Chapter 49: Wedding Bells & Happy Endings

Artwork by Gokhan16

Edited by BeecroftA

(Three months after the battle)

The town of Zootopia was peaceful. A tranquil breeze from the ocean cooled the warm air, bringing with it the tang of salt and songs of seabirds. The flags from ships blew lazily in the harbor, while pennants that adorned street after street swayed easily in the zephyr. Though those same streets, which looked ready for a celebration of magnitudinous proportions, were strangely empty. Even Fort Zootopia, that grand edifice which still showed scars from the recent battle, was mammaled by only a few soldiers, and even those were lounging around, laughing and trading stories.

It was odd to see such a vibrant city, seem so deserted and abandoned.

Yet the reason for the decorations, the vacant celebrations looking to occur at some future point, became clear as one worked their way towards a nearby manor. Latecomers to, what was a massive affair underway, hurried along the path. Parents smiled as they urged their kits forward, while soldiers guided them along a path outside the manor in an orderly fashion.

The largest celebration and wedding in Zootopian history, was about to commence.

Yet none of the illustrious displays, or magnificent decorations had been paid for by any citizen of the town. In fact, none, even the Don's had paid a single peso for any of it.

Don Wilde and Capitan Hopps were rather silent about where the money had appeared from, yet the silent smiles and furtive glances to each other showed a shared secret between them. The treasure that Bogo had been searching for, killing for, kidnapping for, and reigning terror upon everyone over...had almost been in plain sight.

The last few explosions in that cursed canyon had revealed something that Bogo and his mammals had never thought to try. The landslide, which provided such easy access to an easy exit from the canyon, had not been naturally made.

The path that Bogo had trodden over a thousand times, had hidden his goal beneath his hooves all along. As soon as the last of the wicked soldiers and Bogo's desperados had been rounded up, Nick and Judy went back to the canyon, leading a train of carriages and peddle carts. A few weeks later they returned, canvas cloths covering the entirely of the dozen cart train they led around the outskirts of the town.

It wasn't soon after that large 'donations' had started appearing on doorsteps in the city. The orphanage, a dilapidated building whose roof leaked more rainwater than kept out, suddenly found the funds to replace it in a large bag upon their door one morning.

Pauper's Corner, a street where the city's sewage flowed down the street sides and broken mammals resided with no life in their eyes, found itself under construction, with adobe pipes placed under the street to divert the stench and flow of the filthy water.

A random widow would wake up to a basket of food upon her door.

The lumber yard beaver who had a tree fall and shatter his leg, awoke to the happy cries of his children, who after carrying in pawfulls of gold coins couldn't understand why their father was weeping.

No mammal really caught who had been delivering the the money, or funding the projects. Many accused the Don's of such niceties, yet when bank accounts were examined, not a peso had been lifted from any account.

Yet all knew where these miracle gifts had come.

Tales of Zorro and his new companion, a grey bunny dressed in a matching black costume as the vulpine renegade himself, were sometimes seen slinking about in the night near where the gifts had been placed.

Which is why the town had decided to make the wedding of Don Nicholas de la Wilde to Capitan Judith Laverne Hopps the largest celebration the town had ever seen.

Nick felt the breeze tickling his fur, cooling his otherwise warm emotions. The sun vibrantly shone down upon the kneeling fox, who briefly crossed himself before looking up at the sky with closed eyes.

"May you rest in peace…wherever you are."

The tod lowered his head, opening his eyes to look once more at the slightly raised grave marker; Skye's name etched proud and clear into the marble. The hilltop in his apple orchard was one of her favorite places when she was alive, and he reminisced about those happy times before their lives had come crashing down upon them like a house of cards in a hurricane named Bogo.

He shook his head at the memory of the now deceased buffalo. His soldiers and followers had easily given up after they'd watched their commander be slain so quickly by the combined work of, as all of Zootopia was calling them, Team WildeHopps. Judy had been eager to quash such names, blushing horribly when they returned from the port and lines of citizens thronged the streets shouting the new nickname.

