"All things of beauty have a provenance in pain." - Cormac McCarthy
"Well, I suppose I'll start from the beginning." The fox began.
Six years earlier...
The crackling hearth was luminous as it was ominous.
The smooth orange flames blazed high, licking the bottom of the mantle with tendrils of burning flame. The mantle was adorned with sweet pine-cones and a single-framed portrait: A portly female arctic-shrew, her stern yet fair features mirrored the likes of her descendant, who paced expectantly back-and-forth atop the surface of his desk.
Cristoforo Big, better known by his criminal alias, Mr. Big, was no patient soul: He liked his problems and plans dealt with swiftly and with unparalleled haste. So when the fox that he had employed still stood as forty-five minutes late, he began to feel a throbbing anger pulling at his sinuses. At first it was nothing more than a mere bubbling annoyance, but after thirty minutes of silence, all brought upon by the fault of that careless fox, he began to heat up with a growing sense of rage and building frustration.
The shrew unbuttoned his tiny suit jacket, and in a fit of frustration, threw it several centimeters in front of him, sending it spiraling off the edge of the desk and fluttering to the floor several feet below. He flopped down in his office chair, the momentum sliding it back a few millimeters before coming to a halt on the surface of the wooden desk.
He cupped his tiny paws to his equally tiny muzzle and let out a disgruntled groan.
This particular mission was of great importance to him: It could be considered a sort of high-risk high-reward sort of scenario, though the plan was simple enough. The only problem being, that the fox, Nicholas Wilde, had promised his assistance in the mission, yet was still nowhere to be seen nearly forty-five minutes past the meeting deadline.
If he screwed this up, there would be no other opportunities as perfect as the one that they were about to blow.
Their target rarely left his home, and when he did, his family always remained. The plan didn't intend for the target's family to get hurt - Only for the house to be destroyed, and for everything in it to be destroyed along with it. For a single rare night, the owner and his family were absent from the home. It was a golden opportunity. Though their house was tended by dutiful watch-mammals a near twenty-four hours a day, Mr. Big cared not for their lives - They were expendable, and could afford to be lost.
The target was one of great criminal prominence, and although he had worked with the arctic shrew in the past, tensions had begun to rise. Mr. Big didn't want him dead, as the main objective wasn't the target's death, but his humiliation and desecration, for with him out of the playing field, Mr. Big would be the largest crime-lord in the whole of Zootopia, and he had no intentions of losing that title to the laziness of one irresponsible fox. A part of him wished he had put someone else on the job instead, like a more experienced member of his mafia, or perhaps that one vampire bat freelance agent that had been earning a reputation, as of late. She likely would have blended in with the Nocturnal-District just fine.
After another few short minutes of painful solitude, a knock aroused the arctic shrew from his mental scheming. "Come in." He muttered.
The door opened slightly, and a russet flash of color caught the shrew's line of sight - A foxy face curiously peering from the other side of the door.
The shrew heaved a sigh mixed with relief and disappointment.
"Nicholas, you're late. Again." He paused and rubbed his forehead tenderly. "How many times do I have to tell you that this mission is of grave importance?"
The fox let out a nervous laugh as he tugged at his collar. He stepped in and carefully closed the door behind him, the soft sound of wood on carpet coming to a stop when the door clicked shut. Nick didn't need to be told twice (or in this case, for the seventh time that week) just how important this mission was to Mr. Big. It was one of the reasons why the fox had accepted the job in the first place - To gain one last bit of favor with the crime-lord before he backed out of his syndicate for good, and returned to conning.
He then turned around to face his boss. "Yeah, sorry there, Big B. I got, uh, occupied."
"Occupied." The shrew repeated flatly.
"Yeah, occupied." He coughed into his fist. "Just dealing with the shipment of that really expensive fur-rug that you wanted me to take care of... sir."
"This is far more important. An opportunity like this hasn't appeared in years! If this organization of ours is to thrive, we must deal blows to the competition." The fox drummed his fingers against his thigh.
"Yeah, I know. Sorry about that, sir. And I know it's not my place to ask, but... why are we doing this?"
Mr. Big hummed thoughtfully. "The crime-lord of the Nocturnal-District believes that I have been inattentive to our pacts, and has punished us with sanctions. He arrogantly believes that I will not retaliate against his blatant profiteering. He is wrong."
