Chapter Eight: A Wilde Christmas

A/N: Good thing Zootopia takes place in an alternate universe where modern technology is LIKE ours but not exact so I don't have to match up with game release dates in 1991 or else the ending to this would fall apart. Heh-Heh...Heh.

I made it! Final chapter complete right before Christmas! Phew! Hope you all enjoy it. I'll have some epilogues next week including what happens right after Nick is kicked out of the scouts and adult Nick and Judy.

December 25th 7:30 am

A groggy, young Nick Wilde was woken up by his alarm radio going off.

"Rockin' around the Christmas tree..."

Nick pressed a button to change the station. "Noooo! That was our song!"

Click!

"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away!"

"URRGH!" Every song reminded him of the love he lost.

Click!

"I'll have a blue Christmas without yoooou."

"C'mon Elvis! Give me a break!"

Click!

"Santa bring my baby back to meeee!"

"I said give me a break!" Nick got up and yanked his clock radio out of the wall. "Stupid radio." He then heard the voice of his mom outside. "Wake up honey! It's Christmas! Breakfast will be ready soon!"

Nick didn't care. Without Stacy, it was just another day. He bundled himself back under his blankets. "Christmas? Bah! Humbug!"

Vivian opened the door. "Hey there Scrooge."

"Leave me alone!"

"C'mon honey! It's Christmas! You have presents to open! Egg nog! Your father's making his special omelets with kibbles and bits and cheese!"

"I don't care! Life has no meaning anymore!"

"Don't be so dramatic."

Nick got out from under the covers and raised his fists in the air. "I'M NOT BEING DRAMATIIIIC!"

Nick saw that his mom was having a hard time not laughing. "Okay. Maybe I'm being a little bit dramatic."

"Well, I don't need to get you up. You'll get up all on your own in a few minutes."

"Why?"

"To do what every mammal has to do when you first wake up."

"I don't know what your...I gotta pee!"

"Bingo."

Nick ran out of his room and into the bathroom. Moments later, he opened the door and before he could run back into his room, Vivian grabbed him by the paw and pulled him over to the couch. She put a pillow behind his back and wrapped him up in blankets. "There! If you want to be sad and miserable then at least you'll be warm and comfy with us." She put his stocking in front of him. "Here. You can start with this. Breakfast will be done soon."

Nick looked down at his stocking and looked back at his mother. "Will you stay with me?"

She sat next to him and snuggled up with the pup. "All day. Now go on! Open one of your little stocking gifts while I steal one of your gummi candies."

"H-Hey!" Nick giggled. He pulled out the first gift, it bent in his paws. "It's some comic books."

"You don't know that for sure!" His mother replied.

He unwrapped it. "See? Told you. It's Batcat comic books."

"Technically it's a graphic novel."

"A graphic novel is a collection of comics!"

"Still doesn't count as comic books and learn to be thankful! Now, open your next one."

Nick pulled out the other gift out of the stocking. "I can feel plastic on cardboard. I bet these are action figures!"

"Stop guessing your presents and open it!"

He ripped open the gift wrapping and laughed. "Ha-Ha! Oh my gosh! Look at these things!" It was a package of bootleg action figures. They were of very poor quality, but they looked so dumb that they ended up making Nick laugh. "Batcat has a light-up chest? Why? He's not Iron Mouse! It also comes with Spider-Moose, Captain Americat and Supermouse! They all have light up chests!"

He pressed the button and the figure lit up and shouted. "Fire! Fire! Fire! RATATATATATAT!"

"Ha!-Ha! Batcat Doesn't use guns!" He tried to press it again and it would no longer work. "Oh my gosh! The batteries already dead! This is so cheap!" He shouted to his father in the kitchen. "Thanks for the gag gift Daddy! It's hilarious!"

John peeked out of the kitchen and saw him open the gift. "...Right. 'Gag gift'." Sadly, he thought he'd love them for a different reason. "That's the last time I buy toys at Dollar Trunk." he said to himself.

Nick had a little bit of candy, but Vivian wouldn't let him spoil his appetite. John finally showed up with breakfast. They all sat down and watched. Zootopia's 30th annual Christmas parade on television. Vivian was concerned as they couldn't find the remote anywhere and John had to change the channel manually. However, the lost remote was all part of John's plan.

