Author's note: Remember when I mentioned that a recent movie had stolen all of my attention? Yeah, it was Zootopia. Not very hard to guess was it? I could gush all day about how much I loved the setting, and the themes, and the characters, and the writing, and, well, everything, but that's not what you're here for.

The ending of the film left many possible avenues open to explore, but the one that intrigues me the most is the background of deuteragonist Nick Wilde, and how that background conflicts with the very different lifestyle he ultimately chose to pursue. Let's hope I can do that premise the justice it deserves and get on with this thing.

This story is a collab with fellow author and 'fanfic buddy' Mind Jack, so be sure to send some kudos his way as well. :)

Cover image by zooijiness.

See my profile for the recommended reading order between this story and Born to Be Drabbles.

Chapter 1: A Shiny New Nick-el

Tundratown

Halibuts Café

8:43 PM

"Why is he calling me now?"

The aged raccoon glared down at the phone ringing in the pocket of his jeans. He was seated at one of the restaurant's outdoor tables, huddled up in a brown aviator jacket and enjoying what was a very nice dinner of roasted tuna and a light wine. But he had hardly gotten three bites in before his peace was interrupted. He hoped in vain that it was perhaps just some nosy telemarketer, until he pulled the phone out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID:

The Count

Growling to himself, he reluctantly answered the phone and put it to his ear. He didn't even like these damned modern electronics. Why couldn't anyone just talk muzzle-to-muzzle anymore? Mammals hadn't been given the gift of speech just to squander it on cheap plastic toys.

Sadly, he wasn't able to vent these frustrations properly, as the one who had interrupted his dinner and provided him with this digital nightmare also happened to be his current employer. "Good evening, boss," he greeted pleasantly, changing his tone in an instant.

As he listened to the voice on the other end, he slowly reached for his fork. Lifting it off of the table, he looked back hopefully towards his unfinished meal. His employer was notoriously long-winded. Maybe he could get a few more bites in before-

"What? No, I'm not busy." He stabbed the fork into his fish with more force than necessary. It twisted slowly inside the cooked tuna while he pictured a very different animal underneath. "Oh, you want to hear what I've dug up? Right now?"

He sighed. "Very well." So much for dinner. He reached inside of his jacket and pulled out a small file, making sure no one else was watching him. If he really wanted to be discreet, he would've just left the restaurant entirely, but that wasn't happening. He kept his voice low as he opened the file just enough to look inside and view its contents.

"Target is an arctic shrew who goes by the name of 'Mr. Big', likely alias, real name unknown. Raised in Little Rodentia by his grandmother, he started out running a small-time business of tuxedo rental shops. He quickly clawed his way to the top of the food chain and now officially owns several businesses across Zootopia; unofficially owns several others. Most profitable is Tundratown Limo-Service, 'the ride you can't refuse'. Current heir is his newly-wed daughter Fru Fru. What's that? No, I don't see her being a problem."

The raccoon smirked, closing the file and patting a sizable lump in his jacket. "I gotta say though, this guy sounds serious. He's got eyes everywhere and a gang of vicious polar bears at his beck and call. I'm honestly not sure if I can pull this job off. On paper, it sounds crazy."

He groaned at the response, wiping a paw down his face. "Yeah, yeah, I've heard the phrase. From you. Like twenty times." At this point, he stopped bothering to fake politeness. "Just tell me what you want me to do."

Leaning back in his chair far enough that his foot touched the cold ground, the raccoon sipped at his wine and waited for his employer to finish. As he was given the last of his instructions, his ears perked up. "Hmm, not bad. That might actually work." He sighed again, louder. "Glad to hear you're as humble as ever, sir. Just give me a couple minutes and I'll be right on this."

He hoped that would be the end of the conversation, but his boss still had one final request to make of him. His expression hardened and his wine glass slammed down onto the table. "No, I haven't forgotten. I know what's at stake here. I assure you, by the end of the week, you will have Nicholas Wilde."

A sudden chill ran through the air.

"Anything else? Thank you, I will enjoy my meal, sir." He paused. "Wait, how did you know I was-?" The phone beeped off.

"Hmph." Shoving the thing back into his pocket, he finally pulled another chunk out of his roast tuna and brought it to his mouth.

He scowled. Cold. Of course it was.

Rainforest District

1955 Cypress Grove Lane

6:32 AM

Nicholas Piberius Wilde was many things. He was a fox, an entrepreneur, a devilishly handsome male specimen, and until recently, a professional con-mammal. But one thing he was not, and would never be, was a morning person.

"Come on, heat up already," Nick groaned, watching the coffee machine do its job at a speed that would make a sloth jealous. His home wasn't exactly what you would call neat, or organized, or presentable, but it was home, and that's all that mattered to him. Dressed only in a pair of white boxers, the fox had padded his way over rough carpets and strewn clothing to the kitchen the moment he got up. Coffee took precedence over everything else.

