She fell hard with her back to the ground as the tip of the fencing sword was just inches from her neck.
Nick stated, "That's what happens when you don't concentrate on your opponent." He lifted the sword up so she could get up. "The trick is not to look back."
"What happens if you trip?"
"That's why you got to make sure the enemy is not in a position to muddle you." He handed her the sword she dropped, "Again."
She braced herself as they began to clash swords. They managed to keep at it for a while before Judy felt a stab in her foot and fell down.
"Ow!" she exclaimed.
Nick dropped his sword and rushed to her, "What happened?"
She looked and saw a thorn at the bottom of her foot. Nick saw it too and took hold of her paw, "Just hold still." He gently pulled the thorn out as she winced but didn't whimper. Once it was out, he tore a piece of his shirt to wrap the wounded foot.
"Thank you." she uttered.
He looked back at her with a smirk, "Well, we can't very well have the rabbit that's supposed to be a part of a prophecy to end the Mouse King's reign get an infection in her foot, now can we?"
"It's more than that." She started taking his paw, but he swiftly moved it away, causing her to be confused.
Nick didn't look at her as his own thoughts were swimming in his head, trying to figure out why he felt strange towards the rabbit. When she touched his paw, he felt flustered. He got up and asked, "Think you'll be okay to continue practicing?"
"I think so." She stood up and tested out her foot, which felt sore, but she was able to move it.
"Good, because you're going to need it."
Moments later, they were climbing up the rope ladder. Once they reached the top, they headed to the mess hall for dinner. Something occurred to Judy as she gave a concerned look and said.
"Where do you suppose Big is? He said he would join us, but he hasn't arrived yet."
"Oh, I wouldn't be worried about that old shrew. He can take care of himself, and he's got an entourage of polar bears by his side. He's fine."
"I hope so. He's come this far to get back his daughter and kingdom. I hate for him to lose it all now."
A cloaked arctic shrew approached a hut where a female pig was stirring a cauldron inside. She was called Hen Wen. She came from a direct line of seers that could see into the future, and was the very diviner that foretold of the prophecy that King Big believed that Nick and Judy were a part of. He entered into the hut.
"I knew you would return." spoke the pig as she kept stirring.
"Great seer, tell me, has the prophecy begun? Is the rabbit and fox that share the same heart the very mammals that I have brought together?"
"That is indeed a mystery that will soon be unveiled." She stirred faster and the water began to glow, revealing figures that look like a rabbit and fox side-by-side. Whether it was Judy and Nick was unclear. "A rabbit and fox may seem wrong, but united, they stand strong." Then two other figures that were a rabbit and fox appeared. "There are two pairs alike in part, but only one will be true to heart."
"You mean…? There's another rabbit and fox?"
"Yes, but they will be mistaken as the ones to defeat the Mouse King."
"But what of Nicholas and Judy? Are they the ones to defeat my enemy or will they be mistaken?"
"The future is forever in motion. It is uncertain if the fox and rabbit you had brought together will have the same heart or if it is the other fox and rabbit that have it."
"Then where can I find this other fox and rabbit?"
She closed her eyes, "You need not to look, for if you go now and join your resistance, they will come to you."
The shrew nodded his head and went.
For the next few days, Nick helped Judy learn how to swordfight. When she was in training, she showed massive improvement and the sergeant was impressed with how the bunny could disarm her fellow trainees. She even got better in archery and paw-to-paw combat! Clawhauser saw her performance of beating a rhino and reported it back to the Captain with great enthusiasm.
"She's become the best fighter among our ranks! She's bound to defeat the Mouse King now!"
The Captain gave a doubtful expression as he sat up from his seat.
"I'll believe that when she disarms me in a duel."
"But Captain, you told me to oversee her progress and I'm telling you, she's ready."
"Consider this as one final test she has to take." He grabbed his sword and put it on his belt, "Tell Miss Hopps she has one hour to prepare."
The cheetah saluted and went out.
Nick was prepping Judy as they made their way to the training hall.
"Remember, the bigger they are, the harder they fall."
"But I don't want to hurt him. He is the captain, after all."
"You going to have to forget that, because he's going to do everything he can to make sure you fail."
"But to go against the commanding officer of the resistance…"
He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. The motion made Judy blush as she stared up at the fox.
