What is Normal?

by fwelty

Nick's first day on the force , being partnered with Judy. They both proceed to stop the street racer , where something catches Nick's attention and the consequences seem to unravel the beginning of a bigger mystery, one that Judy and Nick may not be able to solve on their own. Will they be able to solve it before it is too late?

10. The unique birthday

Judy woke up, a bit later than usual. She must've been really tired yesterday. She laid there for a few seconds and realised her friendly overprotective fox was missing. She instantly sat up and checked next to her. 'He should be here' but he wasn't there. She was about to call out for him but just then , he walked in with a few carrots in his mouth for the bunny. "Aww Nick, thank you but today is your special day not mine." She remembered that fact. It was Nick's birthday. Problem was, what do you get a feral fox as a gift, what would be meaningful to one but also long-lasting. Just then there was a knock at the door.

It was a stoat ,holding a package. "Hai, sorry ta botha ya so early bu' a friend a mine wanted ta give this ta Nick Wilde, said he lived here but seems ah got the wrong door. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Judy almost instantly responded questionately, "Friend? And today of all day... Finnick, isn't it?"

The stoat looked stumped, "How'd'ya... yeah , it was."

"Hmm, so he remembered to get Nick something and I didn't , now I feel really stupid."

"So Nick is 'ere, right?"

"Yeah, yeah he is, we just woke up." And right on cue , Judy yawned, expressing her point even further.

"Hmm, is he still.. ya know, not himself so ta say?"

"Yeah, who are you ?"

"Am just a an owner of a Tundratown bar."

"So what are you doing here?"

"Am jus' doin' a favor, dear. Thas all , Ah swear. By the way, there is a gift for ya in there as well , I think, and tha raccoon friend of yas."

Judy was speechless, she paused for a second then stumbled over her words and said only gibberish."How'd ah know? If ya a friend a Finn, ya a friend a mine." He winked, "Ah keep tabs on my friends."

"That doesn't-" Judy said slowly collecting her thoughts. Just then Nick walked up to Judy so casually then started smelling the box that was handed to Judy. He was confused by the smell, it was similar to the smell of the silver pills that broke the concrete.

The stoat turned to the fox, "Hey buddy ,ya must be Nick, sorry that Finnick couldn't come." He sighs and turns back to Judy."What do ya know?" The stoat asked finally. "The answer will determine wha ah say."

"You mean about Finnick? So you work with Finnick." It finally clicked in her head. "So you are a part of the 'Law of Nature' , I think it was called?"

"So ya know 'nough. Yeah, Law of Nature, are we a part a them , yes and na, we are but we don't like 'em. Finnick was the thing we needed to finally break off. Says it's Nick's birthday so decided to help all three a yous. Oh and don' worry , Ah made sure their all legal and shit, before ya ask. Well, come on open it, I struggled ta get these ya know, all on his request though so it is his gift ta give."

Judy was still sceptical ,especially since Nick didn't trust the box. "Why isn't he here?"

"Had ta meet someone, don' know who, neva told that kinda shit."

"Why should I trust you?" Finally the million zoollar question was asked.

"Now tha Ah kin answer. Judy, Ah don' know how ta fight and ah don' have any weapons, ah mean look at me ya can't see my muscle coz there ain' none ta see. Does it look like am sent ta fight others? But I get ya paranoia, Ah wouldn't trust a mammal who just arrived and admitted to being part a a crime ring but ah did admit ta tha. Don' tha build some trust?" Judy eyed him carefully as he spoke and realised he was telling the truth, there is no muscle on him , no chub either but he seems more like a business mammal than a hitmammal. "Oh and tha ribbon is a nigh'mare ta tie , am never tyin' i' again." Judy shook her head at the comment and smiled gently. She pulled the ribbon open and saw what was three pistols. "they all meet police requirement, that why ah recommended 'em." Two of the pistols were for smaller hands assumably , Judy and Jacob, while the bigger one required a bigger paw and was by process of elimination designed for Nick. "They're Bearetta M9s , it's his birthday so he gets the cool stuff on his one. But y'all should be allowed ta use it on the beat." Judy smiled not from the gift but from the thought of it, Finnick didn't need to get them anything but did, he cared enough to do that. "Ah wouldn't use 'em unless ya dealin' with one of 'us' , if ya know what ah mean." Judy nodded , still slightly hesitant but now understanding why Nick didn't trust the box. "So what d'ya think?" the stoat was clearly excited when asking that question.

"Well, I have never used a gun live, or killed a mammal but I appreciate the sentiment, considering I didn't need to get anything, I do appreciate it."

"Now the not so legal part. This is awkward but, do ya have licences?"

"No, once again never used a gun live."

"Yeah, there are two licences in there, one for you , Judith Laverne Hopps, and one for a Jacob Samuel Pawson. They ain't legally acquired but are legally made, I have a friend actually working on producing them among other things."

Judy was now conflicted, she didn't know if she should take the gifts or not, it wasn't as easy as yes, it could tarnish her reputation if someone found out. "Before ya say anythin' remember, this ain' about ya reputation but the safety a the city." This made it even harder to decide, was it truly just breaking a few eggs to make an omelette. Maybe it was and Judy was overthinking it. Maybe it wasn't and the situation wasn't that bad. Who knows? After a few seconds of deliberating , she finally decided to take it.

"What about one for Nick?"

"Nick? " The stoat chuckled a bit. "He has one, Ah checked ta make sure it was valid, turns out he renews it just in case. Good on 'im ." That information shocked the doe, she wasn't expecting Nick to be able to use firearms. "Actually, Ah think there's a lot ya don' know about 'im." the stoat finished talking. "Well, Ah gotta go now, boss'll prolly want me fa somethin' see ya, maybe come round my bar sometime, 'Stoatson Floats'."

"Okay, I'll consider." Judy answered honestly and genuinely. She lifted the firearm still in its holster. She was shocked at its weight. It was so small yet so heavy. There was also a few extra loaded magazine's , the two illegally obtained 'legal' licences and a note.

'Hey Bunny Cop

As you can guess, yes it's me Finnick, sorry I can't come today for Nick's day. Normally he doesn't celebrate it actually, it's weird but maybe he will with you. I don't know. Anyways the things in there , yeah you can keep, everything is technically legal which is the best kind of legal in this world, trust me, so if someone was to ask if you actually are allowed , you can say yes because on the system it says yes now, yay for you. As you probably noticed , Nick didn't get one. That is mostly because of me, I trained him to use a wide variety of weapons and although he can use most if not all from axes to bows to guns, his favourite is a sword just FYI and you can find a sword just behind his bed, I know its hidden but its his sword. Anyways, tell your raccoon friend hi remember that when working here we know much more than you think and good luck it will be needed. Oh and if you want you and Jake can come to the factory to practise just don't flash ya badges around and maybe put a hood up to hide who ya are, the boss agreed to this so it will be fine.'

