Hey Everybody!

Sorry for the INSANELY long wait for this chapter; turns out, the last quarter of nursing school is a whole different level of hell.

Anyway, that said, I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for your patience and support. Hopefully the coming months will be less stressful with more time available for writing; I really missed this.

Oh, and before I forget (again):

FAIR WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MATURE LANGUAGE & VIOLENCE AGAINST CUTE, FUZZY ANIMALS.

ALSO, I DON'T OWN ZOOTOPIA (unfortunately).

ANNOUNCEMENT: For those of you who reviewed the previous "Chapter 18", the announcement page, the site will not allow you to review this chapter. If you'd like, you can post a guest review with your name, and I'll get back to you ASAP.

Without further ado, here's Chapter 2-8: The Big Reveal

When it came to brute strength, there was no denying that foxes were at the shallow end of the gene pool. What they lacked in physical prowess however, they more than made up for with an ingenuity and cleverness unrivaled by most mammals. Foxes had always possessed an uncanny ability to not only survive, but to thrive, to adapt to whatever nature threw their way. Change in the environment? Not a problem. Rise of sentience and civilization? Heck, they did great in the city. Being almost universally despised by the rest of mammal-kind? They'd managed. Being forced to open up emotionally to a cute li'l bunny? 'I'm doomed.'

Nick's infamous silver tongue and quick wit had fled the moment she had turned pleading amethyst eyes upon him. Unable to lie to the doe, but unwilling to tell the truth, the fox found himself in an emotional limbo as he pondered the events that had paved the path to his own personal hell.

Less than two days.

That's all it had taken for her to break through the walls that he had spent two decades building to protect himself from the world; walls that had seemed impenetrable, indestructible. Somehow, that tiny rabbit with big dreams had stormed into his life, drop kicked his ego, and unraveled the lies that society had been telling him his whole life, lies that he had come to believe.

Not that he'd made it easy for her. No, he'd fought her tooth and claw every step of the way; impeding her investigation at every opportunity while spitefully mocking her and her dreams. He'd belittled and degraded her, done his best to show her the ugly truth of the world. He'd wanted to see her fail, to see her drug down by the same harsh realities that had crushed his own hopes and ambitions.

But had she let him get to her? No, no she had not. Instead, she had turned the tables on him. Somehow, despite their rocky introduction and the canister of Fox Away that had remained at her hip throughout the entirety of their little "adventure", even though they were almost complete strangers, that bunny had gotten to him. She had burrowed deep through all the bitter cynicism and sarcasm until she'd uncovered a glimpse of the real Nick Wilde, the one that life had all but killed, the one he had tried so hard to bury.

He'd done his best to drag her down, and instead she had pulled him up, convinced him that he didn't have to be what other mammals saw, that he could be better. Somehow, that bunny had earned his respect, and more astonishingly, his trust.

Less than two minutes.

That's all it had taken for her to shatter that trust.

He'd been so angry. She'd started to heal him, only to stab him in the back with her careless words and ignorant beliefs. He'd been a fool, he never should have believed her. How could he believe her now, now that she'd made it perfectly clear what she really thought of him? She was just another prey frightened by the big bad predator.

'Whatever.'

Angrily, Nick readjusted the large plastic bags he held against his side, rattling the contents within. Today was grocery day, which meant another week's worth of canned meals to supplement the takeout that comprised the bulk of his diet. 'God I miss being able to cook.'

He frowned, realizing that his ears were down again, showing passerby a clearly troubled fox. Maintaining his mask of calm, collected indifference was becoming more difficult with each passing day. His ears flicked forward as the furious shouts of protesters reached him. It had been seven weeks since the press conference, and the city was in turmoil. Seven weeks since he'd last spoken to her. 'Dumb bunny.'

A few weeks back, he'd caught a glimpse of her, a small gray and blue blur wedged between two much larger mammals at a peace rally. 'No doubt still trying to make the world a better place. Cause that worked so well for her the first time.', he'd thought bitterly. But when the confrontation came to blows, the large male pig roughly shoving the female jaguar, the gap between the two animals had been enough to afford him a clear view of her. That one, unobstructed view had been enough to reopen every emotional wound, to break his heart all over again. And then she was gone, vanished as the jaguar leapt to her feet, knocking the small rabbit over in the process.

Nick had panicked. Heart racing, he'd ignored the outraged shouts, the disgusted looks, ignored his own forgotten anger as he'd rushed forward through the crowd. He never made it to her. A sea of large, enraged prey reminded him how small he really was, blocking his path. By the time he'd made it around a pair of particularly obese hippos, the situation was under control, and she was gone. He'd walked away… again.

