Forest of Light

by The Lightning Phoenix

Prologue

It was dark. The soft, warm light of a rather subdued lamp was all that lit the dark city apartment, casting shadows here and there. Heavy rain fell outside, the soothing sound of it causing droopy eyelids to close further as sleep beckoned the red fox that sat slumped on the desk. With emerald eyes barely visible, cheeks embedded by the paws they were resting on; Nick Wilde would surely have lost consciousness had he not been waiting for something important. Well, possibly important. Probably not. But the scribbled writing on his flyer had been the first sign in months that someone had possibly needed the assistance of his newly-found private investigation agency.

In a moment of spontaneity at the time, the idea had occurred to him. After much thought, he had decided he didn't want to become a police officer after all, but at the same time didn't want to sacrifice the possibility of working with the enthusiastically energetic Judy Hopps on the tough cases like the Night Howler incident. Thus birthed the idea of working as a private investigator. It was somewhat classier, which gave the somewhat eccentric fox a warm feeling at the thought of being one. The best part was that the Chief actually gave him permission to work beside the bunny on cases where she 'thought' she may need outside assistance.

Not long after, he had spawned his one-fox agency and began to advertise on the reputation he had built through the Night Howler case. Things had been slow going, with most of his work being assisting Judy whenever possible in the hopes of reliving that intense feeling of mystery and curiosity he had when they solved the case together - but to no avail. They were all small jobs, sometimes house calls even, but nothing ever turned out to be some big mystery that needed to be cracked. That was where all the fun was... at least according to the private investigator. Judy always told him how irresponsible it was to think like that, that it was all about "protecting the citizens". Nick had promptly told her that for that reason he became a private investigator instead of a cop because they were "too strict for a free soul like me." Despite trying to argue her case, she couldn't deny that she had felt strong feelings of enjoyment whilst solving the Night Howler case, also.

Sometime after that, Nick managed to get an official permit for detective work and after some strict training and assessments with the help of Judy and the Chief, was given a licence to carry a firearm. Judy herself received her service firearm after the case and was the one to convince Bogo to give Nick one as well as thanks for the help on it. He said he really didn't need it, at least not yet, but Judy made him take it just in case he had a job that might compromise his safety. He made it seem like it was difficult to accept, but in reality, Nick was ecstatic at the prospect of having a gun, one of the hardest to get items in Zootopia. He did show it off to Finnick as well, just to rub it in as payback for making fun of him when Judy 'hustled' him. Which, of course, became a somewhat more important visit when the fennec fox told him about the scrawled time and date that he happened upon when looking at one of Nick's flyers - right under the public number he had advertised with it.

That note was what kept the somnolent fox from falling asleep, despite the late hour, under the gamble that someone would call about a case at that specific time. The fact that he hadn't been approached and that he hadn't just received a call led him to believe there might be some deeper mystery, despite realistically being little chance of such. But anything was better than sitting around, doing nothing. With a yawn, Nick looked up from his paws over to the clock on his wall. 2:35 AM, only a minute away now, he thought as he straightened in his chair and cracked his aching spine. I really shouldn't sit in a chair like this for so long. He slowly stood, walking over to the kettle he had just boiled before pouring himself a cup of tea. When he had finished, he walked back over to his desk and cast his gaze on the clock again. 2:36 AM. He sat down and chuckled as he took a sip of his tea, reminding himself that it could, and probably would be nothing. Who even makes a time like 2:36 in the flippin' morning? Nick asked himself, rolling his eyes for taking it so seriously. But just as he slumped into the desk chair and took another sip, his ears pricked up at the sound of his phone's ringtone.

His eyes widened as he looked up, watching his phone vibrate for a moment before his mind got into gear and he scrambled for it, spilling hot tea on himself in the process before finally answering and holding it to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked, tentatively, silently hoping it wasn't some prank.

"Yes, hello? Is this Mr Wilde?"

"Speaking," he answered. "I would assume you're the one who wrote on my flyer?"

"Yes, indeed. Now, I haven't much time, so I'll need you to get a notepad and pen and write down everything I say."

"Uh, yeah, of course," Nick answered. "Now, um, uh, is this some sort of case you'd like me to investigate?" he asked as he put the phone between his cheek and shoulder as he worked through a pile of books, finding a notepad and a pen nearby.

"Yes, in fact, I've been investigating these guys for a while now... but it's now to the point that I can't further it without putting myself and my family at risk. I've decided to move us out of the city, which is why I couldn't meet with you in person. I didn't know if anyone was watching, either, so I had to be sure I didn't cripple your efforts before even having started."

"Right," Nick answered absent-mindedly, unable to think straight as he tried to process the information he'd just received. "So, uh, what exactly is the case?"

"I used to be a small-time detective, and I received a tip on this case when it was just a small thing, but it's grown into something so much bigger. There's a syndicate of sorts – a cult, even – and they've recently seen the Night Howler incident as a motivator. I think they want to try and abolish the system that makes up the city, somewhat similarly to Dawn Bellwether. Are you writing this down?"

"What? O-Oh, yes," Nick answered, beginning to write down on his pad. "So, what have you found out before now, and what leads should I be pursuing?"

"It'll take a while to write down, but I have all my case files here for you. Are you ready?"

"Go ahead."

Exhausted, Nick collapsed backwards onto his bed, glad he could finally get some rest. Letting out a yawn, he looked over at the alarm clock on his bedside table. 3:30 AM. He let out a groan, but couldn't deny the warm feeling building inside of him as he smiled. He had a case. And what seemed like a big one, too. Yet any worries he might have had were drowned in his happiness as he just laid there and listened to the rain that continued to hit his roof. And to think, I might've still been a popsicle hustler... He chuckled at the thought. But his laughter soon died as he thought hard for a moment. Had Judy not come into his dull, monotonous life, he would still be dead inside like he had for so many years.

I should thank her, he thought. Considering she was his only close friend – the first real friend he'd ever had – he needed to do something for her. Especially considering how he'd treated her when they first met. Just thinking back to that made him feel terrible. I'll take her out for dinner. Somewhere really... nice. I suppose I can certainly afford it now, he thought, thinking back to what the mysterious caller had said about his pay.

"Now, regarding your pay, you'll receive what I got. $200 a day until the case is solved. As for where it comes from, let's just say that there are quite a few people onto this who don't want an event like the Night Howler incident to happen again, and as such all of them put in towards it. And don't be too surprised... there's a lot of us."

Although he was incredibly tired, Nick somehow managed to think about what his first steps would be. Tomorrow, I'll head into the ZPD and see if I can have a chat with Bogo about this, whether or not he's heard of it. If I'm lucky, I might even get Judy on the case with me, he thought as he smiled. Of course, that was what changed him for the better; the work he and Judy did together to solve the Night Howler case. A "hidden passion", Judy called it. Well, you're certainly right about that, Carrots, he thought with a chuckle. After laying on his back for a few more moments, Nick finally decided to get some sleep and went and got ready.

A short while later, he returned to his bed and jumped under the covers, his weary consciousness barely being maintained by his excitement for the next day, almost as if he were a kid waiting for their birthday to come. But soon enough, his consciousness faded as he fell into a deep, comfortable sleep, unaware of what was to come.