Life, Cameras...Fiction! Chapter 2 - How….!?

Edited by Eng050599

"Sorry, but there won't be the hot tub scene...No! I will not...look just…Trisha!"

Nick chuckled, though quickly turned it into a controlled cough as Judy shot him a dirty look. They were currently out on lunch a week into their four week stint of overwatching the making of the film about their exploits. Judy felt like she had a migraine for the past four days straight, as each scene they were shown was so objectively off base that at one point she had threatened to take over directing the film herself, as well as destroy every film can and hard drive that had been produced to date.

Thankfully Nick had been able to calm her down, and the offer of taking her to Jackal John's for sandwiches had placated her well enough to where she wasn't giving off an aura of 'don't come near me'. "Trisha still wanting us to include the hot tub scene?"

Judy nodded in frustration as she continued to listen to the brown doe on the other side of the line. "Sorry, Trisha, I gotta go….look."

Nick snickered, moving Judy's alfalfa and cabbage sandwich slightly to the left as Judy groaned and plopped her head on the table where her food had just been. Rolling his eyes and giving a slight shake of his head, he took the phone out of Judy's paw. She gave him no resistance, and he swore he heard a whispered thank you as he took the phone from his favorite bunny.

"Hey Trisha, sorry but there won't be a hot tub scene and if you want one of those, you'll have to come to our next pool party in our apartment building."

Nick winced as he moved the phone away from his ears momentarily at the shriek of delight Trisha let out. This time hearing Judy giggle, he put the phone back to his ear and smiled. Though that fell quickly. "No, you cannot bring your camera into the hot tub and ask us to replicate that scene for you and Delta."

At this point, Judy looked up, just as mortified as Nick was. "Nick...no...That scene was just...bad."

"Sorry Trisha, that's a no. Just bring your pretty little wild dog and Atom when you come next Saturday and I'll tell you about the ninjas."

Nick hung up the phone just as an ear splitting "What?!" came through the line. Judy was still looking at him, aghast. "Why did you tell her about the ninjas? We scrapped that three days ago."

Nick shrugged as he took a bite of his veggie burger. Chewing for a bit, he let a shrug of his shoulders answer for him until he swallowed. Giving a glimpse of his pearly whites, he shot Judy the most impish grin he could. "Would you rather have Trisha focusing in on that steamy sauna scene, or ninjas?"

Judy paused for only a moment before sighing. "Nick..."

"What I believe you are trying to say, is thank you." Nick replied with a smirk.

"Thank you?" Judy asked.

"You're welcome!" Nick said with a rather good deal of amusement before chomping into his sandwich. Judy blinked several times before placing her food down.

"Did you really just quote Meowana to me?"

"Did I happen to use a line from one of your favorite movies? Yes, yes I did." Taking a glance at the clock, Nick dabbed at his muzzle with a napkin before taking a healthy slurp from his Pawpsi. "Gotta run, Carrots. We have the Bellwether scene to watch today."

"Great," Judy huffed. She wrapped up the last bits of her sandwich and hopped off the counter stool, joining by Nick's side as they made their way out of the restaurant. "What do you think the great Steven Felineberg will change in that scene."

Nick let out a grimace as he pressed the crosswalk button outside the restaurant. Thankfully the Jackal John's had been just across the street from the studio lot so they hadn't needed to go far for lunch, although the two of them would have walked for miles if it meant giving them a break from the set. Some of the cast and crew had given them odd looks from the craft services table, but the respite from being off the lot was a grateful distraction for them. Even with Nick growing up in the city and Judy in a warren with 275 siblings, both felt a little overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle that was taking place on the set pieces.

"I can see a lot of things being changed, though can't a fox hope that for once this director doesn't decide that his version of events is better than what happened."

Judy nodded, though smirked slightly. "Well what do you know. That actually sounded like you were optimistic there for a moment."

"Har har," Nick replied, lightly bumping into Judy with his hip.

Together they made their way towards the studio, deciding to walk rather than take any of the proffered shuttles. As they reached the studio entrance, they swiped their cards and entered, only to be nearly crushed by a herd of sheep in black robes huddled around the entryway.

Glancing around nervously, they crept around the group, all of which were staring at them unblinkingly. Being slightly unnerved, they managed their way around the rather large group, walking swiftly towards the director who was talking with a…

"Is that…" Judy began, nose twitching and eyes widening.