"Isn't the Nocturnal-Mob our ally, though?" Nick pressed, despite knowing he was pushing his luck. "I know I'm new here, but I've heard that the five crime-lords have some kind of non-aggression pact-"
"Have you grown sentimental?" Mr. Big warned, causing Nick to stiffen up. "Do not trouble yourself with such inquiries. This is business, and if that bloodsucker thinks he can outcompete me, then he deserves this penance. You know the plan: drive to the Nocturnal-District. Find the mansion. Burn it down. That will be enough to remind him of his reliance to the pact."
Nick nodded once. "I understand. And uh, just to be clear, I'm only burning it down, right? No one's gonna get hurt?" He questioned. His boss just nodded impatiently.
"Yes, yes, we've been over this, Nicholas! You're just burning down the empty mansion. No one will get hurt. Now go. You're already late, and the bats don't return for another hour. Kozlov has your supplies."
Nick then filed himself out the door, soon retrieving a duffel-bag of supplies, which consisted of a pack of matches, a single lighter, a wrench, a shovel, and several gallons of gasoline. A simple supply-depot, but effective when put to the proper usage. The fox had been instructed under the teachings of one of Mr. Big's henchmen, a fat polar-bear named Ivan, about how to properly commit arson, including lighting a fire, directing the flames towards flammable objects, and creating a combustible zone for the most effective scorching. He even taught Nick about gas pipelines, and how he could use them to his advantage. Despite his knowledge, Nick couldn't deny that he was wary.
No one will be home... He told himself again and again. The only thing that's burning down is the house. It's old anyways.
But no matter what he told himself, he couldn't shake the sinking feeling that something would go terribly wrong.
Regardless, he did what he had to do. There was good money to be made off of this mission, and if executed correctly, he could walk away with a full bank-account. Mr. Big would pay handsomely for something as crucial as this, for as long as that flappy-bat was in power over the Nocturnal-District, the arctic shrew would always have competition over that region of the city.
The two crime-lords may have worked together in the distant past, but business was business, and it was either eat or be eaten. That much Nick could understand. He had been told by Mr. Big in the past that each of the five crime-lords of the city had a strict pact of non-aggression against eachother, but clearly, that wasn't enough to stop Mr. Big from concocting this scheme for power. He had been planning this out ever since the bat had placed arms-deal restrictions on the weapons flow between the Nocturnal-District and Tundra-Town, effectively halving Mr. Big's financial intake over the illegal-weapons trade business. Apparently, the bat had done so in retaliation for Mr. Big devoting more time to his family, and allowing the trade agreement between the two organizations to fester.
What was his name... Nick thought to himself, reminiscing over Big's frequent rants. Vladzotz, he called him.
Though, Mr. Big had given specific instructions for the fox not to kill his business-rival. They were once good friends, and Nick could tell that despite all the costly cuts the bat had advanced on the shrew, that Mr. Big still had a shred of respect towards Vladzotz. Nick was thankful that he wouldn't have to be taking any lives, as that was where he drew the line.
Nick had been working with the infamous Tundra-Town Mafia for a few months now, ever since they had picked him up off of the street and given him a greater purpose. The fox hadn't done anything truly illegal, as of yet, instead choosing to stick to the sidelines and help plan jobs, but this new mission of his would be the perfect way to get in good with the mobsters before he left the Family for good.
Little did Nick know, at the time of his joining, was that organized crime was a dangerous step up from petty street grifting. It was only a matter of time before Mr. Big came to him with the demand for a job to prove his worth: An arson attempt on Castle Fangpyre. To 'pay his debts', as Mr. Big had told him, for picking Nick up off the street and giving him a job. A purpose. Nick didn't like shady mob business such as arson or extortion, but if he was to get in good with Big before he left the Family, in the hopes of acquiring future favors (or quelling the shrew's anger), then he had to do this. The fact that he was getting paid for his efforts certainly helped. He was desperate for money.
Though Nick had heard things about the target in question, he'd never really learned very much about him. Mr. Big must not have considered the fox's knowledge of the target very important, because Nick only knew a few choice things about the bat, such as how Vladzotz was one of the five different crime-lords that controlled the vast majority of the organized crime in Zootopia, and that he practically ruled over the Nocturnal-District's criminal underworld unchallenged. Past that, he was in the dark.
