~Minutes Before

In another part of the forest, Charlie and Judy were jogging towards the direction Nick took off. They could still not believe that the fox was able to destroy the elevator with his own bare paws and claws, then basically blow up the front door. They spent a good 2 minutes or so watching the broken door and fences outside in absolute astonishment.

Since then, they were both focused on finding Nick before things escalated. Charlie explained his theory to Judy, and as much as Judy hated to admit it, it was the only logical explanation, as absurd as it sounded. Charlie particularly told the bunny that foxes are not in the small list of mammals that got stuck in evolution, so if this is really happening, then it is a first and most probably a last in history.

They were deep in the forest, dodging trees after trees, following Nick's scent and paw prints in the dirt. Suddenly Charlie came to a halt, making Judy almost bump into him.

''Look, Judy." Said Charlie while pointing at something on the ground. Judy followed his finger, and saw a crumpled red T-shirt. She took it in her paws and folded it out so she could examine it better. When she saw the 'I'm a foxxy boi' line spread through the chest part of the T-shirt, she had no doubt about the owner of the clothing.

''This is Aaron's T-shirt. Why is it here I wonder." Mused Judy while showing the T-shirt to Charlie.

''No idea, but this was probably what Nick followed."

''But then where is he? I can't hear anybody close by-''

BANG!

They snapped their heads towards the sound of the gunshot.

''That came from that way." Said Judy while pointing at some bushes. Charlie nodded and they started running towards the sound.

''How many residents have standard handguns in Bunnyburrow?" asked Charlie while looking back at Judy. He knew the sounds of most of the guns, and this was definitely a plain handgun that you can get at every gun shop. Judy seemed to be thinking about the question very strongly.

''I… I don't think anyone has one. No one likes guns, and the ones that have, it's usually a shotgun. The Sheriff might have one though. Do you think Nick found the sheriff and…"

''Let's not assume stuff and-'' Started off Charlie but was interrupted.

BANG!

Now this shot came from a much closer place, signalling that they are getting closer. Whatever was going on, the combination of a savage Nick, a town full of bunnies and the sound of two gun shots did not give relaxing thoughts to either the bunny or the painted dog.

Charlie was especially worried. Since they found Aaron's T-shirt, he caught the scent of five unknown bunnies, and it did not help answering their questions, especially since Nick's scent took up a hint of fear aswell. Why would a savage fox be afraid of five bunnies? Who were those bunnies to begin with?

Whatever was going to happen, he needed to take care of something quickly.

''Judy." Said Charlie while suddenly stopping. He did not turn around, but Judy could feel that something was wrong with him.

''I want you to promise me, that whatever it is we are heading into, you will be careful." Asked Charlie in a weak voice. Judy got really confused.

''Charlie… Nothing is going to happen to me, don't worry." Reassured Judy, but when Charlie turned around and looked at him with those sad pleading eyes, she felt her heart stop for a second. She has never seen Charlie so scared of something.

''No Judy, you have to promise me that you won't let yourself get hurt. You are too beautiful for the world the lose… please Judy." Pleaded Charlie while walking over to the bunny and kneeling down before her. The way he gazed into her eyes while saying it rendered he bunny speechless and the sappy compliment made her cheeks redden. She could do nothing but slowly nod and hug Charlie. She felt how stiff the painted dog was, and how easily he relaxed after the bunny gave him the reassuring hug.

After letting go, they started to hurry up. With two gunshots and a savage fox on the loose, they had very little time to be overly romantic.

Soon they heard water flowing, meaning that they are near a river of some sort. Before either Charlie or Judy could comment on that, they have been cut off.

BANG!

And what was worse is that it sounded like it came from the other side of the bushes. Charlie and Judy was hesitant, but after a glance at each other they stepped through and both of them felt their blood stopping of the sight.

First of all, Judy knew everyone. Closest to them were her five brothers and sister; Ted, Fred, Suzy, Jamie and Thompsen. Then there was Nick, lying on the ground with his left side covered in blood. A bit farther behind him was Aaron, unconscious and covered in his own blood aswell. From the bushes came out Gary and Larry rushing to help Nick at the moment. And then there was something Judy's eyes stopped on; her father's squirming body with her mother on the side. From the looks of it, they found the gun (or guns in this case) in Thompsen's paw. Both Charlie and Judy puzzled together the events of the last minutes immediately, although the 'why?' question was still unanswered.

