Hello again, fellow Zootopia fans!
We've reached over 300 follows! O_O
We've reached over 40k views O_O
And I'm emphasizing the "we" part, because I only write the story. It's up to YOU if it's popular or not. Still, thank you for your growing interest!
I have to address the growing distress that seeps through the reviews regarding romantic pairings in this story. For one this will be a spoiler and for others no surprise at all, but... Please be patient. There is still a lot to happen and who knows how William's life will end.
... Did I said that out loud? Oopsie ;P
Just KIDDING (or maybe not)!
But seriously, please read on to learn what will happen between Nick, Judy and William.
Chapter 19
Nick fought back the nauseating feeling that tried to overcome him. Sharing private information still was as traumatic as before.
Marcus rubbed his temples with one of his big paws.
"This is…" He began, but Jackie quickly cut in. "Ridiculous?" She said, puzzlement painted on her face.
"…unexpected." The tiger finished.
Nick sat in silence trying to decipher their reaction to the surprising news. And it was a big sandwich the chew on. Marcus didn't look particularly shocked, rather annoyed that it was kept from him. Jackie, on the other paw, looked like a kitten given the best gift in her life, but then told that it lacks batteries.
"We-ll… I must say that you surprised me here." She scratched the back of her head. "Never would I thought that I'll have a savage mammal for a friend…"
Nick's ears twitched. *Friend… So she…*
She noticed his expression. "Oh, I am still mad about the fact you almost blown a hole in my head." The fox's ears drooped. "But!" The cheetah raised a finger. "Doesn't mean I'll keep being angry if you apologize." The corners of her mouth twitched a little, betraying a withheld smile.
Nick's expression softened, tension partially leaving his body. "You… really?" He asked, uncertain.
She shrugged. "No promises, but you can always try." This time her lips were unable to stop a small smirk.
"But… aren't you scared? I went savage just a moment ago…"
Jackie repeated the movement of her shoulders. "I was scared, yeah. But you're perfectly fine now, aren't you? Plus, you've yet to see me getting pissed off."
Marcus cleared his throat to get their attention. "Back to the matter at hand, I get that you are savage and all, but how are we supposed to trust you now? What guarantee do we have that you won't go on a rampage again?" He shot him a serious glare.
The fox hung his head low. "None." He admitted flatly. "Normally there is no problem, but there could be situations, impulses that could force the feral side out. All I can promise is that I'll do the best I can to stop that from happening."
"Promises are not enough." Marcus snarled.
Nick sighed, but couldn't argue with that.
"Why don't we help him?" The cheetah suddenly suggested.
Both males stared at her with surprise in their eyes.
She shrugged. "I mean, I saw that right before the match Nick wasn't exactly himself, preoccupied with something. I probably should've asked if you're okay, but didn't want to pry. My mistake, I guess… My point is, if we see that something is wrong beforehand, can't we act to minimize the damage?"
Marcus rubbed his chin, analyzing her words. "Maybe… " He muttered.
Nick decided to state his thoughts on this. He raised his paws. "Look, listen. I just want to keep a lid on it," He turned to Jackie. "And I am very sorry for what I did. I know that had to be shocking and painful and I'll be damned if I try coming up with any excuses, it's my fault entirely. Again, I am sorry, Jack."
The feline flinched slightly at the sound of the name. Nonetheless, she waved a paw in a dismissive gesture. "Don't sweat it, let's just say you'll buy me some flowers as an apology." She grinned at the fox.
Hearing that, Marcus shook his head. "Flowers? You sure are a weird guy, Jack."
"Girl."
The tiger frowned. "What?"
She folded her arms. "I'm a girl. My name is Jackie."
Nick rolled his eyes and rested his muzzle on a paw. "Oh boy…"
Marcus' eyes were now opened wide as his stare traveled from the fox to the cheetah and back.
"Girl…" He repeated with a stunned voice. "Ok, what's this? Next time Rupert will come out from the bushes and state he's actually a mouse in disguise? Or am I going mad?"
