A/N: With everything on the line, a bunny makes a dangerous gamble.
This is another big one. I planned to split it into two chapters, but eventually decided that it works better as one. Enjoy.
Thanks to BeecroftA, xXSilenceXx, Singular Ash, Bloodfox22, Guest, J Shute, Deathclaw2010, InTheLionsDenOnDA, Mooni.95, and side-fish for reviewing!
Also, a special thanks to BeecroftA for editing this chapter.
Chapter 27: Bunny's Gambit
Nick stared straight ahead at the blue door in front of him. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, before knocking on the door two times. He waited a couple of seconds, then pushed the door open and waved his paw.
"Hi, Mom. It's me, Nick. Wait, before you close the door, please, just hear me out. I know it's been a long time, and I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me right now. You've always asked me to visit, and I know I never have, but there's good reasons for that." He paused for moment. "…Okay, I thought I had good reasons. Anyway, there's a lot that's been going on in my life, and I thought you should…I mean, I wanted you to know about it. Just give me ten minutes. Ten minutes, and I'll tell you everything. What do you say?" Nick smiled.
There was no answer.
A couple of seconds later, the fox reflection in the oversized toilet bowl in front of him slumped his shoulders, his smile disappearing. Nick sighed, rubbing the back of his head. The smile was supposed to have been genuine, but it ended up looking more sheepish than sincere. He stood up straight again, staring into the calm water in the bowl.
"Hey, mom! Bet you weren't expecting to see me today, huh? Before you ask, no, this isn't a costume. It's a real police officer uniform. I'm a cop now! Look, here's my badge and everything!"
There was another moment of awkward silence, before Nick pressed his paws over his eyes with a groan. That wasn't right either. In fact, that was even worse than his first attempt.
"Real smooth, Wilde. You can't even figure out what to say to a toilet bowl," Nick mumbled to himself, feeling like a complete idiot.
It had already been a month since he had resolved to see his mom. He'd had plenty of time since then to think about what he was going to say once he showed up at her front door. But even after so long, he still hadn't found a speech he was satisfied with. It was ironic; Nick had always prided himself on his silver tongue, his gift of the gab, his ability to talk his way through any situation. But right now, he couldn't come up with a simple speech to save his life.
This shouldn't be hard. So why is it?
The question echoed in his head, even though deep down, he already knew the answer. He'd come up with hundreds of sales pitches in his lifelong career of hustling—some so elaborate that it could make his own head spin—but right now, they were all useless. Because for the first time in forever, he wasn't trying to lie or deceive anyone. He was just trying to tell the truth.
Turning away from the toilet bowl, he peeked out of the stall. Thankfully, the entire bathroom was still empty. Nick headed towards the sinks, turning the tap on and splashing some cool water over his face. A clearer reflection of himself stared back through the mirror in front of him. Water still dripping from his fur, he tried to smile sincerely once more. But it was still no good; now he looked like a soaked fox kit begging pitifully to get out of the rain.
Maybe I should just start with 'I'm sorry'. At least that might stop her from slamming the door in my face…he thought to himself with a sigh.
He considered doing another round of practice here, but the sinks were right next to the bathroom entrance, and last thing he needed was someone barging in mid-speech—or worse, eavesdropping from outside. He shook his head to get the excess water out, before stepping out of the bathroom and into the open-air hallway. His fur was instantly bathed in the warm light of the setting sun. The hallway was mostly empty right now; there were only a couple of rhinos chatting with each other at the far end. He walked directly opposite and leaned his arms over the hallway railings, taking in the view of the entire courtyard below. Recruits walked idly by; some were chatting with each other, others were having a friendly game of football, and a few were sitting on the benches, on their phones or reading a book.
"Hey Nick!"
Nick turned at the sound of his name being called. A tiger dressed in a simple t-shirt and shorts ran over, his face brimming with excitement.
So that's where you were!" Hobbs exclaimed. "Hurry up, we've got to get back to the bunk!"
"The bunk?" Nick raised an eyebrow. "What's the big rush?"
"The results are in! We're going to open them together. Everyone else is already there. C'mon, let's go!"
"Our exam results? Already?" Nick replied, surprised. "That's a surprising level of competence from the ZPA. I didn't think they'd be done grading our exams till next year at least." Nick walked alongside the tiger back down the hallway towards their bunk.
"Hah! That's a good one. Don't let Friedkin hear that though." Hobbs grinned.
A few seconds later, the two stepped past the doors to their bunk. The remaining six mammals—including Robbie—were currently standing around Lothar's bed in the centre of the room. The black bear was seated on his bed, holding a large brown manila envelope.
"Hey look, the fox of the hour has arrived! Just in the Nick of time, too." Lenny the leopard grinned, waving his paw flamboyantly.
"Alright, everyone's here. Shall we?" Hobbs motioned to Lothar.
Lothar nodded, tearing the flap of the envelope open and pulling out eight pieces of paper. It seemed that there was a piece of paper for each mammal in the bunk. Lothar glanced at the names written at the top of each piece of paper and began to hand them out accordingly. A silence fell around the entire bunk as everyone stared at their own papers, looking at their scores.
Nick felt his heart racing. He was holding his own piece of paper in his paws, but he wasn't looking at it. Instead, he glanced around at everyone else, focusing on their expressions and looking for a hint as to how they did. He didn't have to wait long. One by one, he noticed their expressions begin to change. All around, eyes began to widen, paws began to tremble, and mouths began to curl upwards. Blake was the first to speak.
"I passed!" The wolf exclaimed, his paws shooting into the air excitedly.
