Sorry for the wait! Here it is at last. I will add a little disclaimer for this episode, as it deals with some self harm. It is a very short section, but I do want to add it here in case any readers wish to know.

Chapter 5

"Is this it?"

The first few days with Gideon proved to be challenging. At first simply going out was complicated and the fact that I kept having panic attacks every so often seemed to worry Gideon more than he probably should have. I was very thankful that I (he?) had found him (me?). Truth be told, it was a hard first week. Learning to bake pies was surprisingly fun and a helpful distraction from the potential chaos that a panic attack would bring along to my psychological stability. After two days helping Gideon out we both concluded that I was best helping on the back of the store, although he clearly kept pushing me to interact with other animals. I'm sure his intentions were noble, but… please Gideon, let me stay in the back where no one can see me… and I can't see them.

Another thing was my fox body.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting comfortable. I grew used to my new body surprisingly quickly for someone that hated animals above all, and now that I could appreciate it I have to admit.

Foxes are pretty freaking cool.

Although I may be a bit biased because, after all, I am a fox now.

I woke up and realized the amazing sense of smell as my stomach complained and grumbled loudly. The smell of pies being baked was intense as I sleepily made my way downstairs. The tail was still quite new to me, as I suddenly felt my soul leave my body as pain caught me by surprise. I tumbled down the stairs and landed on my back, the sound of a humming Gideon stopping and his voice worriedly exclaim.

"Michael?!" He peered from the kitchen and saw me lying down on the floor, quickly rushing towards me and helping me on the side. I was too preoccupied with the pain to worry much about the physical contact, but I definitely felt his concern at touching me as he helped me up in an extremely delicate manner.

"Are ya alright?"

I nodded whilst rubbing my elbows and my back.

"That was unexpected…" I said as my eyes hovered towards my tail, staying stiff possibly as a reaction to my pain yet guilty for this whole situation. "But nevermind that. I smell pies." Food was on my mind as Gideon worriedly guided me to the kitchen, his oven filled with the most delicious-looking pie I'd ever seen.

He must've seen my expression because he just chuckled before setting some plates on the kitchen table. "Take a seat Michael, it's almost done. I'll give you a piece!" I absentmindedly sat down and expectantly waited as he placed a bowl of blueberries in front of me and a glass of orange juice before opening the oven, the overwhelming smell of deliciousness taking over every thought in my mind.

"That smells delicious…" I said slowly as he grabbed the tray with care and placed it on the countertop. "It's so early! When did you wake up to start making it!"

He chuckled as his hand expertly began cutting pieces of it and placing it on two plates before coming to sit in front of me. As soon as the pie was in front of me I began to devour it, the sweet taste of blueberry pie filling my mouth.

"It's almost noon."

I stopped.

"But… Isn't the store supposed to be open?" I asked confusedly. I saw him nod.

"Yes, but I thought why not take a break. I can show you around town a bit better, and I need to go down to the Bunnyburrow police station anyway to talk with Judy. You can come with me and I can introduce you to her properly. Especially if you'll be staying longer here it's a good idea to know the hero of Zootopia herself!" He relaxedly ate his own pie and I felt envious of his blessing for cooking delicious pies… It was too unfair! He could enjoy his pies whenever he wanted by baking one while most lowly mortals had to wait to buy one.

"Hero?" I couldn't help but feel curious. How was that little bunny a hero?

"She saved Zootopia! Apparently it was a whole conspiracy mastered by the assistant mayor to cause distrust amongst the populace of the city." He took a bite and continued talking with his mouth slightly full of pie. "She got a hold of a serum that makes mammals go crazy and attack everyone. Used it to make it appear as if predators were going wild."

After another delicious bite off of my piece of pie I realized it was gone. I stood up to get another serving. "So… Is that why people don't seem to like me around here? Are they still afraid?"

Gideon's hesitance was an answer as clear as day. I had suspected that foxes were not seen in the best light, but as he seemed to think about it I wondered if foxes had a similar stereotype here as back in my home. "They… don't like us very much, do they?" I hesitantly asked.

He shook his head. "Nah! They're just afraid of strangers. It's a small town and newcomers, particularly predators, are not the most welcomed. They'll warm up to ya!" His smile masked his little half-lie as I simply nodded slowly before finally finishing my own pie.

We didn't take long after that to make our way downtown. The police station was comically small, although there were 3 different-sized entrances for what I assumed were different animal size standards. We went through the middle door as I wondered if the larger door was ever used in this small town. The largest animal I'd seen had been a lion, and that had been one time. I appeared he had been just a visitor since I hadn't caught any sight of many more animals apart from rabbits lately. Well, apart from some pigs.

I chuckled as my mind thought about the perfectly fitting name.