There was no news of her being injured, and he was positive that there would have been if she'd been hurt, but it didn't stop him from worrying. Even though he was still bitter, and justifiably so, he desperately wished that things had gone differently that day at the press conference. He had considered tracking her down, he was pretty sure he could find her at the ZPD; just to make sure she was okay. Their time together hadn't been by any means perfect, but being around her had felt… nice. She had made him feel like he could be trusted, relied upon, that he could be more than just a sly fox. He wanted his friend back, and that scared him. Nick Wilde didn't make friends with bunnies, or cops, and certainly not with bunny cops. Nick Wilde also didn't let things get to him, not anymore… So why did the idea of never seeing her buck-toothed smile again make him feel so sad…

He finally stopped trying to perk his ears; there was no point, they'd just be down again as soon as he stopped paying attention. He was hurting, and if the world took offense at his sorry state, well, the world could just go screw itself. Readjusting the bags one last time, he turned down a familiar alleyway, a shortcut. His tail scraping the ground, lost in thought, he didn't see the shifting shadows that trailed him.

Judy had come back for him less than a week afterwards, dragging him into yet another crazy adventure. A smile tugged the corner of his muzzle as the last remnants of the unpleasant memory were washed away, replaced by a new feeling, joy. She had come back for him.

That day in the ravine, he'd wanted to be mad at her, had been at first; but as she'd excitedly told him about the latest break in her case, the anger had been replaced with a hurt so intense he'd been forced to retreat. He had foolishly hoped that she'd come back to apologize, to mend the budding friendship that she had broken. He was disappointed, not with her, but with himself, he should have realized that they had never been friends; she was a police officer, and he was just some shady fox who she had blackmailed into helping her. That was it, case closed, nothing more. He was a complete idiot.

She had chased after him, just like she had after the press conference; and just like that day, he'd continued to walk away from her. Angrily reaching into his pocket to paw the small bit of orange and green plastic that had brought them together, albeit unwillingly, he had considered throwing the pen at her; after all, he'd already erased the damning evidence and it might be satisfying to watch. But this time, something made him stop. She was crying, apologizing, laying bare all the hurt and damage she had caused, all the regret she felt.

"… you can hate me, and... and that'll be fine, because I was a horrible friend, and I hurt you, and you..."

He had stood there, frozen by her words. So she had considered him a friend. Idly, he fingered the small button as she had continued to cry her heart out.

"…and you can walk away knowing that you were right all along"

He had almost growled. No, he was done walking away. Paw clenching, he'd pressed the button.

"- I really am just a dumb bunny."

The golden sunshine soaking into his fur couldn't compare to the warmth he had felt at her words, a blaze of emotion that threatened to consume him.

'She came back.'

Lying injured in her family's home, Nick considered the consequences of what she expected him to do. He didn't relish the idea of reliving the events of that day, and he especially loathed the idea of sharing those memories with her. But she wanted the truth, and damn if she wasn't hellbent on getting it.

He sighed, 'Well this is just going to be loads of fun…'

"Last chance Carrots, are you sure you want to do this? It's not exactly a story for a cute little bunny," he half-teased with a troubled smile.

"Nick…"

"Yeah… Yeah, I know," he sighed. "Okay, so here's how this is going to work, I'll tell you about what happened, but there's going to be some ground rules. Rule number one: No interrupting. This is going to be hard enough and frankly I just want to get it over with…"

"Okay," she quickly agreed, clearly impatient to finally learn what happened.

Nick frowned. "Now, now, Fluff. What did I just say? We're not even to the juicy part yet, and you're already interrupting," he teased, the smile never reaching his eyes.

She rolled her eyes, but dutifully remained silent, even as she sarcastically drew two fingers across her muzzle in a "zipping" motion before waving at him to continue.

Her antics were met with an eyeroll of his own, followed by a huff before he continued, "Number two: Absolutely no cops—"

"But Nick!..."

"No!" he scolded, a look of grim seriousness upon his face. "This is NOT up for debate, Judy. Either you promise that this stays between us, and only us, or I won't tell you. I have my reasons, and I need you to trust me on this. No cops."

The look on her face showed how torn she was. How could she get justice for him without involving the police? Why was he so adamant that the monster who did this to him should get away? But if that was the price she had to pay, maybe she could change his mind afterward.

"Okay…" she scowled, clearly unhappy with the requirement.