Still, powerful or not, that fact didn't keep the bat's fellow crime-lords from plotting against him, as evident by the fact that Mr. Big was trying to burn his house down.
Focusing on the present, the fox redirected his attention toward the end of the tunnel he was driving down, which was now in sight. The whole road was dark, and it seemed that there were more cars leaving the district than going in to it. Eventually, the fox reached the bottom of the tunnel, and promptly dropped off into an amazing world of massive stone spikes, gross glowing worms, and huge shiny gems. Gothic skyscrapers reached for the surface, where the glow-worms pulsed clinging to the roof pulsed through clouds of mist like lightning, and entire neighborhoods were built into the bedrock of the cavern floor. As he gazed in awe at the large crystal shards that clung to the ceiling, he wondered if it was possible for him to somehow climb up there and chip some crystal off for himself. That stuff could make him a fortune! Gliding down narrow roads that wound between stalagmites, the fox eventually found his way to a public park where fungus and other strange, bioluminescent plants grew in the murky air. It was the place where he was supposed to set up, and continue his journey on foot.
He parked the car in an appropriate location, and set out in the direction of the bat's manor. As he walked, he stared up at the domed cavern ceiling, so vast it might have been a sky of its own, where glow-worms illuminated the stalactites by the millions. But at the same time, the fox happened to be on the lookout for anything with wings.
After some time walking, he reached his final destination: An ancient looking mansion, with cracked glass windows and creaking wooden planks. It was massive, built of black brick and purple wood. The towers branching from the corners of the building rose tall and ominously, as if it had an aura of oppression surrounding it, quenching out the light of all the surrounding urban sprawl. Castle Fangpyre struck him as dark, oppressive, and creepy. It had a different 'rich mammal' vibe to it than any of Mr. Big's safehouses. It wasn't just a den of organized crime - It was a landmark of authority. The mansion was quite well tucked away, ensuring both privacy for the owners, and an easy arson job for the fox. He stared around at the house, searching for what looked like some sort of garage. Nothing. No cars were parked anywhere near the manor, either.
He checked out the windows, staring inside for any signs of activity. Nothing. His eyes were met with only the inky black recesses of one poorly-lit house. Nick gave himself a mental pat on the back. No one was home. And with that, he got to work. At first it was easy - Just pouring puddles of gasoline across the porch, splashing it on the walls and windows and trying to make sure that the house got soaked. Once he'd emptied his first of three canisters, he set to work on the gas pipelines, remembering what Ivan had shown him about finding and sabotaging them. Using the shovel, he dug up the location of one, which was right next to the southernmost stained-glass window. He unscrewed the nozzle slightly, and then doused the pipe in gasoline, the hole that he'd dug nearly filling with the explosive liquid.
Then came the hard part. He searched around the house for any sort of open window, or something he could use to climb through and get inside. After some time of frantic searching, he eventually came across a single window at the back of the manor. If there was a security system, he couldn't see it. Using his tools, he picked the window open from the outside, and slipped in with his bag
He climbed inside, leaving the window open in case a quick escape was mandatory. He crept around the room he had entered, which appeared to be some sort of dining room. Just like the outside, he doused the room in gasoline, slathering it on the walls, pouring it across the furniture, and dumping liter after liter of explosive liquid out across the floor, where it wet the carpet and sank into the cracks between the wooden-floorboards. Nick didn't hear any voices, but had a feeling there were mobsters patrolling nearby, both in and outside the house. He had to be quick.
Just one little fire, he thought to himself as he worked. Then I'll be out of debt... out from under Big's thumb for good.
Soon enough, it came time for the main course. Nick dug around inside his duffle-bag, eventually pulling out a home-made bomb made with clay and sulfur. He carefully fastened it in the center of the room. As he was taught by Ivan, he began the countdown on the explosive, starting it at its default timing of one minute. This explosive, on top of the gasoline, was no doubt to make short work of the house, or at least a good chunk of it. Nick sighed, beginning to wish he'd just gotten a 9-5 job like most mammals.
As the fox hurriedly stood up, gathering his leftover materials and preparing to flee. Then he noticed something he hadn't seen before.
