Chapter 8: Warning/A Passionate Explosion

A nineteen year old Alex pulled out his cell phone and frantically dialed Nick's number. He was currently locked in the bathroom. His boss was currently extremely angry with the fox; Nick had sent a well-intentioned present of a fur rug. However, there were certain… qualities of the rug that offended both Alex and the employer. It sent the boss into a fury that Alex had never seen before. The boss was on the warpath, and anyone who made him angry like that would suffer severe consequences once the boss got to them.

"Come on, pick up… pick up, Nick!" Alex begged nervously as he heard the phone tone ring. Eventually his fox friend picked up at the end of the line. "Alex! Buddy! How ya doing?" Nick playfully asked. Alex gritted his teeth in frustration. "Nicholas Piberius Wilde, do you have any idea how much trouble you've gotten yourself into!?" The white wolf hissed.

"Wuh oh! Did my wolfie amigo wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" Nick replied, not picking up on the serious tone in Alex's voice. "I can't believe you sent that kind of rug, especially made from that part of the body! My sister is one, you know!" Alex snarled into the receiver. "So? How'd the big guy like it?" Nick nonchalantly asked, still oblivious to the gravity of the situation.

"He's after you Nick. He wants you brought to him so he can personally punish you for your 'grievous crimes against his family'." Alex darkly said. He could practically see Nick's ears droop and imagined the terrified expression on his friend's face. "R-really?!" Nick stammered. "Absolutely. You need to haul your ass out of Tundratown and make yourself scarce for the next few weeks. Want my thoughts?" Alex told Nick.

Alex could hear hurried scuffling on Nick's end of the call. "You always do give good advice, pal!" Nick urgently replied. "Give up the criminal lifestyle. Get an actual job! Go into concessions or fast food or something. Start a lemonade stand! A bakery! An iced treat cart! Just stay away from Tundratown and don't break the law, okay?" Alex suggested.

There was a long and hard pause before Nick spoke again. "I'll, ah, take it into consideration. But you know animals and their prejudices. They might not be very willing to buy products from a fox of all animals." Nick responded. "You've got a good heart, Nick. I know that you'll be able to rise above those prejudices and prove those misinformed creatures wrong. All you have to do is try." Alex assured, before hanging up.

A year later, in Zootopia Central Station..

It was a hot summer day in Zootopia, and Alex didn't do well in the heat. However, he was stuck on patrol today. Worse, he had somehow been saddled with the patrol car that had the broken air conditioning. Alex needed something to help him cool down, and soon. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a popsicle stand… and the salesman was his buddy Nick!

Alex quickly pulled over at a parking meter and casually strolled up to the popsicle stand. The fox didn't recognize him, and Nick didn't seem too pleased that a cop was coming by. The stereotype of foxes being up to no good was still active as ever. "Hello there, officer. How may I help you?" Nick asked, a forced smile on his face. "Oh come on, Nick! Can't you recognize an old friend when you see them?" Alex chuckled, removing his sunglasses and looking Nick directly in the eyes.

Nick's eyes widened as he realized that he was talking to his former partner in crime Alex. "Alex, old chum, old pal! How're you doing?" Nick happily said. "Pretty good, though this heat is killing me! Could I buy one of your delicious-looking treats?" Alex asked. "Sure thing you can, Alex! Heck, I'll give you one for free!" Nick replied, grabbing one of the frozen treats on a stick and starting to give it to Alex.

In response, Alex shook his head and motioned for Nick to stop. "No, Nicholas. I insist on buying it from you. I'm very proud of you, my friend." Alex answered. Nick stopped as Alex placed a five dollar bill on his concessions stand and took the popsicle from Nick. "Proud of me? For what?" Nick asked.

Alex chuckled before taking the first lick of his popsicle. It was sweet and flavorful; normally Alex didn't like sweet foods, but in this heat the sweetness of the frozen treat counteracted the salty taste of sweat and saliva in his mouth. "For following my advice!" Alex told his foxy friend. Nick froze as he remembered what Alex had told him over the phone the last time they had spoken to each other. Somehow, the wolf's words must have subconsciously given him this idea.

Alex continued to slurp and lick his popsicle, and Nick smiled convincingly. "Yeah, you were right. Having a career that's actually legal is fun! And a lot safer than any of the jobs we did for our last boss." Nick giggled, and Alex saw him sweating a little. However, the cop decided to give his friend the benefit of the doubt and attributed the fox's sweating to the immense heat.

"Well, it was great seeing you, Nick!" Alex happily said. "You too, Alex! Stay safe out there, buddy." Nick told his friend.