His features softened. "Thank you," he murmured.

"So… Any other unreasonable rules you want to impose?" she asked, a hint of anger creeping into her voice.

"Yeah… Just one more," he hesitated, glancing down as though he would find courage between the orange and blue stitching of the quilt he was now grasping tightly as though it were his only lifeline in a tumultuous sea.

"And….?" she implored.

His eyes slowly rose to hers, still unsure, "I'll… I'll tell you when we get there."

Gnawing her lip, Judy grudgingly nodded. "Okay."

Nick sighed, closing his eyes as he slumped back against the headboard. 'Can't believe I'm going through with this.'

"Fine, if you're really going to make me do this, let's just get it over with," he groaned, settling more comfortably against the pillow at his back.

"Our story begins three weeks ago…" he began.

"You're really going to be all dramatic about this?" she snickered.

"Hush rabbit. Rule number one remember? You'll just have to wait until the end to critique my amazing narrative abilities."

"Ahem, anyway. Like I said, our story begins three weeks ago in Sahara Square…"

'Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid dumb fox!'

How could he have been so stupid? So completely, and utterly blinded by false hope that he hadn't seen the noose until he'd willingly slipped it over his neck and swan dived off the edge.

From the moment she'd walked her cute fuzzy-wuzzy tail through that oversized door, that rabbit had done nothing but annoy and irritate him. He'd met her kind before, the type of prey that likes to put on a big show about how they're sooo understanding, completely pro-equality, and definitely not afraid of predators… the kind of prey whose heart races when they see a smiling muzzle full of fangs, still crosses the street to avoid a pred at night… the kind of prey who carries fox repellent to an ice cream shop.

'Hypocrite.'

He didn't bother trying to hide the derisive snort that left with his next exhale; alone in a dank alley, a false front was pointless, it wasn't like his shadow cared.

A low, menacing growl echoed through the narrow space. Eyes widening slightly, Nick was shocked at the noise rumbling from his own throat; it had been years since his control had slipped so badly in public. 'Growling only gets you in trouble. Never let 'em see that they get to you.' Closing his eyes, he took a few calming breaths, plastic crinkling as his paws tightened on the bags he carried. 'For Marian's sake Nick, get a damn grip! So the rabbit hurt you; so what?! Big whoop! Mammals hurt you all the time. Get over it, bury it just like you bury everything else and MOVE ON.'

Over the next few breaths, the anger mostly faded, enough so that he grudgingly felt prepared to continue his trek back to his lumpy, cold, and lonely bed.

Sighing, he once again shifted the bags he held, trying to regain some feeling in his paw pads. 'Not too much farther to the station at least.'

The clattering, scraping of a can rolling along the hard-packed earth reached his ears, causing them to flick backwards towards the noise, even as he became aware of more sound coming from behind him. The weighted 'clop' of an equine hoof, heavy breathing, a muffled pawstep. Then the smell hit him, raising the fur along his spine and causing his tail to bristle in alarm.

'Shit…'

A loose board at the end of the alley would provide a quick escape, 'I just have to make it there before these bozos…'

"HEY, PELT!" a deep voice bellowed behind him.

Ignoring the speciest remark, Nick slowly continued down the alleyway, carefully listening and keeping an eye out for anything useful.

"HEY FOX, HE'S TALKIN' TO YA!" a second voice taunted, the hoofsteps getting closer.

'Now or never.'

Tightening his grip one last time, he ran.

There was a brief moment of confused silence before all hell broke loose, angry shouts, the thundering of blood in his ears, the pounding of multiple hooves and paws as they rushed towards him.

Ducking his head just in the nick of time, a bottle whizzed between his ears, shattering as it hit the wall. 'Crap! Crapcrapcrap!' A pained yelp escaped him as a rock struck the back of his head, temporarily blinding him as he stumbled, dropping his bags as he fell.

Shuffling steps brought his assailants closer, surrounding him, blocking his escape. 'I knew I shouldn't have left the den today.'

Plastering a grin on his muzzle, but careful not to show any teeth, Nick slowly rose to his paws, holding his front paws in front of him in a non-threatening gesture. Surveying the situation, he had to fight back the slow rise of panic in his gut. 'Shit, four of them… and two bunnies.'

Deciding that the rabbits were the least of his worries, Nick carefully examined the other four mammals, all of them wearing the red "PREY 1st!" shirts that were quickly gaining popularity. 'Male pig, pink, about 5'6", 300 pounds. Male donkey, not the small kind either, geez looks like a mammoth breed; damn it. Awww come on! Really?' Nick's eyes involuntarily widened as he took in the two muscular, ridiculously huge Boer goat bucks leering down at him; one of them cracking his hooves. 'Great, just great!'

