"Jude!" Mac exclaimed happily, all feeling of exhaustion seemingly vanishing on the spot. He ran over and hugged her so tight that Nick was surprised that a few of her ribs didn't at least crack, but she appeared to be hugging him back just as hard.
"It's been too long! How have you been?" He asked, stepping back and looking his cousin up and down, his eyes alight with interest and concern.
"I've been great! Sorry for how long it's been, but the job has kept me pretty busy. Glad to see you've been keeping up your training, I can see that it's paying off," She said and Mac nodded.
"Yeah, I'm getting better. Doc says I'm ready to go if I get in this year." He said puffing out his chest a little bit and making himself look a little bigger. Though given he was a rabbit it didn't help much.
Judy chuckled a bit before jabbing him lightly in the arm.
"Why didn't you tell me you were in Zootopia?! I would've shown you the sights or something," Judy said, making Mac chuckle sheepishly.
"Sorry, Jude, I would've, really, but I was busy workin' with Doc on my training," Mac said with a nervous smile, rubbing the back of his head, "How did you know I was here anyway?"
"Well that's part of the reason why we're here. Is there any chance we can talk to both of you somewhere a little more private?" Nick asked as he took note of the few other mammals that were working out at other spots in the gym.
"Sure, we can talk in my office," Doc said carefully, leading them over to a door along the far wall.
They all filed into a small room filled with a few filing cabinets, a large black desk with a chair behind it, and a few other chairs in front of it. Lining the walls were several of the WMBL posters with the champs through the years. Nick noticed that a few of them featured Doc himself in his younger days.
"Have a seat," Doc offered, sitting down behind his desk as the others took seats in front of him. Mac, however, stood to the side; sitting wasn't something he felt like. He could tell whatever this was, his cousin was really worried.
"So, Miss Hopps, right? What's the issue?" He asked.
"Well this may be a little hard to hear, Mr. Louis," Judy began.
"Please, call me 'Doc'. Everybody does," Doc said kindly with a soft smile on his slightly wrinkled face.
"Oh. Well, uh, Doc, the reason we're here is we were assigned to watch over Mac and investigate the other fighters in the League. You see there have been rumors going around that one or more fighters in the WMBL have been taking a new form of steroid called Morgana," Judy explained, shocking Doc and Mac.
"Steroids?!" Mac exclaimed in utter disbelief.
"That ain't right. I've seen these mammals fight. They're pretty good, but there's no way any of them would use steroids," Doc said firmly, but then his look changed to that of thought, "Except maybe..."
"What's up, Doc?" Mac asked with a raised eyebrow, wondering what his coach and friend was thinking.
"There may be one fighter who would try steroids to give himself an edge."
"Who's that?" Nick asked in curiosity.
"He's this French deer, goes by the name of Glass Joe," Doc said.
"Why do they call him that?" Judy asked.
"Well the poor sucker can barely last 'til Round 2 and has a Win/Lose record of 1:99," Doc explained, making Judy's jaw drop in utter shock before Mac and Nick burst out laughing.
"Nick, Mac, why are you two laughing?" Judy asked in slight shock at her cousin's and partner's mean-spiritedness.
"It's not what you think, Carrots," Nick said through his laughing.
"Then what are you two laughing at?" Judy asked.
"We're laughing at the fact that someone lost to someone with ninety-nine losses! HAHAHA!" Mac laughed loudly, clutching his stomach he was laughing so hard.
She stared at them for a second, letting that fact sink in before snickering then she too burst into a bit of laughter. After a minute or so, they regained themselves. They regained their serious faces, though the laughter had helped them to relieve the tension a bit.
"So, you really think that one or more of these guys could be using this Morgana stuff?" Mac asked.
"Well, that's what the rumor is. That's what we were sent to find out for sure. If it's this Glass Joe guy then it'll be a short investigation. If not, we'll stick with you so we can keep looking," Nick said.
"That is if you two don't mind us tagging along while Mac fights?" Judy asked, looking to Doc, who looked to be in deep thought at the question.
"While I fight? Wait... I got in!? I finally got in?! You're sure!?" Mac asked excitedly bounding over to his cousin, who nodded and chuckled.
"Yeah, you got in. Sorry to spoil the surprise there. I suppose that your acceptance forms should be arriving today or in the next few days. Congratulations, Mac. I know how hard you worked for this," Judy said smiling.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! I got in! Oh, you wait, this is going to be the year! This is going to be my year!" He said excitedly.
"I know it will! I know you can do this! However, I still have to ask, do you guys mind if we come along for the ride to save the League and keep the fights as fair as they can be?" Judy asked.
"Heck, it's fine with me if it's fine with you, Mac," Doc said with a chuckle at seeing his young pupil's excitement.
