched down, picking up the blue pansy she had dropped earlier and offered it back to her. "I can't wait to see you again, Skye."

Skye took the pansy from him, saying nothing and simply finding herself in awe yet again. She felt so strange. She had never felt this way before. Her heart beat so rapidly in her chest for this kind-hearted boy. Her first actual friend.

"Jack!" they heard the same female voice call him again.

"I have to go. Goodbye Skye! I'll see you this Saturday at the circus!" Jack waved back at her as he ran off.

Skye gripped the flower with both paws to her heart. Though Jack probably couldn't hear her at that distance anymore, Skye quietly uttered, "Bye Jack, I can't wait to see you again too."

Though she was young, she knew at that moment that she had fallen in love with the brave little hare.

..

Back in the Present time (1881)...

Skye sighed, having eaten most of the bunny shaped salad she was playing with.

She wasn't stupid, she knew full well that when he told her that he liked her all those years ago, it was just him platonically saying that he wanted to be friends. But at the time it meant so much to her. His friendship was precious and she feared losing that over a silly childhood crush that she still had for him to this day.

May was right, she did love him. But, she would never tell him that if it meant getting in his or Judy's way. However, if Judy really did meet someone else…

…Skye would probably still keep her mouth shut.

Skye took another bite of her salad, firm in her choice.

.

Once breakfast was over Chief Bogo and Clawhauser toured the opera house. "Mm! Mmm! Mmm!" Clawhauser chewed on a plate of crepes as they walked to the backstage area. "Monsieur Bogo, you really gotta try these crepes, they're mm-mmm, good!"

Bogo sighed in annoyance, "I really wish you hadn't brought those with you."

"I'm sorry Monsieur Bogo, but I couldn't help myself."

Bogo shook his head. "Let's just get this money over to that irritating vixen, Madame Winter and be done with it."

"I'm surprised you actually decided to listen to her about paying the Phantom's salary. You were really against the idea at first."

"I still am Clawhauser, unlike you, I'm not at all intimidated by that ridiculous Phantom tale. I am only obeying her for one simple reason."

"And what would that be, Monsieur Bogo?" Clawhauser asked.

Bogo chuckled "My dear Clawhauser, you don't get far in the police academy without being two steps ahead of the enemy."

"What do you mean?"

"Madame Winter seems to speak for this Phantom, so if there's anyone who would know how to find him, it's her. She makes it apparent that he is in a rush to receive his pay, and if that is the case then she will no doubt try to give this to him as soon as possible. So if we play this right, we could follow her and-"

"She'll lead us right to him!" Clawhauser finished for Bogo.

"Exactly, so follow my lead and say nothing suspicious."

"Gotcha," Clawhauser winked and nodded in confirmation. He ate the last crepe and set the plate down on a table.

The two headed to Madame Winter's office and knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Madame Winter called from inside her office.

"It is just us Madame Winter, Monsieur Bogo and Monsieur Clawhauser. We have the Phantom's pay."

There was a temporary moment of silence before they overheard Madame Winter unlocking her door. She did not open it all the way, only enough to poke her head out at first, "Forgive me, you said you have the Phantom's pay? I am quite shocked Monsieur Bogo," Madame Winter stepped out. "I truly thought you would be too stubborn and prideful to do such a thing."

Clawhauser managed to peek into her office for a moment and caught a glimpse of a small box on her desk before she closed the door nearly all the way.

"Yes, well," began Bogo, "I am willing to do anything to ensure my client's investment is kept intact. Even if it means pretending that that ridiculous specter exists." Bogo reached into his lapel and pulled out the envelope that had the Phantom's salary of 20,000 franc-bucks in it. He handed it over to Madame Winter and she took it.

Madame Winter looked inside the envelope to ensure the money was there, "I must say Monsieur Bogo, you impress me. And here I thought you were nothing but a foolish buffalo, but I see there is indeed a brain inside that thick skull of yours."

Bogo huffed, offended.

"You did well Monsieur Bogo, the two of you may rest easy now knowing that the Phantom will not seek to harm either of you for previously disobeying him."

"Lucky us," Clawhauser uttered, nervously.

"If you will now excuse me, I have other errands around the opera house. Good day, gentlemammals," Madame Winter returned to her office and locked the door behind her.

Bogo growled under his breath, "I've said it before and I'll say it again, that vixen infuriates me!"

"I wonder what she has inside that box?" Clawhauser uttered curiously.

"What box?" Bogo asked, forgetting his anger.

"She had a box on her desk, but I don't know if that's important–"

"Everything is important when it comes to that vixen, Clawhauser. Come," Bogo and Clawhauser crouched down beside one of the windows, trying to spy inside Madame Winter's office. "Damn, the curtains are too thick to see through them."

"Monsieur Bogo, look," Clawhauser whispered, as he pointed at a slight lift at one corner of the curtains in the other window.

Bogo approached the small opening and the two peeked inside. Within the office, they saw Madame Winter observing what appeared to be a small heart shaped frame. In front of her, laying on her desk were the envelope with the Phantom's salary and the small open box that Clawhauser had spotted.

"Hmmph!" Bogo huffed quietly, "I knew it. There is no Phantom. I'm certain she just made up that story herself and stuffs all the money into that box."

"You think so?" Clawhauser asked quietly.

"It has to be. It's the only logical explanation."

Madame Winter stared at the frame for another second before putting it back into the small box. Once she put that back in, she pulled out a new item. It appeared to be a photograph.

Madame Winter stared at it for a moment, before neatly placing it below the envelope with the Phantom's salary. She closed up the small box, locked it, and put it back in its secret hiding spot underneath the floorboards. She collected the photo and the envelope, along with a lantern and headed towards the door of her office.

"She's stepping out," Bogo directed Clawhauser behind a cart of dirty costumes for large mammals so they could hide from sight. Clawhauser nodded and rushed with Bogo behind the dirty laundry carts.

They watched the vixen step out of her office with a key in paw. She locked her office and jiggled the doorknob, ensuring that it was locked. The vixen then looked around, making sure that she was alone and stepped deeper into the less visited areas of the opera house. The area heading into the first cellar.

"Where do you think she's going? And with a lantern?" Clawhauser whispered.

"I'm not sure, but very likely to give the Phantom his pay. Come on, let's follow her," Bogo and Clawhauser stepped out from behind the carts and began quietly following Madame Winter, ensuring to keep a fair distance between themselves and her.

Madame Winter entered the first cellar, while Bogo and Clawhauser followed after her. There were a small handful of animals working there, mostly flyworkers moving props around and painters adding a couple of last minute adjustments to the backgrounds. Clawhauser and Bogo pretended to simply be looking around, minding their own business and trying to go unnoticed by Madame Winter and the other workers there.

Of course, with the two serving as the temporary owners of the opera house, they did not go unnoticed by the polite staff. "Bonjour Monsieur Bogo, Monsieur Clawhauser. What are you two doing back here?"

Bogo shut his eyes, cursing the polite stoat for blowing their cover. Madame Winter turned her head and noticed that the buffalo and chubby cheetah were in fact there. She also seemed to be awaiting their answer.

"Uh…What else does it look like? We're the opera house's temporary owners. We wanted to tour the place and become wholly familiar with every room before Comte Savage returned," Bogo answered, doing his best to keep his tone as firm as possible. Bogo very briefly eyed Madame Winter in an attempt to see her reaction. Madame Winter appeared to be expressionless. She turned around and headed further still into the darker recesses of the opera house.