Nick simply laughed it off, brought his mate close to his side, whispered a sweet nothing into her ear which furthered her blush, finishing off with bringing her lips up to meet his, all to a chorus of howls and hollers of the crowd.

WildeHopps...heh...has a good ring to it.

Nick was happy to have Judy as his mate, or, should he say will be happy in about an hour when the wedding begins.

"Speaking of which…"

His left ear flickered at a sound of grumbling behind him. A slight smile graced his lips, the sweet zephyr bringing the scent of his bride-to-be to his nose. He inhaled the smell of honeysuckle and spring as the grumbling continued.

"Whoever thought of wedding dresses needed to make one made for movement."

With a slight turn, Nick saw his bride trudging up the hill, holding her dress up and trying not to trip over the long train behind her. The fox grinned before quickly leaping to his bride's aid. She accepted his paw gratefully, though chuckled at his offer to hold up her dress.

"Wait until tonight, Wilde," she laughed. The lovers' eyes met, a twinkling of mirth and longing dancing between them as they sauntered up the hill. Together, the pair leaned against one another, wrapping paws around each other's waists while staring at the sunset.

At least, Nick was watching it.

"Nicholas?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you miss her?"

A part of Nick's heart froze, a slight lurch of pain following swiftly after. Nick's ears and tail fell as he tried to focus his now quickly beating heart. There was no use in lying to his beloved. "A little. Part of me wishes that she didn't die the way she had. She...she may have been evil when you knew her. Brainwashed and controlled, but, when I knew her…"

His gaze slowly found the headstone on the hill, its marbled edges standing crisp against the ebbing sun. Memories of happier times flooded through his mind in waves, rolling and catching each other...mixing then separating into a sea of emotions. The waves tossed him about until he felt a paw on his arm. Judy's touch focused him, and the waves slowed inside his roiling mind.

He cast her a loving glance before coughing into his paw. "Sorry…"

"No worries," Judy giggled. "You're an emotional fox."

Nick scoffed, but felt the needed strength to continue simply by her touch. "I wish you could have known her when she was pure. When she was the Skye I knew and loved. I'm sure you two would have gotten along well. Both quick, cunning, sly, loved by the most handsome tod in all of Califurnia." Judy laughed, nudging him in the ribs as he continued. "But most of all, you both wanted to serve justice. You've both made mistakes, but both worked to fix them."

The fox fell silent, contemplating what to say next. Judy, for her part, waited patiently for him to continue. She silently rubbed his arm gently, leaning into his frame, delighted at their closeness. After a while of silence, she finally felt a stirring within her.

"Then remember those moments," she began, looking towards her fiance, and soon to be husband while placing a paw atop his chest above his heart. "I know that I can never replace her here, in her heart. But I also don't want to. Always remember her as she was, and if you forget, I will try and help you remember."

She felt him clasp his own paw around her, his eyes shimmering slightly as he blinked once...twice...before leaning down into a loving kiss. Second of bliss later, and she felt him smile against her lips.

"You are too kind and loving," he finally murmured huskily.

"You think that now," Judy replied firmly, pushing out of his embrace. "But if we're late for our wedding because of my sentimental husband, then you won't find me so loving, amor. The whole town has turned up for this, and we should not pull such a disappearing act as we do almost nightly, now."

Nick nodded with a short laugh. "Then we must hurry, my love! I would not want to be visited by a bunny wraith!"

"That's well and - oh my gosh put me down!"

Judy yelped in surprise when Nick scooped her up into his arms, making sure to snag her train with his tail as he rushed down the hill. Judy snuggled into his embrace, but two thoughts crossed her mind.

"Nick?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you wearing your Zorro costume, but in white?"

Nick grinned, his eyes twinkling behind his mask. "I've heard you love a male in uniform." He waggled his eyebrows as she snickered. After a bit of laughter, she caught his gaze once more.

"Nick…?"

"Yes?"

"Isn't it a bad thing to see a bride before the wedding?" She knew it was her who had broken the age old rule by climbing the hill to make sure he wasn't late for their wedding, but...