Can't they have a normal vacation without someone trying to kill them?

The answer was an easy no, but they would deal with that later, since Stu is currently fighting for his life.

''DAD?!" screamed Judy while running through the group of petrified siblings to the side of her crying mother. She was already having tears in her eyes by the time she reached her father. She did not care that soon the painted dog was next to them aswell, and that for the first time since she knew him, she could see tears in his eyes.

''H-Hey, Jude-the-Dude" wheezed Stu between coughs. Even though he was clearly in great pain, he dared to smile. This was something that annoyed all three of the mammals.

''D-dad… What happened?!" asked Judy while trying to restrain her tears.

''Y-your father got some s-sense, that happened." Coughed Stu with a weak chuckle. Charlie, Bonnie and Judy got wide eyed when they saw blood being coughed up.

''J-Jude… I'm sorry I could never tell how proud of I am of you, of what you have accomplished…" said Stu, his eyes half lid. He was already feeling strength leaving his body.

''No, don't say things like that Stu… You are going to be okay…" pleaded Bonnie while already feeling like a mess. Her husband was basically dying on front of her. Where is that damned ambulance?!

''Sorry Hon, but I think it's really the end of ol' me." Said Stu, his coughing starting to become more and more frequent and bloody. His eyes filled with pain shifted to the misty-eyed painted dog.

''Son, come here." Said Stu. Charlie was taken aback at first, but was not about to question the bunny's request. He went over to Stu's other side, so he won't have to push Judy and Bonnie away.

''Please, take care of my daughter. She might be strong and stubborn, but she will need someone to take care of her. Please, be that someone." Said the dying bunny. Charlie was too emotional to even talk so he just nodded in a sad manner. He didn't know what he had done to deserve the buck's trust, but he will cherish this sentence and will act accordingly whatever happens. He didn't even care about the fact that he felt emotions he hadn't felt in years, and how new everything was to him.

After that, Stu's coughing started to get violent.

Then he stopped.

And never moved again.

Charlie checked his pulse and when he felt none he sighed and shook his head, signaling it to Bonnie, Judy and the two timber wolves who were taking care of Nick, that the old buck has left. Judy and Bonnie upon seeing this, they lost it, and started crying. They had all the right to do so. One lost her father today, the other her husband. And why? Neither was in the state of blaming others, the pain was just too strong.

Charlie in the mean time stood up. He could not believe what just happened. He looked around and was disgusted of what he saw. Two friends of his are currently fighting for their own lives, and the father of the love of his life just died in his arms. Charlie purposefully missed out the fact when he told Judy about wolves being stuck in evolution, that painted dogs are also part of those species group, that may or may not use traditions to hide their evolutionary retrogression.

Why is that important? Well, looking around, he sees his friends fighting for their lives, and the father of Judy, the only mammal who could make his heart that were always labeled as either stone or just simply non-beating move once again, die. He knew that Judy was not his (yet), but as he felt the savage side take over, he found himself caring less and less.

Something or somebody hurt things that were his, and Charlie needed every year of training he got to not get down on all fours and maul these five f#ckers who are not doing anything but idly watching them. They were the ones who caused everything, and they dare to just stand here and let their father die?!

I will show them

Judy, Bonnie, Larry and Gary suddenly heard loud growling emitting from the painted dog. They watched how Charlie slowly snapped his attention to the still unmoving Hopps children, his pose started to get intimidating and a weird aura radiated from him. Judy knew what was happening, she actually did a bit of research in this going savage topic before, and she managed to find an official list of the species who were having the same ,,disease" as timber wolves do. Kangaroos, ferrets, some canine species, even tigers were on that list, but at the very bottom she found the African Wild Dogs aswell. She was really surprised at first, and was almost hurt when she realised that Charlie could have told her about this, but he neglected doing so. She quickly realised that this was not something you can casually admit to others, and Charlie probably feared (stupidly so) that Judy would avoid him or something.