"Heck yeah, it's fine with me!" Mac said, completely pumped with energy at the news of being accepted into the League.
"Alright then, you two are in. Just remember that when you're not investigating you have to actually help me with the kid's training," Doc said seriously.
"Of course, sir," Judy said, looking to Nick, who smiled.
"Yeah, I guess we can do that," Nick said with his usual smirk.
"Then welcome to the team. You'll be workin' as Mac's secondary corner managers," Doc said, getting up from behind his desk and heading back to the gym proper, "Now come on. Since we know that Mac got in, that'll mean that he'll be getting his first fight by the end of the month," Doc said as he opened the door and the other three followed him out.
"Who'll he be fighting first?" Judy asked.
"Remember the guy we were just talking about?" Doc replied.
"Wait, his first opponent's gonna be Glass Joe?" Nick asked with a chuckle.
"If I'm up against him then we can relax, right, Doc? I mean the guy's a total chump," Mac said.
"He may be a chump, Mac, but he did manage to somehow win his last fight. That means he's improving. Even against weak opponents like him, we can't let our guards down," Doc explained, causing Mac to think a moment before nodding his head in agreement at his coach's words of wisdom.
Over the next couple of weeks, the four of them worked nearly nonstop. Between making sure Mac was ready, making sure that they had access to any pre- and post-fight drug testing, and even participating in a few workouts, Nick was exhausted. However, the pair of Rabbits seemed to have boundless amounts of energy, and he had to admire that.
That said, he wished they would stop expecting him to have the same limitless energy. He was practically being dragged along by Judy as they walked down the streets of Savanah Central.
"Come on, Nick. Speed it up! We can't be late for the weigh in!" She said, practically skipping along with the fox's sleeve in hand.
"We still have plenty of time, Fluff. Calm down, we'll make it," He said calmly.
"Sorry, I'm just so excited! It's a big moment for Mac," She said, dragging him around the corner and up to a mid-sized building. They stopped in front of the building that had a large light-up sign of two golden boxing gloves clashing together. Written beneath them was a smaller sign that read, "Golden Gloves Arena".
They hadn't expected much of a turn out, it was, after all, a rookie and a fighter with a horrible win/lose record fighting. However, there was a decent number of reporters and camera mammals waiting inside, covering the event. The fox and bunny duo slipped past the reporters to the backstage area to find Mac shadow boxing in his gym clothes.
"Hey, how you feeling, Mac?" Nick asked as he walked around the rabbit to sit on a small bench that was up against the wall.
"Ready as I'll ever be, Slick," Mac said a smirk, finishing off his quick workout with an uppercut.
"Nervous?" Judy asked, knowing slightly what he was going through.
"A little," Mac said with a chuckle just as Doc came into the room with a serious face.
"It's time, Mac," He said simply, getting a nod from Mac as he, Nick, and Judy followed Doc out of the room and followed him down the corridors. They soon came to a pair of double doors and pushed them open to the flashes of cameras and the yammering of reporters, asking all manner of questions to the young lapin.
"Mac! Mac! How does it feel to be not only the first Lapin League member, but also one of the youngest?" A doe deer journalist asked.
"I may be a rabbit, but I'll show Glass Joe that this bunny's got bite!" Mac responded, showing off his teeth.
"Mac, do you feel any kind of nerves for your debut fight?" A male razorback boar reporter asked.
"Only kind of nerves I have are nerves of steel!" Mac replied.
"Being a rabbit puts you at a slight disadvantage compared to other mammals. Do you have a strategy in mind to get around this?" A Tigress asked.
"Yeah, I'm gonna float like a butterfly and sting like a bee!" Mac said, throwing a small punch before they finally got to the scales for the weigh in. Over to the side, they spotted a skinny red deer having his blood pressure and heart checked out. The four of them recognized him as Glass Joe from some boxing videos they watched over the two week. He was frail-looking and his antlers were very small compared to the average buck.
Turning his head to look at them, he looked Mac dead in the eyes and pointed his hoof at him.
"Soyez prêt à perdre," He said in as threatening a tone he could manage, though they noticed a slight tremble in his arm and voice.
Mac stared at him and then leaned over to Judy.
"What on Earth did he just say?" He asked.
"I don't know. Sounded like a threat," Judy mumbled back to him, shrugging her shoulders as they took Mac's weight and he sighed.
"Well yeah I got that part, but I need to know what he said so I know how to respond. Didn't you take French in high school?" He demanded.
"That was years ago and you know it. Plus, I never really ended up using it, so I'm really rusty," She shot back.
"Eighteen and a half. The challenger, Little Mac, eighteen and a half pounds!" The official that was weighing Mac called out to the judges and reporters to write down.
Getting off the scale so he could be examined by the doctors for any heart or blood pressure problems, Glass Joe stepped up to the scale and was weighed.