"Enjoying the breakfast son?" John asked.

"Yef! If gud!" said Nick with a mouthful of eggs with Kibbles and Bits.

"Well, once you're done, we can start unwrapping the big gifts!"

"Yaay!"

Breakfast ended and John played Santa and handed out the gifts.

"Open mine first!" said Nick to his mother,

Vivian took the package. "Oh! Okay." She unwrapped the package. "Oh! What a pretty necklace!"

"Thanks!" said Nick. "Daddy helped me get the rust off."

"Nick!" John shouted. "Don't mention that!"

Vivian looked at it suspiciously. "This isn't going to turn my wrist green like that wristband you got me last year is it?"

"No, it doesn't have a cool feature like that."

Just then the phone rang. Vivian picked it up. "Hello?...Oh, hi Helen!"

Nick perked his ears up. "Is Stacy there?!"

"Hold on Nick...Yes...Yes, he's here. Put her on the phone." Vivian gave the phone to Nick. "Here honey."

Nick quickly grabbed the phone. "Stacy!"

"Hi Nicky!" Stacy said with excitement.

"Hey Stay-Stay! Are you having a good Christmas?"

"I'm spending my Christmas in the back of a truck, so that's a big no. Mommy's letting me use the pay phone at a gas station we're at."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I miss you."

"I miss you too! Did you open my gift yet?"

"No. I was waiting for you to call."

"Great! You can open it now."

Nick put the phone aside. "Do you have it mommy?"

"Right here." she replied, handing him the tube.

He put the phone back to his ear. "Okay Stacy! I'm unwrapping it." He undid the tube and pulled out the gift. Unrolling a small picture. He started to choke up. "It's a p-picture of us dancing!"

"Yeah! Your mom helped me with that. I got one too so it can go up as a poster in my room."

"AWWW! SNIFF! That's awesome!"

Vivian then handed her son her gift to him. "Here. This goes with that gift."

"Hold on Stacy. Mommy gave me something." Nick unwrapped the gift his mother gave him. "It's a frame for the picture!"

Vivian gave him a squeeze. "That's right dear! Now you'll always have a wonderful time with her to remember,"

"Thanks mom! Thanks Stacy!"

Nick could hear a honk coming from a truck. "You're welcome! I gotta go now. Maybe I'll call you tomorrow!"

"Okay."

"I love you!"

"Love you too. Goodbye!"

"Bye!" She hung up the phone and that was that.

Nick sniffled a little and his mother held him close. "I-I'll be okay."

They unwrapped more gifts and John handed him a package. "Here you go son. I know how much you love Street Ferret two."

Nick quickly snatched it from his father's paws. "Oh my gosh!" He frantically tore open the wrapping with his paws.

What followed was pure disappointment and it made Nick's tiny heart sink. "Oh...It's the $20 LCD game."

John tried to really sell it. "Yeah! It's portable. Now you can take it wherever you go. Maybe even sneak it to school."

Nick started to tear up, but still stayed polite to his father. "SNIFF!...Thank you."

John knew what was up. "Not what you wanted hunh?"

"No. It's...it's okay."

"I'm sorry son. That Super Nine-Ten-Doe launched this year and was impossible to get. I looked everywhere! I...I did the best I could. I-I'm sorry. I got you something better than this game but first, can you do me a favor and change the channel for me?"

Nick looked confused. "Why me? I'm bundled up."

"Just do it. Okay?"

Nick was starting to get upset. "HRRPH! Fine!" He got out of his blanket and walked over to the TV. It was on channel five."

"Go down." John said.

Nick changed it to four. "Here?"

"No. Go down more."

Nick changed it to three.

"Down more."

He then changed it to two.

"One more."

"There are no more channels. That's A/V. Are we gonna watch a VHS movie?"

John started to smile. "You'll see. Oh and Nick?..."

"Yeah?"

John picked up the LCD game. "THIS was the gag gift."

Nick then realized what was going on. "No...way!" He went down one more to A/V and his jaw dropped. There it was. The title screen of the game he's been wanting all year. "Street Ferret two?! STREET FERRET TWO! AAIIIIEEEEE!"