The station had a little rabbit-sized desk in the front with an extremely high ceiling, but the room itself was tiny, making me wonder if any large animal actually ever went through the pain of coming inside, even if the doors did give them a way in. I saw a few rabbit officers looking in our direction, but as soon as they noticed Gideon they seemed to relax. He greeted the rabbit at the front desk cheerfully.

"G'morning Max!" The rabbit looked up and smiled.

"Gideon! Nice to see you again." His smile dropped. "Please tell me nothing happened to your store again?"

I noticed as Gideon's face changed into a slightly frustrated expression before he grabbed the back of his neck shyly. "Ah… no, nothing like that. I'm actually here to meet Judy. She said she'd be here all day today?"

"Gideon!" Before Max could answer, a certain bunny's voice echoed from the opposite side of the room as a door with a window swung open with Judy stepping into the room. "Glad you could make it!" She wore civilian clothes and the only thing that betrayed her status as a cop was a little badge on her dress with her name, Judy Hopps, on it and ZPD engraved next to it.

The two shared a hug as Gideon replied "Of course Judy, wouldn't have ditched you after saying I would, now would I?"

The door opened up once again and I noticed a fox stepping out of it. Like Judy, he wore normal clothes except for the little badge spelling Nicholas Wilde, ZPD.

"Mister Gideon," he said with a rather mischievous grin as the two shook hands. "Pleasure seeing you again."

"Nick!" He proceeded to bring him into a hug, changing the newcomer's face from grin to surprise. "Didn't know you came as well." Nick chuckled as he readjusted his tie.

After clearing his throat, he stepped back and nodded. "Couldn't let dear carrots here on her own. It is a dangerous world after all." He then grinned towards the rabbit who turned red from embarrassment as the rabbits nearby whispered and some barely held back their laughter.

"A-anyhow!" Judy continued. "Please come with me to the back." She began walking before Gideon turned to me.

"Well, would it be alright if Michael joins us? I wanted him to meet you, and now that Nick is here it's an even better opportunity. Meeting the heroes of zootopia and all…" he eyed Nick who simply shrugged nonchalantly at the fox's inquiry.

Judy stopped and looked at me with a troubled face before turning back towards Gideon. "Ah… well Gideon… it is important to keep this only between each other. It is an ongoing investigation after all, so I would rather not bring in anyone not involved with the case." She turned to me again. "You'll have to forgive me Michael."

"I can stay with him," Nick said as he raised his arm lazily as if he were in school trying to gain attention from his teacher. "I can help look over this little rascal while you go have a serious conversation." Judy smiled brightly.

"Great idea! Nick can give him company while we go over everything together."

Gideon looked at me concernedly. "Would that be alright, Michael?" I could sense his unease at me being alone with a complete stranger, but Nick seemed nice enough, plus I'd gotten used to foxes by now (*Cough* I am one after all *Cough*), so I nodded with a slight feeling of nervousness.

"Don't worry Gideon, I'll be fine."

After another concerned look, both him and Judy left to the other side of the building, leaving me alone with the fox, Nick. I could feel my ears slowly go down as the excitement of the previous conversation faded away and the feeling of awkwardness began to set in. However, Nick casually strolled to the door before turning towards me.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Judy's gone so we can go have fun!" He stepped outside of the building without saying anything else. I was unsure on what to do, but after a few seconds and the feeling of the other officers staring at me causing me to start feeling another panic attack, I proceeded to follow the strange police fox outside.

As I exited the building, I found him waiting for me before continuing to walk.

I caught up to him and simply followed next to him as he walked down the street, his eyes lazily and calmly scanning Bunyburrow Mainstreet. Rabbit around us seemed to tense as a grown fox walked around, and I felt slightly uncomfortable at their gazes as he finally stopped at an ice cream store not far from the police station.

"How about some ice cream?" he pushed the door open and gestured me inside. "After you."

I complied, hearing him chuckle after possibly noticing my complete and utter confusion as he followed me inside. The line of rabbits and a single pig would have made me stop and drop on the floor just a day before, especially in such a cluttered space filled with tables and other animals eating their ice cream. However, the fact that almost every creature here was shorter than me and that I had gotten used to (to a certain extent) the rabbits, I managed to take a few steps and get in the line. However, this all fell as soon as I felt the fox's arm lay on my head. Possibly out of playfulness, just to tease or whatnot, I immediately recoiled and bumped against the pig in front of me. My lost balance caused me to land on my back as the pig turned around, confusedly and, upon seeing me, a look of…

…rage?

"YOU!"

I felt the pig's hand wrapping around the neck of my shirt as he lifted me back on my feet and proceeded to hold me up. The sound of my shirt tearing was easy to hear as everyone immediately had stopped their chatter and proceeded to stare. My heart was racing as I recognized this hate-filled voice.