"So did I!" The other wolf—Asher—looked up, his eyes sparkling.
"Goddamn I barely made it! Woo!" Lenny waved his paper in front of everyone else. "Exact passing score for three of the tests!"
He turned to Hames the lynx, who nodded with a smile. The two felines gave each other high fives, before Hobbs grabbed them both and put them into a playful headlock, tousling their head fur with a hearty laugh.
"Nicely done, Lenny!" Hobbs cheered.
"Did ya make it too, big guy?" Lenny asked.
"I did! I can't believe I got a seventy-four in Police Codes! I was pretty much guessing for half the paper." Hobbs grinned sheepishly. "Lothar?"
The black bear, normally the most stoic of the bunch, slowly cracked a smile and gave a wordless thumbs up. Blake and Asher thumped their chests in affirmation.
"What about you, Robbie?" Hobbs asked.
The brown bunny looked up at the rest of the significantly larger mammals around him, before turning his result slip over to show them. Nick glanced at Robbie's scores. They were all in the mid-seventies and eighties.
"You did it, Flatfoot!" Nick slapped the bunny on his back. "Great scores, too!"
"I mean, it's only the written exams…" Robbie said softly.
"Still counts!" Hobbs extended a fist towards Robbie, which after a moment of hesitation, the bunny bumped with his own much smaller paw.
"What about you, Nick? You haven't looked at yours yet. Come on, don't leave us hanging!" Hames motioned towards the piece of paper in Nick's paws. All of a sudden, there were more than a dozen expectant eyes on him. The fox quickly raised his paws in surrender.
"Alright alright. I'm turning it over now…but I'm not expecting much. I'm just hoping to pass."
He turned the paper over, his eyes scanning the printed ink from top to bottom. Like the others, his report card's layout was simple: his name was printed in the top left-hand corner, and in the middle of the paper was a list of all the written and physical exams, with the corresponding scores right beside them. Everybody leaned closer.
The room fell completely silent for a few seconds.
Nick saw the numbers, but none of them made sense in his head at all. There must have been an error. There had to be. There was no way those numbers could all possibly have been correct. He stood there completely dumbfounded for what seemed like forever, until a voice beside him finally broke the silence in the room.
"Nick…" Asher said with a whisper. "You got over ninety percent."
"…For every test." Blake finished.
Nick looked up slowly from the piece of paper; everyone else looked to be just as bewildered as he was. Nick's eyes darted around, frantically looking for signs of imaginary faceless vixens or arm-biting fennec foxes. But there were none. This wasn't a dream. This was real. And as that realisation began to set in, a flurry of shouts and cheers erupted from all around him; collective disbelief rapidly turned to bubbling excitement.
"Oh my god! All of them?!"
"It's true! Look! Civilian Communication, the Four-stage Obstacle Course, even Criminal Apprehension!"
"Nick, you got a perfect score for the Police Codes test! How did you even do that?!"
"Those must be some of the highest scores in the entire unit!"
"Some of? They're definitely the highest! Goddamn!"
There were so many questions and exclamations being fired all at once that Nick could barely keep up with them. Celebratory punches and shoves were thrown at him from all sides; he was literally being pinballed around the circle of mammals. He was completely disoriented, so much so that he didn't even notice that Hobbs had grabbed him by the waist and hoisted him up into the air. When the feeling of weightlessness finally hit him, Nick quickly tried to wriggle away, but by then, it was too late.
"Wait wait wait Hobbs, Hobbs what are you doiiiiiinnggg!"
Nick yelped as he found himself being thrown upwards. His arms scrambled to grab something, but all he clutched was thin air. As his body fell back to earth, a pair of strong tiger paws caught him. And then promptly tossed him into the air again. Everyone else around him began to laugh. Nick's blood ran cold for a moment, but the feeling quickly dissipated when he realised that they weren't laughing at him; They were laughing with him.
It was such a foreign feeling to Nick. But as odd as it was, it was strangely infectious. With every toss in the air, Nick felt himself smiling more and more, until finally, he found himself laughing in genuine, unbridled joy. They were celebrating his achievement. His victory. And what a victory it was.
Nick's heart was swelling in ways he never thought possible. And for a brief moment mid-flight, he managed to lock eyes with Robbie. Although the bunny didn't say a word, he had a proud smile on his face. It was a smile that said: 'I knew you could do it, Nick'.
Thanks, Flatfoot. Nick smiled back.
Eventually Hobbs let him down to the ground. As Nick stumbled a little to balance himself, he felt a leopard's arm wrap around his shoulder. The arm belonged to Lenny, who had a big grin plastered over his face.
"Well now, Mister 'I'm-just-hoping-to-pass', considering the scores you have, you know what comes now, don't you?"
Nick chuckled coolly in response, rolling his eyes dramatically while folding his arms. He glanced outside the room for a moment to make sure no one else was passing by the bunk, before leaning in towards the leopard.
"Let me guess…a big plate of garlic butter shrimp scampi for you, a cheese and tuna croissant for Lothar, fish tacos for Hobbs, shrimp fried rice for Hames, and a truffle mushroom pizza for the wolfy pair?" he whispered softly.
"You see, he really does remember everything! Y'all were wondering how he aced the police codes exam? That's how!" Lenny slapped his knee with a guffaw, before lowering his voice. "I don't suppose your little magic food maestro can make it with the goods on short notice, can he?"
"Unfortunately, no. The Kong said that he's got another big delivery to make today, so he's not available," Nick replied.
"Damn, not even for a big occasion like this? How about if you offer to tip him real nicely?" Lenny grinned.