"Ah," he huffed, panting slightly from the run before slowing to a walk. "But it is already night by the Purrwish religion, so I can see you now." He laughed, offered her a wink before he whispered in her ear. "And I want to see you...and only you...all…" kiss "...night…" kiss "...long."

With barely a glance back at the past atop the hill, Nick placed Judy down upon her feet, letting them walk towards their future, together.

(Over 211 miles away in Pawson City, Nevadoe and two and a half months earlier)

The rabbit gently placed the back of his paw against the forehead of the ill mammal, quickly pulling back his paw at the heat he felt.

"I've got to get that fever of yours down," he muttered to an empty cottage. Briefly exiting the dilapidated building, he rushed to a nearby stream, nearly tripping over his Franciscan robes as he doused the rag he'd found in the gurgling, ice cold stream, before rushing back within. The sick mammal mumbled incoherently as he applied the compress, hoping it would help while her fever broke.

For a moment, he leaned back against an abandoned, half broken dresser and rested, watching the babbling of his patient. "You must have taken a pretty bad fall, senorita." He eyed the raggedy blanket he had found and draped atop her, spotting the several bindings and bandages he'd used on her, thankful for his forethought in bringing them with him on his journey to Califurnia. She'd been badly injured when he found her on a sandbank next to a gurgling stream, coated with mud, filth, and her injuries oozing bile.

The head wound was the worst, as the gash ran from one ear down to her shoulder.

"You're lucky to be alive. You must have some reason to live for, that or neither hell nor heaven wanted you yet."

He chuckled, though quieted quickly as a bout of anxious murmuring escaped the vixen's mouth. He hadn't been able to pick out any words yet, but he was sure he would eventually.

If she healed, that is.

Even now he wasn't sure of her fate. It had been two weeks he had found her, and her fever had yet to break. Yet she was still alive through this all, so he wouldn't give up hope yet. He kept his gaze trained upon her, watching the slow rise and fall of her chest.

"Please, stay alive."

A sudden intake of breath woke the startled buck from his dreams. The darkness of the house told him he had nodded off, and he quickly chastised himself for falling asleep next to a woman. I'l have to count later...he thought as his paw slid towards his rosary beads in his pocket. Not the time now.

In the dimming sunlight, he could see that the vixen he had been caring for was awake. Not only that, but she was sitting up, cowering under the patchy blanket as her gaze shifted frantically around the room.

"Calm yourself, senorita," the monk stated. The vixen's eyes moved immediately onto him, curiosity lighting them.

"Who are you?" she whispered, shivers beginning to tremble her frame.

"I am a padre from Nevadoe," the rabbit buck began, edging close to the vixen. "I was on my way to Califurnia when I found you in distress. Do you...do you remember anything?"

Her brows cringed together, her eyes unfocused as she stared at the floor. After a rough minute, she shook her head. "No…"

Moving closer, he took his own blanket that had fallen off the bed and offered it to her. "Do you remember your name?"

Another shake of the head.

He hmmed in thought. "Well, hopefully your memories will come back to you, though if-"

His words caught in his throat as he looked up, and caught himself staring into the two most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen.

"Wow…" he breathlessly murmured after who knew how long of staring into those bewitching azure eyes. He hoped that the Virgin would forgive the tempting thoughts entering his mind as they held each other's gaze. He found his gaze trapped as he looked into a blue that reminded him of a summer's day as a kit, looking up at the clouds as they passed lazily by…

"Sky…"

The trance was broken in an instant as the vixen tensed.

"What did you call me?" she asked, trembling as she struggled to process what he'd said.

"Did I say something?" he asked, only to realize he must have by the look of confusion adorning his patient's face.

"You said sky…"

Oh queso dulce y galletas...I'm in trouble now. Better start counting the beads now and I might be done by tomorrow night.

"Sorry, your eyes...they reminded me of staring up at the sky and…" Why am I digging this hole deeper.

She shook her head. "No...that's my...that's my name...I think…?"