"Oh, well in that case, this is the opera house's first cellar. I believe there are two or three more, but I'm not too sure."

"I-Is that a fact?" Bogo asked, fidgeting ever so slightly in place. He needed to follow the moving vixen, but he couldn't afford to make himself obvious now that she had spotted them. His eyes kept shifting between her and the talking stoat. Only half paying attention to what he was saying. "Oh yes, current props, set pieces, and costumes are all worked on here in the first cellar. The second one is mostly for storage. You know, for old set pieces and props. The third one, if I'm not wrong, is the boiler room. I heard there might be a fourth cellar. But I wouldn't know. I've never gone there. Think it might've been sealed up years ago. Heard it was the sewer lines, but I don't really know," the stoat shrugged, continuing his work.

"Mm-hmm. What's over there?" Bogo asked the stoat as he saw Madame Winter head towards a stairway.

"Oh that? That stairway leads down to the second cellar. I'm surprised she keeps heading down there. Don't know what the ballerina director would be doing down there all by herself, but I'd rather not ask her. She can be pretty scary."

Bogo kept his eyes on the vixen as she disappeared down the stairway. "Yes, well thank you very much for the valuable information. Please excuse us." Bogo turned his gaze to Clawhauser signaling to him that they should follow Madame Winter. Clawhauser nodded and the two immediately headed towards the stairway.

They slowly went down, cautious not to run into Madame Winter.

The second cellar was noticeably dimmer and quieter than the previous one. It was almost entirely silent…save for what sounded like quiet whispering.

"What's that?" Clawhauser whispered to Bogo.

"Shh!" Bogo shushed him in response, trying to listen. He gestured to Clawhauser to keep moving down the rest of the stairs. Once at the bottom, they caught sight of Madame Winter. She had her back to them and appeared to be speaking to someone hidden in the shadows behind a large set piece.

They tried to listen in on the private conversation. "I have your payment…" they overheard Madame Winter say.

They drew their ears closer when they heard a very faint, almost inaudible male voice answer.

"Damn…" Bogo huffed quietly. "Can you make out that voice?" Bogo whispered to Clawhauser.

Clawhauser shrugged, shaking his head in response.

They heard Madame Winter speak again. "You wanted to tell me something…?" The near silent male voice spoke again. He seemed to whisper something which caused Madame Winter to pause and lift her nose to the air. Was she looking up at something or what? She nodded and walked towards another room.

"Should we follow her?" Clawhauser whispered.

Bogo shook his head, "Let's wait. I want to see if whoever is hiding in the shadows shows himself." They waited for a few seconds until they were surprised by a familiar voice that snuck up behind them on the stairwell.

"Waiting for someone, gentlemammals?"

"Aah!" Both Bogo and Clawhauser jumped in place, surprised by the sudden voice from behind them. It was none other than Madame Winter.

"What? But how? You were–How?" they stammered, unsure which question to ask first.

"I smelled you. I am a canine after all," Madame Winter answered before stepping closer, almost threateningly. "But I think a better question is, why have you two been following me?!"

Bogo huffed, "Don't play innocent, vixen. You know damn well why. Now tell us, who were you speaking to there in the shadows?!" The vixen said nothing. For the first time since the buffalo had known her, she genuinely seemed at a loss for words. The buffalo approached the shadowy area behind the large set piece. "You there! Whoever you are, show yourself!"

There was no immediate answer from the faint figure in the shadows. Madame Winter's ears ever so slightly pushed back, secretly frightened and uncertain of what the result of the confrontation would be. Bogo was about to step forward to confront the figure until said figure moved. He slowly stepped forward towards Bogo and the others until he finally came into the light.

To say Bogo and Clawhauser were shocked was an understatement. The shadow figure was not quite what they had expected. Madame Winter on the other hand, sighed quietly in relief and smiled.

"This is who you were speaking to?" Bogo asked in disbelief.

"Oui, isn't that right, Monsieur Louie?" Madame Winter replied.

"Yep, that's right Madame." Louie, it turned out, was a dirty, stocky, peasant looking rat.

"Louie? Who-Who are you?! And why haven't we seen you before?!" Bogo demanded.

"Name's Louie," said the rat, while he was carving an apple in his paws with a small knife, "They call me the Rat Catcher though. So, either or will be fine."

"Rat Catcher? But aren't you a rat?" Clawhauser asked.

"Yep, I'm a rat. Catch insects really. But I caught a homeless rat livin' 'ere in the second cellar once. Nickname's stuck ever since," he ate a slice of his apple.

"So, let me get this straight," Bogo groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You were speaking with him this whole time?" Bogo asked Madame Winter, "What were you talking about a payment?"

"Yep, Madame Winter was just bringing me my payment," Louie showed off an unopened envelope in his paw, "Like my privacy, so she delivers it for me," the rat answered.

"He's just as private as the Phantom. Who is whom I assume you thought I was speaking to?"

"Well…" Bogo was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to think anymore.

"I am a liaison to him, Monsieur Bogo, nothing more. I don't know him personally. And as I've told you before, I know as much of him as anyone else in this opera house does." Bogo squinted his eyes at her, not believing her in the least. "If there's nothing else Monsieur Bogo, will that be all or will you and your associate continue stalking a small defenseless female?"

Bogo flinched awkwardly. He wanted to give her a piece of his mind, but he knew that she had just made him feel like a creep. He huffed in defeat. "Come Clawhauser."

Clawhauser followed without question.

As soon as the coast was clear, and Madame Winter could no longer smell them nearby, she turned to Louie.

Louie returned the envelope, "Says he'll be in the main boiler room. Third cellar."

"Thank you, Louie. You know the rules, yes?"

"Yep, keep me mouth shut. I won't say nothin'." Louie ate another slice of his apple and retired into the shadows.

.

Clawhauser and Bogo returned to the main backstage area.

"Well, I guess that answers that, eh Monsieur Bogo?" Clawhauser asked.

"Wrong Clawhauser. That vixen is lying. She was speaking to someone else, not that rat."

"But he was the only one down there."

"That we know of. But didn't you think it rather odd that someone like her actually seemed nervous?"

Clawhauser thought back, "Hmm, now that you mention it. She did look a little pale. I noticed her ears droop a little too."

"Exactly, she seemed anxious. As if we were this close to discovering something we shouldn't."

"So, what're we going to do now, Monsieur Bogo? She really doesn't want us following her anymore."

Bogo pondered for a moment. He looked ahead and noticed the ballerinas rehearsing. His eyes focused on Skye – who was leading the girls in their exercises. "Hmm…perhaps we have been going about this the wrong way. We certainly won't get anything from that vixen anymore. But we have yet to question her daughter or any of the other workers. Not to mention, there's still the matter of that secret box of hers."

"That's true, I wonder what she's hiding in it and what she took out of it?" Clawhauser thought out loud.

"It's a shame that we may never know what she took out of it, but perhaps we can see what else she keeps inside it. Come Clawhauser, we have some planning to do."

"Yes, sir," Clawhauser nodded and followed after him.

.

Madame Winter entered the main boiler room down in the third cellar. The rest of the boiler room was a large bright red room full of hard working mammals. All of them were muscular males of medium to large sizes like sheep, wolves, tigers, rhinos and elephants. They shoveled coal into different coal boilers that lead to different rooms and floors throughout the opera house. Though most of the stoves were aligned along the walls of the large room, there was one large main coal boiler in a separate room. The room itself was spacious and unlike the other boilers, it usually only needed maintenance during certain hours of the day and constant vigilance only at night to ensure that no fires occured and that the heat from all the other boilers spread into the theater.