Sitting atop the corner of one of the tables in the room, a glass of what looked like coffee was accompanied by a small plate of toast. The piece of bread had a tiny chomp mark in the corner, which itself was strangely shaped, as if the thing that had bitten it had two teeth larger than the rest. Nick wouldn't have thought it as a very important detail, but the fact that the coffee mug was still steaming made a cold pair of fingers trace their way down his backbone: Someone else was in the old house along with him.
The fox began to panic, a dread fear of hysteria settling over him like a blanket, suffocating him and restricting his breathing. Nick looked at the explosive on the ground, which he had turned over so the dim light from the timer wouldn't be seen. He bent over and hastily turned it around, staring at the countdown.
00:45
"Oh, no... Oh no no no..." The fox quietly whispered to himself.
He stared at the timer, which continually decreased as the seconds passed. He tried thinking of a way that he might be able to defuse it, turn it off, or delay it. He then reminisced to Ivan's pyrotechnic lessons, trying to recall if there was any way for him to be able to stop the ticking clock. His paws tensed as he spared a look at the timer.
00:27
Nick tried thinking what he did wrong, he was so sure that the house was empty at the time of his arrival!
He thought back to what he had seen earlier: No cars, and no lights.
Then, realization struck him like a lightening bolt. The fox cursed at himself for being so careless. Of course it looked like nobody was home - Being able to fly, the bats wouldn't need cars to park in their garage. And they were bats! They lived in the dark, so of course the house would be dark on the inside! Nick came to the terrifying realization that he had missed his opening: The family of bats had already returned, and they were in the house with him. The fox glanced at the clock once again.
00:20
He began thinking if there was any way that he could possibly defuse the bomb, but soon pushed that idea from his head. He didn't know anything about explosives, or how to turn them off. Ivan only taught him how to turn them on and handle them carefully. That was all that he needed to know. It was too late to take the bomb elsewhere.
00:15
Nick choked back a wail of defeat. It was hopeless.
Leaving behind his duffel-bag full of equipment, he fled from the scene; exiting through the same window that he had come in through. As he ran, he eyed the snaking trail of gasoline that led from the explosive device to the gasoline pipes, and all around the house. There was nothing that he could do to reverse what he had done.
When he had put a good fifty yards between him and the house, he looked back at the manor in the distance. A moment of hope caused the fox to flicker with optimism - Perhaps the bomb was a dud, or maybe the explosion wouldn't be powerful enough to set the house ablaze! Ten seconds later, he was proved wrong.
In the brief moments before the explosion itself, Nick could have sworn that he had seen a shadowy flicker of movement through the dark confines of one of the manor's many windows: Movement in the floors above. Time seemed to slow down. Milliseconds felt like millennia as he stared down the house.
Nick watched in horror as the explosion ripped through the side of Castle Fangpyre, tearing through solid walls of wood and brick. The blast sent flames spewing out in every direction, igniting anything with the slightest hint of flammability. The gasoline trails that the fox had lain earlier blazed to life, the flames snaking their way across the ground and scorching anything in their way. Seconds later, another explosion erupted from the ground farther behind the house, sending clumps of dirt and other debris soaring through the air - The gas pipeline had gave way. When the smoke from the explosions parted like a curtain, Nick thought he was staring into the darkest depths of hell itself.
The entire right side of the manor was engulfed in flames, which billowed from the windows, between the cracks in the wood, and burned harshly through the house. He then heard yells of surprise from farther inside the house, no doubt the cries of those watchmen Big had mentioned earlier as they fled the vicinity of the fire. Wooden furniture was reduced to cinders before his very eyes, and entire sections of the house's walls began to crumble and fall apart, disintegrating into dust from the hot ferocity of the fire.
A dark blur of movement caught the fox's attention. He wordlessly watched as a vampire bat shot through one of the windows, coughing and retching into his elbows as he tore through the smoke and tried to fly away, only to flutter down to the ground some twenty yards away. He didn't notice Nick, but the fox figured this bat must have been Vladzotz himself. His formal black slacks, vest, and sleeveless white undershirt were caked with dust and ash, almost as dark gray as his fur. Vladzotz stood at roughly half Nick's height, judging from the distance, but as the bat sank to his knees and stared up at the fire enveloping his home, he looked very, very small - Nothing like an infamous crime-lord.
"Vasila!" He shrieked, voice echoing into the darkness. "Where are you?!"