"Now now, Lenny, let's not push it. Nick's already doing us a huge favour as it is. We owe you for the extra meals, buddy." Hobbs gave Nick a big thumbs up.
Nick couldn't help but smile in return. He could still barely believe he'd shared such a dangerous secret with them, especially after what he'd told Robbie before about not trusting others so easily. But after the rest of the bunk had rallied to defend him against the theft accusation from Frank, he decided that he was going to pay them back in the best way he knew how. And so, a couple of nights after that incident, on a night where the dinner had been particularly bad, he'd led them all out on a group walk towards the front gate under the pretext of having a group study session in a special place. He'd brought them up to his usual hiding spot with Robbie and introduced them to the world of after-dinner dinner, courtesy of the Kong.
He'd expected them to be upset—or at the very least, annoyed—about him having hidden it for so long, but none of them were mad at all in the slightest. Maybe it was just because they were famished, but after wolfing down the assortment of food that he'd ordered, they were nothing but grateful to him. It was a huge gamble that never would have entertained even a month ago, but now, here he was.
"I'll see if I can pencil a big delivery for tomorrow," Nick replied. "But we should go three at a time, otherwise people might get suspicious."
"Relax. No one has ever called you out on it before other than Frank, right? And he's not here anymore—good riddance to him—so you don't need to worry about that." Lenny shrugged. "It's your big win, so we should be celebrating together. We can just go with the same excuse that you always tell us to go with. We'll just grab our textbooks and pretend to be memorizing police codes or something."
Hames shook his head. "Won't work this time. We've already passed all our exams, remember?"
"Technically, not all of us," Nick remarked. All at once, everybody else turned to look at the smallest mammal in the room. The brown bunny's ears shot up instantly from the sudden attention.
"Oh yeah. I guess you could all say that you're helping to train me for my makeup exams, right?" Robbie offered.
"Yup." Nick nodded, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "It shouldn't be too risky; we've only ever gone as a full group once, and that was over a month ago. If anyone asks tomorrow, we're just going for an 'evening jog' to keep Flatfoot here fit for next week. As long as we all stick to the script, nobody should question us."
"It's no wonder you and Robbie were able to get away with it for so long. You really are a sly fox, Nick. And I mean that in the best way possible. Glad you're on our side." Asher punched Nick's arm playfully.
"You should have done this earlier. We've been missing out on so much good grub!" Lenny grinned.
"C'mon, guys. It should be pretty obvious why he wouldn't do that." Hobbs chuckled, before turning to Nick. "But really, thanks for trusting us with this."
"It's the least I could do, after what all of you did for me and Flatfoot."
"Speaking of makeup exams…" Hobbs glanced over at Robbie. "How's the arm, Bud? Will you be okay for next week?"
"Don't worry, Hobbs. I've got it all covered. I'll be fine." Robbie smiled. There was still some hesitation in the bunny's voice, but he was definitely a lot more confident than when Nick first met him a few months ago.
He's really come a long way.
"So, you ready to prove once and for all that you're good enough to be the second bunny on the force?" Nick grinned at him.
Robbie smiled sheepishly. "I wouldn't go so far as to say that…"
"Well, whatever happens, we're behind you all the way." Hobbs took a step forward, placing a paw on the bunny's head.
"So are the rest of us. We're with you, Robbie," Hames said, closing his fist and gently bumping it over Robbie's chest. The rest of the mammals in the room nodded in affirmation. Robbie looked down slightly, his eyes closing slightly for a moment before he looked back up.
"…Thanks, guys," the bunny whispered.
"You know…" Blake suddenly spoke up. "I just wanna say, you guys are great. You really are the best bunkmates I could have ever asked for. I'm proud to have come this far with all of you."
"Likewise." Asher thumped his chest a couple of times, before standing and moving to the centre of the room. "I know Blake's the only other wolf here, but to me, all of you are already honorary pack members." He placed an arm around Blake's shoulder. The two wolves nodded together in understanding, before looking expectantly at the rest of the mammals in the room.
"Aww, sentimental as always, Blake. You're gonna make me tear up here." Lenny rolled his eyes, stepping into the circle and placing an arm around him. "C'mon, everyone, let's go! Group hug! Quickly, before our sappy sentimental wolf duo here actually start a howl."
"Uhh…I don't know if I can…eep!" Robbie squeaked as Lothar picked him up and placed the small bunny up onto his shoulders, before joining the circle beside Hobbs. Robbie chuckled abashedly for a moment, before placing a single paw on the bear and tiger's shoulder respectively.
"Hey Nick, why are you still standing there? Get over here!" Lenny motioned Nick over with his head.
But for some reason, Nick couldn't find it in himself to move. He just stared blankly at the group of mammals in front of him. There was something so familiar about this whole situation, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. But as everyone turned to look at him expectantly, it suddenly hit him like a truck.
"…I was going to fit in. Even if I was the only predator in the troop. The only fox."
The memory of that fateful night flooded his mind all at once. It had been more than two decades now, but Nick could still feel everything as if it had just happened. The anticipation as he put on the uniform; the pride when he said the oath…and all the pain and despair that followed right after.
But this time, things were different. Nick hadn't even thought about it until now, but he realised that after spending the last few months with the larger mammals in front of him, he had grown to regard them as more than just acquaintances, or even bunkmates. He had come to accept them as…friends. And they had accepted him as he was, fox and all.
"I was going to be part of a pack."
Nick felt a warm feeling flowing through his heart. This was something that he'd always wanted, ever since he was a kit.
"Nick? You okay?" Asher asked.
