The universe. So full of wonders. Nick could spend hours and hours looking up at the sky. So many stars, so many mysteries… And there's one very special star that makes him think of one very special mammal. This is his story.

At the dawn of time, from the chaos, came an exception.

One of the most mysterious secrets of the universe.
You see, Nick comes from that very mysterious and unique place.
They are the only known solar system with double gravity.
Two twin planets whirling together around one sun but each with its own and opposite gravity. The upper world, inhabited by prey. And the lower world, inhabited by predators.

In their world it's possible to fall up and to rise down.

But... his story, it's about love. Some people say that true lovers are one soul that is separated when it's born. And those two halves will always yearn to find their way back together.
Well, to understand his story, you're gonna need to know the three basic laws of double gravity.

All matter, every single object is pulled by the gravity of the world that it comes from, and not the other.

An object's weight can be offset using matter from the opposite world:
inverse-matter.

The problem is:
After a few hours of contact, matter in contact with inverse-matter ...burns.

All these laws are as old as the universe itself. They're are unchangeable, and there are no exceptions. Gravity… They say you can't fight it. Well, Nick disagrees.

What if love was stronger than gravity?

Now let's go back to the dark times when any contact between worlds was extremely dangerous and totally forbidden.

Up top the mammals had grown rich and prosperous while here, down below,
mammals steal inverse-metal from up top to heat their homes and to survive, risking everything,
even their own lives.

The streets were crime ridden and children were savaging through the streets, looking for anything they could use for their families. Poor sanitation standards and the lack of medical resources were the source for illness and diseases. The Below as it was called, was a dark place. Electricity was scarce and the streets were hulled in shadows, hiding the ill and mad.

But if one would just raise their eyes from the apocalyptic world up towards the Upper, they would see light, they would see life, they would see a sky full of stars. Children on the streets tell themselves, if they died in the Below, heaven would expect them in the Upper. It was an utopia for mammals, a place one could live without worries and fear.

But unfortunately the two vices, poor and rich, are separated by law.
The only authorized contact between worlds is through TransWorld, a giant corporation up top in the city of Zootopia and lead by prey, created to take cheap oil from down below and to sell back to them overpriced electricity that they couldn't possibly afford.

Because of TransWorld, Nick grew up in an orphanage.
His parents died in the Big Blast, a TransWorld oil refinery explosion that destroyed much of the city. Fortunately, there were the weekends.

Our story begins in a small part of the city on the outskirts bordering a forest followed by a snowy mountain range. Even though the dirt and grime followed the mammals living here all the way to this part of the city, the scarcely distributed buildings and the occasional fin and oak granted the area some color and charm. The cold and distant hues of the gray buildings collided with the warm green of the evergreen trees and the warm glow of the Upper world, as the white glistening snow could be seen chilling on top of the mountain peak. It truly was a stunning scene out of this world.

Among those few buildings stood out a baroque complex, divided in two wings. The gray stones hindered the building from expelling any warmth and only contributed to the freezing atmosphere of the Below, especially as our story begins in the winter. Occasional snowflakes danced silently in the wind, just to land softly on the ground and culminate into the white wonder.

The creaky doors of the building cracked open and a young red furred tod stepped out into the cold, body wrapped up cozily into a gray jacket and a burgundy scarf as the tod descended the stairs onto the street, his emerald eyes roaming to and fro the air, watching the stunning dance of the snow.

He suppressed a shudder as he watched the flakes land on his purple nose and melt upon contact. While winter definitely didn't belong to his favorite seasons, Nick still couldn't deny he wouldn't appreciate the beauty one would witness during this time. And especially today the weather couldn't dampen his mood, because once in a while Nick was actually allowed to visit his only surviving relative, his great aunt Becky.

The young fox mounted his rusty and trusted bike as he rode down the slippery streets, cautious of the frozen water and maneuvering his way down the single road leading to Becky's place. Clouds were hovering over the mountain tops and faint sunlight broke through them, creating a truly mystical ambience Nick admired with shining emeralds. Nick could never get enough of just looking out into nature and let it do its work, creating stunning yet fleeting masterpieces.