The boiler had recently received maintenance, so the room was empty. Madame Winter walked past the hard working males and entered the main boiler room. Behind the large machine, lurking in the shadows was none other than the Phantom.

"I take it I have not been followed this time?" she asked him.

The silent fox shook his head.

"I suppose I should thank you for that. I had yet to smell them until you warned me. And kudos for sending the Rat Catcher in your stead. He truly made them believe that he was the one I was speaking to." Madame Winter extended the envelope to him, "Here is your payment again by the way."

Nick shook his head, "Keep it." He spoke, surprising Madame Winter a little. "I want your dancers to use it. Tell them it's from a generous fan from last night's audience."

"But, why?" Madame Winter asked, confused.

"I have my reasons."

"What are they to spend it on?"

Nick shrugged, "Anything they want. Clothes, jewelry, I don't care. I just need them out of the opera house. All except for the new girl."

Madame Winter's ears perked in curiosity. "You mean, Judy Hopps?"

"Yes."

Madame Winter was at a loss for words, confused. She stammered her next words in disbelief. "Bu-wh-Why Judy?"

"I'm going to train her to sing and I don't want the other girls distracting her or asking questions," he answered honestly.

Madame Winter was so confused. How did he even know about Judy's ability to sing? More so considering the fact that Judy absolutely refused to sing? Madame Winter felt that there was more to this than he was letting on. Why would he, the mysterious Phantom, go out of his way to teach a girl he just barely met? More surprising still…when did he meet her?! Did Judy even know who or what he was?!

Knowing full well that he'd never admit to anything, Madame Winter observed him, trying to figure him out. As she stared at him, she could swear she noticed the faintest genuine smile on his face and a certain light in his normally dim green eyes. Her eyes widened in realization.

He's in love with her…she thought.

Nick looked at Madame Winter, noticing how unnaturally quiet she had been for the last few seconds. "What?" he asked curiously.

Madame Winter shook off her shock. "Nothing, just, I'm surprised you've already met Judy. You've never really shown much care or interest in my dancers' well being before."

Nick shrugged nonchalantly, "I overheard her singing. She believes I'm the Angel of Music that her father promised her. That's all I am to her and it's all I'll ever be to her, are we clear on that?" Madame Winter was surprised. She had even more questions now, but settled on simply giving him a nod in response. "She has a real talent and you should know me well by this point Madame Winter. If I see talent that'll likely improve the opera house then I'll use it as I see fit." He tried to make himself seem as heartless as possible.

But Madame Winter didn't buy it. She could tell that there was no trace of his usual bitterness in his voice. "I see. I will do as you say, however, I do ask in return that you do nothing that will hurt Judy. I've known her since she was very little and I see her as a daughter also." Nick nodded in response. "She has also recently lost her father, so I ask you to please be mindful of that as well."

"Very well," Nick replied with a nod. "I'll keep all that in mind, but you remember to keep your actual daughter and the other girls away whenever I want to tutor Judy."

"I will. As long as it does not interfere with their dance lessons either."

Nick gave another nod and turned to leave.

"Wait…" Madame Winter spoke before he could leave. Nick turned to her as she approached him, "Here, I came across this old photograph the other day and…I thought it might interest you." The vixen handed him the sepia tinted photograph. Nick's eyes widened in surprise.

Nick's grip tightened on the photograph. Though Madame Winter couldn't tell if it was out of joy or anger or a mixture of both. "Where did you get this?" he asked.

"It was just an old photo that I kept. I know those were unpleasant times, but I know how dear the mammals in it were to you. And thankfully someone neither of us wishes to remember is not in it."

Nick viewed the photograph in his paw. It was a group photo of them and the other circus workers. At one side were a young Madame Winter in full costume, Robin the Great and his assistant Little John. On the other side of the photo stood some of Cirque du Foulfellow's sideshow freaks, including a miniature giraffe, a bearded female pig, a hyena in a straitjacket and siamese camel twins. Smack dab in the middle and still enclosed in his cage with a burlap sack covering his face, was none other than little Nick.

Nick swallowed hard at the photograph, unsure of how to feel towards it. "Do you know what happened to any of them?"

Madame Winter shook her head, "I have not seen any of them since the circus closed down and Honest John was…" Nick glanced over at her, almost as if telling her not to finish that sentence. She stopped herself from saying anything further. There was a momentary silence before Nick spoke again.

"Thank you," he muttered quietly, shocking the vixen. In all the time that she began serving him, he had never thanked her for her service. Nick turned to leave until Madame Winter stopped him once more.

"Wait." Nick stopped but didn't turn to face her. "Forgive me, it's just…I find it rather surprising. This is the most I've ever heard you speak in so long. You've been about as quiet as you used to be back in the circus as of lately. Any particular reason for that change?"

Nick remained quiet for a moment before saying, "Just do what I asked you to do." Then without another word, he disappeared back into the shadows.

Madame Winter stood in place for a moment, staring at the money he had let her keep. That boy was truly a mystery. As a child, he was always sad and scared. As an adult, he always seemed so angry and full of hate. But now, there seemed to be something different about him. An odd warmth, which the vixen hoped would eventually become a permanent part of him.

.

Meanwhile, in one of the opera house's many hidden tunnels, Nick contemplated the photo Madame Winter had given him.

It was strange. It almost seemed as if he was looking at an entirely different world. One that never existed or existed only in some alternate reality, but that wasn't the case. It was just a time long gone. A time when Madame Winter was still young and a time when he was still small and helpless…

..

Zootopia 1859 (22 Years Earlier)...

Little Nick sat in his cage, still chained by a foot, a couple of new bandaged scars at his arms, and a burlap sack over his head. He had been living at the circus as a regular attraction for a couple of weeks now and things had not gotten any better.

"Haha! Hey look at the freak!" called out a pig boy that was in his tent. The young piglet and his two friends – a little coyote and a little muskrat tossed a couple of eggs right at Nick's covered face. He barely flinched, having little to no fight left in him.

"Ha! Got 'em right in the eye!" the coyote shouted proudly.

"Ah, this ain't no fun. Come on, let's go see that forever laughing hyena," said the pig boy as he led his friends outside of the tent.

Little Nick sighed, trying to get the egg gunk off of the burlap sack as much as he could without removing it.

"Hey Pee-wee!"

Nick's ears perked beneath the sack as he heard the same troublesome boys again. He feared that they were addressing him, but then realized that they were actually harassing another fellow sideshow freak, Ernie the Miniature Giraffe.

As expected, Ernie was a grown giraffe with dwarfism. The boys had circled around him just outside of Nick's tent, so the young fox was able to see them tormenting the small sized giraffe.

"I said stop it! Cut it out ya brats!" Ernie yelled at them.

"What was that, Pee-wee? Can't hear you all the way down there! Hahaha!" the piglet laughed as he shoved the short giraffe over to the wolf pup.

The pup shoved him to the muskrat who shoved him back to the pig. "Hahaha!" The three laughed at the giraffe the whole time until they shoved him to the ground.

The kids pointed and laughed some more.

"Now see here you ruffians! That's quite enough!" shouted one of the two heads belonging to a two headed kharai camel.