But there was a second note underneath one addressed to Nick.

'Happy Birthday Nick, hope you get better soon, don't even know if we will see each other again but that don't matter , you got your life to live and I wasted mine now so don't worry about me. You were a better friend than I could ask for, I'm sorry for dragging you down to my level and I'm sorry for making it difficult with your mother. The fact that this may genuinely be the last time we 'talk' really makes this difficult. Worst part, you'll probably miss me even though I don't deserve it. I'm sorry for ruining your life and making it so seemingly irreparable, hope bunny cop treats you well and you have a good rest of your life. Never regret anything you do and never look back on anything, it will only keep you down, do what I know and what Judy knows you can do. Be better than me and make the world a better place and prove that you aren't just another con trying to fraud everyone. You don't belong to that stereotype, don't let it hold you back. Sorry I couldn't visit, have a contract to do and well it could be important. Hope you forgive me for my actions and maybe even goodbye.

Thank you for letting me somewhat change. If it weren't for you , I could be dead. So if this kills me, I shall gladly lay down my life to help you survive and succeed. I'm glad to have met you when I did. You will always be someone to me, and I think you need someone to tell you that.

Work hard with Judy, improve each other's careers and abilities, and never stop. The two of you together can move mountains if you so desire. Don't let that desire burn out, let it kindle.

-Your brother for life, Finn'

At the bottom there were tear stains of the note and the bunny hasn't cried yet, she was holding back tears . That meant Finnick teared up when writing that note, could've been regret or pure sadness that he might not speak to his best friend ever again. Judy put the note on a nearby desk and leaned the card against the wall so that it laid nicely at an angle. As she was doing that, her dam was starting to break, tears started rolling down her cheeks. She didn't know how to respond to that note, it wasn't what she expected from a constantly grumpy mammal like Finnick. She started sobbing, the note really hit her feelings, she could tell that it was written from the heart and knew he would be too proud to say it out loud. She felt sorry for the fennec she grew to treat as a friend. She knew he deserved a happy ending but that with what he is doing he was most likely not gonna get one. As she was silently crying, Nick smelt an increase in the amount of salt in the air and an emotional change. He walked over to the doe and licked her cheeks to try and cheer her up. It helped a bit, he always ,somehow even in this state, managed to brighten her day. She smiled at the supportive fox and tried to stop crying. "Sorry just read something that... yeah. It's okay Nick, I'm f-fine, okay?" Then just like that , unexpectedly, she hugged the fox firmly and tightly. The grip was even tighter than when she was holding on for dear life yesterday. After a few minutes of her hugging Nick and sobbing, she let go, her worries started to wear away, just like that. "See, I'm okay." Nick licked her one more time, which tickled her and she giggled as a result. She looked back at the box.

She pulled out her phone and called her new police partner."Hey Jake."

"Hi Hopps. What's up?"

"Well, today is Nick's birthday and all three of us got gifts from an unknown person."

"Wow, that's..."

"Unexpected? Yeah , I agree. Just come over , I'll give you these things."

"Gotcha, see you in 15 then go to ZPD, yeah?"

"You'll want to go back home first most likely."

"Fine. See you in 15." The line cut off, Jake hung up. It's always the other person hanging up on Judy and never the other way around. Judy personally didn't mind but it was odd. Judy sat down on a comfy wooden chair near a coffee table. and finished her carrots that were provided by her guardian. Then she inspected her new 'toy', she made sure it wasn't loaded before checking it. She really wasn't sure what she was looking for but still searched for something. Eventually, she stopped looking at the pistol and replaced it in its holster. She then pulled out a magazine and inspected that, a bunch of bullets stacked in two columns. Finally , she returned the magazine and read up on the laws on firearm possession and the rules of firearm possession within the police. Although weapon possession is legal even on the streets as long as it is concealed, the user needs to go through a more specialised test to see if they are allowed to use such a weapon instead of just regular non-lethal weaponry. The officer can then possess both tranquillisers and lethals but must be able to easily distinguish between the two. Sounds simple but definitely not easy. Finally the officer must be able to determine when such a weapon would be permitted to be used. That was the easiest, she only intended to use it against other gun wielding criminals. In a nutshell , the user must be able to effectively utilise such a weapon , be able to differentiate between that and other gadgets especially tranquillisers and finally must be able to know when such a weapon is to be used. Then there was another knock on the door.

"Hey Judy, It's me." Pawson called out from behind the door. "You told me to come or at least asked me to."

She pulled out the box, specifically the one containing the weapon and licence designed for the raccoon. Holding the box delicately, she walked towards the door. She opened it, "Hey , yeah , this is for you, I'd recommend you check it out inside not outside. The raccoon nodded and walked inside. The door was shut afterwards and she handed the box. "Handle with care ,okay?"

Jacob tried to reach for the box but Judy pulled it back. "OKAY?"

"Alright, I will, I don't understand why." Judy stretches her arms out again and Hands the closed box over to its intended recipient. Jacob takes the box and holds it carefully on one hand, he then lifts the lid off of it,then he sees the contents inside. "What, how did you get these?" There was an initial shock especially when he saw the licence inside waiting for him. "Seriously, how?"

"Well, it was a gift, that secret doesn't leave this room, okay?"

"Yeah, we could get in serious trouble if we're found."

"That's the thing, it's all legal, none of it is counterfeit."

"But I don't know how to use a gun."

Judy smiled sarcastically "Neither do I." She then pulled out of her pocket the note Finnick wrote for her but purposefully covered the name.

"Wait, you're corroborating with criminals? You're a corrupt cop?"

"Well, no. The person who gave it to me is a confidential informant referred to as 'Zero' in the criminal underworld. He works for the ones we believe are responsible for the recent murders and the intoxication of our fellow officer." The raccoon looked at Nick just as she said that part. "We will get permission to use these but we will only use them against armed criminals, yes?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation in his answer, it was completely truthful. Judy knew that as well.

"Okay, so we will be using that shooting range to improve our skills with such weapons, we don't want to accidentally start an incident, especially as law enforcement agents." Jacob nodded. Judy walked to the kitchen "Tea or coffee?"