"Didn't your mama teach you any manners pelt? It ain't polite to ignore mammals talkin' to ya," the donkey sneered in a deep braying voice.

"Of course he wasn't taught manners Jack, his mama's a bitch!" the pig laughed, oinking noisily.

Despite trying to maintain his calm façade, Nick felt himself bristling at the insult.

"Haha, very funny. Especially coming from a guy who can't see his own dick without a mirror and a magnifying glass. How's it hanging porky? Shriveled and buried beneath fifty pounds of bacon?"

The silence was deafening. The pig's eyes narrowed, the smile vanishing from his snout.

Unable to stop himself, Nick continued, "No, no don't tell me; I got this. Your dick's in the fitness protection program, right?" he smiled.

"I'd ask how the missus deals with the disappointment in bed, but hey, Madam Palm and her three sisters can't complain too much huh? After all, they have a tough enough job shoveling food into your fat mouth," he spat venomously.

'Well that was a great idea.'

Warily watching the others, Nick noticed one of the goats slip something metal over his hooves, while the other goat and donkey looked ready to jump him at a moment's notice.

"So I'm fat, tell me something I don't know," the pig groused, clearly fed up with the fox's mouth.

Nick smirked.

"Salad doesn't have to be drowned in ranch to taste good."

"WHY YOU LITTLE!"

And just like that, the shit hit the fan.

Dodging a poorly placed swing by his porcine adversary, Nick quickly ducked under the flabby arm.

"You're right, you're right! My bad, guys. I shouldn't make fun of fat mammals." Nick offered, looking directly at the pig. "After all, you might eat me."

Coming up behind his opponent and rapidly striking three jabs right over the larger male's kidneys, Nick's eyes widened in horror. What should have been a painful, crippling blow resulted in nothing more than a heavy jiggle radiating from the impact area. 'Ah, come on!'

Taking a defensive stance and making sure not to turn his back on the larger mammals, Nick carefully made his way to the side of the alley.

"Ok guys, seriously now. You've done a great job at the whole 'intimidate the smaller mammal' thing, but how about we just call it a draw? You took a swing at me, I took a swing at you; no harm, no foul right?" Nick tried reasoning, slowly reaching behind his back.

"FUCK YOU FOX!" the pig bellowed.

"That's a no," Nick muttered, eyes hardening as the pig rushed forward in an attempt to throttle the insolent canid. Feinting to the right just before the pig reached him, Nick jumped up, landing precariously on a trash can lid.

!CRACK!

The male pig stumbled, dazed, before crashing heavily to the ground. Standing on his trash can, Nick hefted the remaining half of the heavy wooden plank he'd found. "I'm only going to suggest this one more time fellas, BACK THE FUCK OFF!" he snarled.

"Nick, is this story real?"

"Hush you, of course it's real. And what did I say about interrupting? Geesh, you bunnies, so skeptical."

"Har har. But seriously Nick, this happened?"

"Yes, I really went all Captain Cave Mammal and clobbered that fat jerk with a club. Can I continue my story now? Good, because I was just getting to the part where I was almost on the receiving end of a very unpleasant dog pile."

Jumping off the trash can just as one of the goats crashed into it, Nick used the larger mammal's head as a springboard, using the increased momentum to drive the edge of the plank right into the base of the buck's skull.

!CRACK!

Landing safely behind the Boer, Nick surveyed his work. 'Damn it. He's a goat.'

Slowly turning, muscles rippling, the goat laughed deeply, "Boy, if you think that's gonna' work…"

Nick swung again. A muffled impact and the alley exploded with thunderous, pained bleating as the large buck fell to his knees, clutching the broken area between his legs.

Turning to face the others, Nick noted with satisfaction the horrified looks on their muzzles, the other Boer going so far as to cover his own bulge protectively.

Dropping the ruined remains of his makeshift baton, Nick patiently waited for the next attack. He didn't have to wait long.

Brandishing illegal brass hooves, the remaining Boer rushed towards the fox with a bleating war cry, attempting a vicious swipe at his head. Flanking the smaller mammal, the donkey attempted a similar strike at the same time. Ducking low, Nick smirked with satisfaction at the crunching sound that came as the donkey's wrist shattered.

"WHAT THE FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!" the donkey howled in pain, attempting to slap his companion with his remaining good hoof.