A small smirk danced on Nick's mouth as he leaned forward and slapped the tiger on the arm. "Don't try fighting it." He quipped.
Jackie joined in. "Yep, no point in keeping your sanity now."
Nick followed. "Sure, if we're going to be a team of freaks, we'll need a motto. Like: You don't need to be crazy to join us, but it sure helps."
Jackie slapped Marcus on the back. "And you could be our glorious leader. Marcus 'The Madmammal' Striggs."
The tiger groaned and shoved their paws away, but it was visible that most of the tension within the group was gone.
"Hey, Stripes." Nick turned to the big feline. "Since we're having such a heartfelt group session here, why not spill the beans? I want to hear it all!" He mimicked the tiger's voice.
Jackie clapped her paws. "Oh goodie! I love secrets! But don't worry, I am good at keeping my mouth shut." She made a zipping motion with a paw across her mouth.
Marcus ran a paw down his face. "You guys are…"
"The best?" The cheetah cut in.
"…insufferable."
"Hey, you know our situation." The fox leaned back and supported himself on paws. "It's only fair if you level with us. Eh, Twice?"
"Right!" Jackie pointed at Nick. "You used that word before! Ohh, why I am the only one out of the loop?"
Marcus rubbed his forehead, silent for a few long moments. Finally, he straightened up. "Fine! You're right, it wouldn't be fair." He took a deep breath and pointed towards Nick with his paw. "Want to start, wise guy?"
The fox shrugged. "Why not? For starters, this guy" He nodded at the tiger. "is called Twice. And that is the nickname of one of the toughest guns for hire in the Zootopian underground."
"Twice?"
Marcus sighed. "Whenever I had to deal with someone, I would first give them a chance to surrender, but warned them that I won't ask twice. Hence the nickname."
"Oka-y, and what about a gun for hire?" Jackie repeated those words.
"A hitman, assassin, the kind of guy you send to not leave any witnesses. Our friend Marcus is a professional killer."
The cheetah's jaw dropped down. "Whoa, really?" She directed her stare at the tiger.
Marcus sighed and nodded. "It's true." His face turned into a mask. "I killed mammals before." He said quietly. The silence that followed was deafening.
Nick yawned.
"Okay, big reveal is over, can we move forward?" He said in a bored voice.
His friends stared at him.
"You serious? You're going to just ditch info like this?" The cheetah huffed, clearly not approving Nick's reaction.
"What's your problem, Wilde?" Marcus was far less friendly in his words.
The fox leaned forward, resting paws on his knees. He forced his tongue to cooperate.
"My problem is a voice in my head that screams to me to kill every prey that used to be my species natural source of food. To defend my territory at all costs. To survive no matter the method. The voice that takes over every muscle in my body if I don't stop it. The beast that dwell inside my mind, waiting for a chance to take over my actions. The problem is constant strain on my mind, due to the knowledge, that if I slip just once it could be the end of someone's life. The headache that haunts me if I'm in a presence of a potential victim for too long and too close. The itching feeling in my claws to use them for something more than scratching the fur. My problem is the fact that one day I might wake up to the sight of a shredded prey at my feet, paws covered in blood." He turned his gaze to Marcus. "And I won't have the luxury of being the decision maker in that matter."
The tiger was sitting still during Nick's speech and after his words sunk in, gave a slight nod of understanding. The fox's words simply meant that Marcus is in full control of his actions and it's only his decision to hurt someone or not. By comparison, it wasn't him who got the shortest end of the stick.
"You have made your point." He stated solemnly.