"Are you alright, Ernest?" the other head asked. They were the Siamese Twins, Samuel and Andrew Kharai, both with similar yet very distinct personalities. Both were refined intellectuals with a penchant for literature – as was evident given the small handful of books that the two were carrying. Samuel tended to be the most outspoken of the two while Andrew was a bit more soft spoken.

Samuel and Andrew, or Andy as he was usually called, helped Ernie up from the ground. Samuel turned to the boys, attempting to further scold them, but then…splat! splat! splat!

The twins were barraged with an array of eggs to their faces. Samuel lowered his finger, egg on his eyes and face.

"Ahahahahaha!" The three boys pointed and laughed. Behind them, Ed the Forever Laughing Hyena, laughed maniacally. Laughter always seemed to trigger a reaction from him.

The kids tossed an egg at Ed's face, causing him to laugh even harder still. The boys ran off cackling. They ran past the young Madame Winter who was being accompanied by two other non-freakshow members of the circus, the red fox magician Robin the Great and his assistant Little John, a brown bear. The boys nearly knocked over a basket that Ciel carried with her.

"Hey!" Little John huffed at the bratty boys.

"I suppose their parents never taught them any manners," Robin commented.

The three headed toward the freak show members and noticed Samuel and Andy wiping the egg from their faces. "Way to help me, you two. Now I got egg all over me," spat an agitated Ernie."

"How rude, Ernest. We were only trying to help," said Samuel.

"Are you boys alright?" asked Mia the Bearded Sow, yet another freak show attraction. The female pig offered them a hanky for them to wipe their faces clean.

"Thank you, Mia," said Andy, taking it first from her.

Ciel, Robin, and Little John approached them. "Bratty kids again, huh?" Little John commented.

Ernie spit out some egg yolk. "No…what was your first guess, Big John?"

"It's Little John," corrected the bear.

"Whatever. Ev'ry day! It's the same fuckin' thing every day! Bunch of brats thinking they could pick on us just cuz God thought he'd have a laugh with us. It's nothin' you bunch of normies would ever know or understand!" Samuel handed Ernie the napkin and he quickly wiped his face with it.

"Forgive him," Samuel apologized on his behalf, "He's a bit short tempered today."

"Who ya callin' short? Huh?" Ernie put up his tiny fists, and swiped his nose with a thumb, challenging Samuel and Andy.

"Oh, Ernest, please. Enough!" Samuel gently shoved him away. "Apologies," he said again to their non-freakshow friends.

"What are you all doing here, anyway?" Andy asked curiously. "The three of you are part of the front main attractions."

"Yeah, ain't you one of the dancing broads from out front?" Ernie asked Ciel. "The hell you doin' back here?"

"I am on break right now. And though it is none of your business, I'm here to visit someone. So if you don't mind," Ciel headed towards the tent where Nick was kept.

"Hey, whoa! What ya doin' vixen? That's where they keep the Monster Kit," Ernie warned.

"I know," Ciel stopped to answer.

"So you're purposefully goin' in there? Are ya crazy?!"

"Why does it matter? Aren't you all members of the freak show? I'm certain you've seen him before, haven't you?"

"Hell no! I heard that kid's a demon. I don't mess with the supernatural."

Samuel and Andy thought for a moment, "You know, now that you mention it. I don't think we've seen him either."

"Yeah, neither have I," added Mia.

"We have yet to see him ourselves," Robin added, "John and I wished to see him as well, so here we are."

"Wonderful, why don't we all welcome the boy?" Samuel suggested. "He's been here a couple of weeks and we've yet to welcome him."

"Indeed, brother. Truly rude of us," added Andy.

They all headed towards the tent to greet and welcome the young kit to the circus. "I'm tellin' ya. This is a bad idea. If we get some sort of demon curse on us, I'm blamin' you two," said Ernie, pointing at Samuel and Andy.

"Oh, honestly Ernest, enough of that. Look, he's only a child…" Samuel added as he and Andy peeked inside the tent, "...With a burlap sack over his head."

"Why does he have a burlap sack over his face?" Andy asked.

Ciel sighed and gathered them all outside the tent, "Look, before anyone steps foot inside here, you all must know that he is a normal kit, but…" she said, hesitating for a moment, "He's deformed and is not very trusting of others. So, I ask you to please allow me to go in first and call you in once I let him know about the rest of you."

Robin nodded, "Very well, what you feel will make the boy more comfortable, Ciel."

Ciel smiled, grateful. She headed inside the tent by herself. "She saw the young kit. His back turned to her and the entrance of the tent. Ciel was surprised to realize that he had removed the burlap sack from his face. He seemed to be cleaning it.

Ciel cleared her throat and the small kit's ears immediately stood to attention. The little kit quickly put the sack back on his head, gripping it tightly before he turned around, terror in his eyes. He calmed down when he realized that it was just Ciel.

"Don't be afraid little one, it's just me," Ciel approached him with the basket in her paw. He approached her, curious about what was inside it. She smiled at his curiosity. "Are you hungry? Here," she handed him a small pouch of apple slices.

Nick took the bag. He would very quickly shove his paw up inside the burlap sack with an apple slice and eat – his face still hidden underneath. He ate another one in the same manner before Ciel spoke to him again.

"Listen, I know you don't like to be seen, but there are some mammals here who want to meet you."

Little Nick stopped eating. He looked up at her then at a group of animals that peeked inside the tent from the entrance. Nick quickly dropped the bag of apples and dashed to a corner, turning his back to them and hiding his face as much as he could.

Robin and the others grew shocked by his behavior. Ciel went around to the other side of the cage and spoke gently to the trembling kit. "Don't be afraid, they're friends. Just like me," Nick turned to her, "They won't hurt you, I promise."

Nick was hesitant but was willing to believe her. His tiny frame relaxed and he turned to the other animals. Ciel came back around and signaled the others to come inside. They did and slowly approached the kit, who hid behind Ciel as best he could within his cage.

"Wait, is this really the demon kit? He's shorter than I am! I think…it's hard to tell with him in that cage and that bag over his head." Ernie commented. "Hey kid, mind removing that bag from your head so we can see." Nick hid further behind Ciel, trembling once more.

"Ernest!" Samuel scolded.

"What? We're all freaks here, most of us," he added, remembering Ciel, Robin, and Little John. "It's not like we're gonna judge him. Besides, how ugly can he really be?"

Nick held onto the burlap sack as tightly as he could again.

"Ernie, could you be any more insensitive?" Mia the Bearded Sow, added. "Look at the poor kid, you've frightened him."

"Oh, yeah. Make me the bad guy! I'm just sayin' out loud what we're all wonderin'."

"I take it that everything I told you outside, just went over your head, Ernie?" Ciel snarked to the mini giraffe.

"Was that a short joke? That was a short joke wasn't it? I can tell you right now girly, you wouldn't be crackin' those jokes if I had been born normal sized!"

While the two argued, Robin approached the little balled up fox in the cage. He crouched a bit to speak to him at eye level, "Tell me young tod, what's your name?" He spoke gently to him.

Nick sniffled a little before looking up at the older red fox. He was terrified for a moment, thinking he'd be just like Honest John, but then he noticed a kindness in his eyes. It was the same gentle glint that he would see present in Ciel's eyes.

As expected, Nick did not answer. "Aw come on little fella. There's no need to be shy. Rob here might be a little funny lookin' but he means you no harm,'' Little John smiled gently at Nick.