But now, in front of her very eyes, the ever-cool Charlie is slowly transforming into a beast, and his targets are probably her own brothers and sisters… or just ex-brothers and sisters, because Judy wasn't stupid, she could guess what happened the moment they stepped out of the bushes, and the fact that her own family was the cause for the gunshots, her father's death and presumably Aaron's injury aswell, it did wonders in making Judy hate every single one of them. She was almost rooting for Charlie at that point to show them a less than legal lesson, although she wasn't cruel enough to wish for their death.

Just a bit of a lesson would satisfy the doe, and she knew Charlie was strong enough to not let himself get lost in his primal rage.

She was right, Charlie somehow did manage to get himself under control, even though his entire body was protesting against rationality. He stepped forward, debating his next move. As much as he wanted to stay sane, there was this part of him that needed to be satisfied, and Charlie slowly started to submit to this side. He took out his tranquilizer gun, made sure that the amount of tranquilizer liquid he had in his darts was at a level that it will cause long-lasting symptoms, and with incredible speed and accuracy, he shot Ted, Fred, Suzy and Jamie. The four bunnies didn't even have time to look at the darts sticking out of them, the tranquilizer worked immediately. Thompsen watched how his companions bit the ground, their bodies twitching when the tranquilizer liquid that would make an elephant sleep in a blink of an eye spread through their body. In his panic, he steadied himself for shooting Charlie if he had to, but suddenly he found himself unable to lift the gun. Was it because he was the one who basically killed his own father or Charlie's murdering gaze was making him freeze, he didn't know but he found himself throwing the gun to his side. He was in a fight or flight mode, and since fighting was not an option, he had to get away. He would have run away, if he wasn't frozen in place.

Charlie saw the inner battle Thompsen was having, and was contemplating to give him an out aswell. He could just shoot him, and pray to the gods that he will get overdosed, but it wasn't enough for him. He found himself facing the panicking bunny, and was more than happy to growl and snarl at him. The reaction was instantaneous, Thompsen put his paws up in a surrendering gesture, and Charlie could see how scared he was. Twitching nose, erect ears on alert, his eyes filled with hate, grief and fear. Not like he cared, because at that point he decided the fate of Thompsen.

He won't let some chemical maybe hurt him, he will take matters into his own paws.

So with that, he surprised everyone by letting his tranquilizer gun hit the ground, and crashed it with his feet. The gun shattered to thousands of pieces, the rest of the darts breaking into two, the green liquid inside flowing out to the ground. Larry and Gary stole a nervous glance at each other, this was going to be interesting.

Thompsen watched how his enemy crushed his weapon without hesitating, and he almost thought he would receive mercy.

Oh, how wrong he was.

He soon felt a fist connecting to his face, a crunching sound emitting from the impact. Charlie did not care what he just broke, he was not nearly finished. He saw Thompsen flying backwards and hitting the ground with a thud and felt an immense amount of satisfaction when he heard the rabbit's vocal evidence of his pain.

He immediately run after the bunny and took him by his shirt collar. The bunny felt lightweight, making his job easier. He spotted the closest tree and threw the already beaten up bunny right towards it. The tree trembled when the bunny hit the tree, Thompsen was already having a hard time feeling his face, and now he could write splinters to his cause of injuries. He did not notice Charlie taking him by his neck, but he sure as hell felt it every time when his face made connection with the poor tree.

Larry and Gary was witnessing Charlie's rampage and was contemplating on intervening, but they decided on trusting the painted dog on not killing Thompsen. They were pretty busy using their little first aid knowledge in patching up Nick, since he was still bleeding pretty badly from the shot into his thigh, which they already knew hit an artery. They winced when they heard Thompsen's cries of agony and Charlie's growling after it. They dared not looking at them, watching Mr. Hopps die was traumatizing enough and Nick needed immediate help or they could kiss good bye-bye to the fox aswell. They already knew that after everything is taken care of, they will curl up in bed and not let go of the other. They already wanted the others' soothing presence, but they had their kings to save. Aaron seemed stable enough, so Nick was their number one priority.