"Carrots, Judy…" Her eyes went wide from hearing her real name. Nick continued, "You have to trust me on this… He may be the leader of the resistance, but he won't take you seriously unless you show him what you're made of. I know you can do this. You talked down to a mouse that invaded your home even when he was more powerful than you. You skated on ice for two hours to win a bet, and you have passed training in less than a week! I heard how you brought down that rhino… You are capable of bringing down the captain. You just need to remember how important it is for you to win."
She stood silent as she took in his words before softly asking, "Will you stay and watch?"
He smirked, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
She took a deep breath as she gave off a determined look before entering the hall, where it seemed half of the entire base showed up to watch. Clawhauser was standing by with Finnick and Gideon as Bogo was warming up with his sword and slashed at a dummy, which split in two and fell.
Judy knew then how serious this was and looked back at Nick. He patted her back, giving her some comfort, before he went to join Finnick and the others.
The sergeant then announced to the entire room, "The match between Captain Bogo and Judy Hopps will begin… Now!" She quickly stood back as Bogo began to charge with his sword, but Judy was fast on her feet as she dodged in time.
Then she charged with her sword and it clashed with the captain's sword. Bogo lost his footing as he was pushed back by the force. Judy briefly glanced at Nick, who was giving off an excited look. That helped her to keep going as she jumped up to clash with the captain's sword again. Bogo regained his footing as he clashed down hard so much that he ended up cutting Judy's arm.
She exclaimed in pain while Nick bared his teeth and wanted to go to her, but Fin and Clawhauser had to hold him back.
Judy felt her arm stinging, but she knew she couldn't stop as she lifted her sword high and jumped onto the nearest table. With one big leap, she held out her sword, and with one mighty swing, she knocked the sword out of the cape buffalo's hand.
There was a collective gasp as the large captain ended up staring in bewilderment. Judy landed on the floor and kept holding her sword up until the sergeant announced that she won the match.
There was cheering as Nick, Finnick, Gideon, and Ben along with a few other mammals crowded her to congratulate her. Then, there was a loud amen as they faced the captain, who had a straight face on before it softened as he stepped forward to the rabbit and held out his hand.
Judy looked at it in amazement before smiling and shook it.
"It appears that Clawhauser was right. Even after being injured, you still fought. And that's what I need in a soldier in the king's resistance. You have earned my respect."
That caused the others to gape.
Judy beamed, "Thank you, sir. That means a lot coming from you."
"And I also expect my top soldiers to be fit and well enough for battle. Check into the infirmary to get your arm bandaged and then head over for dinner before turning in for the night."
She saluted, "Yes, sir."
Bogo merely gave a nod before leaving.
Judy sat on one of the many beds that was in the base's sickbay. A honey badger that was the resistance's medicine mammal had finished wrapping her arm up while Nick watched on.
"Tell me, doc, will she live?"
She rolled her eyes as the honey badger replied, "She's going to be perfectly fine. I applied an ointment to help with the cut so it won't be infected." He told Judy directly, "Just change the bandages for the rest of the week and it'll be all healed up."
"Thank you, doctor," she said.
Once the badger left them alone, Nick pointed, "You know, I'm starting to think that you being in the resistance is a safety hazard."
"One sore foot and a bleeding arm aren't going to stop me from defeating the Mouse King."
A voice said, "That depends if you are the ones defeating the mouse."
They turned to see Big entering with a polar bear escort carrying him.
"Uncle Big!" Judy exclaimed as she went up to him.
Big gave a sad smile, "Hello, goddaughter."
Nick frowned, "Big. About time you showed up. But what do you mean by 'depends if you are the ones defeating the mouse'?"
Big gave a sigh, "I went to see the oracle again, and it turns out there is another fox and rabbit that could be what the prophecy was talking about."
Judy and Nick exchanged looks of confusion before staring at the shrew again.
"She said, 'There are two pairs alike in part, but only one will be true to heart.'"
"So… there's a chance Nick and I… didn't have to pair up to work together?"
"It's possible. Because I knew the both of you, I had hoped for the best that you would prevail. Before I entered into this room, I saw how close you two had gotten since I last saw you and that makes me very happy."
The bunny and fox glanced at each other before slightly smiling, realizing Big spoke the truth. They had come so far since their first meeting. Then, Nick asked, "So are you going to look for this other rabbit and fox now?"
"I don't need to. They're already here with me." He had his escort set him down on a table so he could go out. In minutes, he came back and stood on the side as Big gestured while the rabbit and fox made their appearance, "Judy, Nicholas, this is Jack and Skye."
AN: Yup, as in the Jack Savage and Skye from the original concepts of Zootopia.