Though they couldn't see it, Nick had actually managed a small smile underneath the burlap sack.

"Well then if not your name, how about your age?" Robin asked, "How old are you little fellow?"

Nick said nothing. He could tell that he wanted to say something, but he just couldn't.

"I'm afraid you'll never get an answer. He's mute," Ciel explained.

"Mute? Oh, I see," Robin responded.

"Wait, would that mean that he can't hear us either?" Little John asked, curiously.

"No, he can hear," Ciel corrected. "He simply cannot speak."

"So why's he mute if he can hear?" Ernie asked. "Don't those things go hoof in hoof or paw in paw?"

"Not necessarily," Samuel approached, looking through one of his books. "Muteness is not always associated with deafness. There are many causes to it. Such as injuries to the left inferior frontal cortex where speech is located in the brain, or a disorder that may affect said area, causing an underdeveloped speech center. Or even perhaps an underdeveloped tongue, or malformed mouth. Madame Ciel did say that he's deformed. Perhaps his lack of speech lies in his deformity."

"Yes, although don't forget brother," Andy added, "That muteness may also stem from psychological disorders or traumatic experiences, perhaps he witnessed something horrible and could not mentally process it at his young age."

Nick looked up at Andy, intrigued by what he just said.

"Perhaps, though, if he is in fact a selective mute, his stay here may only further compromise him. Look, he has egg yolk on the bag covering his face, much like Ernest and we," Samuel pointed out.

Ciel noticed once they pointed it out. She sighed, upset, "I see those troublesome boys came in here too." Ciel set the basket down beside her. She pulled out a cleaning cloth and a canteen filled with water to clean the burlap sack on his head. As she dabbed the bag, she also noticed a new whip burn on his paw. Ciel took his tiny paw between the bars to take a look at it, "As did Honest John."

"Poor thing, that's such a nasty burn on his paw," Mia commented once she took a look at it.

Little John shook his head in disgust, "Boy I tell ya, that Honest John gives all us other John's a bad name!"

"I couldn't agree more Johnny," Robin agreed, shaking his head in shame at Honest John's brutal actions. "He gives us foxes a bad name as well. Doesn't he, little one?" He asked Nick as Ciel cleaned and bandaged up his new wound. "Honestly, whipping a child. How can he be so cruel!" Robin spat angrily.

"The world's a cruel place Rob and we landed at its epicenter," Little John commented.

"Nah trust me, the world's a whole epicenter of cruelty for freaks like us," Ernie said, bluntly.

"Ernest!" Samuel scolded again.

"Ah, come off it, Samuel! You know it's true. The kid's gotta learn the truth too. The world ain't like those books you like so much! If you're cursed a freak, then you can forget about ever getting a decent job or finding love or getting married! Cuz it ain't gonna happen! Nobody wants you! The world don't want you! Hell, your own parents don't want you!" Nick looked up at the venting mini giraffe. That last statement really hit him hard. "Sad as it is, this is the only future animals like us got. We can't earn a livin' anywhere else. So the kid's just gonna have to get used to it and adapt."

There was a morbid silence in the air. Nick's gaze fell and his little shoulders slumped. Everything truly was hopeless now.

The silence was broken only when Samuel spoke again. "N-No! I…I refuse to believe it! If literature has taught us anything it's that nothing is impossible! Isn't that right, brother?"

Though hesitant, Andy agreed, "Y-Yes! That's right brother!"

"That's the spirit boys!" Robin cheered.

"Yeah!" Little John agreed. "Don't let negative Nancy here get you down, kid," Little John said to Nick.

Ernie rolled his eyes, annoyed at their naive optimism.

Samuel and Andy approached Nick, "We may be uncertain as to how deformed you are, but we know of other deformed chaps who managed to find love in this cruel, cruel world of ours. I of course refer you to Ms. LePrancer de Bharalmont's take on La Belle et la Bête." Samuel offered Nick his copy of the Beauty and the Beast.

Nick stared at the book then glanced up at Samuel, wondering if he could trust him. Ciel placed a paw over his newly bandaged tiny paw, "It's okay little one."

Nick took the book from between the bars. He looked up at Samuel again and began lightly skimming through the book, viewing the illustrations and the text. He stopped on a page that showed the titular Beast.

"It's a love story between a hideous beast and a lovely maiden who must find the beauty within the hideous creature." Nick looked up at him, then back down at the book in awe.

"Excellent choice of literature brother. However, I know of an equally harrowing tale of finding the true beauty within. Here little fellow," Andy offered Nick another book which Nick took in his grasp. "Victor Hugoat's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Perhaps you and dear Quasimodo can find much in common given the circumstances."

"Pfff…yeah, how do you know if the kid can even read?" Ernie scoffed.

"Can you read, little fellow?" Samuel asked Nick. Nick looked up at the Siamese camel and nodded his head. "Ah, there you have it. Besides, even if he couldn't, Andy and I could come and teach him to read or read it to him ourselves."

"Yes, or perhaps even Madame Ciel could read it to him," Andy added. Ciel simply nodded her head in agreement. Ciel smiled down at Nick and he smiled back at her underneath the burlap sack.

"What the hell is going on here?!" shouted a burly voice from the tent's opening. Everyone around the cage turned to the source of the voice. It was a large, bulky rhino named Samson with a whip and a mean face. He was one of the freakshow area guards. "The hell you freaks doing here? We got paying customers out there who want to see some freaks and you're all just hiding in here! Get back out there or else!" The rhino straightened his whip, menacingly.

The three sideshow freaks immediately bowed their heads and turned to leave. "Yeah, yeah, we heard ya…you fat son of a bit…" Ernie muttered angrily underneath his breath as he and Mia started heading out of the tent.

"What was that?!" growled the rhino, following after Ernie. Ernie ran out of the tent with Samson close behind him.

"Oh dear," Mia uttered, running after Ernie, hoping to save him from the rhino's wrath.

Samuel and Andy sighed. "Well, I suppose we should get going before that scoundrel comes back for us," said Samuel, "Don't worry about the book, child. You can borrow them for as long as you'd like. Just be cautious that Honest John or Samson don't see them or they'll take them away."

Nick nodded and hid them underneath the hay of his cell. "Happy reading little one," Andy said before he and Samuel took their leave.

"Guess we should be headin' back ourselves, Rob. We got a show in 10 minutes," said Little John.

"Yes, I know Johnny." Robin turned to Nick, "I may not know what circumstances led you to this horrid place, but here." The older red fox spread his paws and fingers, palms up, then with a slight of hand trick, magically made a gold coin appear between his fingers. Robin handed it to Nick, who curiously took the gold coin in his small paws. He stared at it in awe. "Keep your chin up. Someday there'll be happiness again. You'll see," Robin winked at him with a comforting smile.

The little fox looked up at him. He didn't know what it was, but something about the older fox's kind gaze gave him hope. As if there was a certainty or guarantee that what he said would one day be true.

..

Zootopia 1881 (Back in the Present Time)...

Nick walked through one of his secret tunnels as he stared at the old circus photo in his paw. He pondered on Robin's words, had his life gotten better? Did he have any reason to be happy now that he had his freedom? Was he happy at all?

He overheard the sounds of feminine giggling emanating through the vents. Curious, he pressed his twitching ear beside the vent, overhearing a portion of the conversation on the other side. "And I swear, he had spilled the whole coffee on himself and all he could say was… "

Nick chose to follow the source of the voices. He arrived only a couple of seconds later to one of the hidden catwalks high up over the ballerinas' rehearsal area backstage.