"Neither, I just finished a whole bottle of water before I came here." Then Judy came back with a few blueberries in her hand for Nick. Nick ran towards the smell of the delicious little spheres of juicy goodness and ate them from her hand then licked her paw to make sure no juice was left outside of his stomach. "You have him figured out, don't you?"

"He always loved blueberries. It's not something I learned recently." Judy responded to the question.

The raccoon stood up, "So I should be heading back, we need to be ready soon, got an email that they have some results."

"Already? Wow that was fast."

"Well, there was a lot of bullets to analyse and they all had similar characteristics so it was easier to analyse but the casing seems to not match what was fired."

"So multiple possibilities."

"Allegedly."He headed for the door. "This is so exciting, I'm gonna shoot and be shoot at it will be an actual police shoot out." Judy was once again shocked at the raccoons initial thoughts. She was once again left speechless.

"Just stay safe please." was all that came to the doe's mind. Jacob left the room. Then she bumped her head on the tabletop surface. "He's going to be a handful." Judy complained already seeing what the future holds. She raised her head , only to be scared by the fox laying on the table in front of her. Luckily there wasn't much on the table so nothing was damaged. "Holy cabbages and lettuce, Nick what are you doing there?" Nick just leaned forward and rubbed his face on hers. Judy started to realise that she needed to prepare for her job. "Nick, let me go." After a while , Judy just grabbed Nick's muzzle and gently pushed it away. "I need to get ready." Judy got up and walked to closet where she set up her clothes on the left side and left Nick's clothes on the right side. After she pulled out her police uniform, she looked at Nick's side and wondered what Nick should wear. She finally decided that he should wear the same things he wore last year. The pawaiian shirt and khakis combo. Judy smiled at the memories that the clothes brought to Judy. The memories of how they met. She thought he deserved to wear it, it was his birthday after all. She pulled out the set and dressed up the birthday boy. Nick clearly felt comfortable in these clothes even though he shouldn't understand what clothes are and shouldn't want them. But it clearly seemed like it was a second skin to him. Judy quietly laughed when she realised this and then got changed herself behind closed doors. Once again Judy didn't have her armour vest as it was still being repaired.

After they both got dressed ,Nick wasn't wearing his tie as Judy didn't know how to tie one, the two prepared to leave. Judy started to try and be enthusiastic even though she was still tired. The two left the house and Judy locked the door. They started walking down the corridor where Nick laid down in front of Judy offering the same thing as yesterday evening. Judy contemplated on the offer and then decided to clamber on top of the fox. She held on tight just as yesterday and then made a mental note to by a helmet for herself later when she noticed that they were moving faster than a speeding motorbike . "Nick, you can slow down!" She screamed just before they made it to the precinct. He gradually decelerated and then came to a halt at the door to the precinct. "You really want to run free, I'll have to bring you to the farm in BunnyBurrow." She chuckled now fully awake from the adrenaline spike that ensued. Judy walked in and the fox followed soon after, "Hi Ben."

"Hey, Judy, you're here early today" Benjamin started then took notice of Nick's attire, "and Nick is looking quite casual today. Shouldn't you at least put on his uniform?"

"Well, Nick is on medical leave until he is 'better' and today is his special day."

"Wait, today is his Birthday? And you didn't tell us? How could you do that? Now I feel bad for not getting him anything."

"Well, don't feel bad, what could you get him right now?"

"That is a good point, what would he want?"

"Probably his old life back." Judy sighed at her own comment, realising that it may never happen and Nick is stuck like this for the rest of his life.

"You should probably check if you can keep him like that with Bogo, you know how he is."

"Yeah, I'll do that now."

"Oh, one more question, how did it feel riding Nick home yesterday?"

Judy was shocked by the question, she thought the lemming wouldn't tell anyone, and she didn't. "How did you know?"

"Oh the security mammals shown us."

"Darn cameras, huh I might as well say that it was, errm, liberating. The speed, jumping from area to area, he is extremely capable you know."

"How fast is he?"

"I don't know, he is faster than a motorbike, but that's all I know." Clawhauser's eyes opened wide at that statement, he wasn't expecting such speeds from the fox even if he is under the effects of 'Night Howler'. Judy saw the speechlessness on the cheetah's face. "Yeah, he is extremely fast, might need a helmet for next time."

"G-good idea." the cheetah mumbled out just loud enough to be audible. "You should talk to the Chief now."

"Yeah, thanks Clawhauser." The two mammals started walking towards the office before realising that it was empty. Just as they were about to leave, Chief Bogo appeared behind them.

"Why is he dressed like that, Hopps? I only give permission to come here out of the goodness of my heart but this is too much."

"Sir that's what I wanted to discuss. I believe he should be allowed to wear this as he is on medical leave and today is his birthday. Sir , all I'm trying to do is make is day a little bit better while he is" Judy sighs " not himself."

The cape buffalo scoffed, "So you think that is a good enough excuse?"

"Well, sir he technically isn't working right now."

Bogo's eyes squinted slightly, there was visible anger in his face. He was not happy that these technicalities were being used and there weren't wrong. The chief couldn't stop the fox from being dressed like that and it wasn't even his fault, it was Judy's. "Fine but don't make it a big deal."

"Sir, in all honesty, I think the centre of attention will be yesterday's post meeting events."

"Yes, I'm fully aware of them. As long as it didn't hurt you, I don't care."

Judy just shrugged and walked off, she knew that all she had to do was go to the bull pen and it would be fine. And fine it wouldn't be. She entered the room to prepare for briefing, and she did she noticed Fangmeyer mouth 'Sorry' as three other mammals asked about yesterday. Judy groaned, then answered every question she could. In the end, she asked Fangmeyer what she meant.

"Well, I did see you leaving and then spoke to the dispatcher that was present as well. He promised not to say anything but the security caught everything as well. Imagine everyone's shock when that clip of the fox jumping from the second floor to the ground floor was on every forum that we are all in. Everyone saw it in other words. Out of curiosity, what's with his attire?"

"Who Nick? Oh, it's his birthday so I decided to let him dress more casually. I think that is fair right?"

"It's his birthday? How come we weren't told or were we?"

"Nick isn't a massive fan of celebrating birthdays, I don't know why."

"Oh then, that makes sense."

Just then Officer Pawson entered the bullpen. "So what is going on with you now?"

Fangmeyer just chuckled at the raccoons ignorance of the subject "So you don't know what happened? Sent to everyone almost instantly?"