There was a welling of pride from within him, along with a growing smile on his face.
"Yeah, I am."
His legs felt almost weightless as he stepped towards the circle, in the last spot between Hobbs and Asher. His arms went behind the pair, and as the circle moved in closer, the wolf pair began to howl. There was a single howl, and then another from next door, and another from upstairs…and soon the entire building had erupted in a chorus of howls.
"Welp, too late. Timberwolves…" Lenny sighed, shaking his head.
"That's what you get for even mentioning it." Nick grinned. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be done before midnight. Otherwise they turn into pumpkins or something, I hear."
The rest of the circle laughed heartily. As Lenny tried to tickle Blake and Asher to get them to stop howling, Nick gazed around the circle slowly, watching everyone else around him smile, grin, and enjoy themselves to their heart's content. In that moment, he felt a sense of fulfilment that he never thought he would feel again after what happened with the Junior Ranger Scouts. After so long, one of his dreams was finally coming true.
He was almost there.
The rest of the week was catered for written examination retests, which meant that everyone in Nick's bunk spent the rest of their week relaxing: sleeping in their beds, playing card games, and watching movies on their phones. Friday evening came soon enough, and as the sun began to set in the horizon, a stream of bodies could poured out of the front gates of the academy grounds. Cadets, instructors, and admin staff alike chatted jubilantly with one other and said their goodbyes as everyone headed home for the weekend.
Almost everyone.
In one of the academy buildings, the lights in one room were still on. Inside a large changing room, a single red fox walked across the empty floor, sitting down on a wooden bench and grabbing a pair of synthetic leather gloves from beside him. The sound of Velcro straps being undone reverberated across the expansive space, accompanied by the idle hum of the fluorescent lights overhead.
"…Are you sure about this?" Nick finally spoke up.
A short distance away, a certain brown bunny stood, leaning against the lockers with his paws in his pockets. His ears perked up at the sound of Nick's voice, and he looked over at him. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean, Flatfoot." Nick pulled on the other glove. "I'm talking about you spectating the match. It's a risk; an unnecessary one, I might add. In fact, you being here is already incredibly risky in itself; you of all people should know how your dear sister loves to pop in at the most unexpected of moments. Heck, she could be hiding in one of the lockers here and waiting to spring out and catch you red-pawed." Nick glanced around the room in dramatic fashion.
For once, Robbie didn't take the bait. The bunny smiled gently, his back still leaning casually against the locker door.
"…Heh, not bad. You're really getting better at the whole 'not freaking out about your sister' thing." Nick smirked.
"Thanks, Nick. I'll be fine, really. I know how to keep myself hidden. She'll be too focused on the fight to notice anyone watching. Besides, how can I pass up on the opportunity to see my sister taken down in person?" Robbie's smile grew into a grin.
"You have a concerning amount of faith in me, for which I cannot fathom why." Nick shook his head. "I'm not guaranteed to win, you know. And just for your info, other than the sparring sessions here, I've never actually been in a fight before."
"Really? Not even when you were hustling people?" Robbie blinked in surprise.
"Nope. Always ran. It's never a good idea to pick a fight if you can help it, Flatfoot. Better to live a coward than die a hero, I say. Though I'm sure your sister would disagree." Nick shook his head. "I don't know how many real fights she's been in, but knowing her, I'm sure it's more than a few. She's not going to be easy to beat."
"Right…" Robbie thought to himself for a moment. "Not trying to jinx you or anything, but…what if you don't win?"
Nick glanced upwards, staring wordlessly at the ceiling for a few seconds before looking back down.
"Y'know, Flatfoot, I've been thinking about that."
"You…have?"
"Yeah. You asked me before about what I thought your sister would ask me to do if she won the fight. But I never did give you my answer, did I?"
Robbie hesitated, before shaking his head. Nick flexed his paws inside his gloves, adjusting them slightly.
"Some time before I joined the academy, she found an old picture of me and my mom, and I ended up telling her the same story I told you about my past. Of course, being the big emotional bunny that she is, she wanted me to patch things up with my mom. Even though I told her repeatedly to drop the issue. She even tried to steal my mom's number from my phone. Unsuccessfully, of course."
"She did that?!" Robbie exclaimed. "Well, I guess that sounds a lot like something she would do…" he mumbled.
"Without question. And we both know that she doesn't give up that easily. It's been months now, but I know she hasn't given up trying to find my mom. And I'm almost a hundred percent sure that she challenged me to this fight because she wants to use her prize to try and force me to see my mom, or something to that effect."
"I…see." Robbie said slowly. The bunny's face was unflinching, but there was a slight hesitation in his voice that Nick couldn't quite decipher. "Do you think Judy suspects that you know?"
"Who knows? Then again, I have a feeling that she doesn't really care either way." Nick laughed. "But since I've already made my decision, I don't have anything to worry about. Whether I win or lose, it won't matter."
Robbie paused. "What do you mean?"
"It means that the outcome is going to be the same, Flatfoot. My mom's going to find out about me becoming an officer eventually. So rather than let her find out that way, I figure that I might as well beat her to the punch. I'm going to go straight to her house after the graduation ceremony. I'm going to knock on her door, apologise, and tell her everything."
"Nick, you…" Robbie's eyes widened. He looked straight at Nick with his mouth hanging open slightly. The sight of the bunny's discombobulated face was enough to give Nick a good chuckle. He stood up now, turning away from Robbie and looking into the distance, not wanting to look the bunny in the eye.