Bonnie and Judy was still crying and hugging the other above the limp body of Stu. They lost somebody very important to them today, and it especially hurt Bonnie. Rabbits were not as serious about their mates as foxes, but it will still have it's effect for a very long time, not only on Bonnie, on the entire Hopps family aswell. They could not believe that their own could cause this. Blaming Nick or Stu has never even turned up in either of their heads, they knew who pulled the trigger, and if Stu didn't jump in, they would be mourning Nick now, which would be equally as painful.

Bonnie realized that she was wrong. She scolded Mrs. Wolford for disowning Aaron, no mother should do such thing if they love their children, but she realized that there are extreme situations, when you have no other choice. This situation was like this. After hearing how cruel and close-minded her children was, and what they had done, she felt like she had failed as a mother. She failed and it resulted in her losing the most beloved mammal in her life. But she couldn't have failed that badly, could she? She had more than 250 other children, who either welcomed Judy's friends or just didn't care. Why did these five particular children of hers decide to become these… monsters.

Was Pop-pop really that bad of an influence on her children?

The sound of sirens could be heard and blue/red lights were to be seen coming from the direction of the village. Charlie's ears perked up, hearing the unmistakable sounds of the ambulance and he decided that the rabbit got enough. Throwing the crying bunny to the ground, he walked away without looking back.

He saw Larry and Gary looking at him with sad eyes, and he huffed in light-heartedness. He felt no remorse in beating Thompsen, and he would gratefully take all the responsibility for the rabbit's injuries. He deserved all.

''I am not sorry." Said the painted dog while kneeling down and hugging the crying Bonnie and Judy to his body, waiting for the ambulance to finally arrive.


Aaron's eyes burst open. He was sweating like he had a nightmare, but upon sitting up and looking around he concluded that the dream did not end. He was basically in the middle of nothing, the literal nothing. Everything was white, even the surface he was sitting on was clear white aswell. There was no horizon, only white-ness.

He started to panic. Wherever he was, he didn't see any way of escaping. There were nothing.

''Strange place isn't it?" said a familiar voice. Aaron turned around quickly and could not believe his eyes; there was the perfect copy of himself, but without clothes and on all fours. The resemblance was so spot on, the mammal in front of him even had his rare fur colour and pattern of gray and black.

It was like looking at a mirror, and that mirror was smiling at him.

''Wh-who are you?" asked Aaron, not sure whether he should be afraid of his own copy or not.

The other Aaron just chuckled.

''Who do I look like? I'm you, you silly. Or more like your primal part." Explained this other mammal.

''My primal part?!" asked Aaron incredulously. He knew that he and every other timber wolf had a stronger primal self, but he has never thought he would be meeting said primal self.

''Yes, your primal part and I'm here to guide you." Said the Primal Aaron with a warm smile. Upon seeing the confusion on the real Aaron's face he sighed and began explaining.

''Have you ever heard of a place called 'the purgatory'?" asked the primal Aaron while walking around the real Aaron and sitting down next to him.

''The purgatory? Yeah… I think i may have heard about the place. Isn't it where the souls go when they die, but they still need some kind of 'purification' to enter heaven?" concluded Aaron. He was never a religious mammal, the only stories he had heard about Christianity was from his mother when he was a pup, and even then they were ridiculous to him.

Upon finishing his sentence, he snapped his attention to his primal self, realizing what he had just said.

''Wait, am I dead?!" asked Aaron with a panicked expression. He couldn't die, he had so much thing to live for and so much thing he wanted to do before the reaper came knocking on his door.

Much to his relief, Primal Aaron was shaking his head in negative.

''No, you are not dead. About your knowledge of the purgatory, it's just half-true. Now you see, the purgatory is just a place between life and death, the humbug about purification is just a matter of belief. Every mammal has a fate, which tells when, where and how the mammal will die. Fate is almost always right, but there are very rare occurences when a mammal dies before the time fate has originally intended. If that happens, they will get to the purgatory, where they have to undergo a trial." Explained the primal part. Aaron was listening closely and was immensely relieved that he still had a chance. He didn't know why his primal side knew so much, but he was so focused on completing that 'trial', that he would not pry about that and listen to what his primal side was telling.

Although he had his questions.