May was the one speaking as she and all the other girls took a five minute break from rehearsal. "Looks like I'm hot for you!"

The girls squealed and laughed at her funny anecdote. And there among them, sitting on an apple box crate was none other than Judy. She giggled, looking light as a feather and so, so happy.

Nick sighed and smiled, leaning on the catwalk railing, admiring her.

As he watched her, Robin's words from all those years ago suddenly echoed in his head:

"Someday there'll be happiness again. You'll see…"

Nick wondered…Was this the happiness Robin spoke of?

The girls ceased their laughter and suddenly started panicking when they saw Madame Winter approaching them.

"Oh no, here comes Madame Winter!" The girls scrambled back in formation. Skye began leading them in a dance.

"And one and two, one and two. Watch your footwork girls," Skye turned to face her mother, "Oh hello mother, we were just going through all the ballet steps for tonight's show."

"I would say that is quite responsible of you girls, had I not just seen you all lollygagging a second ago." Skye and all the other girls lowered their heads in shame. "However, I am unable to scold any of you as you have all gotten the attention of an anonymous admirer who wishes for you to have the day off."

"What?" Skye and the other girls muttered in confusion. Madame Winter handed Skye the envelope of money.

"Go into town and enjoy yourselves ladies. You've earned it."

The girls huddled around Skye as she opened the envelope and pulled out a few bills. The girls gasped in awe and giggled excitedly!

"But mother, who wanted us to have this?"

"I told you already that it was an anonymous admirer. Now, all of you go and have fun, but be back here well before curtain time for make-up."

"Okay!" Skye smiled and the other giddy girls hopped in place. They all quickly ran to their dressing rooms to get ready for a day in town! Judy began following them until Madame Winter elevated her ballet stick in front of her, stopping the bunny in her tracks.

"Not you, my dear." Judy looked up at her confused.

Skye glanced back, noticing that her mother had stopped Judy from joining them. She ran over to them. "Mother, what's wrong? Can't Judy come with us?"

"I'm afraid not, Skye. This anonymous admirer has specifically asked for Judy to receive some private tutoring. Isn't that right, my dear?" Madame Winter turned to Judy, knowingly.

"Private tutoring?"

A sudden realization seemed to dawn on Judy. Her ears perked. Did Madame Winter know about her Angel of Music and of his visit to her last night? Had he paid Madame Winter a visit?

"Uh, yeah," Judy played along, unsure of the extent of Madame Winter's knowledge, but played along nonetheless. "Madame Winter has yet to give me all the details but yes, I had almost forgotten, hehe."

Skye raised a suspicious eyebrow, "What kind of private tutoring are you receiving?"

"Skye dear, you are burning daylight. Go enjoy your day off or I will take back your anonymous admirer's gift," Madame Winter threatened.

Skye's ears flattened, "Sorry mother. I'm going right now!" The younger vixen ran off after the other girls, but not before shouting one last thing to her bunny best friend, "We'll get you something nice while we're in town okay, Judy? Happy tutoring with whatever it is!"

Skye ran the other way, her mind still curious about Judy's mysterious tutoring, but knew that it was best not to go against her mother. Much less when she made threats.

Once they were alone, Madame Winter spoke to Judy, "Before you ask, yes. I do know about your Angel of Music. It is he who asked that I keep you here so that you may have your lessons undisturbed and free from the other girls' curious questioning."

"So he really did visit you?" Judy asked curiously. "He really is real…" Judy whispered softly under her breath in awe.

"Yes, I suppose he is. Judy…?" Judy turned to the vixen with a big hopeful smile.

Madame Winter considered for a moment informing Judy of who her Angel of Music truly was, but then thought back to the glint of purity she had seen in Nick's eye. It was the same innocent glint she had seen in his eyes back when he was a child. Perhaps, she wondered, she should trust him and believe that someone like Judy was all he needed to bring out whatever good was buried deep inside him. "...You should hurry to your room. He should be there waiting for you."

"Yeah, you're right! Thank you Madame Winter!" Judy hugged the unsuspecting stoic vixen and rushed to her room, eager to speak with her Angel of Music once more.

Up at the catwalk Nick was amazed at how eager she was to speak with him again.

He wasted no time. He also rushed towards her room through his secret tunnels, racing through them with just as much gusto.

The two ran as fast as they could, practically racing each other to see who could get there first.

Judy arrived at her room first. Nick stood a few feet away from the glass of the mirror. He could already see the happy bunny in her ballerina tutu standing in clear view in the middle of the room. He was certain that she must've been calling him, given her lip movements. But he couldn't hear her. He was so in awe of her. He could swear that she was glowing, she was so angelic to him…

How could one bunny be so beautiful…? He wondered.

He didn't know what it was about her, but there was just something special about her that just called to him. As if it were destiny that he was meant to be with her.

Was this what love felt like? Was this what the Beast and Quasimodo felt in those books he read as a child? Did it always feel this wonderful?

Nick blinked and shook his head as he subconsciously approached the mirror. Uh-oh! He had caught himself daydreaming and she was waiting for him!

He couldn't keep her waiting!

He adjusted the fur at the top of his head, making himself look as presentable as possible – despite the fact that she wouldn't even be able to see him.

He approached the mirror, gently placing his paws against the glass.

"Angel? Are you there my Angel?" Judy asked once again. Her ears drooped, she was starting to worry after he had not responded the first few times she had called his name.

Nick smiled warmly, "I'm here my Angel."

Judy's ears perked up, "You're here!" she clasped her paws together and wagged her puffy tail.

Nick chuckled, "I wouldn't miss this for the world my carrot flavored Angel."

"Carrot flavored Angel?" Judy asked, confused yet strangely humored.

"Well, you are a bunny, aren't you?"

Judy raised a brow, smiling playfully at the ceiling, "You say that as if you weren't a bunny yourself. I thought the Angel of Music was a bunny given that the legend stems from bunny lore."

Nick's ears flattened. Uh-oh, he needed to think of something fast. "That's why they are called legends, my Angelic Carrots. Details are often lost in time or adopted by different species."

Judy's eyes widened in amazement, "So what species are you originally, my Angel? Do you have one or are you simply a spirit?"

Nick grew quiet for a moment, uncertain of just how much he should share with her. He didn't want to risk giving himself away, nor risk scaring her…a rabbit, by telling her that he was a fox. But he also didn't want to lie to her.

"Angel?"

Nick swallowed hard, bracing himself, "...Fox…I…am a fox," he spoke at last, opting to tell her the truth.

"You're a fox spirit?" Judy uttered.

Nick shut his eyes, expecting the worst.

"That's incredible! Who would've thought that my Angel of Music would be a fox!" She giggled, "Though I guess that would be expected considering that I've always been close with foxes. What with Skye being my best friend and Madame Winter being like a second mother to me."

Nick sighed quietly in relief. How had he not remembered about Madame Winter and Skye? Of course Judy wouldn't be afraid of him for being a fox.

"Were you alive once before you became an Angel of Music? Or have you always been an angel?" Judy asked curiously.

"Ah, ah," Nick tutted. "One revelation at a time, my angelic bunny. I can't give away the entire mystery that is me. We have some singing lessons to get through first."