"Nope, I haven't joined any of the forums or group chats yet."

Both the females in the conversation just stared, "Why? Don't you want to talk to us? Or learn some gossip?"

"I have my own things to do in my free time." Jacob responded so cheery , which Judy expected but completely disarmed and shocked one Juliette Fangmeyer.

"I should've expected that from you, Jake. Anyways, you got anything about the bullets?"

"No, I waited for you to learn everything." Judy facepalmed and Fangmeyer chuckled at how naïve the recruit was.

"You didn't have to, actually it would have been easier if you actually got the info then we would've hopped onto the lead."

"Oh sorry, I-I didn't know about that." Jake looked down at the floor in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, it's fine better earlier than later to learn the lessons, so that you know for when it is important to be quick. As long as you learn from your mistakes then we will be fine."

"Yes, ma'am." Pawson stood at attention and saluted when hearing what Judy said. Judy groaned when she saw the actions that Jacob commited.

"You told him to treat you like a superior?" Fangmeyer asked with genuine curiosity.

"Ugh, no, he just acts like this even though I told him not to." Judy shook her head in annoyance and was starting to get tired to Pawson's behaviour. It was respectable but it was just too much for the bunny, she didn't want to be seen as a superior but as an equal member of their group. "It's just difficult to deal with this."

"Sorry, it just felt like the right thing to do."

"I would've loved to have a partner like this. Why didn't you go with me?" Fangmeyer asked jokingly upset.

Jacob asked sarcastically, "Do you have a feral fox that can end your life in a second if you're not careful?"

Fangmeyer just tripped over her words but Judy responded easily "Wait, you're not careful."

"Hopps, I'm always careful." The raccoon said with a wide smile.

"You have a horrible way of showing it." Judy quipped rapidly.

"Wilde is a terrible role model, you know?" Fangmeyer scolded as a joke.

"When you have to deal with someone like that, they rub off on you a bit too much." Judy admitted a bit sheepishly. She knew that that was a problem for her but Nick being less talkative did help prevent it corrupting her conversation methods. Fangmeyer nodded in agreeance but Jacob was confused, he never heard how Nick spoke. The two females chuckled at their little conversation. The raccoon just sat there awkwardly. "Okay, lets go to our seat now." Judy said ,noticing Nick starting to approach the tiger.

As they sat down many ,others started coming into the bullpen and started to take their seats. Many whispered about the rabbit and her transport related endeavours, although the bunny didn't hear much about it, the fox heard all of it. Every single detail and he understood it. He was proud with what he heard, it was like he did some unknown miracle and technically he did, with him being savage but not at the same time. He has truly come a long way from his first day where he feasted on the one that has tried to kill his friend, his only friend, his best friend. The only one that truly helped him. And now she was helping him again. Again. His debt was becoming more and more unpayable but he wanted to pay it back one way or another. He stared at his bunny for a few minutes and silently sniffed to collect some of Judy's scent and appease his nerves.

While Nick was doing that, Judy paid little to no attention as she focused on the Buffalo that has just entered, explaining everyone's duties today. Hopps and Pawson were held back after the Chief has given everyone's tasks. "What have you learned so far?"

The two were confused at his question , "Sir, so far we have found that there was a sniper that for an unknown reason targetted an off-duty officer Wilde. The calibre used is currently examined downstairs, in the forensics office. We also know that the shooter was on the roof of the prey-only resort known as 'Prey-adise'. We have do not know the reasons for trying to shoot Mr. Wilde nor how the mammal reached the roof ,considering that there was no signs of such mammal inside the building. However, we seem to have multiple possible leads as the bullets fired and the bullet casing used seems to be different. However, the places the leads could take us could be dangerous so we should approach with caution."

"That is good to hear, Hopps. Pawson, do you have anything to add?"

"No evidence to add, sir , but I do have a few ideas. Firstly, if we didn't see the mammal inside and there was tampering with the equipment or the footage then the sniper must've reached the roof via the outside walls. They could be a professional wall climber and have rappelling equipment that eases the scaling of the wall." Pawson pauses then turns to Judy. "Are there any cameras that overlook the building, preferably multiple from different angles?"

"I'm not sure." Judy answered genuinely stumped. "We will have to check, one of us could go and obtain the report from the forensics office then catch up with the other to check the street security footage."

"If you have ideas, don't let me hold you. You are both dismissed." Bogo finally stated.

"Yessir." Both mammals responded. Then they both started , heading for the door. Nick was resting during the entire exchange but then stood up when he heard Judy leaving. He soon followed suit but not before eyeing the chief of police with suspicion. He then chased after the bunny. "Okay, you take the cruiser and go to find the camera footage, it should be located in precinct 2 but first talk to Clawhauser to tell the other precinct about what we will be doing. I'll collect the report and meet you there."

"Okay, sounds like a plan. Do you think we could be in a shoot out soon?"

"You are waaay too excited for one. That's not safe."

"Best to live life on the fast lane coz life is too short."

"Yeah, you better get to the fast lane, we don't have time."

"Yeah, I'm going." Judy throws the car keys to Jake , who catches them but nearly fumbles over his own foot in the process. After that she saw him run out the building and drive off. She walked with a little bit of haste to reach the forensic scientists.

Once she reaches them, someone states with a little bit of impatience. "Finally, what took you so long?" Judy rolled her eyes at the comment. "Here's the report, seems the bullets originate from, oh, that's odd, it seems to originate from the meadowlands, I thought that place was rather docile and peaceful." then with a tonal shift to a more passive aggressive one " and unnaturally affluent." The scientist sighed. "Well, here you can read it yourself. But , be careful, if so many bullets were made in meadowland and we don't really investigate there, you could be in for anything. I would suggest preparing for any encounter and maybe even having some extra weaponry. Probably best if you follow another lead first. Oh and the casing will be done soon. Not sure when but soon. Now I would hate to keep you here any longer so best to make haste."

"Thank you for the report, I'm on it. Goodbye."