"Yes, Flatfoot, you heard me right. You told me before that you believed my mom would understand why I ran away. But I still don't believe you. Even though I've come this far, it doesn't make up for everything that I've done. And even if I go to see her, there's a good chance that she'll still be mad at me. But now…I'm ready for that."
Nick paused, his paws clenching tightly for a moment before he relaxed them again.
"No matter how sorry I am, no matter how much I want to make things right with her, I know that she may never forgive me for what I've put her through. But this isn't about me. This is about her. She deserves to know the truth. And afterwards…even if she hates my guts and never wants to see me again, that's okay." He closed his eyes. "…I have nothing to lose."
There was a silence that seemed to echo around the room for what seemed like an eternity. Nick opened his eyes and glanced over his shoulder. The bunny seemed completely lost for words, which was a reaction that Nick didn't quite expect. He had expected a more elated response from him. But before he could say anything more, he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. It was a message from Judy, with only two words written.
"I'm here."
Nick took a deep breath and punched his gloved fists together.
"It's time. Her eyes will be on me, but keep yourself hidden, 'kay? And make sure those radar dishes of yours aren't sticking out from behind the benches."
Robbie nodded, still looking a little dazed. Nick puffed out his chest, grabbing his protective headguard from the bench beside him as he stepped out of the locker room and headed towards the boxing ring. Unlike the waiting room, the tunnel was completely unlit, which meant that it was a dark, solitary walk towards the ring.
With each footstep that echoed off the walls and the ceiling, Nick felt his heart begin to beat a little faster. This was it. After months of waiting, the fight had finally arrived. Realistically, he knew that he had no reason to be nervous, since the outcome was going to be the same whether he won or lost. But despite that, he still wanted to win. This wasn't him trying to show that he was better than her. No, that wasn't it. He wanted to deny Judy the satisfaction of being right. This was about proving to her—and more importantly, himself—that he could do what he'd told her all those months ago. To fix things himself, his own way. He wasn't going to let her drag him to his mom's place. He was going to beat her, and then bring her to his mom's house himself.
I can already imagine the look on her face when I do that…Nick grinned.
Light began to fill his eyes once more. He stepped out of the hallway and into the arena, noticing immediately that the only lights that were on were those directly above the ring. And standing right under the spotlight in the centre of the ring was a single grey bunny, her arms folded in an imposing fashion. The moment she saw him, a confident smile began to grow on her face. She was already dressed for the fight, in a training vest and pants, with her light blue protective headguard already firmly tightened over her head.
"Ooh, very dramatic setup. The dimmed lights are a nice touch." Nick remarked, climbing into the ring. "Good to see you, Carrots. I was worried you weren't going to show up."
"That's my line, Nick." Judy shot back. "I was beginning to think I was going to stand in an empty ring all night. What took you so long?"
"Oh, I was just a little preoccupied. You know, making life changing decisions and all that," Nick replied coyly.
"Life changing decisions? So…you've decided to surrender?" Judy asked hopefully.
"Nope. But nice try, Carrots. With such a lovely prize on the line, there's no way I could turn down a challenge like this. You sure you still want to go ahead with this? Last chance for you to give up before we start. Otherwise, I can't promise that your defeat won't be completely humiliating."
"You sure talk big for someone who only learned how to fight in the last few months." Judy fired back. "And for the record, you're the one who started this whole thing by thinking it would be easy to muzzle me. If you're trying to throw me off my game, you're going to have to try harder than that. I'm not backing out."
"Heh, that's what I thought," Nick replied, putting his headguard on and tightening the straps around his chin.
As he did so, he noticed something in his peripheral vision; something small and brown was scurrying around the benches just outside the ring behind Judy. Nick saw Robbie crouching down low, hiding himself right behind where Judy had placed her bag.
Playing a dangerous game there, Flatfoot…Nick thought. There were plenty of places to hide all around the spectator benches, so it was a little odd that Robbie would choose to hide right next to the bag of the bunny he was trying desperately to avoid.
"I hope you're ready to eat your words, Nick." Judy declared confidently, snapping him out of his thoughts. She unfolded her arms and moved her right foot behind her left, raising both her paws in a fighting stance.
Nick refocused on the grey bunny in front of him, extending a single open-faced paw towards her as the corner of his mouth curled up into a smirk.
"We'll see about that. Whenever you're ready, Carrots."
"Alright, we'll start on my count. Ten…nine…" Judy began counting down. Nick listened to the numbers tick down one by one, closing his eyes and exhaling softly.
All I have to do is to knock her to the ground and pin her down. Take out her legs and she's done, he thought. A simple enough plan, considering he had the natural size and weight advantage. But as he'd learned from practicing with Robbie, things likely weren't going to be that simple. Rabbits were naturally fast and agile mammals, and Judy was an exceptionally well-trained rabbit. She was definitely stronger than the average one, too—she wouldn't have been able to take down a rhino otherwise.
"Three…two…"
Nick wasn't going to underestimate her. He knew that given the opportunity, the nimble bunny would be able to outmanoeuvre and run circles around him.
"One…"
He wasn't going to give her that chance.
"Go!"
Nick's eyes shot open. Before Judy even finished saying the word, Nick burst into a full sprint towards her, leaping at her with his paws outstretched. Judy clearly didn't expect him to have made the first move, evident by her rapidly widening eyes. She barely managed to bring her arms up in time as Nick threw a left hook at her face, followed by a right jab. She blocked the first blow, but she wasn't able to bring her arms up in time to block the second one. Nick's fist managed to connect with her shoulder, sending her stumbling backwards.