He ran around in a circle. "I GOT STREET FERRET TWO!" He finally turned around and hugged his father hard and cried. Vivian joined in the hug, The fox cub could barley speak in his excitement. All he got out was. "I love you!"

John was in tears. "So you like it?"

"I LOVE IT!"

"I'm so happy! SOB! It's the Mega Henesis version, I tried to get the Super Nine-Ten-Doe! I went to so many stores and made so many calls but it was sold out! The clerk at Gameshop said this version was better anyway and I bought the 6 button controllers so they're like the arcade game. Also it was used and over $100 cheaper so I had enough money for even more games!"

John then jumped down off the couch and over to the TV. "Look!" He removed a black curtain that was at the bottom of the entertainment center below the TV. There was the Mega Henesis. He also had a bundle of games wrapped up. "Here I...Oh I'm too excited to show you!" He tore open the package and showed him the other games. "Look! We got some great ones! Outruff, Space Terrier, Streets of Roar, Altered Human and Sonic the Hedgehog! That one came with the system. The rest of them were used, but a bargain!"

Vivian was confused. "Don't you mean 'Zanic the Hedgedog or some other parody name?"

"No dear. Sonic's been in two Wreck-it-Ralph movies. He's practically a Disney property now."

"John Wilde! What have I told you about breaking the fourth wall?!"

"Sorry dear." John then turned to his son. "So, how do you like it?"

"I LOVE it!" Nick replied.

"I-I know it's no Super Nine-Ten-Doe but.."

"Super-Nine-Ten-Soe sucks!"

John was taken aback by what Nick said. "W-Wait. What?"

"This version of Street Ferret two is not only the Championship version, but the button placement is way better than the other pad which has four buttons at the front and the stupid L and R buttons on the side."

"B-But you really wanted the Super-Nine-Ten-Doe!"

Nick put his arm over his father. "Oh my poor, naive father. You don't understand how console wars work!:

"Console wars?!"

"Yeah! When you get a system that is about equal to a competitive system and shares some of the same games and you own only one of those systems, THAT'S the best system and you defend it with your life on the playgrounds and on internet forums. Now Super-Nine-Ten-Doe can suck it."

John was devastated. "Y-You mean...I wasted all that time?! I ran frantically from store to store looking for that console and you would have been just as happy with this?!"

"Yup."

"I!...You...WHAT?!...SIGH! I'm glad your happy son."

"I'm gonna call Benny over!" Nick ran to the phone. "Hey Benny! I got a Mega Henesis and Street Ferret two! Come on over!"

Nick hung up the phone and went to his game system. "I'm gonna play some Streets of Roar before he..." Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Vivian said. She opened the door and there was Benny on a skateboard with Flash on his back.

The chubby cheetah was panting his poor little heart out. "I got here as fast as I could! I had to pick up Flash first."

Nick was shocked "I called you like, twenty seconds ago!"

"Was I late?"

Nick looked at Flash whose fur was pulled back on his face from the high speed Benny was going. "Wow Ben! You may be fat, but you're as fast as any other cheetah. Are you okay Flash?"

"I...got...a...taste...of...speed...and...now...I'm...hungry...for...more!"

Ben handed Nick a gift. "Here! I umm...I got you this before...y'know, what happened."

Nick opened up the gift. It was a small plush of a girl mouse. Ben explained. "I was...It was for you to practice kissing her. Sorry."

Nick hugged it as he shed a tear. "I love it. Thank you Benny." He hugged his friend and then ran to his room. "I have something for you guys too!"

Nick came out with a gift box for Ben. "Here you go!"

Ben opened it up and got a wide smile on his face. "A dozen apple fritters! My favorite! Thanks!"

"You're welcome." Nick said with a smile. He then handed Flash a present. "Here!"

Flash opened it up. "Assorted salted crickets...Thanks." Flash then handed Nick his gift.

The fox's ears shot so high up, they almost flew off. "Holy cow! It's a skateboard!"

Nick's parents were surprised. "That's a better gift than I got him!" Vivian said with great jealousy.

Flash explained. "My...dad...made...serious...bank...with the...Santa...hotline."