"See ya." Judy left and then asked Nick politely to try and follow Jacob's scent and take them there. It was a risky gamble but would save a lot of time if he succeeded. She didn't know why she was so polite, maybe it was just common courtesy , maybe she was used to it, or maybe she felt that Nick was still there somewhere, deep in that lost mind, trying to claw his way back out. Nick locked on to something but if it was Jacob was still to be discovered. Nick lowered himself slightly, letting the doe climb on top of him. She complied, knowing she would ask for him to do so anyways. She grabbed on tight then the fox shot off like a rocket ,following the scent he caught. He ran across the pavement and avoided every pedestrian with still amazing precision, although he had to run on the road for a bit. Luckily, he didn't slow down the traffic. He kept tracking the scent until he started slowing down near an alleyway. It wasn't the same one as the one that started this entire mess but it was still a dark decrepit alley with something ,or more likely someone ,inside. Nick let the doe climb down , then when she was about to proceed into the alley, the fox blocked her. There was something there, and he was scared for her. The vulpine proceeded to climb up the side of the building with haste . Judy used this to start walking in, she pulled out her flashlight to see inside. What was inside was a ewe and a rhino trading. This caught Judy's attention real quick and she called out "Police , paws where I can see them." As she said that , she pulled out her tranquilliser to intimidate at least one of them.

The ewe tried being smart by saying "But I have hooves." She had a horrible grin, one that suggested she wasn't alright upstairs. She chuckled a bit. The rhino looked confused then worried, he wasn't sure what was about to happen. She pulled out a blue orb from her wool. "If I remember correctly, this only affected predators ,right?" The rhino started backing off but stopped when he bumped into a calm fox.

"listen man, I just wanted something good, but she's insane." The fox didn't budge. "Don't tell me your working with the blues. Ugh just my luck." The ewe chucked the orb into the air but it never landed where it was expected to, instead the calm fox observed what was happening and launched himself like a Z1 car and caught the pellet in mid air. His teeth almost pierced it but it was fully intact. He landed next to the rabbit and spat out the orb. "Woah, I did not expect that." The speed disorientated both mammals trying to partake in a deal. The ewe was then enraged at that moment, her right to become savage was stolen by a fox. A fox. Not only was it a predator, but it was the scummiest, worst mammal to exist. And that thing prevented her from doing what she was supposed to do.

"Ma'am, you're gonna have to come with us."

"And if I say no?" Just at that moment she pulled out a Z2 .22lr . The gun faced the direction of the sitting fox, who just stared blankly showing no fear. "I don't think you can stop me." She started laughing again. Judy was weighing up her choices, if she tranqed the ewe, the ewe could still fire, but if she did nothing they could both be in trouble, what if there was a third option, one she didn't think of? She turned and looked at Nick, then an idea came.

"Hey, if it's someone you're gonna shoot it would be the actual officer ,right?" Judy declared with confidence. Nick just stared with his head slightly tilted. The ewe turned her head towards the rabbit.

"Oh, you would lay your life for this filth."

"Cleaner than you'll ever be so yes, I would."

"You got fire , I like it. Rhino collect their gear."

"I got a name you know?"

"I don't care, take their gear and give it to me." The last few words had a more sinister tone to them. The rhino approached the on-duty police officer and was about to take her belt when all of a sudden , the fox leapt onto his head and pounced onto the unsuspecting sheep. She yelled out once the fox landed on her. Nick didn't care for the screeches and simply sent his head flying towards the arm with a gun and bit the forearm clean off. The ewe screamed even more now, since she was in immense agony. The rhino turned around and saw a bloodied fox staring back , snarling and bared his crimson dripping teeth. The rhino saw that sight and instantly dropped to the floor and surrendered. Judy stated the Miranda rights and then cuffed the rhino. She then turned to the ewe and called for a doctor on the radio.

"10-52 and 10-72, mammal severely wounded."

"Copy that, what's your current location?"

"Savannah Boulevard. Small alleyway."

"Copy that , ambulance and a second cruiser shall reach your location."

The ewe stopped screaming and turned to the fox, "Y-you, you're savage yet not affected harshly. I was right, it is evolution. It was only a matter of time before someone was returning to their primitive side and coexisted with us." The ewe chuckled again. "Nick can you sit outside? Please?" Nick walked towards the street then Judy turned to the rhino. "Excuse me, could you explain what you were doing here?"

"Err, erm, ahem."

"Sir, please be honest, we know that it wasn't legal so just talk to us." Judy was hoping that there was some kind and rational part to the rhino, he seemed to be such a mammal.

"Huuuu, well, I wanted to buy some drugs and maybe a gun, but for dangerous or criminal reasons, I just wanted to be cool with my friends."

"A gun? Do you have a licence for one?"

"Weeeeellllll, that is a good question. "

"Sir , we can easily check."

"Okay I don't but I wasn't going to use it"

"well you do need a licence to possess one. Also, you wanted to buy drugs, do you know how harmful those would be to your body?"

The rhino looked down."Hey, how old are you?"

The rhino answered "18."

"At your age, you should be having fun but not that kind, that kind of fun can seriously hurt you or lead to you hurting someone else."

"I'm sorry." The rhino responded emotionally defeated. The ewe was surprisingly quiet and didn't move, Judy turned around to make sure but the ewe was calmly laying there alive. Her hoof laid

next to her with a gun still in grip. She suppressed the urge to vomit all her guts out. The ewe noticed that the rabbit wasn't disgusted by the sight.

"So, not the first time, something like this happened?" The ewe asked

"No, it's not." Judy sighed "But it's not as disturbing anymore."

The sheep laughed, "And they call me the crazy one." Judy pondered on that statement, what if she was really becoming insane from the brutal actions of the fox. "You are something else, you are desensitised to the violence, just like me. We are more alike than you think. I'll see you in the cells and I will only speak to you two, I need to know. I'll be waiting." She continued laughing. "Tell 'Nick' that so he knows what to expect."

Just then the ambulance arrived and Judy heard snarling, "Nick , come here." Nick ran over to Judy's position, "Smell quickly." There was a lot of contraband on the ewe, a surprising amount of contraband. Some drugs, some more pellets and bullets. Maybe bullets from the meadowlands.

The doctor ran over and put the ewe on the stretcher. "As soon as he speaks, come to me. I will wait." Then a second cruiser arrived, a friendly tiger and her partner lion stepped out.

"Fangmeyer, Delgato, we have a young mammal wanting to get into the wrong crowd."

"Another one? Don't they know that it isn't really nice? Like it's horrible." The rhino looked down again. Delgato spoke again, "Hey, come on, let's get you somewhere safer, where we can discuss your future."

Fangmeyer then spoke to Judy, "He is too friendly, it will hurt him at some point, but it does help with situations like this one."

"That's why you're there, to balance him out. " Judy shrugged.

"So you think I'm the angry one?" Judy shrugged again ,causing the tiger to shake her head and chuckle. "Watch your back, because I will find a way to get you back for this."