''What is this trial exactly? There is nothing here!" exclaimed Aaron while gesturing to their lack of surroundings. Primal Aaron just chuckled and didn't say anything.

Suddenly the floor started to shake violently, spooking Aaron in the process. He was confused when he saw black smoke coming from the floor, said smoke starting to form a shape. His confusion quickly turned into fear when the shape turned into something of an upper body, but it resembled no mammal. It had a bald head, no face, two very muscular hand-like limbs, a very big chest but no leg nor even a waist. It was floating in the air and was giving off loud and horrifying sounds.

Soon the form finished shaping, instead of paws it had two knife like things aswell, which looked really sharp. The whole creature looked like that genie from the movie he loved as a kit, Allupine. Except that the timber wolf had a feeling this genie wasn't about fulfill three of his wishes.

''That is your trial. Defeat the dark elemental and you get to leave, lose and you die. Easy as can be." Shrugged the primal Aaron, looking absolutely unbothered.

''Why are you so calm about this? If I die, you are dying too!" exclaimed Aaron while getting ready to use every training of his. He saw this 'Dark Elemental' spotting him and readying himself. It did not help that he kept hearing his own laugh mocking himself from his right.

''I know! It's fun isn't it?" exclaimed Primal Aaron cheerfully. Real Aaron looked at him with wide eyes.

Since when do I have an absolutely crazy side?!

He soon realized that he should be focusing more on the incoming fight, because the moment he stole a glance at the Dark elemental, he found it in the middle of a slash, so he quickly jumped out of the way. He was concerned for his primal side for a second, because the elemental was basically next to him, but it seemed that it didn't even acknowledge Primal Aaron, it kept its focus on the real one.

The Elemental tried to hit but Aaron managed to dodge and got a good kick into its right arm. The creature emitted a scream like sound, which made Aaron wince.

''On a more serious level though, I'm not bothered, I know you will win." Said Primal Aaron confidently. Aaron looked at him questioningly but Primal Aaron simply evaporated.

Thanks for the help… I guess me?

While he was being distracted, the elemental slashed again, and now it hit its target; the knife hit the wolf's right ankle and with a fluid movement, cut his right foot off. Aaron lost his balance and fell back onto his rump. He was panicked for a second, but he didn't feel any pain. He looked at the place of his foot and saw a blinding white light coming out from the wound.

Okay, this is just weird.

Whatever this place is, he had to get out quickly. With one of his foot cut off, he couldn't fight as usual. The elemental tried to strike, but Aaron rolled to his side. He managed to hold onto the elemental as it withdrew, and with the lack of weapons, tried to use his sharp teeth and bit the creature. Soon black smoke started coming out from the Elemental's arm, and it started producing high-pitched cries. Aaron could swear that the creature got smaller in size, but before he could be totally sure about that, the elemental threw him off. Aaron face-planted the ground, but felt no pain whatsoever.

He looked back at the creature and saw fire on the place where its eyes should have been. It seemed really angry at Aaron, which was shown when it struck again, but faster than usual. Aaron was saved by his incredible agility, but the creature seemed to learn and struck again, and again, and again. Aaron started to pant. Neither the academy nor the ZBI agents trained him to a situation like this, so the only thing he could do is rely on his reflexes.

But he could dodge for so long, and the creature didn't seemed to be getting tired, which resulted in Aaron's right arm getting sliced off. Again, he felt no pain, and the same blinding white light was coming out from where the wound should have been. With panicked eyes, he looked back at the creature, and saw it getting ready for his final strike.

Aaron closed his eyes and got ready for his loss. Before he could say goodbye to everyone he loved he heard a high-pitched gasp that was no question coming from the elemental. He dared open one of his eyes and saw the creature's 'eyes' that was burning with hate moments ago, looking like it was… scared?

What in the name of…?

''You are a mean cloud." Said a high-pitched, young voice. Aaron looked down and saw a little fox kit in a junior ranger scout uniform. He had no idea who this was, but the moment he spotted the kit, his favourite fox's intoxicating scent filled his nostrils, and had no further questions.