"...supposed to be Bellwether?" Nick finished for her. The two looked at each other, then gave the ewe another long stare. The glasses and necklace indeed matched those that the former mayor of Zootopia had worn but...that was the only thing that matched. Neither Nick or Judy would have thought that the actress Jessica Eweba would have made for a good Bellwether, as she was taller than Nick and much, much less fluffy than the ditzy ex-mayor had been.

The two approached the long legged ewe, noticing that instead of a dress like Bellwether had preferred, she was in a rather risque short pencil skirt. "Uh, what's going on?" Judy asked. The director and actor both looked over, smiles on their faces.

"Ah, purrfect timing my dears!" the feline purred. "I was just talking with Jess here and she is so excited to be playing Bellwether, well, more excited to meet the two of you I should say."

The ewe strode over, offering a hoof to both smaller mammals. "It is an honor to meet both of you, and I can't wait to be a part of a movie celebrating your accomplishments." She offered a cheeky grin and a giggle. "Even if I am playing the villain in it."

"Thank you," Judy relied, shaking the star's hoof. "I'm sure that it will be wholly accurate to what happened after the script revisions we gave Mr Purran here." Both rabbit and fox gave a good long glare at the director, who suddenly gulped nervously.

"Well, uh, I...guess we'll have to see as we are shooting in five." He quickly leapt from his chair and darted towards Genny and Ace, both of whom looked to be reviewing the script with their stunt doubles, leaving a bewildered Judy, Nick, and Jessica behind.

"Yeah, I think I'm suddenly not so optimistic as before," Nick stated flatly.

"Alright, places! Places everyone!"

Judy and Nick gave each other worried looks as the massive gathering of sheep lined up just out of the camera's on set. Each held a flickering candle in their hooves, otherwise they were entirely encased in black robes. Nick and Judy were up on a stand overlooking the entire natural history museum set. They had already filmed the scene of Judy hurting her leg, both Genny and Jade had performed their roles perfectly, the scenes of the train car exploding and the chase through the museum to the injury on the mammoth tusk all being performed flawlessly by the two fox and bunny pairs.

Judy and Nick had only stepped in once, eliminating a hug and make out session between Genny and Ace after their stunt doubles had successfully leapt from the burning hulk of a train on set. After fixing that scene, putting in Nick's successful grabbing of the nighthowler pistol rewarded by an exuberant shoulder slug from Judy, the rest proceeded without a hitch.

Which is why this current scene was worrying them so much. At the sound of "action", Jessica Eweba let out a wicked sounded cackle. "Oh Judy, you should have just stayed on the carrot farm. it really is too bad. I did like you and was thinking of offering you the position of Chief of Police if you wouldn't have paired up with this fox."

Nick glanced over at Judy, the bunny's ears shooting up at the comment. "She never said that," Nick stated. Judy nodded in agreement, watching as the scene progressed.

"What are you going to do? Kill me?" Genny shouted from inside the pit. The crews had two cameras set up, one on a boom recording what happened above, and another filming at eye level within the pit. The screens that Nick and Judy were watching broadcasted what they couldn't see within the hole.

"Oh, of course not…" Eweba laughed, taking light steps around the edge of the exhibit. "I'm offering you one last out before he does." Eweba's soft voice suddenly took a darker turn as she snapped her hooves. The rams in dark clothes began marching on screen, lining the sides of the sunken exhibit. They began chanting, soft and slow at first, but gaining volume as they wrapped around the pit.

"One of us, one of us."

"Join me Judy!" Eweba cried out as she popped open the nighthowler pistol and withdrew the prop serum pellet within. She tossed the pellet down towards Ace, who caught it easily. "And we can rule Zootopia together as Mayor and Police Chief!"

Both Nick and Judy shared disbelieving glances at each other as they took in the scene. Both their minds were fixated in the way one was when an accident was imminent, but there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

"No!" Genny shouted. "I'll never join you!" She grabbed a hold of Ace's paw and stepped in front of him.

"There is no escape," Eweba continued. "Don't make me destroy you."

Genny turned, casting a smile at Ace. "I've abandoned you once, and I'll never do it again."

Ace smiled, raising a paw to Genny's cheek before leaning in to give her a kiss.

Up on the platform, both Nick and Judy's jaws dropped even further.

What…

...the…

...carrot sticks?

"Fine!" Eweba snapped as the chanting around them grew louder.

"One of us...one of us…"

"Then I'll have to speak directly to the mongrel. If the fox doesn't eat that pellet to go savage…" Eweba withdrew another gun from her jacket, producing a small round metal sphere and placing it inside it. "Then I'll just have to kill you myself."