"Oh no, whatever will I do?" Judy said mockingly and arrogantly.

"Oh just you wait."

"Oh I will. Wait can you take the gun as evidence." Judy responded,realising she completely forgot about the gun .Fangmeyer got the message and rolled her eyes. She collected it with a plastic bag then she got back in her cruiser. Now both vehicles drove of leaving the two mammals alone, again.

"Okay Nick, we are closer to precinct two now, do you think you can pick up Pawson's scent?" Judy asked , fearing what the result would be this time. Nick locked onto something again and lowered to let Judy climb on. "Let's hope this time we get there." Nick darted off again. He evaded every mammal that walked on the pavement and actually made it to the location she wanted to get to. She hopped off the fox. They walked inside and Nick led the way, until they realised that they need to go upstairs. Judy went up the stairs, Nick didn't. He jumped up and climbed with his claws. "Nick , you really need to stop doing that. That is really not safe." She leaned over the balcony to see if anyone saw. Oh mammals saw alright and they were grouping together to discuss what they witnessed. A fox dressed in khakis and a pawaiian shirt jumped up so high that his claws could reach the balcony on the first floor. Then said fox climbed upwards to reach his desired destination. Judy continued to the records room, where she saw Jacob with a boar , sitting by a bunch of monitors ,viewing their desired target. "Got anything yet?"

"Oh you're here, what took you so long ,was it traffic?"

"No , there was another crime going on and Nick brought me there first." Judy's ears went red.

"Hah, he's your mode of transportation now. That's smart. Anyways we found nothing but there is unexpected static interference over here. Everyday at exactly 9:30. The mayor should invest in better cameras."

The boar laughed "The mayor thinks this is good enough. Consistent inconsistency."

"Well, we know when and how now, we also know what, but we need to find out who."

"Any ideas?" Jacob asked curiously

"One but for another day, I need to process the crazy ewe and the rhino, I arrested."

"We saw, the rhino didn't want to fight. He co-operated quite well and the ewe, well she is an interesting mammal and she took losing her arm quite well."

"That is true. Anyways, we should write up our reports, ugh ,Nick may have given me extra work to do."

"You can do it by today." Jake gave an enthusiastic smile , which somehow encouraged Judy to finish the paperwork faster without them even starting. They started walking back to their cruiser but were stopped halfway there by an authoritative voice. They turn around to see a Lycaon."Where are you going? You haven't said hello to anyone, officer Hopps, that is rude. Actually , I wanted to speak to both of you, about recent events. I think it could help you." The african dog invited the trio into his office. His door read 'Chief Lucas'. They all entered and the chief searched for a file or document. "So how is Thomas?"

"Who?" Both the officers answered in response.

"You know, Bogo."

"His name is Thomas?" Judy asked curiously. The dog simply nodded.

"I thought he had some either very tough name or very posh name, like Thadeus." Judy facepalmed at her partners comment.

"Ah, here it is." He pulled out a yellow folder,wrapped in a red elastic band. "What I'm about to say doesn't leave the room, understood?"

"Sir I do-" Lucas raised his hand. "Yes sir I understand."

"I understand sir."

"We have intercepted many coded messages from a couple officers from precinct 1. It seems that information is being leaked from moles. For all I know, there are at least 2."

"Why trust us sir?"

"You, officer Hopps , are the target of all these messages, what you are doing, your condition, Nicholas Wilde. They seem to be fixated on his condition. I don't know who to trust anymore but you three are the only safe three. Be careful, someone is out to get you."

The raccoon responded, "We know sir, someone tried to shoot Nick only yesterday. The entire pavement was destroyed because of it."

"Thank you for the warning and the information , Chief Lucas."

"Please, I am not your superior. Here we are friends call me Fitzgerald or Gerald for short." The lycaon gave a reassuring smile. "Say hi to Thomas for me. I don't have much else to say and this reports back to me , no-one else and no messenger, understood?" His tone was serious, you could cut the tension with a knife.

"Yes sir." Both responded simultaneously. The dog looked at the resting fox. "He is in a weird state, he was hit by Night Howler but acted differently, now he is glued to me and will defend me against a lot."

"I like that, he has respect and honour. Or he is just hardwired to protect right now. Okay , I will see you two another time." The document they held was small enough to be hidden in the fox's shirt and no-one would search him, if they valued their limbs. She would have to remember to pull it out later before they headed for the elusive factory. But first the frustrating reports had to be written, so the three mammals returned to their cruiser and returned to precinct 1.

At precinct 1, the two officers went to their desks and filled out their reports and peer assessed it for any mistakes. It was a tedious process for the bunny as she was involved in a crime that happened not too far away. She was still curious about the unique ewe but right now she was not going to see her for a while. Pawson came up to Judy still finishing her reports but finishing the reports that were about the back alley dealing. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Ugh, it's just monotonous, I always dislike doing these reports and well, Nick did bite someone's forearm off."

"Really? Awesome!" Everyone turned to stare at him. "I-I mean that's bad really bad. Hope that mammal makes it through okay."

Judy chuckled at Jake's attempts to seem more like the others, "I know what you mean, and she will definitely make it through the surgery. Although she seemed to have a few screws loose if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, so I'll be heading home now, I'll see you later yeah?"

"Yeah about nine ish at the park."

"The park? You sure, quite public space after all?"

"We are going somewhere else almost instantly so it doesn't matter, but wear something with a hood, you may want to hide your face."

"Yeah I assumed as much. I'll see you then ,yeah?"

"Yeah, see ya Jake." Judy turned back to her monitor and groaned, she still had to finish some more reports. The report seemed endless but it eventually did have an end and Judy was finally released from her seat that she thought she was stuck to. She started leaving for home and at the front desk , had a little chat with Benjamin, who's bubbly personality brightened Judy's day just like normal. Today Judy decided to let Nick walk without Judy sitting on his back. She felt bad for using the fox like that. It wasn't his fault to have such capabilities nor was it hers but it didn't seem nice to ride the vulpine all the time. She also wanted to stretch her legs and so they decided to just walk all the way back to their house. Nothing interesting happened on their way back, as usual but when she reached their apartment, the door was opened. Something wasn't right. Judy always locks the door. Someone was inside, Judy just knew it. She pushed the door open and was about to pull out her tranquilliser but she then saw who it was. "Charlotte, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just here to celebrate my son's birthday of course. Why else would I be here?" Charlotte responded, smiling gleefully. "Even if he is like this, I think he deserves to have a little fun."