''Why are you hurting him? He is the nicest wolf ever!" asked the kit Nick while starting to slowly walk towards the elemental. The creature stopped floating and started to creep away from Nick rapidly, every movement of its was filled with fear. It would have amused Aaron if it weren't for the fact that he was just fighting for his life moments ago.

Suddenly the kit Nick was enveloped in a bright light, and when the light disappeared a presumably teenage Nick stepped out. He had a dark open jacket and black jeans. Under the Jacket he had a 'Back Street Wolves' T-shirt.

''Just who do you think you are? You are nothing but a big bunch of worthless fat chimney smoke!" insulted the teenage Nick, still walking towards the elemental. Aaron was really confused of what is happening, but he couldn't deny the warm feeling that spread through his body when he saw his fox, or at least some kind of form of his. He realized how much he missed cuddling up with Bushy Tail, how much he missed feeling the fox's love.

While thinking about all the times they had bonded, he did not notice shards of light creeping up on him, slowly rebuilding his missing foot and missing arm.

Light enveloped teenage Nick, and an adult Nick stepped out in Aaron's favourite attire; Pawaiian shirt and light brown khakis. The only thing missing was his beloved smirk that infuriated everyone except Aaron, who actually fall in love with that smile. Instead of that, a serious, almost angry expression took over his face.

''You think you are hotshot because you have all these powers, huh? Well, tell me if this story sounds familiar; young fallen entity got lost in this place, and wasn't paid any attention to, so he decides 'Hey look at me, nobody cared about me, so I'm going to take every mammal's life, and not let anybody live! Only to find out- Whoopsie- Not every mammal who gets here are helpless and an easy kill. And that dream of finally getting out of this place? Double Whoopsie! He took so many lives, the only place he would be going is the deepest parts of hell. And Whoopsie number three-sie, there isn't any god or supermammal entity who would even care of giving him any attention, so he would have to be lurking in this dimension, hate and grief eating him, and with every mammal he sent to the after life, his time there would just keep on growing. Does that sound about right?" said Nick with an accusatory tone. The elemental put his hands to where their ears should have been and was shaking in fear.

Aaron was completely astonished by the monologue he just heard. He knew that his fox had a dangerous silver tongue, Nick boasted about it before, and he actually gave a small private talk show to Aaron, showing his way of words, and by the end of it Aaron could not stop clapping. He might have just heard the best lines any mammal could make, and he seriously wondered why didn't the fox had his own talk show by now.

But this was something else. He didn't just hear Nick using his silver tongue, the timber wolf felt that everything he said was true, like he knew this entity somehow. Aaron also felt like Nick was defending him with his words, everything he said was coming from the vulpine's heart and he really wanted to run to his side and hug him, kiss him deeply and show him his love and gratefulness. He would have done so, if he wasn't missing one of his feet.

''Pathetic." Scolded Nick while rolling his eyes. He turned around and looked at Aaron, his expression softening and a warm smile spreading through his snout.

Without saying anything, he abandoned the panicking dark elemental and started walking towards Aaron. The fox was enveloped in the light once again and when he stepped out Aaron felt his heart stop for a second.

In front of him stood Nick in the sexiest white tuxedo he has ever seen. His fur was perfectly brushed, and he had this purple tulip pinned at the part where his heart was. What really caught the attention of Aaron was the ring on one of Nick's fingers with pearls on the side and the big onyx shining on the top. He knew this ring, he was the one who bought it and planned on proposing to the fox with.

That's when he realised that Nick was standing in front of him in his wedding costume.

''Hey Wolfie." Said the fox in the softest voice possible. He kneeled down next to the sitting wolf. Aaron did not know what took over him, but he found himself reaching out to the fox and hugging him. Nick's body didn't even stiffen, he immediately relaxed into the hug.

Finally feeling contact with his beloved fox, Aaron savoured every moment of it, and made sure to let Nick know how much he was missing him, by wrapping his tail around the fox and marking him. Aaron felt an immense amount of protectiveness upon realising that the fox was marking him back and was purring loudly in his arms.

Oh, how much he missed his purring.

''What's happening Bushy tail?" asked Aaron amidst the hug. He felt Nick chuckle into his ear.