A spotted paw was raised into the air. "Um, guys. I get the serious side of it all, but maybe let's not get into such a depressive atmosphere, 'kay? Solutions, not problems." Jackie was eyeing them both. "I get that each one of us has some skeletons in the closet, but shouldn't we focus on here and now? I admit that I was surprised to hear what you were doing before joining", she pointed at the striped feline, "and to learn that you are a bundle of primal instincts held on thin strings, but now I say it doesn't matter." The males exchanged surprised glances. Meanwhile, Jackie continued. "Listen, past is the past and there is no point in mulling over it, it's not going to change anything. And as for the savage thing, I trust that we can work something out together. You know, help Nick keep it under control." She finished with a smile which said that everything is simple if you approach it from the right way.
"What's yours?" Marcus asked suddenly.
The girl blinked. "Sorry?"
"Skeleton. You said that everyone has one, what's yours?"
The cheetah, so confident just a moment ago shrunk under his gaze. "I… I just want to prove myself to my father…" She rubbed her shoulder and averted her eyes.
"Is he a bad person?" Nick inquired of her and she flinched the same way he noticed the first time she mentioned her father months ago.
"No! He's…" She mumbled. "He is a…" Her voice trailed off and her friends noticed the slight shivering of her body. They both spoke at the same time.
"Spots…"
"Jackie…"
And then Nick's ears shot right up. Someone was approaching them. Five mammals. All of them predators.
"Marcus. Spots." He growled and jumped to his feet. The other two looked at him in surprise, but their senses soon caught up when the unknown group got closer. Now all of them were fully alert and standing.
"Instructors?" Whispered the tiger.
Nick shook his head. He could smell gun grease and none of the academy staff was carrying around firearms during cadet training. Marcus didn't argue with his savage senses.
They didn't have the time to decide whether to run or hide as two lions and two bears pushed themselves through the bushes and entered the moonlit clearing. They were all dressed in black suits, with white shirts and ties. All of them shared the same humorless expression.
"Definitely not instructors." Marcus noted, shifting his footing and folding his arms.
"Young miss!" A small voice called out from the bush. A moment later a neatly trimmed badger entered the clearing as well. This one had an immaculate tail suit. "Young miss, I am here to escort you back to the mansion."
The fox and the tiger turned to Jackie.
"Young miss?" They said simultaneously.
The girl dropped her gaze to the ground, refusing to answer them. Instead, she addressed the badger. "Why are you here, Edmund?"
"I am forced to take you home, because you have broken the agreement."
She squeezed her arm with a paw. "Who says that I did?"
The badger reached for his pocket and brought out a small voice recorder. He pushed a button and voices came out of the speaker.
…So what am I supposed to call you now, Jack?...
…It's Jackie….
He stopped the recording and Jackie's eyes shot wide open. Nick glared at the intruder. *Son of a… That's how you want to play?* He knew exactly what kind of scenario would unfold so he had to take countermeasures. He discreetly took out his phone and held it behind his back, typing blindly, but with practiced ease. When finished, he sent the message.
"I am aware that you were very keen on coming here, but please do not make this difficult." Edmund nodded towards the large predators and the suited four spread out to form a half circle in front of the three friends.
The cheetah swallowed and took a step back. "I'm not going back!"
Nick and Marcus didn't even need to exchange glances to come up with exactly the same decision.
"You heard the lady. Shoo, shoo." Said the fox.
"She's not going anywhere. And I'm not going to repeat myself." Said the tiger.
They shot hostile glares towards the suits.
The badger sighed. "It is regrettable, but master's orders are final. Remove these two." He ordered to the bodyguards.
The big predators started their approach.
Marcus and Nick raised their paws to fighting stances and blocked the path to Jackie with their bodies. The cheetah gasped behind their backs. "Guys! Stop it! I don't want you to get hurt!"
"Who said it's going to be us who gets hurt?" Marcus grumbled, his eyes not leaving the opponents.
"You don't know my father!"
"And I'm sure we wouldn't like to meet him. He sounds like a jerk to me." Nick snapped and studied the movement of the enemies.
The two cadets were facing a lion and a bear each. And from the looks of it, they were highly trained professionals. The friends turned and stood back to back to have them in their sights.
"Say, Stripes." Nick said casually, but inside the beast growled, ready for some fun. "Want to make a trade?"