He blamed biology. Hypocritical as that sounded, there was no way that him having to down three cups just to keep himself out of bed could be anything other than his nocturnal instincts yelling, "Sit, boy! Lay down!", to which he responded, "Not gonna happen, I'm a cop now."

A cop. Now that was one label he never thought could apply to him. If someone had told him just a year ago that he would ever be wearing that uniform, he would've laughed in their face. If they told him that he would be best friends with an overly-eager and somewhat naive bunny, he would've laughed even harder. If they told him that he would be both, he would've stopped laughing, because mental illness isn't funny.

It felt like an eternity before he got the rest of his coffee. He guzzled the drink down as quickly as he could and lumbered into his shower. Any drowsiness left in him at that point was promptly washed away along with whatever filth was stuck in his fur. He shook the water off, dried himself, a process that took a lot longer than you'd think due to his bushy tail, brushed his teeth to a dangerous gleam, and then finally set about actually getting ready for work.

There was a time when his morning routine used to be simple. He'd wake up whenever, get ready whenever, then go out and meet Finnick whenever, to do whatever. As long as he made a profit by the end of the day, he never complained. Even now, he still had to occasionally remind himself not to grab one of his tacky Pawaiian shirts out of the closet and instead pull out his shiny new police uniform. He then had to look himself over in the mirror and smirk at his own reflection just to make sure this was still real.

New uniform, new life, new Nick.

"I don't care what anyone says, I can totally pull this look off." Nick glanced down at his phone and frowned. "And if I want to keep pulling it off, I better get my tail down to the precinct." After looking himself over one last time, just to make sure his coat was nice and shiny, Nick beelined it for the front door and made his way out, closing it behind him.

"Oops, almost forgot."

The door opened again, and Nick's paw reached back in to grab his shades off the counter.

Savannah Central

Zootopia Police Department - Precinct 1

7: 26 AM

With a new life came new lessons. After only a few weeks on the force, Nick had already learned several:

1.) Never take the ZTA to work. Being the first fox cop means way too many weird stares to be comfortable with.

"Thanks for the ride, Lou!" Nick called back to the moose in the cab as he walked out, leaving a generous tip as usual.

Strolling casually through the front doors of the precinct, Nick immediately found himself the center of attention anyway, but he couldn't help it if he was just that irresistible. He made his way to the front desk, exchanging greetings and slapping paws with every officer he passed on the way.

"Hey there, Wolford!"

"How's the family, McHorn?"

"Still hanging in there, Delgato?"

2.) It doesn't matter how out-of-place you are. Be everyone's best friend, and sooner or later, they'll warm up to you.

Finally reaching the desk, he looked up at the chubby, crumb-covered face of Benjamin Clawhauser and smiled cheerfully. "Hey there, Benji. Seen Carrots around?" Clawhauser swallowed the last of his bowl of cereal, and opened his mouth to respond. "Wait, let me guess. She's already waiting in the bullpen, and in fact has been waiting since before anyone else even got here."

"Um...yeah," Clawhauser replied, probably wondering why he had even asked in the first place. Trade secret.

"You got my blueberry cricket deluxe?"

"Oh, do I!" Now on a subject he was intimately familiar with, the giddy cheetah reached into his box of donuts and handed one of the pastries to Nick.

"Perfect! You're a beautiful feline, Benji. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." Clawhauser giggled to himself bashfully as Nick bit into his donut.

3.) Being a stereotype is better than being hungry. Donuts provide a very convenient breakfast option, especially when you don't have to pay for them.

Stretching his muscles a bit, Nick padded down the hallway towards the bullpen. Whether she realized it or not, Judy could use the company.

As he reached for the doorknob, he happened to glance through the tinted window, just able to make out a rabbit-shaped grey lump sitting by itself. He smirked. Might as well have a little fun to start the day.

He took a moment to clear his throat, putting on the deepest voice he could manage, then slammed open the door. "TEN-HUT!"

The reaction was instantaneous. Judy's ears shot straight up and her paws snapped to attention, one going to her hip and the other to her forehead in a firm salute. "Officer Hopps reporting for duty!"

He couldn't help himself; Nick doubled over laughing on the spot. When Judy saw who had actually come in, she hopped off of her chair and promptly smacked him in the nose. "Nick! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"

"Sorry, Carrots." Nick wiped a tear from his eye. "I'm not the chief yet. Maybe someday though, don't lose hope."

"You jerk," she muttered, though he could tell by the look on her face that she was amused herself. "Just sit down already before the real chief grills you."

4.) Officer Judy Hopps not only took her job seriously, she was determined to make sure her partner did as well. With mixed results.

"Like that would be anything new." Nick walked over and squeezed into his shared seat with Judy. It was an arrangement that some found odd, but no one really questioned anymore. Least of all Chief Bogo, who always knew where to find them.

"You're not allowed to eat in here," Judy said, eyeing Nick's donut.

"Correction: I'm not supposed to eat in here. Technically, there's no rule against it. Believe me, I checked."