"Yeah you're right. He does deserve something good now." Judy turned to look at Nick, who was moving over to the corner of the room to be out of the way. Charlotte went back to the kitchen and returned holding a cake. "W-When did you get that?"

"Oh silly, I made it myself." The cake was a vanilla sponge cake, with milk chocolate drizzle on top that spelt out 'Happy Birthday Son' and a white chocolate coating. When cutting in there was a jam between the layers that was made of blueberries. "Nick always loved this cake when he was younger, but then I didn't see him for a long time, I thought I would make it again." Nick smelled the blueberries and walked over to the cake, he wanted some. Charlotte smiled and gave Nick a slice. "I don't think we should do the regular traditions, he wouldn't blow out the candles and I don't want to eat candle wax." Judy let out a little chuckle after hearing that. "So what is happening of both of your lives?"

"Nick is great, I think , although he is still quite 'direct' let's just say." Charlotte nodded ,knowing what Judy meant by saying that. "Me, I'm just a bit tired from filling out the required reports. Everyday there are reports to write. As my replacement partner said, maybe he is lucky that he can't fill them in." Judy purposefully left out the detail that her son was targetted by a trained sniper, and could've been killed. If Mrs. Wilde was anything like her parents , this was the right course of actions and which parent wouldn't have been worried by such facts. "Otherwise, a few crimes stopped here and there, today we stopped a drug deal. It's a shame to see youth trying to partake in such actions."

"I agree, drugs are horrible. I would know, many of my clients seem destroyed after using such toxins. It really is sad to see the next generation think that they should consume those poisons."

Judy grunted in agreeance. She didn't want to discuss the other member of the drug deal, the insane ewe that had her arm bitten off. "How are you, what were you doing recently?"

"Me? Oh nothing, my life has very little action and the most action I have is going to a shop to buy some groceries. But I cannot complain , there is some fun in my life and I do enjoy it. " Charlotte smiled, she had nothing to hide. Her life really had nothing interesting to converse about. "I have a lot of free time so I do things to pass the time."

Judy continued to eat her slice of cake. "Do you think you could teach me to bake such a delicious cake?"

"Now why would I reveal confidential Wilde secrets to a 'total stranger' ?" She smiled sarcastically with both her eyes half closed. "Of course I can teach you. It would be my pleasure. This old timer has little time left and well, if I can leave something behind , I would love to even if it is a silly cake recipe."

"I assure you it isn't a silly cake recipe. It is amazing."

"I'm glad you like it, honey, but it really is just a silly cake recipe for kits. I learned it for Nick and then tweaked it to make him like it even more."

"So it is a Wilde special?"

Charlotte chuckled at that, "I guess it is."

The two spoke for hours about current affairs, what they thought about celebrities and TV shows. Then someone knocked on the door, the two mammals inside looked at each other, they didn't expect anyone to come. Judy goes to the door, where Nick was waiting, ready for battle. Judy rubbed under his chin to calm him down then opened the door. There was a giant wolf waiting there. He towered above all the mammals there and intimidated the vixen and doe. Nick leaned down and pushed his front paws further forwards, staying in a defensive stance. "Hello, all three of you. My name is Victor Fenrir, but you can call me Vic, I do not mind. I am here at the request of a friend due to Nicholas having his birthday today. I wish him a good day and I do bare a gift for him so may I come in?" The wolf held a suit in his hand, one perfectly sized for a fox.

"Who is that friend? I have never met you before."

"Ahh, it is your friend Finnick. Oh and I hope you don't mind that I have brought along side me your ZPD partner, Mr. Pawson." The wolf calmly informed, there was no aggression or negativity in his voice , his elegant and posh demeanour seemed to be genuine.

Judy , quickly realised who this was, "Well, you are both welcome inside."

"Thanks , Judes." To which the rabbit was about to respond but Fenrir responded first.

"Now, now, let's be polite. We are but guests at their house."

"Yes sir."

"And once again, call me Vic please , I implore you to." Charlotte rolled her eyes at the statement.

"Mr. Fenrir, it is only right we refer to you like that until we are better friends. We do not know each other well enough to call each other by name."

"Is that all it is, Mrs. Wilde? Trust? Because I believe there is an underlying reason as well, one none of you are willing to state, unless you say it now." The wolf smiled, knowing who would say it.

Judy finally spoke up "If Finnick sent you on his behalf from there , I shall trust you. But if anything happens, if this is a trap, I will not hesitate to let Nicholas do as he pleases."

"Don't use my son as a threat."

"The threat is that I won't stop him."

"I respect a lady with such fire and determination." Victor leaned forward over his cane "They are in such rare commodity nowadays but I manage to find them or they find me. You are very respectable ," He turned to Jacob, "As are you, both of you keeping our streets clean or criminal filth and letting innocent blood remain unspilt. Without mammals like you or Wolford , we wouldn't have a safe town. Such a shame Michael is stuck with that bumbling fool McHorn. He seems to be a detriment rather than a helper."

"Wait, a detriment, what can you find out about McHorn." Judy nodded to Jacob, who understood what Judy meant and went over to Charlotte. Judy spoke to Victor more privately. "If you want to help us, find out if Gabriel is a mole. We heard that there is a mole or 2 within our establishment. I fear they work for the 'Law of Nature' just like you , maybe you can sniff something out."

"First off, I'm offended you made a pun at my expense." The doe stared and thought what she said then realised, her blood flowed down her face and she became a bit pale. "I'm joking , I found it a bit funny but I won't be able to but I can forward the message to someone who can."

"No no no, I'm risking too much telling you."

"I think Finnick is capable of such a task, if I remember correctly, he is a confidential informant. Although I am not one, I am willing to fight tooth and law for him. Once again, you step out of line or commit an act which I deem treasonous and I will not feel compelled to stop myself from removing another 'useless' police officer as I am supposed to."

Judy stared dead into the smiling wolf's eyes. "I don't fear you."

"Good, because it would be bad to fear a friend. And that is what we are for now, allies joined by a common cause of hatred at a single entity: Master 'Storm' Raccson. He was more aggressive once our not so passive friend opened up a new way for air to flow for his brother."

"No."

"Yes, it was his brother, and he has a slight vengeance towards the two of you, him specifically."

"That's why he was targetted yesterday."

"Most probably. I do fear for him, he seems to be very naïve and susceptible to influence."

"Yeah , he isn't exactly 'free-thinking' as he was before."