"What kind of trade?" Marcus replied in a slightly annoyed voice.
"You take the kitties and I'll deal with fatsos."
"Watch your mouth, fox!"
"What, not confident with lions? Fine, we can switch. You take the fatsos."
"You really want me to be pissed off right now?"
"You can even sing Jingle Bells for all I care, just deal with your own portion of boy scouts here."
"Worry about yourself, pipsqueak."
"What was that, beef brick?"
"You seriously don't want me to turn around, Nick."
"Oh please and do what, hug me?"
"How about a game of tic-tac-toe on your face?"
"Woow, look at me, trembling all over."
At that moment the bodyguards attacked.
A lion came for Nick first, with a fast swing, that should rip his head off under normal circumstances. Under normal circumstances. But the fox quickly stepped in, grabbed the feline's arm and kicked back to the lion's knee. In effect the large predator lost his balance and Nick pulled down and forward, effectively throwing his opponent over his shoulder. And his flight was interrupted by a collision with a bear that flew from the opposite direction.
"Oi, that's my fighting space!" Marcus growled.
"Says who?" Nick snapped back.
"I am!"
"Like I care!"
They both took a step forward and leaned towards each other.
"Want to check if my fist cares if you're in its way? Asked the feline.
"Please, it could get acquainted with my foot!" Came the fox's reply.
But before they would get any further Marcus' arm shot forward to push sideways a fist falling on fox's head from behind. Meanwhile Nick jumped forward to grab a kick directed at the tiger's ribs by the lion behind his back.
"Out of my way!" Roared both of the cadets.
The bear grabbed a heavy fist to his own head and didn't even have the time to stagger when Marcus forced a knee into his stomach and followed it by an elbow to the back of his neck.
At the same the Nick twisted the lion's hindpaw and the feline spun around, trying to get in a kick using his other leg. But it hit the air as Nick ducked, but never let go of the hindpaw. After that dodge his strained his arms and threw the lion over his head and smashed him to the ground. And in a blink of an eye, just as the feline tried to get up, the fox jumped on his chest and hit both of the lion's ears with his paws. The large predator groaned, stunned by the blow. And said blow was followed by a strike to the throat, effectively knocking him out.
Then they heard a metallic click. Edmund produced a sidearm with a silencer and was aiming it at them. "I'm afraid I have to put an end to this. Surrender or I'll be forced to shoot you."
They snarled but didn't move.
"You're awfully desperate to get Jackie back home, aren't you?" Nick said to the badger.
The mammal simply shrugged his arms. "I am merely fulfilling my master's will. Like I said, his decisions are final."
Marcus spat on the ground. "That's one hell of an overprotective father."
"Not for me to judge. So, what it'll be, gentlemammals?"
The fox folded his arms. "You forgot about something, chump."
Edmund raised his brow. "And that would be?"
"Her."
The cheetah jumped out of the bushes and Jackie's arm dropped down on the badger's wrist, knocking the weapon from his hand. The disarmed badger blinked in surprise. "Miss Jacqueline!"
"It's Jackie, Edmund!" She snarled at him. "Go back to my father and tell him that I'm staying at the academy!"
"Why, would you go back on your word?" He asked, massaging his wrist.
She bit her lip, trying to come up with an argument against it.
"Did she now?" Nick said, coming closer.
The badger graced him with a cold glance. "You are unrelated to this matter. Please, stay out of this."
The fox raised his brow and turned to the cheetah. "Just to be clear, you made some kind of a deal with your father, right? So I'd like to hear how exactly that agreement sounds, right down to the tiniest detail."
The girl sighed and rubbed her forehead. "My… father agreed that if I can graduate the academy without being discovered, then he'll let me live on my own."
Edmund nodded and folded his arms behind his back. "And as I can see, that agreement has been broken." Nick took a quick step towards the mammal and nudged him in the chest with his finger. "It's just your word against hers, so it's a tie. You can't prove anything with just that."