Quickly slipping between the larger equine's legs, Nick desperately searched for a new weapon. Eyes lighting up, he darted down the alley, back towards his original escape.

"What's the matter FOX?" the Boer spat, "Running with your tail between your legs back to your bitch mama?"

Slowly turning to face the taunt, Nick smiled, a dangerous smile that was not the least bit friendly, a smile that showed a great many pointed teeth.

"Not at all, my good mammal, I just wanted to collect my groceries before I forgot them," he replied easily, jiggling the plastic bag for emphasis.

Briefly sharing a confused look, the Boer was the first to jump back into the fray, charging horns first towards the smaller fox. Warily, the donkey followed suit. Diving to the side, Nick dodged the Boer, popping up behind him. Facing the behemoth donkey, Nick stared down the mammal easily three times his height. Dashing forward, before the larger mammal could react, Nick swung, the full weight of multiple canned goods crushing into the equine's canon bone with cracking force.

Bellowing in pain, the donkey fell to the ground, clutching his fractured shin.

'Well, he's not getting up anytime soon.', the fox thought smugly, right before his world was sent spinning.

Crashing into bags of trash was revolting, but at least it was better cushioning than the hard brick wall. Wincing, he gingerly touched a finger to his side, 'Shit, definitely broken.'

Deep laughter filled his ears, the kind that reminded him of Finnick…only worse, dangerous, deadly. Vision still a bit blurred, Nick slowly raised his head. More than twice his size, and at least two hundred pounds, the brown and white Boer towered over him; reminding him how pathetically puny he was. Still laughing, the buck reached forward, yanking the fox off the ground by his scruff. Yipping in pain, Nick turned bleary eyes towards his assailant.

"Any last words pelt?" the goat sneered, raising his brass-covered hoof menacingly.

"Yeah," the fox slurred, starting to have trouble breathing through the pain.

Raising a questioning brow, the goat laughed. "Well then, let's hear it fox. Let's see you talk your way out of this one."

Coughing, the fox mumbled something incoherent.

Laughing, the Boer raised Nick closer to his ear, "A little louder, slick. I think you may have a collapsed lung. That always makes the talkin' difficult."

"I said, I'm done talking."

Swinging forward, Nick bit down on the floppy brown ear, bit down hard. Shaking his head back and forth viciously, ripping through flesh and cartilage, ignoring the screams; he clawed at the side of the larger male's face, sinking his claws into delicate flesh even as he continued to mangle the Boer's ear until he was roughly shoved away.

Falling to the ground, Nick's breath escaped him a 'whoosh'.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU LOUSY FUCKING PELT!"

"Yeah, yeah. Like I haven't heard that before," Nick quipped weakly, now leaning heavily against the alley wall. Still winded, Nick watched as the large buck charged, horns lowered, a killing blow… Easily sidestepping the rage-blind male, Nick smirked.

!CRACK!

The Boer ran straight into the wall, snapping off half of his right horn, and causing him to stumble drunkenly before collapsing to the ground.

"Heh-heh. Oldest trick in the book."

Groaning, Nick glanced around. 'Fat ass is out, so is jack ass and the two dumb-dumbs… That just leaves… Ah... There's the bunny.'

Trembling on top a dumpster, a grey and white bunny stood, phone in paw, recording.

'No, black and white,' he realized, a pang of sadness coursing through him, 'Dumb fox.'

Slowly approaching, Nick held out his paw. "Hand over the phone, and LEAVE," he growled, showing his canines.

"Eeep! Ah, yeah sure, sure thing!" the bunny squeaked, quickly dropping the phone and scurrying off the dumpster. Keeping a wary eye on the fox, the male rabbit scampered away from the bloody scene, down the alley, and out of sight.

Chuckling, Nick winced as pain flared through his broken ribs.

"Well, I'm glad somebody decided to be reasonable," he said to no one in particular.

Moving slowly, he gathered up his dropped groceries, carefully stepping around the injured and unconscious mammals. Spotting a can of tuna that had rolled beside a crate, Nick gingerly stooped to retrieve it.

"Wait a minute… Wasn't there two…"

Even as the words left his muzzle, the muffled sound of fur over packed earth reached his ears as pain exploded throughout his back, every nerve shrieking in agony.

His legs unable to support him, Nick fell to the ground. Whining, Nick felt his vision fading fast as he stared up at the forgotten bunny; a grey and white buck, a bloodstained knife held in his trembling paw.

'Shit…'