The padre clapped his paws together, though offered a meek smile after when the vixen winced at the loud noise. "Wonderful!" He was grateful for the distraction to mask his slip up. "You are Sky, then." He offered a paw, smiling when she tepidly took it. "I am delighted you are awake. And oh, where are my manners!"

He released her paw and bowed low. "It is a pleasure to meet you, senorita." Their eyes met again. "I, am Padre Salvaje, at your service."

The End of The Masked Fox

…?

Translation:

Salvaje: Savage

AN: Well, this story is now 'technical' over. I have a mini snippet planned as a teaser for an eventual sequel coming out soon. But yeah, this is the quasi-official end to this story. Two years of work on this, countless hours of planning, and more drafts tossed out than I could count. I think I have about eight saved documents of potential plots I threw out or altered while writing this story. It has been amazing fun to explore this AU, and even more fun to do so with Nick and Judy while trying to maintain who they were, while being Zorro and a Capitána (took me probably half the story to realize that the feminine in Spanish has an added 'a'). XD

I hope every one of you have enjoyed the ride. It has been a pleasure to write this fun story and even more joyful to see the reactions of everyone through reviews, comments, and talking over Discord and other sites. I've made a lot of friends through this story, and even picked up some Spanish along the way. Even created a hashtag of #makeBenSing2016. (for the chapter where he did sing a song I created) :)

And it all stemmed from a single drawing.

A little over two years ago, while I was writing "Always" and "One Hundred Kisses", I came across an amazing drawing by KungFuFreak07 (Katiekatastrophe) over on DA of Nick as Zorro and Judy fencing, a replica of a scene from the more recent version of Zorro in the early 2000's.

And I was hooked on the idea.

I think I messaged her immediately, asking if I would be able to write a story based upon the drawing she did. She said okay, and, the rest is shown on the pages of this story. Over 181,000 words, 49 chapters, a whole host of OC's, gratefully allowed to be in the story by friends, and a lot of memories. This story has been a blast and I really want to revisit it after some R & R.

And a huge thank you to everyone that allowed me to use their OC's in this story.

Weidii: KungFuFreak07

Sanchez Sandcat: Berserker88

Jonathon Wilde: Selaxes

Mister Grizner: Selaxes

Adam Helmeczi: PointyHairedJedi

Libious: Jackie Spotters

Taconny: Taconny

Eliot & Chloe Fanghanel: Koraru-san

Max Thrash: DrummerMax

Ake'cheta: Knoton13

OceRydia: OceRydia

Ziegelzeig: Ziegelzeig

Rekter Argid: DrekkDeina

Sebastian: Okamiluver

Felix "The Crimson Paw": FoxintheHenhouse

Delta: Bluelighthouse

Atom: Bluelighthouse

Mr Marmotini: BeecroftA

Liam McIver: ScaraMedn

(I think I got them all? If not, let me know and I'll add you in)

Editors:

Holy cow did so many people help me in this department. Ake'cheta helped me with the translation of so many native words from his languages he knows, Oce & Zieg helped with the French, Katie, Koraru, Euph and a whole bunch of others helped with the terrifying Spanglish I was torturing everyone with. Then all those who helped in editing this monstrosity of a story. Thank you to all my editors:

Selaxes

Crimson-Red Fawkes

AngloFalcon

KungFuFreak07

Sarcas_is_our_Strength

Euphonemes

Libious

Democrasaurus Rex

FoxintheHenhouse

Irual

Gabriel (The Night Manager)

Christhebobcat

ScaraMedn

BeecroftA

Captain Kelran

Also, huge "Thank yous!" to all you either drew fan art of this story, I commissioned for this story, or who asked to draw for the story. I've been blown away by your support and appreciation for this story that has, with as many people worked on it, belongs to the community.

Artists:

KungFuFreak07

YasminOliveira534

CharlieBarkinq

Knoton13

Pyrocolaxsama

Gokhan16

Seriously, thank you to everyone who provided OC's, edited, drew artwork, reviewed, and gave encouragement along the way. This story never would have finished if not for all of you. So a big huge thank you to everyone. I hope you have enjoyed "The Masked Fox".