''Everything is okay Wolfie. You just need to hurt it enough, and it will be so small you can just step on it." Explained the fox. Aaron knew it wasn't the real Nick, but it acted the same as the real Nick, it had the same scent as Nick and everything screamed it was the fox he loved.

''But how? I can't even stand without… W-what the hell?!" started Aaron in a distraught tone but when he glanced at his missing foot he saw his fox putting a paw on his ankle and shards of light quickly repaired his missing appendage. He even moved it just to make sure it was real.

''Wolfie, look at me." Said Nick, snapping Aaron out of his astonishment.

''You have so much to live for, fate has a lot of good things in its pocket for you. You will show that waste of smoke that you aren't an easy kill, that you deserve to live, and when you defeat it, you will come back to me and we will start planning that wedding. I'm waiting for you, my dear Wolfie." Said Nick, managing to muster an expression that is a mix of love and seriousness. Aaron was too speechless to notice that when Nick put his paw on his shoulder, rebuilding his missing arm aswell, stronger than ever.

You have so much to live for"

You will come back to me and we will start planning that wedding"

''I'm waiting for you, my dear Wolfie."

Aaron didn't know what's it felt like to be powerful. He was always told he was worthless, the only times he could get a taste of power was when he was with Nick when the fox was complimenting him in any way. But after hearing his encouraging words, he felt his chest burning. It wasn't a bad burning, it was the burn of determination, love, tendentiousness and power. He felt like he could take over the world. He dragged the fox by his tuxedo to a quick but nonetheless passionate kiss, then stood up and cracked his knuckles and neck, looking at the recovering elemental with fierce eyes.

''Hey Bushy tail." Said Aaron with a hint of mischievousness. The fox questioningly tilted his head.

''Keep the bed warm 'till I return, would ya?" asked Aaron playfully. Nick snorted and rolled his eyes.

''You bet." Said Nick and then evaporating just as quickly as his primal side did.

Aaron felt confidence spreading through his body when he looked at the recovered elemental. With the lack of Nick, the entity was much more braver, his 'eyes' burning with immense hate. Aaron kept his gaze, and couldn't hold a mocking smile.

''Show that waste of smoke that you aren't an easy kill, that you deserve to live."

I do

He let out a piercing howl, and felt his primal side turning on, fusing with his evolved mind. He could feel the power of the ancients in his body, and if he looked in the mirror at that very moment, he would have seen the face of a predator who targetted his prey. It was new to him that he didn't feel like he was being tucked to the back of his mind or the urge to descend on all fours. He felt like he was an ancient wolf with the skills of a modern one.

Next thing Aaron knew that the entity was flying towards him and he got a really bold idea.

The elemental struck, piercing through Aaron's paw. In the normal world, it would have slashed his paw in two, but Aaron knew that some laws did not apply in this world. When the entity struck through his paw, he felt no pain as he expected. The elemental's fire was weaker now, Aaron could swear that he saw fear in those eyes for a second.

The wolf saw his paw starting to melt into light shards, but he knew what he had to do. He gripped the entity, and through it over his shoulder. Since the creature was stuck in Aaron's paw, it could not move. He found the wolf restraining its other arm, and soon found the wolf's maw closing on the entity's neck. The elemental screamed in agony, his size decreasing until he was only half the size of Aaron. It was at this point that the entity could freely escape Aaron's paw, and retreated. Aaron watched how the now small entity ran away. He saw his paw evaporating, but knew the perfect medicine for that.

''I'm waiting for you, my dear Wolfie."

Hearing Nick's voice ringing in his head, he didn't even had to look at his paw to know it was better than new again. He felt immense amount of power surging through his veins and could swear he was glowing at the moment.

The elemental struck again, but its small size made it easier for Aaron to fight. The entity was weaker now and Aaron knew that. He successfully parried the slash and clawed the head of the elemental. When he saw the entity holding his head in agony and saw how it decreased in size, he knew it's his time to attack first. Taking the neck part of the elemental he started choking it. He didn't know if the elemental could even choke, but at least the confusion his move caused was enough to pin the elemental under him.

''You just need to hurt it enough, and it will be so small you could just step on him."

Is that so?