Judy and Nick watched in a grotesque sort of horror mixed with anticipation. On one paw they were mortified that this was what the director had thought of this event while on the other, both were drawn to watching the scene play out, like a train wreck in motion. They watched as both Genny and Ace acted horrified, before Ace began lifting the pellet to his lips.

"Nick!" Genny yelled, grabbing his paw. "You can't eat that. You'll...you'll go savage and…" she began crying, wiping at her eyes with one paw. "And I can't bear to lose you like that."

Ace's performance was just as impressive. He lifted his free paw to dry Genny's tears, cusping it around her head as she nuzzled into it. "To keep you safe, I would do anything, my love...my Judy."

Up on the platform, Nick scoffed as Judy let out an audible 'awww' at the cheesy line.

With a fluid motion, Ace popped the pellet into his mouth, chewed and swallowed. "Remember darling, I will never hurt you."

"Aaaannnndddd cut! Jade. Max, we need you on set!"

Genny and Ace quickly left the scene, high fouring Jade and Max on their way out. Nick and Judy heard the clamoring of paws on the ladder rung behind them and in just a few short seconds, Genny and Ace had joined them.

"Somehow I doubt this is actually what happened here," Ace said with a grin as he leaned against the railing, placing a paw against his cheek as he looked down at the stage crew preparing the set for the next shot.

"Not even close," Judy huffed before turning to face her new-found friends. "But both of your acting skills are amazing to watch so even if that," she waved a paw at the scene in front of them, "Isn't at all what happened, it was enjoyable to see you two together like that."

"Even the sappy love lines," Nick chuffed, giving them a smirk. Ace and Genny looked at the fox, matching his smirk with their own.

"Who said we were acting?" Ace said as he clasped Genny's paw in his own. Genny looked up at Ace and with a smile, kissed him under his muzzle, then scratched the area gently. The tod let out a rumble of approval as his tail swished behind him.

"Awww!" Judy put her paws over her mouth, then jumped the couple, wrapping them in a huge hug. "When did this happen?"

Genny giggled, returning the hug. "When we were practicing for the savage Nick scene that was scrapped earlier in the film. Ace here, the loveable tod he is, noticed I had some, issues, and helped me through them."

Nick nodded, smiling at the other fox and bunny couple. "Called it."

"Hush you," Judy stated to her husband, though with an obvious smile on her muzzle.

"Everyone, places please!" The director called out. "And...action!"

Max jerked suddenly, faking the serum effects as Jade jumped away from him. "Fight it, Nick! You can fight it!"

"Oh, he can't," Eweba giggled from above, doing a rather spot on impersonation of Bellwether's nasally voice. "Since preds are biologically inclined to violence." She dialed her phone. "Help! There's a savage fox loose in the Natural History Museum. He has Officer Hopps cornered and I can't get to her!"

"Nick…" Jade soothed as Max growled fiercely at her, kicking out at the grey doe. Jade somersaulted backwards, landing on her hind paws with ease as she glared at Eweba. "Your plans won't work!" she yelled.

"Fear always works when you're one of us…" Eweba growled.

"One of us, one of us…" the cloaked rams chanted.

"Fear will never conquer love!" Jade shouted back as Max leapt at her…

...only to throw his arms around her and toss her high into the air as she whipped dual tranquilizers out from her belt.

"It's called a hustle, Sweetheart," Jade laughed as she fired off two darts at the rams next to Eweba. The darts connected right on the plates beneath their shirts, though for all effects and purposes, it looked like they had been hit. The rams reacted somewhat clunkily, gracelessly falling into the pit while the second bleated out what sounded like an, "Aaaayaaaa!"

Jade managed to twist in mid air as she flew up and behind the line of rams directly in front of the cameras, landing perfectly before swinging around to dart two more cloaked figures.

"I wish we had tranq guns like that at work…" Judy stated in awe as she watched Jade fire off several more darts into the enclosing rams until the guns clicked empty. Just as she was surrounded, the eight or so rams all flew backwards, some falling back into the pit, landing on hidden cushions, as Jade let out a mighty bellow.

"Now that's a little overkill," Nick chuckled. "I've never once seen you do that before."

"Wish I could," Judy grumbled. "Would make it easier to bring down perps."

Nick shook his head then brought Judy next to him, squeezing her in a warm side hug as the scene continued. Max attacked the rams that Jade would kick into the pit, all while Eweba was screaming at the rams to take down the two smaller mammals. After several minutes of filming, in which all four mammals on the platform watched in curious amazement at what the director had expected to occur instead of what had indeed happened, it was only Eweba and Jade left above the pit as Max took out the last of the rams in it with an uppercut.