The elegant animal shook his head in disappointment. "You're memory is very short lived. As I have shown before, we have a recording."
Nick showed him his trademark grin. "Oh, this thing?" He held up the very same device Edmund showed them earlier. The badger's eyes widened and he patted his pocket, only to find it empty. But he composed himself instantly. "A skilled thief, what else to expect from a fox." Nick only smiled wider. "However, it changes nothing, that recording is not the only one in our possession."
The fox shrugged. "I'm sure it's not. Then again, so what? You have it recorded in your company's servers? ZooCom, isn't it?"
Edmund raised a brow. "I will give you that you are well informed, but it still-"
Nick practically shoved his phone to the badger's face. The screen showed a picture of a laughing fox and a sign: Piece of cake.
"What-"
"See the site address?" Nick demanded.
Edmund squinted at the small screen.
For the second time, the elegant mammal's eyes went wide. And Nick didn't give him time to comment or even think. "You see, I know a guy who cracks military servers for breakfast. Right now he is in the process of dismantling your entire network to find these recordings. And you can be sure that he'll find and delete them."
The badger swallowed. "You wouldn't dare…"
The fox showed him an evil grin. "I already have."
They glared at each other for a while in a staring match. And Nick won, when Edmund averted his eyes and snapped his fingers at the two conscious bodyguards. The bear and the lion that got thrown first, picked themselves up from the ground. "We're leaving!" He ordered and the predators retrieved their knocked out companions from the grass and headed in the direction they came from in the first place. "This isn't over, fox." The badger stated coldly and followed his men. Shortly, Nick could hear a distant screech of car tires.
The three friends remained quiet for a few long moments before they decided to speak.
"Well, that went well." Nick stretched his arms. After that, he fished out his phone again and typed a new text to the same recipient. He caught the bait.
"Punks." Marcus spat on the ground and dusted off his paws.
Jackie finally relaxed and collapsed to her knees. "That was close… Oh crap, what am I saying?!" She grunted. "He is not going to leave it like that, you're in big trouble now! What the hell were you thinking?!" She scoffed at the males.
They exchanged surprised glances.
"You know", Nick said, "That's the weirdest 'thanks' I've ever heard."
Marcus simply snorted.
Jackie grabbed her head with both paws and shook it. "Uhh, you don't get it! My father is not a person that lets anything go against his will. If he sets his mind on something than it will be done. And you just beat up his bodyguards when they were supposed to return with me! He's not going to let this slide! You can even end up killed!" She yelled at the puzzled predators.
Marcus folded his arms and gave her a calm look. "What is he, some kind of mob boss?"
"Nope, a rich guy." Nick explained.
The tiger rolled his eyes. "Ah, one of those."
The fox shuffled the mental files in his mind. "Gregory Spotters, age 51, male cheetah, owner and CEO of the ZooCom telecommunication corporation. Estimated worth: 21 billion zootopian dollars. Very conservative and strict." He recited from memory and glanced over to Jackie. "Basically, we're dealing with a daughter of one of the richest guys in this city."
The girl looked as if all air has escaped her body. "Guys…" She said in a weak voice. "I just wanted to be on my own, to be treated as a female…" The cheetah sniffled as she raised a paw to wipe tears forming in her eyes. "I never wanted anyone to get hurt."
The fox turned to Marcus. "You hurt?"
"Nope."
"Me neither." He turned back to Jackie. "Any other issues?" Nick said with a smirk.
She shook her head. "They'll be back."
The tiger shrugged his massive shoulders. "We're not going anywhere for the time being."
The girl let out a nervous giggle. "You're really stubborn, you know that?"
Marcus genuinely smiled and offered his paw. She accepted it and stood up. "Okay, we've dealt with them, but what about the recording? Can your friend really delete it?"
Nick offered her a smile. "More business partner than a friend, but yes, it's possible. That pompous moron will lead the way." He sniggered.
Jackie raised a puzzled brow. "What do you mean?"