"Mmm, I do see that."

"What was your initial intent here?"

"To provide a way to the factory since neither of you have a car and Nick wouldn't know where to go."

"That is surprisingly thoughtful. Can I ask why Finnick couldn't come?"

"Because he has an assignment. He's the best there is at what he does, but what he does isn't very nice."

"Well, that is a problem."

"Don't worry, he won't kill anyone." Judy looked up confused. "That didn't help ,did it?"

"No. Let's just get back to the others. Before Charlotte is suspicious ."

"Yes we would hate for Mrs. Wilde to know about our endeavours. Oh and I don't fear Nick, release him and I shall show a true feral." He unsheathed his cane slightly so that Judy sees but no-one else does . What he didn't know was that Nick heard the blade be pulled out.

"Nice." Judy responded remembering the sword behind the bed. Nick approached. "He may have heard everything."

"Now ,now, that seems improbable. But who knows." Nick stared at the cane, seeing if he would pull out the blade again. "What is he doing?"

"If I was to guess, protecting me."

"He knows." Fenrir was shocked , he didn't expect such a scenario, the blade was practically silent. He couldn't understand how that was heard. It was deeply unsettling to Victor. The two returned to the table , where Jacob and Charlotte were sitting and chatting like old friends. Jacobs exuberant personality melded well with Charlotte's jokey and sarcastic personality but in the end they had a lot in common.

"You finally decided to join us, been a while."

"Sorry had to tend to our new guest."

"It is fine I completely understand. And besides , there is still enough cake for all of us."

After another hour of jokes discussion and digression, the middle aged vixen had to leave. Once she left, Fenrir asked "Ready to go?"

Judy shook her head and went to get changed. Jacob finally asked a sensible question, shame it was so late. "How should I know I can trust you?"

"Because if you couldn't , you wouldn't have your gun, which I permitted and made sure was up to police standards, and you would be dead. Although Judy wouldn't be as easy to kill due to his newsworthy companion."

"How would I be dead?" Vic just pulled the blade up slightly , hoping not to provoke the wrath of a savage. Jacob noticed and gulped. "That was not what I expected you to do or say. The fact that you even have that here is scary, but that is massive."

"Of course, my stature is unusually large so my blade is unusually large as well." Judy returned.

"Glad to see you haven't killed each other. We can go now."

"Well time to get ready then. You already have your sidearm right? And yours is here." Fenrir points with his cane at a nicely wrapped black box. Judy went and unwrapped the box. "Don't worry about ammunition , we have plenty there and I hear you have already met our arms vendor. I have asked someone to try and assist with your firearm skills. His name is Damians." He started walking downstairs and started his car. Jacob followed shortly after. Judy looked at Nick for a few seconds.

"Do you think we can trust him?" Nick heard the question and followed the wolf. Judy followed the fox reluctantly afterwards. They all sat down in the car, Victor and Jacob sat at the front and Judy sat at the back with Nick.

Once the four reached the factory and the two active officers dragged their hoods over their head to hide their identity. But before they entered , the wolf stopped them, "Everyone who needs to, knows. So don't worry about hiding your identity." They walked in and continued through until they walked downstairs. "Damians, Zero's friends are here. They won't arrest you, don't worry." Fenrir turned to the two mammals here to practise and train. "Do exactly what he says, he is very good at using such firearms. Ignore him or disobey him and he is permitted to kick you out."

"Understood." Fenrir left the room after hearing the two say that.

"I assume you have your sidearms and those two stations have 10 magazines each, you can thank Zero for that." The two walked over to one of the booths . "Load your weapon but keep the safety on. Keep the barrel down range." The three of them all do the same with a similar sidearm. "Now position yourself like this." The lion held his pistol with a firm grip ,his feet were in a firm stance. "When you are ready, line up the sights and fire." Both shot their M9s , Judy was more accurate than Jacob but Jacob could handle the recoil better. Damians noticed this, "Hopps, you need a stronger grip and straighter arms. Pawson, you need to line up your sights to where you want to hit." The two corrected their stance , listening to the criticism given. Both improved dramatically.

"Oh this is so fun." Jacob said, while the two continued trying to fire accurately and controlling the firearm. After about 5 magazines each, they both improved dramatically to the point where the lion told them to fire a bit faster. The increase in firing speed , proved to cause no problems for the officers. By the end they were extremely well adept at using them. They weren't professional but were capable and accurate enough in usage. The final mag, they were instructed to fire as quickly as possible and see how it goes out. The lion was impressed with the results 7s 8s and 9s not marksman but good enough to pass usage. If you ever need more practise , you two can come here. Judy finally remembered about Nick who curled up and cowered in a corner scared of all the loud noises that emitted from everyone , including Judy. Judy walked up to him and hugged him to reassure the troubled fox. "It's okay, no-one will hurt you." she whispered so quietly that she barely heard it. But the fox heard it, he heard it well enough and leaned into Judy's arms. "Come on , let's go home."

"You two need a ride?" Damians asked, trying to be nice to the two.

Pawson responded with a yes but Judy declined. "I think Nick wants to stretch his legs. And I kinda started to enjoy it."

"Of course you did, Judy, you were riding him so much the last couple of days that I'm surprised you get off." He heard snickering from his left, "Not like that." Judy's ears turned red , understanding what the lion thought.

"I'll just start going home." Judy started to leave and headed outside. "Hey Nick, think you can reach home from here?" Nick barked then lowered his body. Judy climbed on again and rode on him all the way home. This place was very vertically designed and so Nick had a lot of fun jumping down and Judy kept yelling , whooping , and screaming the entire way down and laughed near the end. "We need to do that again sometime." When they finally reached their apartment, Nick crashed on the floor and fell asleep almost instantly. Judy did the same but on the bed. It was an enjoyable day for the bunny and the fox seemed happy enough. Tomorrow is another day.

A/N: This chapter was much longer than expected, but Nick's birthday where he was savage needed to be special somehow so a lot of details finally dropped and the two splitting paths are intertwining. Also a few important characters are introduced.

Next time we will be checking what Finnick was doing this day and seeing why he couldn't come.

In this chapter I have placed a reference that I'm curious if people will realise. If you do or think you do, tell me in a review.

Next chapter may take some time to be uploaded as I have a couple reports to write and a few family trips so personal life is intervening but spend time with your closest people, you'll never know when they're gone. Every second counts. Also I have another story on its way soon, very soon.

Anyways, until next chapter have a good time and enjoy whatever you do. Goodbye.