Feeling months of training paying off, he rushed in up close, throwing a flurry of punches and kicks, all of which Judy blocked—just barely. He obviously wasn't trying to hurt her, but he still needed to use force if he wanted to overpower a bunny as tenacious as her.
Judy began to raise her right leg for a kick, but Nick saw it and immediately thrusted his right foot to kick it back down. Judy stumbled backwards, clearly not expecting the counter kick from him. She threw a right punch, but Nick dodged by taking a step backwards. He grabbed Judy's wrist and yanked her straight up, lifting her off the ground in the same way that he did to Robbie in one of their sparring sessions. As expected, Judy tried her best to struggle free—to no avail—before she grabbed hold of Nick's wrist with her paw and drew her leg back.
Nick wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. Before she had the chance to kick him in the chest, Nick pulled his left leg back, and in one swift motion, he did a half spin with Judy still hanging from his paw, dragging the helpless bunny through the air before tossing her straight towards the ground. She landed on the floor with an audible thump, but she was quick to roll over and bounce back to her feet. She did look visibly frustrated, however.
Time to pile on the pressure.
He closed the distance again, forcing the bunny to block blow after blow from his paws and his legs. He could feel her guard weakening with every hit, which was exactly what he was hoping for. Judy was able to get in a few decent strikes of her own, but there wasn't enough momentum in them, and Nick was able to either block them or shrug them off without much issue.
"How's that, Carrots? Had enough yet?" Nick taunted between blows.
"You…haven't won yet…Nick!" Judy managed, ducking as his paw barely grazed her ears.
"Oh really? Because as far as I can see, I've already—oh my god PIANO!" Nick exclaimed, pointing right behind her. The sudden exclamation caused her to turn for a split second, which gave Nick enough time to execute the most unorthodox move he had in his arsenal: he spun his body around, making it look like he was aiming a spinning kick at her head. Despite the brief distraction, Judy was still sharp enough to raise her arms up to her face to shield the blow. But instead of using his foot, Nick smacked her straight across the face with his bushy tail.
Although Nick's tail was too soft to hurt, it was thick and fluffy enough to disorient the bunny, obscuring her vision and tickling her nose at the same time. The move worked like a charm; she was distracted enough that she couldn't see the follow-up kick that Nick delivered right to her unprotected stomach. She flew backwards a short distance away and crashed onto the ground, tumbling over a couple of times before finally coming to a stop. She groaned audibly, struggling to get back up.
Nick didn't intend to give her the chance to recover; he immediately pounced on her like his ancestors would have thousands of years ago. He was able to grab her left leg before she could scramble away. But before he could pin her other leg down, Judy thrust her closed fist straight at his face. He had no choice but to catch it with his paw, which gave her enough time to twist her body enough to kick him away.
Having been freed from Nick's grip, Judy scuttled backwards with her rear still on the floor, putting some distance between them. She panted heavily, holding a paw to her stomach. In the back of his head, Nick knew that if he had used his full force, she probably wouldn't have been able to stand right now. But obviously, he wasn't going to go that far.
"C…cheap trick, Nick." Judy pushed herself to her feet shakily.
"It's within the rules, Carrots. There wasn't anything about not using my tail. I'm just working with what I have." Nick took a couple of confident steps towards the bunny. "I think we've both seen enough to call the match, don't you think?"
Judy bit her lip. She slowly closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, looking like she was thinking about something deeply. There was something on her mind for sure, but Nick couldn't figure out what it was. Was she thinking about throwing in the towel?
A few seconds later, her eyes shot back open. The air surrounding Judy suddenly shifted; there was now a fiery intensity in her eyes that Nick hadn't seen before. It wasn't just determination. There was something else there; a deep, desperate hunger that wanted—no, demanded—her to win.
"…Carrots?" Nick asked.
There was no reply. Still completely silent, Judy bent her knees and raised her fists. But this time, instead of resuming her original fighting stance, she leaned down forward even further, placing both her paws on the ground in front of her feet. She arched her back slightly, never taking her eyes off Nick's. Her feet twitched.
Here she comes…!
In an instant, Judy exploded off the ground, going from running on two legs to all fours in a feral sprint towards him. Nick barely had time to react as the savage bunny charged at him. Within two seconds, she got within striking distance and launched herself straight towards him, feet first.
So fast! Nick quickly ducked to the left to get out of the way of the incoming bunny missile. But that seemed to be exactly what she'd wanted, because she landed right on one of the boxing ring perimeter ropes, rebounding straight back towards Nick's midsection. He didn't have enough time to dodge again, and he was only barely able to raise his forearms and brace himself just as Judy's feet connected with them. The force of the impact went straight through his forearm muscles, shooting through the rest of his body all the way to the tip of his tail. Despite keeping his body firmly planted to the ground, Judy's kick sent Nick sliding across the boxing ring floor. He barely managed to steady himself before he could fall over.
There was barely any time to think. In a flash, Judy was on him again, jumping side to side and throwing kick after kick at him. Nick matched her fleet-footed steps, aiming his arms down low to parry her powerful kicks. Judy attempted to sweep him with her leg repeatedly, coming very close several times. The flow of the battle had shifted abruptly, and now Nick was completely on the defensive.
What's going on? Nick groaned, flicking his wrists to shake off the pain. I've never seen her like this before…
Judy threw a side kick at him. Nick quickly lifted his own knee, bringing his leg up to block the blow, before extending the same leg to deliver a counter kick. However, Judy hopped back just out of range of his foot. While his leg was still fully extended, she grabbed his ankle with both of her paws.
Uh oh.