The way down to Becky didn't took long and soon Nick would reach the worn down cabin out at the foot of the mountains. Crossing the bridge over a small canal, his bike skittered to a halt in front of the wooden building. It was a simple cabin, dark almost black wood decorated the facade, as behind faded windows hung white curtains, granting the glooming building much needed brightness.

Hopping up the stairs onto the veranda, his steps and movements full of juvenile energy, he wordlessly opened the door and entered the warm interior. As well as Becky, there were
two things that Nick truly loved: model airplanes and Becky's flying pancakes. Yes, you've heard correctly, flying pancakes.

"Going to have to get me some more pink pollen tomorrow. Okay, sweetie?"

The elder vixen turned around and looked over her shoulder with loving amber eyes at the young fox at her kitchen table, as she sprinkled a bright pink pulver onto the liquid pancake batter on the pan. The modest interior was dimly lit and cold, only a few lamps and the window providing it with light. Simple wooden furniture fulfilled its purpose without looking too tacky.

The young tod sat at the table, his paws lying patiently on it, while his sparkling eyes gave his excitement away. His swishing red furred tail also showed Becky how much her great nephew enjoyed her cooking, and it truly filled her with utter joy. Upon her statement, he nodded eagerly, his smile never faltering as he waited for the food.

The vixen smiled lovingly before she exclaimed, "Now catch!" Skillfully the elder vixen hurled the pancake with a flick of her wrist from the pan into the air. But instead of falling onto the floor and resulting in a ruined meal, the pancake instead floated through the air. As if gravity didn't apply to the sweet meal, the pancake glided onto Nick's plate, which he had held up in order to catch it.

While Becky had raised the young tod from time to time, she also initiated him into an ancient knowledge passed down over the generations to the women of the fox family..

The secret of the pink bees.

"Becky, how do they do that?", Nick asked innocently after setting down the plate with his floating treat, causing the elder vixen to chuckle lightly, amused by her great nephews curiosity.

"It's all in this book," she said softly, as she stepped beside him by the table and knelt down so she could be on eye-level with him. In her grasp she held a thick book in fake leather binding and as she had knelt down, she set the book on the table for them to see, and began to flip through the written worn down pages, the young fox following her movements eagerly, "It was passed down to my mother from hers. And, of course I would have given it to your mother."

Her expression faltered slightly as she remembered the loss of her dear daughter, but she quickly shoved the memories away as the sole presence of Nick should've been enough comfort. She quickly collected herself before she continued, her amber eyes never leaving the book in front of her, "One day, when you grow up, it'll be yours.."

Becky would often sent him to gather pink pollen from the Sage Mountains. This was the only place, and a forbidden place, where pink bees could be found. Bees that fed of flowers
from both worlds and without whom this story could never have happened.

So after finishing his pancakes, Nick hurriedly rode his bike further down the snowy streett towards the Sage Mountains. He quickly found himself in front of a wire fence on a deserted meadow. The young fox dismounted his bike and ran towards a certain spot on the fence, passing a worn down and rusty sign saying,

"Restricted area.

No trespassing beyond this point."

as here he had cut in a hole for himself, big enough to allow him to crawl through.

Looking back at the sign, he snorted amusedly. Never had he been caught climbing up this mountain and he was sure it would never likely happen. The place here was deserted, almost unknown. It was his and Becky's little secret. Smirking he turned around and began to run up the hill onto the foot of the mountain and soon enough, the little fox was climbing up the cliff, grunting and panting from the exhausting work out.

But aside from collecting illegal substances up on a restricted area, Nick has a little secret of his own… he used to go chase inverse-rain from up top.

One day he went much further than usual, climbing higher and higher above the cloud line. And that day... that day… changed his life forever.

The young fox strode further and further up the cliff, the occasional trees passing him as the clouds surrounded him as mist, causing him so tighten his jacket around him. Suppressing a shudder he climbed further up until the young fox reached an old oak tree. Its bark was black as charcoal and coarse, worn down from the harsh weather and the many years it had been up here. The leaves have already died and the treetops were merely naked branches dancing soullessly through the wind. It was exactly what Nick was looking for.