He started punching, clawing and biting the entity. He was so indulged in showing the entity who the boss was, he didn't realize that the elemental was so small already, that it could comfortably rest in the wolf's paw.

He only realized it when he clawed the ground, which turned out to be sturdier than he thought and for the first time since he got here, he felt pain.

Holding his aching paw he looked at the tiny entity looking back at him with a fearful expression. Aaron still didn't get it how can something without a face show emotions, but he didn't care.

He stood up, feeling the taste of Victory in his mouth already.

''It will be so small, you could just step on it."

Aaron did as he was advised. The moment he stepped on the entity, a blinding light overtook his vision and probably the strongest headache he has ever felt.

Then everything turned to black.


Aaron was really fed up in waking up in a white room all the time, sweating from a nightmare. The difference now was that the white room was much more familiar to him, since it was a hospital room. He looked around the room, and saw that an entire corner was filled with flowers with different name tags on them. The usual beeping of the hospital equipment was the only voice he heard.

He closed his eyes and relaxed back to the hospital bed. He hated hospitals, but there was one thing that mattered to him at the moment.

I am alive.

He fully opened his eyes and searched for anything interesting. He noticed another empty bed next to him, which was recently used if the blood stains on the blanket was anything to go by. The smells were nothing out of the ordinary; hospital food, medicine, distilled water and intoxicating fox musk.

Intoxicating fo- now hold on a second.

He sat up and looked around. He was 100% sure that the smell was Nick's but he couldn't find the fox. His vision was still a bit blurry and his headache from the purgatory was still present.

Suddenly he heard subtle snoring coming from very close. He started following the sound, and ended up in his own bed. He realized that he actually was sharing his bed, and if his nose was right, this somebody was the one mammal he really wanted to see now.

Prying the blankets away, he was met with the handsome sleeping face of none other than Bushy tail. He seemed so peaceful at the moment, but Aaron had a weird feeling he was in a coma for a long time, so notifying mammals as soon as possible would be a great idea.

What caught Aaron's eye was the disheveled, damp fur under both eyes of Nick. Aaron sniffed the fox's face, and sure enough, these were fresh tears. His fox was crying in the past hour or so, and Aaron had a feeling it was not because of the quality of the hospital food.

One more reason to make my presence known.

Gently scratching the side of Nick's snout he started to wake the fox up. Nick slurred in his sleep, Aaron knew he was a heavy sleeper, nocturnal mammals and what not. Aaron also knew from experience that he needed more than that to wake the fox up.

In one of their cuddling sessions, Aaron found a spot just above Nick's tail, that upon being scratched can make the fox squirm and moan like there is no tomorrow. Aaron hadn't tried waking the fox up with it, but there is a first for everything.

Finding the spot and scratching it, Nick started to squirm as expected. He was just utterly cute when he was so out of his game.

''Bushy Taiiil, rise and shiiine." Sang Aaron with an amused smile. His fox could be the most adorable mammal in this world if he wants to.

He saw Nick slowly waking up, rubbing his eyes with both his paws.

''Five more minutes Wolfie, please…" mumbled Nick while turned away from Aaron, who was already counting down the seconds.

Orange bullet incoming in 3… 2… 1…

He was absolutely right, because the moment he reached zero, he was embraced in a hug of a desperate fox. Nick was already crying again and mumbling incoherent things into the wolf's neck. Aaron felt happiness upon realizing that those tears were not sad tears, they were the truest happy tears anyone could muster. Aaron fell back in his bed with his fox still clinging to his neck. The wolf found himself getting misty-eyed aswell and his tail slowly wrapping around the both of them.

''You are back Wolfie… You are back…" whispered Nick into his beloved wolf's ear. Aaron was so influenced by the sentimental behaviour of Bushy tail after hearing his sweet voice, that he soon found himself hugging him tightly to his body like Nick was about to go away.

''I'm back Bushy Tail… I'm back…"


So I'm finally healthy and back at it again with writing this story. This Chapter is the best example of the 'I'm really am not sure about that' category. Non of the chapters before has contained so much action and feelings, and I don't know if I did decent or not. If not, please notify me, I already have plans for remaking this chapter if this version was bad, but I think I did a pretty decent job.