Nick realized that he was calling out to his family. The worst part was that the fox wasn't even sure which family member the bat was referring to. Vladzotz flapped off, yet just as he disappeared behind the rim of the roof, he turned his head, and caught sight of Nick. Time seemed to slow down once more as the two mammals locked eyes for but a moment, until Vladzotz vanished from sight.
Swallowing hard, with tears brimming his eyes, Nick turned tail and ran even farther, intent on putting as much distance as he could between himself and what he had done.
In the present...
The bunny had her paws cupped against her face, the tears sliding down the fur on her cheeks. The tears streamed between her fingers and fell in drops upon her lap, some even landing on the fox's thigh as she buried her face into his chest. Nick said nothing else, for there was nothing left to be said. Since words were of no use, he tried running his paws down the small of Judy's back, and gliding his fingers up to her shoulders - A soothing trick that usually worked like a charm. But not this time.
To Nick's great worry, Judy actually pulled herself away from him, severing the contact between the two. Now, she didn't weep in his arms, but upon the cold and hard driver's seat. This action broke Nick's heart. He'd never seen Judy this distraught... Not even when they had that fight on the beach, which seemed like so long ago, by now.
He watched in twisted agitation as the bunny, wiping her nose across her sleeve, opened the door and exited the police cruiser hastily. She slammed it shut loudly, nearly hitting Nick in the face as he tried to follow her out through the way she went. Instead, he turned around and exited the vehicle through his own door, not even bothering to shut it as he ran over to his mate, who with arms hugging tight against her sides, was weeping as she stood beneath a nearby tree.
The fox ran up and embraced her in a meaningful hug, wrapping his arms around her small form and clutching her tightly against his own. However, Nick felt his heart tear in two when the bunny pried herself away from him, backing away and staring at him with horror. She made eye contact, and at last found her words. "Of all t-the things..."
"Judy, please..." Nick began, not even noticing his use of her true name. "I never meant for it to happen. It was the worst mistake of my life. Don't let anger-"
"Don't tell me what to do! I knew you had been friends with Mr. Big, but this..." She shouted, her voice cracking in anger. "You're no cop... And you've NEVER been one!"
Getting his heart torn out by Vladzotz's claws would have hurt less than that. No anger proceeded Nick's realization. He figured that, perhaps, Judy was correct.
"You're right." Was all he said before walking away, his destination fruitless and unknown. It mattered not: He only wanted to get out of there and away from his problems.
He spared no backwards glance as he walked off. The only thing on his mind was an utter blank fuzz. Regret was all he had - Regret for the flames of his past.
Eventually, he decided there was no place like home; and set out for their apartment, caring not if he would find his mate there when he arrived.
That's right... Run away. Run away from your failures... A harsh voice whispered in his head, which he shook from side-to-side in an effort to cleanse.
What scared him most of all was that the voice he heard belonged to Vladzotz.
Half-an-hour's worth of walking in the pitch-black night eventually led him to his apartment. He ascended the creaking stairs towards his room, which he promptly entered.
It was dark and quiet. Nobody seemed home.
He paced to the bedroom, intent on flopping in his bed and sleeping his problems away. Tossing his utility belt and tranquilizer gun atop a nearby dresser, Nick wiped wearily at his face with both paws. When he reached the bedroom door, he found it closed. He didn't remember shutting it. Too exhausted to bother caring, he opened up the door and entered the bedroom, the large multi-framed windows filtered rays of soothing moonlight through the blinds, illuminating the room with a soft grey glow.
His vision was blurry with tears. He almost collapsed into the mattress, but he stopped and took a closer look at the window.
Completely unnoticed by the fox before, there was something blocking a large majority of the window's frame - Something clinging to the ceiling right in front of the window, blocking a patch of moonlight and casting a deep shadow across the bed. Nick had no idea how he hadn't notice it before. It didn't take a genius to figure out what it was.
"You." He hissed at the thing hanging from the ceiling, which slightly quivered at the sound of his voice.
"Me." The thing replied back, its deep and velvety voice causing Nick to shiver with fear.
"How... How did you get in here?" He asked. The voice - which he had since realized belonged to Vladzotz himself - chuckled softly.