Judy sighed, disappointed. "Alright, fine. Sorry for the barrage of questions. I just have so many! I really want to know more about you, my Angel."

"And you will. You will. But let's try to keep focused for now, alright Angel Carrots?" he said, trying to buy himself some time. He really needed to learn more about his own mythos if he was going to convincingly pass himself off as the Angel of Music.

"Okay," Judy agreed, "But do you have to call me Angel Carrots? Now that I know that you're a fox spirit?"

Nick chuckled. Judy meanwhile rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless.

.

A couple of hours later…

AaAAaaaA…Aa

Judy sang off key. "How was that?" Judy asked nervously, already knowing the answer.

'Well…you still kind of sound like a rusty hinge." Judy's ears drooped, "But, you're learning. It's just a matter of practice."

Judy sighed, sitting down on her bed. "Who knew my singing voice could lose its luster after only a little over a month of not using it."

"Maybe you just need the right motivation. You sounded much better two days ago and yesterday. Any particular reason for that?"

Judy paused, growing silent for a moment. He could see that something was clearly troubling her mind. His ears fell back, "You…you don't have to tell me if you don't want to…"

"No, it's okay," Judy said, "It's just, ever since I was a little girl my father would take me to these music festivals in his hometown of Bunny Burrow. He'd play the violin and I'd always hop on stage and start singing and dancing my heart out alongside him." Judy smiled softly at the fond memories. "We were a team. And…ever since he…well, you know. I've felt like I've lost everything, including my love of singing. I don't know if that makes any sense."

Nick empathetically shook his head behind the mirror, "Believe me, it makes perfect sense." Judy smiled softly. "What made you change your mind that day?" Judy shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess a part of me missed it. And I thought back on the promise he had made me. It's silly, but I thought I could bring him back like that." Judy's voice broke a little and she lightly sniffled, wiping a couple of tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tear up again."

Nick's claws very lightly scratched at the glass, he desperately wanted to hold her and wipe her tears from her eyes. He realized how much the memories of her father hurt her and that was the last thing he wanted.

Was he hurting her by trying to get her to sing?

"Judy…" Nick spoke softly and sincerely, "Don't mind what I said. If you need to cry, then go ahead and cry. I just…I know what you're going through and I don't want to see you hurt. You don't have to sing for me if it makes you sad."

Judy smiled, happy with how kind her phantom friend was with her. She shook her head, "No, I don't want to stop. I want to sing." She wiped her tears and stood determined, "You make me want to sing, my Angel! Father may be gone and though I do miss him, I know that he sent you to me so I wouldn't be alone and so I could continue to sing with him. Just in a new way. Please continue teaching me, my Angel!"

Nick was surprised by her sudden ferocity and confidence, but he liked it!

"In that case," he began with a newly rejuvenated smile, "We have some work to do. Come on Angel Carrots, from the top!"

.

Another hour of practice went by between the fox and the bunny when Skye and the other girls returned from their day off in town.

The girls were perkier and fresher than ever! Finally they had gotten a full day where their tense muscles could relax and not have to worry about Madame Winter breathing down their necks.

They laughed happily, carrying their packaged purchases or wearing brand new dresses. "Ah, did I need that day off!" May sighed, fully relaxed.

"I think we all did!" Sharla agreed. "It's a shame though that Judy couldn't come with us. Why did your mother say that she had to stay behind anyway?"

Skye shrugged, "I don't know, something about private tutoring from the anonymous admirer."

"Private tutoring? What kind of tutoring?" asked the black sheep.

Skye shrugged once again and shook her head, equally unsure of the answer. May suddenly gasped out loud, "Wait…You don't think that that's just a ruse do you?"

"What do you mean?" Skye asked.

"Think about it, it would perfectly explain Judy's sudden shift in mood. She went to bed early sad and depressed last night, only to wake up refreshed and happier than ever. Now she suddenly has some private tutor and doesn't come shopping with us? Sounds to me like somebunny may have a secret boyfriend that she's so cleverly trying to cover up." May crossed her arms, certain of her assumption.

Skye and Sharla stood with slacked jaws. "Oh my God…that actually makes perfect sense!" bleated the sheep, "Do you think it might've been someone in the audience from last night?"

"It has to be! What other explanation could there be?!"

Skye didn't know what to think. On the one hand, Sharla was right, everything May said made absolute perfect sense. But on the other hand, it didn't seem like Judy at all. It wasn't like her to have a secret boyfriend. Not when she had spoken so fondly of Jack. Did the bunny really move on from her crush on Jack just like that for some wealthy and mysterious mammal?

Skye's train of thought was broken when Sharla spoke again, "Oof, if all that's true then we probably shouldn't say anything to Emilia. She'll probably cry for days if we tell her that Judy really had moved on from Jack."

Skye scoffed, "You say that as if it's a well known fact."

"But May's right. It's the only thing that makes sense. This secret admirer apparently gave Judy special attention and didn't want us around."

"Exactly," said May, "The guy's probably rich, bought off your mom and us just so they can have some alone time together."

Skye shook her head, still in disbelief, "That can't be. You guys know the kind of mammal my mom is! She'd never let herself be bribed. If she allows something it's for good reason. This guy is probably just some tutor that Judy's brother might have sent for her to continue her studies."

May and Sharla shared a look, "What studies? She's a dancer at the most illustrious opera house in all of Zootopia. Why would she even need to continue studying?"

"It's not like she'll be young and dancing forever."

The two still looked at her as if she was grasping at straws. "It makes sense!" Skye argued. She scoffed, "Forget you two! I live in the real world. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go give Judy this nice wool scarf I got for her. And you two should be rushing over to make-up just like everyone else."

Skye lifted her head up high and headed towards Judy's room.

"Sheesh, what's up with her?" asked the baffled Sharla, "She seemed overly defensive over the idea of Judy moving on from Jack. You think she might be like Emilia and just weirdly obsessed with the two of them as a couple?"

"I don't think that's the case when it comes to that and Skye," May said, secretly knowing the real reason behind the vixen's behavior.

.

As Skye approached the bunny's bedroom/dressing room, she thought about what May and Sharla talked about.

Judy moving on from someone like Jack after she fawned over him her first day there? Impossible!

But…

What if it was true…?

What if Judy really had moved on? Or at the very least had started to move on? Could…Could this really be her chance to have her own shot at Jack?

Skye reached the bunny's door and was about to knock when she heard Judy's voice and what sounded like a male's voice chuckling with hers. "Oh haha, how is my sounding like a rusty accordion any better than a rusty hinge?"

"One's more musically inclined," the male voice chuckled playfully, only for Judy to giggle alongside him.

"Wha–?" Skye uttered quietly then opened the door.

Judy's ears immediately stood to attention the second the door opened. Skye saw Judy sitting on her bed, a sheet of paper in her paw, ears tall and in shock to see her. The vixen then scanned the room and saw that no one else was in there.

"Skye?" Judy asked, puzzled by the sudden invasion into her room.

"Judy is…is there someone in here? I thought I heard a male voice speaking to you?"

"Oh, I was just…" Judy glanced down at the sheet of paper in her paw, "Pretending to act out a scene from this libretto. I was acting out the voices, hehe."

"Oh…okay?" replied the confused Skye. "That was a pretty convincing conversation."

"How was your day in town?" Judy asked, setting the sheet of paper aside and approaching Skye near the door.

"It was good. Really relaxing and kind of nice getting away from my mom's vigilant eye for a change." Skye and Judy laughed. "Oh! Here by the way. I got you this so you wouldn't feel left out."