Without further reluctance he began to climb up the old tree. Even though the tree might have been ancient, Nick didn't have much to worry about it crashing down. Panting slightly the young tod finally reached the treetop. The wind was howling and Nick had to tuck in his ears so they wouldn't freeze off and as he sat on the branch, trying to catch his breath, he let his gaze roam around the breathtaking view up here.

Due to the dual gravity and the close approximation of the twin planets, the rain clouds which were forming around Nick tended to swirl around like a maelstrom. Nick felt like he was sitting underwater, as the white and gray clouds swirled around him as if he was underwater, looking at a vortex made out of mist. And as he let his gaze fall upon the planet above him, the mountains on the other side seemed to be within his grasp, only mere meters away.

Stunned emeralds watched the spectacle and Nick felt like he was now in his own world. Time seemed to stand still and he held his breath, fearing that if he would exhale, it would shatter the fleeting moment. But as he was watching intently the surroundings, he suddenly felt something cold falling onto his purple nose, and before he knew it rain started to pour down the clouds, or was it falling up?

Reaching out a paw, carefully not to lose his grip on the branch, the fox watched as the raindrops from below him dripping on the underside of his paw and actually falling up. He waited until the rainfall slightly wore down until Nick reached exitedly into his pocket and pulled out his model airplane, readying himself on the branch before he hurled the plane into the wind, watching it gliding and dancing around the air…

..and flying towards the Upper world.

Nick watched with wide eyes as his plane landed on the snowy grass of the other planet beside a gravel path. And as the fox looked closer, he realized he wasn't alone.

Just a few hundred meters above him was his plane, lying in the snow among the trees. The sound of soft paws walking on the gravel reached Nick's ears and he watched as a young gray furred bunny walked out from between the trees, seemingly having been on a walk before her eyes landed on the model airplane in front of her. She wore a burgundy beret on her head and a navy coat with golden buttons hugged her slim body, her clothes were pristine and in excellent condition, and Nick was sure he had never seen clothes so clean before. It caused him to look down at his own attire. While the bunny could clearly afford pretty clothes, he wore ragged jeans and a grimy jacket he had found in the dumpster. Looking back up, his gaze wandered to the bunny now in front of his plane.

Stopping in her tracks, the doe bent down and picked the toy up, letting her paws roam around the object and look at it with a curious gaze, before a voice above her caused her long black tipped ears to look up.

"Hey!"

Looking for the source of the voice, her gaze fell upon the upside down figure of a red furred tod standing on a thick branch of an old tree, looking up at her with curious emeralds. His attire was simple and dirty, yet his pristine red fur accentuated it nicely. She had never seen a predator in real life before, only on the television. She had heard enough stories from her family about how dangerous and savage predators could be and how she should never ever make contact with one of them. She knew it was illegal, and some part of her believed what her family had told her. But there was another part inside of the young doe that prevented her from pulling her eyes away. She was enchanted by his strange appearance, the red fur, the bushy tail, the shimmering emeralds and the smile he sent her. She felt how a blush crept up her cheeks as she saw the tod waving at her, a smile tugging at her lips.

Feeling how her heart sped up a little from the unfamiliar situation she was in, the doe smiled back, waving her small gray paw and as she shouted back a sweet "Hi!", and Nick couldn't help but to grin brightly.

"What's your name? I'm Nick" he asked innocently, his emeralds watching as her stunning amethyst lit up from his question. She smiled sweetly up at him before she answered, and even though Nick could see she was wary from talking to a predator, Nick was sure that in that moment he had made a new friend.

And as emerald connected with amethyst eyes, he also knew that her name would echo inside his head for the next few years, just as his heart would flutter every time he would look at her.

"I'm Judy!"

AN: Hey! I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter from my little side story I'm working on while my main story "Hidden" is still in the making.

After having watched the movie "Upside Down", I couldn't help but see Nick and Judy in the story. And for those who know the movie, please don't spoiler :)

Anyway, until next time!

~Bye