"The site I showed him was a fake and I made him believe that we're already digging through the system. And I can bet that now he is going through the files to find all the copies of the recording to check if they are still there. That way he will do the job of searching for those files and we'll just rip them from his paws through his own access codes, since my acquaintance is already on his tail."
"That's… "
"That's called a hustle, sweetheart." He chuckled at her expression.
.
.
Natasha Winters had a problem. A problem that started with 'f' and ended with 'ox'. The female polar bear was going through the file she had on her desk, a big blue one with the name Wilde on top. The guy was a mystery for her and she didn't like that. As far as she was concerned, there were no secrets within the walls of the academy and she intended to interrogate the furry bastard on several matters. One of them would be his marks on physical tests. They were prepared in a way to squeeze out as much effort from the cadets as possible and this bloody fox went through all of them without breaking a sweat. And what was really infuriating, was the fact that he always ended with the fourth or fifth result from all other participants. She felt as if the academy training was being looked down at and she couldn't stand it. The other source of her headache were complaints from the theory lecturers. They would always catch him sleeping during their classes, but whenever they tried to catch him with a difficult question, he'd always reply in a monotonous manner and so perfectly, as if reading from the book the entire time. The most troublesome part was that, while his behavior was totally laid back and unfitting a police officer, his results were good enough to place him in the top five cadets in the academy. This was efficiently knocking out any arguments from her paws if she'd want to kick him out. But this had to end. She will not tolerate this kind of attitude from a cadet who, while disrespectful and annoying, in her mind had the potential to become number one in this year.
.
.
The next day Nick made a quick call after breakfast.
"Good morning, Mr. Wilde." Said a female voice over the phone.
He took a deep breath. "I apologize for my recent outburst." The fox said quickly, before he'd lose the motivation to usher these words.
"No apologies necessary, it's all part of your therapy. Getting the feelings out is a sign of progress." Miss Shavala said in a warm voice. "Would you like to discuss this topic in details?"
"Maybe in the evening. We'll have training in a moment."
"Oh, so you called just to apologize?" Now there was a hint of amusement but also surprise in her voice.
"Well, if you put it that way… maybe… but just… ok, well, yes." He struggled to acknowledge the difficult fact.
"I see. Then thank you and I'll wait for your next call."
"Okay."
.
.
"Six months! Six fabulous, blessed months you degenerated imbeciles have been in this glorious academy and I can't believe what I'm seeing! How is this possible that some of you mud chewing primitive turds with ant sized brains can't follow the concept of standing to attention?!"
Sergeant Hartmammal was walking back and forth along the line up of cadets, yelling at them at point blank range.
"You, with that idiotic mark on your face!" He stopped in front of Marcus. "Tried to scratch your ass and missed, huh? But I have to commend you, little kitty! One of the rare breed that knows how to follow orders! Keep it up and you may end up as something more than a stuffed toy!"
Marcus saluted sharply. "Sir, yes sir!"
The wildebeest instructor marched forward and stopped beside Nick.
"And what have we here?! A fox sized trash can that somehow manages to speak! Any thoughts you'd like to share, thieving dimwit?!"
"Sir, no sir!" The fox saluted.
"Lost the last bits of your deteriorated brain, you junk eating waste of oxygen?!"
"Sir, I lent them to someone who needed them more than me, sir!"
"I can see that nothing's left! 80 LAPS!" Roared the instructor.
"Sir, what's the point of running in circles, sir?"
Several cadets dared to slightly turn their heads to enjoy the show. The sergeant took a deep breath.
"YOU MOROOON, YOU ARE NOT TO QUESTION MY ORDERS! WHEN I SAY JUMP, YOU JUMP. WHEN I SAY FIGHT, YOU FIGHT! WHEN I TELL YOU TO DIE FOR YOUR CITY, THEN YOU WILL CERTAINLY DIE! HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR?!" And he didn't even wait for an answer. "NOW RUN! RUN MAGGOT, RUN!"