Zootopia: A Tale of Two Foxes

Chapter XIII: Standing By His Kin

NOTE: Truth be told, this chapter is probably the one I'm most proud of out of this whole fanfiction. Even if you don't absolutely love the rest of this fanfiction, if you at least walking away getting the gist of this chapter by its end, then I shall consider this fanfiction sequel a success in my eyes. Anyway, back to the story.

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Nicholas found himself on a dark sidewalk, clearly leading him to a building beyond. Do I know this place? Nick thought to himself. Before he moved an inch, he heard someone pass by him with great speed. Looking around, Nicholas saw a little fox racing down the dark streets, excitement emanating from his presence. Observing him for a brief moment, he saw that he was wearing a light green, short-sleeved outfit. In addition, he had a short and stubby red tie around his neck and a light green hat upon his head. Why does he look so familiar? he wondered. The street seemed to only lead onward in the direction he was walking, as if some invisible force was tugging him along, urging him to keep going. Seeing that there was no point in stopping, he made his way toward following the little fox, the small mammal seeming to guide him along.

As he approached the stone stairway entrance of the building, he saw a white sign next to the door. The sign read Zootopia Junior Rangers Troop 914. Moreover, 4 numbers were visible above the door, reading 2389. Nicholas felt certain that he knew this place, but for some reason his mind just couldn't seem to click, as if a memory was forcibly being held back from his mind. Noticing that the little fox had decided to go through the doors, Nicholas followed him in and entered the building. What greeted him next continued to spark the feelings of déjà vu within his mind.

A lit stairway presented itself to Nicholas, ready to lead him to the lower levels of the building. On the walls were several acorns, each with an inscription of some sort written upon them. "Okay Nick, ready for initiation?" a voice called from below. Coming down the steps, Nicholas saw the little fox approaching several animals, all of whom seemed to be waiting for him. A zebra, hippo, woodchuck, gnu and a deer were standing together in a semicircle, each wearing the same light green uniform, small red ties and little green hats. "Yeah, pretty much born ready." Nick heard the little fox say as he approached the group. Nick once again felt the prick of familiarity crawl up his spine as the little fox said those words. Where have I heard those words before? he thought to himself. He could tell that none of the animals seemed to notice him, and so he assumed they could not see nor hear him. Nevertheless, he felt inclined to see what happened. The 5 animals seemed nice enough, which he hoped was a good sign for the little fox.

As the little fox got into the center of the semicircle, the lights went out. Noticing that the others were not panicking, he assumed that this was not a power outage, and thus was all part of the initiation. A bright light then shone upon his face as a flashlight was turned on, and he could see that the little fox was blinded for a brief moment. Once he saw his eyes adjust, he heard the woodchuck speak once again, "Okay, now raise your right paw, and deliver the oath." Nicholas could not help but watch the little fox with admiration as he rose his right paw and gave what he assumed was the oath, "I Nicholas Wilde, promise to be brave, loyal, helpful and trustworthy." Wait; did he just say my name? Nick thought to himself, hearing the oath that the young fox gave. All of a sudden, realization hit Nicholas fast and vivid like a roaring river, This young fox is my young self! Unfortunately, as the memory of this event came rushing back to his mind, he knew exactly how it ended as well.

He saw the woodchuck give a snickering look to the others before stating in a mean tone, "Even though you're a fox?" He could see the expression on the little fox's face change as confusion lit his gaze. "What?" the younger Nick said, not sure what the woodchuck meant. Before the little fox knew what was going on, the flashlight turned off, and he was shoved to the ground. Nicholas wanted to leave the terrible scene, but for some reason, his feet were glued to the spot. He could hear the fox asking the other troopers in his fear, "No, no! What did I do wrong, you guys? No please, tell me what did I do wrong? What did I do?" Nicholas' gut wrenched as he heard the fox whimper as the troop put a muzzle on his face; one of the worst insults a prey animal could give to a predator of any age. The woodchuck only seemed to laugh at young Nick's pain, stating in a taunting manner, "Haha, you thought that we would ever trust a fox without a muzzle? You're even dumber than you look!" No one even bothered to stop the little fox as he ran up the stairs, bolting out of the door, the other scouts continuing to taunt the little guy as he ran. As Nicholas looked at these bullies' faces, he began to realize that they were changing, replaced with images of Bogo's or Jack's or Alex's faces. Deep down, he wanted to give these bullies a piece of his mind, but he knew that none of them could see him anyway. Besides, he wanted to check on little Nick anyway, and thus he made his way out of the building as quickly as possible.