5.) Always know exactly what you can and can't get away with in a police precinct.

Actually, he'd already learned that one long before now.

"But if it really bothers you so much…" Nick stuffed the entire rest of the donut into his mouth. "Pwobwum sowved!"

"I'd rather you didn't talk with your mouth full either." Some mammals were so hard to please.

As Nick struggled to get the food down, the rest of the force started coming in, getting into their own morning antics all around them. Frankly, he didn't know what Judy was complaining about, he was one of the quietest ones here. Thankfully, he managed to "dispose of the evidence" just before Chief Bogo came in at the call of Officer Higgins. "TEN-HUT!"

Judy almost failed to sit at attention thanks to the earlier incident, a fact which Nick found almost flattering. "Alright everyone, take your seats!" the cape buffalo ordered, and the room went silent instantly. Bogo held an imposing stack of documents between his hooves. "Now, it's been a difficult couple of weeks for all of us thanks to the recent 'changes' to our department." Nick couldn't tell if that split-second glare was directed at him or Judy or both. "But on the plus side, we've gotten more new applicants than ever who want to join our little family."

Judy grinned widely, which made Nick smile a bit himself. No doubt the bunny was extraordinarily pleased that her actions had brought about so much progress. He didn't have the heart to crush her hopes and point out that the vast majority of those applicants would most likely fail.

As if reading his thoughts, Chief Bogo spoke again. "As a matter of fact, two of these applicants have just graduated from the academy. I should introduce them, but I'm not going to-"

"-because you don't care?" Nick chimed in, getting some laughs out of the rest of the group.

This time, the glare was most certainly directed at him. "Because they're not here yet."

Nick glanced around the room, not seeing any new faces. "Touché."

"Once they arrive, I assure you that you are going to find this situation a lot less funny, Wilde," Bogo said, smiling in a way that said he knew something the fox didn't. It was a look Nick thought should've been reserved only for himself.

"In the meantime, assignments!" The chief fell right back into his usual routine, passing out case files to the other teams. "Officers Grizzoli, Fangmeyer, Delgato: mystery arsonist still at large. McHorn, Rhinowitz, Wolford: missing prosecutor in Savannah Central. Higgins, Snarlof, Trunkaby: suspicious activity in Tundratown. And lastly, Hopps and Wilde."

Once everyone else had left the room, Bogo narrowed his eyes at the two who remained. "As usual, you get the fun assignment. I take it you still remember the Night Howler Incident?"

"No sir, I completely forgot about it," said Nick, shrugging cluelessly.

"Well, that's too bad. Maybe your partner can fill you in later." Nick frowned. Either Bogo was getting better at this, or he was losing his touch. "But to summarize: toxic flowers discovered to turn animals savage, mastermind put behind bars, flowers banned from the city, and that was the end of that, right?"

Judy smiled and nodded while Nick, knowing better, did not respond.

"WRONG!" Bogo slammed a hoof onto his podium with enough force to chip it a little. "Once a dangerous illegal substance becomes public knowledge, it's only a matter of time before someone starts abusing it. There's been a black market on these things for a while now, but it's grown significantly as of late. I believe what we're dealing with is a full-blown Night Howler smuggling ring in Zootopia."

Judy gasped. "You mean someone's been turning animals savage again?"

"Of course not! That kind of thing would be far too easy to notice. The reports indicate that the buyers may actually be using it on themselves."

"What?" The bunny's ears flopped against her head in confusion. "Why would anyone want to turn savage?"

"Same reason the fine folks at Mystic Spring don't like to wear clothes," Nick explained. "They're trying to embrace their 'wild sides' and get down with their bad selves."

"I don't care what the reason is!" Bogo shouted. "The point is they need to be stopped before this gets any more out of hand. Witnesses have reported spotting a possible dealer in Sahara Square, selling Night Howlers from a white van. They may or may not be connected to this smuggling ring, but either way, I want them brought in."

"A white van? How obvious can you be?" Nick shook his head in pity. "No problem chief, this guy is clearly an amateur. We'll catch em' in no time."

"Glad to hear it. Then I will expect an arrest report by the end of the day. Dismissed!" Bogo turned and left the room without another word, slamming the door behind him.

"Nice going, Nick. I sure hope we can nab this dealer by the end of the day, or else the chief's gonna stick us in the records room for a week," said Judy, making her way out of the bullpen. "If we're lucky."

Nick followed behind her at a significantly slower pace. "Relax, Carrots, I know what I'm talking about. Trust me, this is going to be simple."

6.) Any case that sounds simple very rarely is.

Footnotes:

This is where we're going to jot down random trivia and background details for each chapter. Feel free to just click that next button if you don't care.

I'm actually not sure if Nick lives in the Rainforest District. I could've sworn that was canon, but now I can't seem to find a confirmation on it anywhere. So for the purposes of what will inevitably become an AU anyway, let's just roll with it.