Skye handed Judy the wool scarf. "Aww, Skye, it's so pretty and soft! Thanks so much for it!" The bunny hugged her friend.

"You're welcome Jude…and…how about you? How was the tutoring?" Skye cautiously asked.

"The tutoring? Oh! It was really great!" Judy slapped on a big smile, secretly hoping not to have to answer more than that.

Skye nodded with a simple hum before immediately growing impatient, "Alright Judy, spill it! We're supposed to be best friends right? So why does it feel like there's something that you're not telling me? I can keep a secret if it's a secret! We used to trust each other all the time, so why can't you tell me what's really going on?!" The vixen frowned, genuinely feeling left out and hurt by her friend's sudden secrecy.

Judy's cheeks puffed, she wanted to blurt out everything, but she had promised her Angel that she wouldn't. But she also didn't want Skye to not trust her. They were like sisters growing up and she felt awful having to withhold the truth from her. Judy bit on her index finger's claw in thought, what should she do?

The bunny immediately ran to the door and made sure that no one was near it. She shut it and locked it. Then pulled Skye by an arm deeper into the room. Judy spoke in a hushed whisper, "Alright, I'll tell you. But! You have to swear to me that you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."

"Yeah okay," The vixen quickly agreed, giving her word, "I swear I won't tell. Now what is the big secret?"

Judy sighed then looked around one last time, making sure no one else was listening. Though in fact there was one other mammal listening in on their conversation. Nick pulled down harshly on his ears, terrified that Judy would say more than she should.

Judy spoke quietly to Skye's attentive ear, "Yes, it's true. I'm receiving private tutoring lessons from our anonymous admirer."

"Okay…I knew that part already."

"Yeah, but…they're not just any lessons. They're…" Judy hesitated for a moment so she took a deep breath, "... singing lessons."

"Singing lessons?!" Skye asked, surprised. "Wait, for real?! You changed your mind? So are you actually planning on auditioning as lead singer for future productions?" Skye smiled happily.

"Yeah," Judy agreed with her own happy smile, "But remember to please keep it a secret. I don't want anyone else to know until I'm done with my lessons. Especially not after I made a big deal about not wanting to sing."

Skye nodded understandably, "Aww, don't worry Jude, it's me. Your secret's safe."

"Thanks Skye," The two hugged again, until Skye pulled away to ask a question,

"What am I supposed to tell everyone else though? You've met the girls, they're always eager for some juicy gossip."

"Don't worry about that," Judy answered confidently, "My tutor's spoken with your mom and he says that she'll know what to tell them whenever they get nosy."

"Hey yeah, about your tutor…" Skye began as she scanned the room for clues and for anything that might indicate that a male's been in there. Her eyes landed on Judy's bed, it was a little unkempt but nothing that indicated that Judy had had some extra lessons from him. "Is he still here? Or somewhere in the theater?"

"No, he already left. But he should be stopping by tomorrow to see me again."

Skye's eyes widened a little…So there is a guy! Holy! Is May right about everything?!

"So, what's his name? Or what's he like? Is he a rabbit too? Is he smart, handsome, witty?" Skye tried to pry.

"He certainly is very smart and witty," Judy smiled brightly, "But…I'm afraid I can't say anything else about him. He's very secretive."

Skye raised a brow, concerned. "Are you sure that 's safe? Spending time with someone who doesn't let you know much about him?"

"Don't worry about that. I trust him," Judy replied confidently, "I know he's mysterious, but I don't think he's the kind of mammal that would ever purposely hurt me. And if I ever feel reason to be afraid of him then I'll act accordingly." Judy gave her a firm nod.

From behind the mirror, Nick thought of her words. He was happy she trusted him, but he feared her learning the truth about his reputation as the Phantom. She would rightfully grow fearful of him if she were to ever find out. He had to do something to change or prevent that, but what?

"Alright, but if this guy proves to be a creep or something like that, then give us a holler and you can bet that the girls and I will kick his mysterious butt out of here."

The two girls laughed, "Thanks Skye, but trust me. There's nothing to worry about. I feel safe and…happy around my tutor."

Judy gave a genuine smile, one even Nick had not seen before. It was a glorious smile.

Crap...He scolded himself. Angry at the horrible reputation he had built for himself.

It had been such a long time since he had genuinely felt fear. Particularly the fear of losing someone he loved again.

After seeing that pure smile and trust that she had placed on him, he truly could not afford to disappoint her. He had much to live up to. She depended on him and he could not afford to lose her!

"We're all going to get dressed for tonight's show. Will you meet us by the wings? We still need you as our understudy," Skye said as she headed out the door.

"Yeah, just give me a minute to get changed and I'll meet you all there."

Skye nodded and left. The vixen took a few steps outside and looked back at the bunny's dressing room. She wondered, did Judy feel something towards her tutor?

Skye chuckled under her breath and shook her head. What was wrong with her? She was acting as silly as the other girls, jumping to conclusions. But then again, Judy did seem a little too happy talking about her tutor. She supposed only time would tell.

Skye finally walked away, rushing to meet the other girls for costuming and make-up.

A couple of seconds later, Judy opened the door and peeked around, making sure Skye had left. The coast was clear.

Judy closed the door and called for her anonymous admirer once more, "Are you still there, my Angel?"

Nick returned his gaze into the room. "Yeah, yeah I'm still here," he said with a downcast tone.

"Are you alright, my Angel?" Judy asked with concern. Her ears fell, "Are you upset with me?"

"What? No! No, of course not. You did well Judy. You kept my identity well hidden. I know it can't be easy lying to your friend."

Judy sighed sitting on her bed, "It isn't, but I know it also wouldn't be easy trying to explain to her that my father had literally sent me an Angel of Music to guide me," the bunny giggled.

Nick smiled behind the mirror. "Judy…?"

"Yes, my Angel?"

"Did you really mean that? That…I make you happy?" Nick fidgeted nervously with his tail.

Judy's ears stood tall with an equally elevated smile. She hopped off the bed with a hop in her step, "Yes! Of course, my Angel! I've never been happier!" Judy's puffy tail wagged, further emphasizing her point. "I haven't really been able to smile ever since my father died last month, and though that pain is still fresh in my heart, you have been helping make that pain just a little more bearable. And for that, I thank you, my Angel of Music."

Nick's heart beat fast and his face grew warm. He was certain the blush on his face was meshing the cream part of his fur with the red beneath his mask.

He wanted to cry; he felt so overwhelmed with joy, but he held it in. He spoke again once he felt his voice stop shaking, "You make me happy too, Judy."

Judy smiled at the ceiling, wishing she had a visual image of her 'metaphysical' companion.

It was at that point that Nick knew well…if he wished to earn her love, then he would need to clear his reputation. Not as her Angel, but as the Phantom. He was thankful that she did not know of his other identity yet, but he knew that it would only be a matter of time before she'd hear about the infamous Phantom. And if that was to be the case, then he wanted to make sure that she would be as afraid of the Phantom as she was of her Angel of Music.

The Phantom of the Opera was to be a frightening and vengeful entity no more.

…

A/N: Sorry that this chapter didn't have much fluff, but there will certainly be a lot more WildeHopps fluff come next chapter. :D

In the future, I might also include solo short chapters showing moments of Nick's past or somebody else's past. Not sure when the first of those will drop, but we'll see.