Present day, on the streets of Zootopia…

"WHAT DID YOU DO, NICK!?" Alex growled angrily. "She decided to buy me and Finnick a jumbo pop." Nick stated before worming his way out of Alex's grasp and casually started to stroll away. "Which you then melted, and made the juice into pawprint casts before selling them to the lemmings! And then you sold the popsicle sticks to construction workers in Little Rodentia as 'redwood'! You'll be in prison for so long your fur will start turning gray!" Judy yelled as she started to follow Nick, and Alex trailed closely behind her.

"Judy, wait. On what grounds are you arresting him?" Alex quickly asked. "Gee, I don't know. How about selling food without a permit, transporting undeclared commerce across borough lines, false advertising…" Judy listed off. With a confident and smug smirk on his face, Nick pulled a laminated document out of his shirt pocket. "Permit on this side-" Nick announced, before flipping the paper to the other side. "-Receipt of declared commerce on this one. And for your information, I didn't falsely advertise to anyone." Nick finished, giving her and Alex a mocking grin before darting across the street. Alex and Judy had to weave through a group of wildebeest to catch up to Nick.

"You told the mouse that the popsicle sticks were made of redwood!" Judy pointed out. "That's right. Red wood! Two words, with a space in between the 'd' in 'red' and the 'w' in 'wood'. Wood that is the color red! You can't touch me, Carrots. I've been doing this since I was born." Nick taunted. Alex started growling, and Judy looked rather annoyed and upset as well. "You're gonna want to refrain from calling me 'Carrots', Mister Wilde." Judy hissed.

"Cut the crap, Nick. I know you weren't always like this. You had dreams. What happened to them?" Alex asked. The fox paid no attention to Alex's question, focusing solely on Judy. "My bad, I just naturally assumed you came from some little carrot-choked Podunk, no?" Nick chuckled. "Uh, no. Podunk is in Deerbrooke County and I grew up in Bunnyburrow." Judy corrected as she avoided another wildebeest.

Nick took a deep breath before responding. "Okay. Tell me if this story sounds familiar. Naive little hick with good grades and big ideas decides, 'hey, look at me, I'm gonna move to Zootopia, where predators and prey live in harmony and sing 'Kumbaya', only to find - whoopsie - we don't all get along. And that dream of becoming a big-city cop? Double whoopsie! She's a meter maid. And whoopsie number three-sie, no one cares about her or her dreams! And soon enough those dreams die, and our bunny sinks into emotional and literal squalor, living in a box under a bridge. Till, finally, she has no choice but to go back home with that cute fuzzy-wuzzy little tail between her legs to become… You said you were from Bunnyburrow, so how about a carrot farmer? Does that sound about right?" Nick venomously said.

The fox then walked through a fence, and Judy followed, almost getting stepped on by a rhino in the process. "Be careful now, or it won't just be your dreams getting crushed!" Nick cackled as he continued walking away. Judy's ears stood straight up and she ran as fast as she could, catching up to Nick in a matter of seconds. "Hey, HEY! NO ONE tells me what I can or can't be! Especially not some JERK who never had the guts to try and be anything more than a pawpsicle hustler!" Judy yelled in frustration.

As Alex saw she was walking backwards, he noticed Judy was about to walk into a cement pit! "Judy, be careful!" Alex called out, but by then it was too late. She'd already stepped into the cement pit. "All right, look, everyone comes to Zootopia thinking they can be anything they want. Well, you can't. You can only be what you are. Sly fox, dumb bunny." Nick scornfully told her.

"I am NOT a dumb bunny!" Judy protested. "Yeah, right. And that's not wet cement." Nick smirked as he left her there. This appalled Alex. How could Nick have abandoned his common decency and morals?! The white wolf rushed up and helped pull Judy out of the wet cement. However, his former friend's final remarks made Alex explode.

"You'll never be a real cop. You're a cute meter maid, though. Maybe a supervisor one day. Hang in there!" Nick sneered. Alex's eyes were set ablaze with fury, and he stood up. "You gave him a piece of your mind, Judy. Now it's my turn." Alex darkly announced. Alex started sprinting across the street and stood in front of Nick in the blink of an eye. "A-Alex? Buddy?" Nick nervously said, beginning to walk backwards as he saw Alex's enraged eyes.

"You were wrong about several things, Nicholas Pliberus Wilde." Alex growled. "U-uh, what was I wrong about?" Nick stammered. "First, she's not a dumb bunny, or a naive little hick. Judy's one of the smartest herbivores I've ever met! Second, she IS a real cop, no matter what anyone else says! Third and finally… you claim that no one cares about her dreams! WELL I DO!" Alex roared, before pulling his fist back and punching Nick in the right eye. The force of the blow sent Nick flying backwards, causing him to land in the wet cement on his back.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up. We have to get that cement off of you before it hardens. I have a canteen of water that should rinse your feet off in my car." Alex told Judy as he helped her out of the cement. She saw the construction workers pulling Nick out of the concrete and giving the fox some rude looks as the wolf and bunny walked over to Alex's car.