It was the pig that I'd stolen clothes from.

The same pig that had shot at me.

My heart was racing as I felt the world begin to close in as the only thing my body could focus on was the animal currently holding me up. I didn't notice nor truly felt the fist as it sent me flying against the floor. There was commotion happening all around me as things seemed to have devolved into chaos. I could faintly hear Nick's voice yelling plus a bunch of gasps and muffle voices. The only voice sounding crystal clear was the pig's as I turned up to look at his outstretched arm pointing at me.

"This right here is a thief! Throw this thief in jail now!"

I saw Nick's back as he stood between me and the pig. This finally had me break visual contact with him, but I could still feel his intense anger as a pain in my cheek finally began to slowly manifest itself on my cheek as I grasped my mouth while a metallic taste filled my mouth.

My first instinct was to run as fast and as far away as possible, which is exactly what I did.

I rapidly stood up and dashed out of the parlor as tears began to stream down my face. I partly managed to hold the tears in as I ran across town towards the only place I could think of: Gideon's house.

The way there was a blur and I feared arriving and finding the door locked. However, I found the door unlocked. Rushing in, I closed the door behind me and collapsed in front of it. My legs were hurting from the exertion, and I now noticed the tears pouring down my face. The pain from my mouth had gotten more numb, which only made my thoughts center more around the pig's attack and the fact that he'd recognized me.

My breathing quickened and the pounding of my heart intensified with each beat. My vision became blurry as the panic attack that had been brewing within me finally began. The worst part was that I had honestly believed that I was overcoming my anxiety around animals. My panic attacks had become less common this past week which had been a great sign of my adaptability to this weird world. However, this time it was as if I hadn't adapted at all. The skin… fur… my… ears… my tail… I wanted to rip them apart as my entire body itched to a point that it felt as if it was burning me.

I stumbled towards a bathroom, closing and locking the door in a quick motion before turning to look at myself in a mirror. The face that stared back was a mess of a fox, swollen cheeks and bloodshot red eyes. The ears were pointing back and down and the tail was perfectly still.

The itch grew worse.

In a fit of rage I pulled my ears aggressively until I felt pain, causing me to stop.

I hated this! I want to go back to my human self! No ears, no tail, no fur!" My hands reacted as if in their own smashing against the mirror. Cracks appeared on the glass before I realized what I'd done. In front of me was a fragmented reflection of myself. My ears, my fur, a long muzzle… I began to pull on the fur of my head until I realized I had a patch of loose fur on my hand, causing me to realize what I had been doing. I too a step back, losing my balance and landing on my butt. I laid there, unsure of what to do next. I felt drained, and the pain in my mouth with the added pain from having pulled fur off my head didn't help. I simply remained where I was as if time had frozen with my mind completely blank.

The front door of the house opened and I heard Gideon's voice calling out.

"Michael! Are you here?!" I struggled to stand up as I heard more footsteps entering the house which made me stop. Had he brought the cops here? Had he been told that I had stolen and had decided to give me to the authorities? Maybe he'd had a change of heart and realized that he was harboring a potential criminal…

I remained motionless as footsteps approached the bathroom door.

"Michael?" Nick's voice came from behind the door as I heard him attempt to open the door. I held my breath as he finally gave up and walked away.

Not long after, another pair of footsteps approached but this time there was no attempt to open the door.

"Hey Michael." This time it was Gideon softly talking. "A-are you there? If you are… I want you to know that I'm sorry I left you alone, I didn't know something like this would've happened and… Nick is sorry too." He sighed. "Please open the door, I just want to make sure you're alright."

I shakily got back up and unlocked the door. Greeting me on the other side was an extremely disheveled and worried Gideon, and not far behind I spotted Judy and Nick. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. Gideon hesitantly embraced me, and even though I felt a slight aversion to the touch, I found myself grasping at him desperately as tears began to pour down once again. I felt him hugging me a little tighter. After a few seconds I pulled back from him, although he kept his hand on my shoulder.

"Let me look at you, make sure you're alright." I saw his eyes look at my head and then at the fur on the floor, and it is then that he noticed the glass and the broken mirror. He immediately grabbed my hands and gasped. I also noticed my hands for the first time since breaking the mirror and I was slightly surprised. I had clearly gotten a few cuts, some which looked slightly deep. He rushed off to get bandages and quickly wrapped up any visible cuts. I finally began to feel the pain from my hands as he washed them and applied the bandages. My mouth felt better but it was still slightly swollen from the pig's punch.

Nick and Judy hadn't said a word, but as soon as Gideon finished Judy walked slowly towards me with Nick in tow. Judy's face was filled with worry, and gone was Nick's relaxed demeanor and I couldn't really read what his expression meant. He appeared to be neutral as he looked at me.

