Part 3: Remember Me
It was no question that Miguel's whole perspective on life had drastically changed after he had confronted his mixed breed family about his love of music and of his discovery that his runaway great-great-grandfather was none other than El Honesto John.
For a fleeting moment, he thought that he could be the musician he longed to be!
That was until...his grandma Elena Hopps, a striped, red furred, blue eyed red fox, rabbit, hare, arctic fox hybrid, broke his secret home made guitar. Yet another heavy reminder that his family would never accept his love for music.
In response to this, Miguel had decided to play at the Dia de Los Muertos Talent Show. Perhaps then he would find others who would appreciate his talents.
There was just one problem...he no longer had a guitar…
What was he to do?
It was then at that moment that he thought about borrowing his great-great-grandfather's guitar right from his ancestor's mausoleum.
Little did Miguel know that he would be cursed for stealing from the dead. And as consequence, he was cursed to live among the dead until he would break the spell by receiving one of his family member's blessings.
Along the way, he ran into his visiting deceased ancestors from the Land of the Dead. Among them were his great-great grandfather Jack Savage (a gray striped hare), his great-great-grandmother Skye Savage (an arctic fox), their son and Miguel's great-grandfather Phillip Savage (an arctic fox/hare hybrid who looked more hare than fox. He had his mother's fur and eye color and his father's black stripes in life), his great-great grandmother Judy's older twin brothers (Marco and Paolo).
And of course, there was his great-great grandmother herself, Judy Hopps, matriarch of the Hopps clan. Though they all once had their own unique appearances in life, in death they were all skeletons and bore colorful designs on their faces - much like the designs one paints on Day of the Dead skulls.
As expected, his great-great-grandmother Judy was willing to give him her blessing to return home...on one condition….
He was to never ever EVER! Play music again.
It was a compromise Miguel was unwilling to accept, so he figured he would try to receive his blessing from someone else. Someone who was family and would understand his desire to play music - his great-great grandfather, El Honesto John!
The only obstacle in his way now was to track down his great-great grandfather, but how?
Enter Nick Wilde! A skeleton red fox who claimed to know El Honesto John and who was desperate to cross the bridge to the Land of the Living so he could have Miguel place his picture on his family's ofrenda to keep him from suffering a terrible fate called, "the final death."
Miguel agreed, and the two got to learn a little about one another as they spent time together. The two really started to bond however, after Miguel found out that Nick was once a musician too!
Unfortunately trouble came when Nick found out that Miguel had other dead relatives and tried to send him back home through them instead of El Honesto John.
After their falling out, Miguel had finally managed to track down El Honesto John and explained his dilemma to him. El Honesto John, on his part, was thrilled to find out that he had a great-great grandson. After a tender bonding moment between musician's however, some rather unsavory secrets were revealed to Miguel about his great-great grandfather by Nick who had managed to sneak into El Honesto John's Sunrise Spectacular party.
It turned out Nick was once El Honesto John's best friend and the original songwriter to all of El Honesto John's songs. Not only that, but it turned out that El Honesto John had poisoned and murdered Nick in order to steal his songs and passed them off as his own, leaving Nick a forgotten nobody to both the world and to a daughter he had abandoned but desperately wished to get back to prior to his death.
Realizing the truth about his death, Nick tried to attack El Honesto John. In response, El Honesto John had both Nick and Miguel thrown into a cenote.
Broken hearted and disillusioned over his hero, Miguel sought comfort from Nick, who listened to his woes and regrets of not having listened to his family. Were they right? Should he have hated music too just like them? Especially considering nothing good came out of it once again.
While Miguel contemplated his regrets, Nick's bones suddenly began to jitter and glow, falling on his rear. "Nick! N-Nick?" Miguel uttered, concerned about his friend.
Nick realized that he was slowly getting closer to suffering the final death. "She's-She's forgetting me," he stuttered, worried and heartbroken.
"Who?" asked Miguel, kneeling beside him.
"My daughter," Nick replied, sadly.
"She's the reason you wanted to cross the bridge," Miguel said in realization.
"I just wanted to see her again," Nick uttered with regret, "I never should have left Zootopia. I wish I could apologize. I wish I could tell her that her Papà was trying to come home. That he loved her so much. My Feliz…"
Miguel paused in realization, "Feliz?" he uttered quietly under his breath.
It couldn't be…could it? A red fox musician from Zootopia? With a daughter named Feliz?
Curious, Miguel stood up and reached into his red sweater's pocket, pulling out his great-great-grandmother Judy's ofrenda photo. He handed it to Nick, who took it. Nick's eyes immediately widened upon viewing the photo.
"Where-Where did you get this?" Nick asked, practically speechless.
"That's my Mamà Feliz, that's my Mamà Judy, is that...you?" Miguel asked Nick, pointing at the headless image of his forgotten ancestor.
Nick slowly turned his surprised gaze to Miguel. They stared at each other, speechless.
"We're... family?" Nick and Miguel said in unison. A relieved smile seemed to creep up on their faces.
"I always hoped that I would see her again. That she'd miss me. Maybe put up my photo. But it never happened," Nick caressed his little hybrid daughter's face in the photo, "You know the worst part? Even if I never got to see Feliz in the living world. I thought maybe at least one day I'd see her here and give her the biggest hug. But she's the last person who remembers me. The minute she's gone from the living world…"
"You disappear...from this one," Miguel finished his sentence. "You'll never get to see her."
"Never again," Nick lamented before setting his eyes back on the photo. A caring smile curled up his lip. "You know, I wrote her a song once. We used to sing it together every night at the same time. No matter how far apart we were. What I wouldn't give to sing it to her, one...last...time."
Nick's memory faded back to when he was alive. He was a handsome red fox, completely covered in fur. He strummed his guitar before his happy little three year old daughter, Feliz who happily watched him play and sing her her favorite lullaby…
Remember me...
Though I have to say goodbye
Remember me
Don't let it make you cry
For even if I'm far away
I hold you in my heart
I sing a secret song to you,
Each time we are apart
Remember me
Little Feliz giggled, "Papá!" she readjusted herself on her seat in the bed to join her father who knelt closer down to her.
Though I have to travel far
Remember me
Each time you hear a sad guitar
Know that I'm with you the only way that I can be
Nick brought his snout close to her and she took his face into her tiny paws as they sang in unison.
Until you're in my arms again
Re-mem-ber…
Me…
Nick's memory faded back to the present time, lamenting a beautiful past, he had so foolishly abandoned.