With the same steely look in her eyes, Judy jumped backwards, pulling Nick's leg along with her as far as she could. Nick fell forward, his body forced to do a full split. He wasn't the most flexible of foxes—especially not at his age—and he definitely hadn't trained to be a ballet dancer. His legs stretched further than they ever had in years, and he let out a less-than-masculine squeal. His paws shot out instinctively to push himself onto his side, and he barely mustered enough power to kick Judy off his leg.
There was a burning sensation in his thighs. Despite that, Nick managed to push himself onto his knees. As much as he wanted to stand, his hips and his hamstrings weren't allowing him to just yet. And Judy seemed to realise that too, because she rushed in towards him again, seeming intent on knocking him to the ground once and for all. Nick wasn't going to go down that easy though; he had lost most of his height advantage and his mobility, but his upper body was still working just fine. He traded a few more blows with her, trying to buy enough time for him to get back on his feet.
Nick threw another punch with his right fist, which Judy swiftly ducked under to avoid. She immediately grabbed the underside of his right wrist, yanking him towards her and using the momentum to throw a side kick towards his torso. Desperation beginning to overtake him, he quickly used his left elbow and thrusted it downwards to block the kick. He didn't see exactly what happened next, but he felt his elbow connecting with her leg. He immediately cupped his left paw and swung it outwards, trying to push her away.
"Ngaah!"
He heard her scream in pain, but by then it was too late. As his eyes travelled upwards, he saw the back of his left paw smack her across her face. Thankfully, she was wearing a headguard, but Nick's paw was still strong enough to knock her away from him. She collapsed in a heap on the ground, still groaning loudly. As she rolled over onto her side, Nick saw that her eyes were squeezed shut, and she was clutching her right leg in the exact spot where she'd injured it back at the Natural History Museum.
Oh no. No no no. "Carrots…!" Nick wheezed out, still feeling out of breath from the beating he'd taken moments ago. He forced himself to his feet, hobbling over to her just close enough before he collapsed onto his knees again. He reached out a paw towards her and placed it on her left arm. Upon feeling his paw on her, Judy's eyes shot wide open, filled with desperation and fear.
"N-no!" Judy yelled out. With the last of her strength, she twisted her body and shot her left leg straight at Nick's face.
That was the last thing he saw before his world went black.
"…hear me…Nick…please…"
Everything was dark. It took a few seconds for Nick to realise that he was still breathing. For a moment, he forgot where he was and what was going on, but as the faint voice in the back of his head grew louder, it all came back to him. He opened his eyes, feeling the world slowly coming back into focus. He found himself looking straight into a pair of worried purple eyes.
"Nick! Oh thank god, Nick, you're okay!" Judy hugged him. "I'm so sorry!"
"Ugh…" Nick opened his mouth to speak, but doing that was enough to send a dull throb through his jaw. He closed his mouth, whispering softly. "What happened…?"
"I was an idiot, that's what happened," Judy replied mournfully. "I didn't realise that you were just checking whether I was okay. I thought you were still fighting; I felt your paw on my arm, I panicked, and…" she trailed off.
"Ngh…that explains the pain in my jaw. How long was I out for?"
"About seven seconds."
"Only seven seconds? I feel like I've been in a coma for years." Nick pushed himself into a sitting position. "Jeez, Carrots, I would have worn full body armour if I knew how hard you were going to hit me. I'm not missing any teeth, am I?" he pulled his headguard and gloves off, tossing them both aside before rubbing his jaw gingerly.
"I'm sorry, Nick…this is all my fault. I should never have let myself get carried away like that. I really wanted to win, but not like this," Judy's shoulders slumped, her ears still pressed against the back of her head. "…I don't deserve to win. Not after what I did to you. You win this fight; just let me know what you want to use your win for."
Nick gazed at the forlorn bunny in front of him. She looked like the guilt was eating her from the inside out. His face softened, and despite the pain in his jaw, he was able to manage a small smile. Even with so much on the line for her, she was willing to give it all up because she cared for him.
If this really means that much to you…
"Hang on, Carrots. That last hit may not have been legal, but everything up to then was. My thighs can attest to that." Nick rubbed the back of his leg. "I was just lucky enough to hit your sore spot with my elbow. If not for that, who knows how the rest of the fight would have turned out. Saying that you lost wouldn't be fair to you, now would it?"
"Well, you held back when you kicked me after doing your little tail feint, too. If you were serious about hurting me, that single hit probably would have floored me," Judy retorted.
"Fair enough. We obviously weren't trying to hurt each other. But that probably means we'll never know who would win in a real fight to the death, huh?"
"No, I guess not. And I hope we never have to find out," Judy mumbled.
"Likewise. But for today, how about we call it even?" Nick offered.
"You mean, no one wins?" Judy looked at him, not seeming to understand where he was going with this.
"That's one way of looking at it. I was thinking more along the lines of both of us winning. Meaning each of us gets one free wish. How does that sound to you?" Nick asked. It took Judy a moment to process just what that meant, but once it did, he saw her eyes light up—even though she quickly tried to hide it and play it off coolly.
"Sure, I guess that sounds reasonable." She nodded.
It was incredibly tempting to call her out on it right there and then, but Nick resisted the urge to do so. He would save that for another time.
"Fantastic. But whatever you want me to do will have to wait till I can move again…" Nick groaned, pushing himself to his feet with some difficulty.
"Right…" Judy winced, helping him up. "We should go to a doctor, have your legs and your jaw checked out."
"It's fine," Nick waved her off. "Let's just go home. You can help me ice my jaw once we're back. Let me grab my things from my bunk, and then we can go. Can you call a cab? I'm not putting myself through public transportation like this."