"I'm sorry for what happened, Michael," Judy said. Both were keeping their distance, probably because Gideon had told them about my reactions to physical contact. I quickly looked at Gideon and silently thanked him, since I had no idea how I would react to more animal contact after what had just happened.

"I… don't know what to say but thank you, Judy. I appreciate it." I smiled at her. This seemed to calm her down and her worry, while still present, became much less overwhelming.

"And I am sorry for having allowed that to happen," Nick said. It is then that I realized what Nick's expression was. He was… "I'm ashamed that this happened while you were under my care, and I should have been more aware. Never in a million years would I have expected someone here to throw such an accusation and dare attack you." At his last words I could hear an anger rising from his throat as he seemed to hold back from saying more. He approached and got down to my height. "I will make sure that the one who did it receives a just punishment for this."

The memory from the pig's accusation came back. It wasn't a lie… while it is true that he attacked me, he wasn't lying. I felt guilt begin to manifest itself and I couldn't help but look away, causing the three others present to look slightly confused as I decided to tell them the truth of what I did my first day in bunyburrow.

"The pig wasn't lying, Nick, Judy, Gideon." I turned towards each of them as I spoke their names. "I stole from his farm when I first arrived here. I had no clothes… not to say this was an excuse, but I truly had no idea of what to do!" I exclaimed passionately as they all looked at me. "I'm sorry. If you need to throw me in jail do it. The pig was right, I am a thief…" I looked down as I felt tears begin to stream down my face once again.

"Oh Michael." Judy slowly and carefully hugged me much to Gideon's dismay. I held back my need to run away, instead choosing to focus on her good intentions and the softness of a furry embrace. It also helped that she was a rabbit, which made it much easier than, say, hugging a lion. "Don't you worry, you were desperate, no one will hold that against you. Brandon acted in anger and committed an unjustifiable act of assault on someone, and even if you did steal from him, you must remember not to feel that it was justified in any way." She let go and looked into my eyes. "And, I know you know better. You won't do it again."

I silently nodded as I rubbed the tears of my face and took a step back.

After this exchange, the three of them seemed to have decided to have a meal together at Gideon's, and so ordered a pizza. The rest of the evening was… honestly amazing. We watched a movie, Nick and Judy told us stories from Zootopia and from the incredible things that happened in the daily lives of ZPD officers. I was amazed by the incredible descriptions of the city, and I think Nick was amused by my apparently "cute" reactions to that because he would not stop teasing me about it for the entire night.

By the end of the night, Nick sat next to me teaching how to play cards while Gideon and Judy spoke about crop yield which… As Nick and I joked towards them constantly through the night, we both found it extremely boring.

After our tenth game, I was close to defeating Nick. I was sure of it. The cards he had couldn't be good, since most of the good ones had already been discarded. While it had taken me a few tries, I was finally grasping the game and, to Nick's dismay, I was about to win and he knew it.

As I revealed my hand with a triumphant "Ha!" I saw his concerned expression turn to a grin. I slowly looked in confusion as he revealed his own…

"Cheater!" I exclaimed just as he stood up and patted my head, ignoring my complaining.

"Well! And with that I believe our time has come to bid you both adieu." He looked at Gideon. "As entertaining as it is to listen to your talk about crop yields and such, we have a long day tomorrow. Thank you for hosting us, Gideon."

Judy nodded and said her goodbyes to Gideon as Nick turned to me. "You're a good kid, don't forget that."

"Yeah! I didn't cheat!"

He chuckled as he passed me the cards before mockingly shaking his head. "I would neeeever cheat against a newbie. You just never got a good hand, is all." His grin and exaggerated pronunciation betrayed him while he walked towards the door.

I wanted to complain more, but as they were both leaving, I decided to simply thank them. "Thank you, for tonight… I…" I stopped. "I was not well earlier, you all, the three of you, this has been one of the best nights I've ever had."

"You're more than welcome to visit us in Zootopia, kiddo." Nick shook my hand before patting me once again. Just gave me a short hug before the two of them headed inside a small truck. The engine sputtered for a second before the car drove off towards the town.

Finally! I had been absent for... quite a while. Life gets in the way, and writing became a... more than secondary thing to be honest. I had always had this little fanfiction on the back of my mind, tho. And so I finally decided to write a next chapter. I must admit that I was unsure on what to do or how to proceed, I already have the entire story laid out, and the only thing that I have to decide in on how to correctly pace it. I was thinking on writing a chapter on his first week, kind of like a fully slice of life, just him adapting, but in the end I felt that he would have encountered the pig he stole clothes from at some point. Hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter, and I hope I can write the next one soon! I shall try my best.