"Now, it's just you and me," Jade said, wiping away some fake blood across her cheek from a 'cut' the ram had given her.

Eweba grinned and flicked off her jacket, tossing it to the side as she got into a fighting stance. "It will be my pleasure to crush you."

"Aannnd that's where I'm calling it," Nick stated as he walked towards the ladder. "I think I've seen enough to know that this scene needs a total overhaul."

"Wait!"

Nick paused at the ladder as Judy looked at him, a sheepish grin on her face. "I...kind of want to see what Jade can do…" she muttered softly. Nick shot her a raised eyebrow as the battle commenced on the stage, with Jade slipping between the ewe's legs, kicking them out for under her before going for an armbar . "I want to see if I can learn anything from her for work."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Course you would," he said with a chuckle. "My dear Carrots, always thinking of the job." Nick returned to Judy's side and the four mammals watched several takes occur for the fight scene between them, especially as Max joined in after tossing the rams into a giant pile to climb from the pit to aid Jade in the epic battle above.

"This is so not going in the final cut," Nick said as the battle finished, with both Max and Jade roundhouse kicking Eweba into the pit together, then as they stood over her 'unconcious' form, engaged in a rather lengthy and passionate kiss that Nick was certain he and Judy only had ever exchanged on the most heated of nights between them.

The theatre was packed with mammals as Judy and Nick found their assigned seats. It was the premier of the movie they had consulted on, and as such, they were given an exclusive, first access viewing to it along with the staff and actors who worked on it. They were happy to note Genny and Ace were placed next to them, the other fox/rabbit couple holding paws while sharing a large bucket of popcorn between them.

The movie itself played out rather well. In the end, the police couple had managed to either coerce, or in many early cases, force, the director to change scenes to be more correct. Several times throughout the film they leaned over to congratulate Genny and Ace on their acting skills, saying they did a wonderful job on recreating the emotions that Nick and Judy had felt at those times.

"What can we say," they had replied with. "We had great coaches."

As the bridge scene neared, Judy reached out and held Nick's paw, sniffling already from the break up scene between her and Nick that even had Genny and Ace in tears. Seeing the familiar bridge come into view, she was suddenly very glad that they had decided to film on location rather than on the set. The emotions of the scene, caused a new swelling of tears to come as she looked up at Nick.

"It's alright, Carrots," Nick said, rubbing back her ears and gently kissing her lips. He knew that Judy still blamed herself for the three months that had preceded this particular event, and as always, he was there to steer her away from the despair that followed. "I forgave you long ago."

Judy sighed and leaned into him. "I still wish I hadn't pushed you away in the first place."

Nick said nothing, but silently wrapped his arm around his wife as they watched the climax of the film, thankful it including neither hooded rams or kung-fu scenes. They had those on tape though, as Judy had asked to have them for 'educational purposes', along with a promise of some one-on-one training with Jade in the near future.

Finally, the concert at the end of the movie came, and with it, the credits began to roll as a cheer went up amongst the audience. The director and co-directors were announced, then, on a screen all by themselves, six words appeared that caused a gasp to come from Nick and Judy.

Guest Directors

Judy Hopps

Nick Wilde

"It's us! It's us!" Judy said excitedly, hitting Nick's arm as her feet thumped the floor. Ace and Genny smiled and began clapping for them, as several other mammals nearby did the same.

Nick waved to the mammals who cheered for them, hugging Judy close. "Now wasn't this worth it?"

Judy looked up at him. Alighting on her tiptoes, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Was it worth it to see you on the silver screen? Yes, yes it was."

Judy's comment went unheard as the dozens of mammals applauded them. Little did many of the other mammals shooting the film knew, but for several of the shots, including the climactic bridge scene, Ace and Genny had switched places with Nick and Judy, allowing the pair of police officers to film the scenes only as they knew they should go. It was a secret that only the four knew about and as the two fox and rabbit couples watched the credits ending, they knew it was something only they'd ever know.

…

…

Judy's ears shot up in alarm… "Sweet cheese and crackers!" she muttered in horror as she looked up at Nick. "My parents are so totally going to know!"

AN: Huge credit to Fox in the Henhouse for allowing use of Jade Warren, as well as giving me the ideas for the over the top lovey dovey-ness in several scenes, especially the ending there. Also huge thank you to RobertFiddler on DeviantArt for allowing the use of his OC's Genny and Ace. So thank you to both of you guys!