"I have connections. Tracking you down was a simple matter. Besides, we've known about this home for weeks! The Nocturnal-Mob has been watching you for quite some time, indeed. It wasn't the most preferable option to track you down in public, but after escaping my more clandestine attempt, you've left me with no other choice."
Nick watched as the bat unlatched himself from the ceiling and dropped gracefully to the ground, landing on his own two feet before rising to his full height.
"Love can be such a fragile thing, yes? It can be shattered in an instant, and everything you cherish will go up in flames. Reduced to burning cinders. I would know."
Nick swallowed hard, deducing that Vladzotz must have seen his argument with Judy from earlier, likely as he flew overhead to reach his home before he fox considered making a break for his tranquilizer, but knew there was no way he could reach it before getting a pair of fangs sunk into his neck from behind. There was nothing he could do now but talk, and even then, there was so little that he could say. "I'm so sorry." Was all he could manage. "I've never wanted to hurt anyone... Least of all her."
Vladzotz tilted his head to the side, as if somewhat confused by the fox's apology.
"Ah, you mean Judith? It's obvious that your rabbit friend is nowhere to be found, so I think it's safe to say that you and I have the place all to ourselves."
The fox backed himself against the nearest wall. He flinched as the bat began to advance, stopping no more than three feet away from him. Vladzotz let out a brief, slightly maniacal laugh.
"How sentimental. You honestly thought that you could keep something like this going?" The bat asked as he raised one of his leathery wings and pointed to a framed picture of Nick and Judy on their wedding day. Seeing as he had nothing really left to lose, Nick nodded his head in agreement, to which the bat let loose another maddened chuckle.
"What a joke." He hissed before plucking Nick's wedding portrait off the wall, eyeing it almost sympathetically. "You always were a fox who chased stupid dreams."
Vladzotz then dropped the framed picture to the ground, shattering the glass across the floor.
"Dreams such as thinking that you could ever get away with crossing me, and thinking you could ever get away with something as abominable as this." He crooned.
The crime-lord then crushed the portrait frame beneath one of his clawed feet as he finished speaking, the sound of crackling glass filling the gap of the ensuing silence. Nick winced as he watched the picture of Judy's beautiful face disappear underneath the talons of his foe. Vladzotz noticed his expression, and chuckled softly to himself before making a tsk tsk noise from between his fangs. He kicked the portrait over to Nick's feet and then said;
"Now don't worry about that, old friend - It was never going to work out, anyways. The two of you are polar opposites, and quite frankly, I'm amazed that you even made it this far! At least consider that to be a worthy achievement for the pathetic fox who could never accomplish anything greater in life than this disgusting, worthless marriage."
Nick stared down the bat with frustration, yet still, he couldn't keep a single tear from dripping down his cheek. It fell from his chin and onto the broken portrait at his feet.
"You weep, but for what? You have nothing left..." Vladzotz smiled impossibly wide, showing off his razor sharp fangs. "That is, nothing left but your death."
He rushed forward and clamped his talons around the fox's neck, caging Nick against the wall. He was then thrown atop the nearby bed, landing with a cough. Vlad may have been roughly a third of Nick's size, but his momentum still carried weight. Nick tried kicking back, but the bat lept onto his chest and sank the talons on his feet into the fox's shirt, gripping him tight before flapping his massive wings, flinging himself and his enemy in tow forward and crashing through the window, sending shards of glass careening across the balcony. Vladzotz took to the air, just barely managing to carry Nick in his talons as he flew off into the night sky, the glow of the moon illuminating a few small drops of blood that dripped from the broken window.
But above all else, it lit up the shattered wedding-portrait, which lay broken and mangled in a heap of shards, stained with the fox's tears of regret.
Hey everyone!
Nothing much to say here. Sorry that it got a little dark, up there, but I do hope you enjoyed the story. I should note that I apologize if that particular plot-point related to Nick's past is a bit too dark for his character, but I wanted to expand upon the implication that we got in the movie that Nick used to be a part of Zootopia's criminal underworld, and likely had to do some shifty things to gain favor. But I can assure you that this revelation won't altar Nick's character, or anything like that - it's just a tragic piece of his past that he regrets, having associated with the wrong mammals. You'll see how this particular plot-point is played out in the coming chapters (and the rest of the story and its sequel), and what happens to Nick and Judy soon, and how they make amends! Stay tuned!
'Till next time...
Peace!