"Of course. Let me help you back to your bunk first, and then I'll call the cab."
"No no, I'll be fine. Just wait at the front gate for me, Carrots. I won't take long." Nick waved her off, casually glancing over to where Judy's bag was sitting. Thankfully, there were no signs of a brown bunny being there; it seemed that Robbie had already left.
Judy seemed a little hesitant to let him go on his own, but she eventually acquiesced, heading back to where her bag was sitting. Nick slipped out of the boxing ring and trudged his way back towards his bunk, opening and closing his jaw several times. Thankfully, none of his teeth appeared to be broken or loose. He was glad he had been wearing his headguard. Although, from the way that his face still smarted, he was probably going to be more than a little sore in the morning.
Well, at least I got what I wanted…
Thankfully, the building that the boxing ring was in was only a stone's throw from the bunks. Climbing up the stairs took a bit of effort, but Nick eventually made it back to his own bunk. He knocked on the door a couple of times before pushing it open gently, noticing that all the lights inside were off.
"Flatfoot? You here? Don't worry, I'm alone."
Upon hearing Nick's voice, a pair of brown ears poked up from behind the furthest bed in the room. As Nick stepped into the room and flicked the lights on, Robbie immediately stood up, rushing over to meet him in the middle of the room.
"Nick! Are you okay?" Robbie whispered worriedly.
"Define 'okay'. You wouldn't happen to have a spare fox jaw lying around, would you?" Nick rubbed his cheek again. "…I'm guessing you saw the whole thing?"
Robbie nodded. "I stayed all the way until you regained consciousness. But jeez, she really kicked you hard. When your head hit the ground and you stopped moving, I almost jumped out and ran over. I'm just glad you're alright, Nick. Well, mostly alright, anyway."
"I'll live. I think." Nick chuckled weakly in response. "And I did just get a free wish to make your sister do anything I want, so I'd say the potential brain damage was worth it. She did get a free wish too, but like I said earlier, I don't have to worry about what she might do with it."
"Ah right. I did hear you two talking about that as I was leaving. What are you going to do with your free wish, then?"
"I have a couple of ideas. But right now, the only things on my mind are an ice pack, a ton of muscle heat spray, and a soft bed. Too bad I'm only getting two out of the three tonight." Nick grinned. "Just stay here for a bit, okay? I'll message you once we're far enough away."
"Ah, r…right," Robbie mumbled. He suddenly looked very hesitant at the mention of Nick leaving, a look which didn't go unnoticed by the fox.
"Something wrong, Flatfoot?" he asked, his grin disappearing.
Robbie hung his head, exhaling softly. He stood in silence for several seconds, before finally lifting his head solemnly.
"Nick…before you go…there's something I need to tell you."
Robbie opened his mouth to continue, but hesitated, looking back down again. The bunny looked like he wanted to say something, but was struggling to get it out. Nick's brow furrowed slightly. He recognised the look on Robbie's face; it was the same look he had back at the carnival with Judy. It had been a while since Nick had seen him this way. Whatever it was, it was something serious.
"Alright, I'm listening. What is it?"
But before either of them could say anything more, Robbie's ears suddenly shot up. A second later, his eyes widened like saucers. Nick knew Robbie well enough to know what that reaction meant; it meant someone was coming. Sure enough, a couple of seconds later, Nick heard a voice calling from somewhere down the stairs.
"Hey Nick, you there? You left your gloves and your headguard in the ring; I brought them back for you!" Judy's voice called out.
Of course.
Nick placed his paw briefly on Robbie's shoulder.
"Whatever it is, you can tell me later. C'mon, just like we practiced." Nick whispered, rushing over to his locker and yanking the door open. He pulled out some loose t-shirts and shorts sitting at the bottom of the locker and tossed them onto his bed, looking back at Robbie and motioning for him to enter.
But for some reason, Robbie wasn't moving.
"Flatfoot?"
No response. Nick hurried back to Robbie's side and grabbed his shoulder, shaking it a couple of times.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and get in, she's going to see you!" he whispered urgently into the bunny's open ear. Robbie was still rooted to the ground. Nick sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes.
Seriously? Of all the times to freeze up, he does it now? Forget it, I'm chucking him in there myself.
He yanked at Robbie's arm. What he didn't expect was for the bunny to pull back against him, still refusing to move.
"Flatfoot, what are you…" Nick started, but trailed off when he saw the bunny turning to look at Nick. There was an ever so slightly sad smile on the bunny's face.
"…Nothing to lose, right?"
It took a moment before it finally clicked in Nick's head. And as the realisation finally struck, Robbie gently pulled his arm away, turning to face the doorway just as Judy's voice began to grow louder.
"I called for a cab, but it might take a while. I really think we should go to a doc—"
The grey bunny finally emerged in the doorway and looked into the room, immediately freezing in her tracks. Her eyes widened. Time seemed to come to a standstill in that moment as the two siblings locked gazes. Nick could have sworn he saw a bulb in Judy's brain blow out from the sight. But a few moments later, her look of disbelief gave way to confusion as her brain kicked into high gear, working overtime to process just exactly what she was seeing in front of her. Judy's eyes travelled to Robbie's face, to the brace on his arm, to the ZPA training kit he was wearing, and finally, to Nick. The fox wasn't sure if Judy had put all the pieces together yet, but she still looked completely bewildered.
"R…Robbie?" she finally stammered.
Robbie cracked a nervous smile, looking straight into his sister's purple eyes.
"…Hi, sis."