"Two hundred and thirty-seven. Glass Joe, Two hundred and thirty-seven pounds!" The official relayed to the judges and reporters but also shocking Judy a little.
"What's up, Jude?" Mac asked.
"That's just over half what a red deer like Joe should weigh. The average weight of a red deer is four hundred and forty pounds."
"Dang, are they sure there's nothing wrong with him?" Nick asked, slightly shocked at this news.
"Other than his glass bones and paper skin? No," Doc said as Glass Joe got off the scale and marched toward the exit confidently.
"What's wrong, Joe? You don't have the balls to stay and say something for these fine mammals?" Mac called out after him. Glass Joe didn't respond and simply walked out the door.
"You see that? He's too scared to even speak to me! But in the fight I will give him a reason to be," Mac said confidently before leaving the stage himself as the press began to file out.
"Is it wise to taunt the guy so much?" Judy asked as they left and headed out of the building themselves.
"Of course it is, that's the way the business works. I got this, Jude. I just need to head home and get some rest," Mac said confidently.
"What if he's got the steroids though?" She asked.
"Then I'll beat them out of him and he'll have learned a lesson. See you all at the fight!" Mac said heading home as Judy sighed and turned to Nick.
"Am I normally that carefree and confident?"
"Yeah, for the most part." Nick said and she punched him in the shoulder, making the 'dumb fox' wince at how hard she was able to punch, even if it was just a light one.
Mac, meanwhile, got home, ate a good meal, and stared at his boxing gear of green gloves and shorts for a long time before showering.
'I got this, I got this,' He thought.
After drying himself off and getting dressed, Mac sat down on the bed in his small apartment. He took a deep breath before he looked up at the clock. It read 6PM.
"Three hours to go," He said to himself before lying down in his bed and stared up at the ceiling, "I can do this. I can do this," He repeated to himself before a deafening silence set in before he drifted off to sleep.
A knock at his door startled the young rabbit out of his slumber. Hopping out of bed and sprinting over to his apartment door, he straightened himself up before opening the door to reveal Doc standing in the doorway.
"It's time, Mac," He said seriously.
Mac nodded his head before grabbing his gloves and following Doc out the door and down the staircase of his apartment building. Waiting outside was a taxi with Nick and Judy waiting in the backseat. Opening the back passenger door, Doc let Mac sit down before taking his place in the cab. As the taxi drove toward Savanah Central, Doc was giving Mac one last pep talk.
"Focus, Mac. You are speed. You are power," Doc said with a determined face, Mac matching it as he nodded at his coaches words, "You eat chumps like Glass Joe for breakfast. You're so tough, you eat needles and spit out paperclips. You're so fast you can catch lightning."
Doc kept talking Mac up and he kept mostly quiet the closer they got to the arena. He let out a breath as they left the car and slipped into the back. He took to pacing around, waiting for his intro; and then, at last, the announcer began to make introductions.
"Ladies and Gentlemammals! Kits and cubs of all ages! In this corner, in the red trunks, weighing in at 237 lbs. from Paris, France, the deer who's been hit in the head seventy-five too many times: Glass Joe!" The announcer exclaimed as the crowd mostly booed the deer as the French national anthem played.
"Bonjour, bonjour! Je suis Glass Joe! Ha-ha!" He announced as he took his spot in the ring.
As Joe's music stopped, Judy whispered,"You've got this, Mac," before patting him on the back.
"And in this corner, wearing green trunks and weighing in at a mere 18 1/2 lbs., the first ever rabbit fighter here in the WMBL. He may be small, but never call him cute. Here he is: Little Mac!"
"That's your queue, Mac," Doc said as he was led out of the corridor, slamming his gloves together to pump himself up as the song "Gonna Fly Now" started playing over the sound system.
Mac stepped into the ring as Nick, Judy, and Doc took his corner. Mac then looked and smiled to the audience before showing off a few quick jabs toward them, getting some small cheers from them as he took his place opposite Glass Joe in the center of the ring where the official came up and talked to the two competitors.
"Now I want a clean fight. That means no headbutting, no stepping on feet or hooves, and no shots below the belt. Clear?"
"Crystal."
"Oui."
"Good. Now touch gloves and take your corners," The official said as they did so and he backed up to a neutral corner of the ring. Mac took to his corner and Doc leaned down to him and whispered.
"Remember what I taught you, Mac. Stick and move, baby, stick and move. Do that and you've got this." He said as the opening bell rang and Mac and Glass Joe began their fight.
And... cliffhanger! Sorry ladies and gents, I'm ending the chapter here. But don't worry, you'll see the fight play out in full detail next chapter.
Don't forget to fave, follow, and review! That being said, see you all later!