"I feel bad. I just got you crickets."

"You got...me...what you...could...afford. It's...not...a...contest. You're...my...friend."

Nick hugged the sloth, "Thanks buddy! Hey! Before we play Street Ferret two, let's hit the skate park! It's just two blocks down."

John was upset. "Wait a minute! I went through a lot of trouble to get you this game and now you want to skate?! No way! Besides, you don't have knee and elbow pads or a helmet!"

Flash showed them a package of knee and elbow pads John was furious. "Is your father trying to upstage me?!"

Vivian put a paw on his shoulder. "Honey."

"Any other year, those skates would have been the top gift!"

Nick was pleading with his parents. "Can I go then?! Please?!"

Vivian sighed. "Not in those PJs. Go in your room and put on some thermals, pants and a sweatshirt."

"YESSS!" Nick ran into his room. "This is the best Christmas ever!"

John was confused. "No jacket?"

Vivian explained. "He needs mobility and the thermal underwear will keep him warm. Hey Flash! Show me that skateboard. I wanna test the quality."

Vivian got up and went to the sloth. She laid the skateboard down and then balanced on top of it. She then surprised everyone by doing a kick flip.

Ben was amazed. "Mrs. Wilde! You can skate?!"

"Of course! I was a kid too y'know."

Nick, now with a helmet and pads, ran past his mother and grabbed his skateboard. "I'll be back soon!" He shouted.

"You have one hour." his mother replied. "Then you come back here and play your Street Ferret game before your father cries from depression."

"Okay! Love you both! Bye!" With that, Nick and the kids headed out of the apartment.

John slumped over in a sad state. "I went all over to find that dang Nine-Ten-Doe system just to find out he was just as happy with the other console and now, we get upstaged by a sloth!"

Vivian kissed her husband's head. "We did this to make him happy and give him the Christmas he deserves and we did just that. You heard him! Best Christmas ever."

John smiled and then Vivian threw him a controller and started playing Streets of Roar. "C'mon! Help me beat the crap out of these thugs."

Nick had a wonderful day. Flash and Ben helped him learn how to skate. The kids and the parents had a gaming tournament inside of the Wilde's apartment and the hurt from losing Stacy was fading. Nick learned that the best way to mend a broken heart is with friendship and material goods.

Actually that's a pretty terrible lesson. Forget the material goods part.

December 26th 3am

Nick was in bed snuggling with his mouse plush. He woke up to the familiar sounds of rings being collected. "Hunh?" He was thirsty and curious about who was up this late. He came out of the room wiping the sleep from his eyes and dragging his plush. He caught his mother playing Sonic the Hedgehog.

"What are you doing up?!" Vivian questioned the pup..

"Getting a drink of water. What are YOU doing up?!"

"Well...ummm...I'm kinda addicted to this game."

Nick got his drink of water and sat next to his mother on the couch. "Holy cow! You're at the Scrap Brain zone already?!"

"With six emeralds."

"Wow mom! You're hardcore!"

"Is that good?"

"It means you're great at the game."

"Oh! Thanks. Don't tell your father I was up this late, okay?"

"Only if you let me stay up and watch you play."

"What the heck! You're still on Christmas vacation."

Nick leaned his head on his mother's lap as he watched her play. He then looked at his mouse plush. He let out a whine that Vivian could hear.

"Still missing her?" she asked.

"Yeah, a little. But I'm feeling much better than last night."

"It'll pass. Time heals all wounds."

"Maybe. But I'll tell you one thing. I'm NEVER falling in love with a small mammal again!

26 Years Later

"You know you love me!" Nick said to his bunny partner with a smug grin.

Judy Hopps thought it over for a moment. "Do I know that?...Yes. Yes I do."

Before they could go forward in their police vehicle, a car whizzes by them. The two have found the speedster they were looking for and give chase. Nick throws on some shades just to make him look cooler, but also to hide his face from Judy while he's in thought.

"Wait! 'Yes I do'? What did she mean by that?! Does she love me? I-I mean, I meant it in a different way, but...could she? Would she?!"

Thump! Ba-Bump!

"Oh no! Not again!"

THE END

Stay tuned next week for some epilogues including "Sad Ending" and "Good Ending"