Chapter Text
Chapter 1 - Under the bridge
Nick let out a yawn. He refused to admit that he was awake. His body however, had other plans. Slowly, he began to notice his environment. He wasn't at his apartment, which was strange. When he became an officer, he also stopped living on the street.
Where am I? Nick wondered. Suddenly, he was aware that he sat in a beach chair. This is weird, it is as if I'm... As he opened his eyes, his confusion was complete. He found himself at his old hangout, a dried up stream under a bridge. How did I get here? He stood up and walked out from under the stone bridge. It was clearly the middle of the day, probably around noon, although the sun was nowhere to be seen in the cloudless sky. I wonder what's going on...
Nick started to walk towards his apartment. When he left his hideout and entered one of the bigger streets, he stopped right in his tracks. Although he felt the presence of the usual hustle and bustle of the Zootopian streets, there were no mammals in sight. He was alone, yet it didn't feel like he was. This is not normal. He thought. Where is everyone?
"No one is here but you," a slightly familiar voice answered his thought. Nick jumped.
"Who-" he started. To answer his question, another fox in a pawaïan shirt walked around a corner and entered Nicks vision. He looked very familiar to Nick, almost as if he was looking into a mirror, but not quite. "If it's only me who is here, then where are you?" he asked the other fox. "Who are you?" The familiar stranger smiled.
"Easy. I am you," he answered. Nick wanted to protest, but the fox held up a paw. "Rather, I'm but an aspect of you." This surprised Nick. The stranger chuckled. "Don't worry, you'll figure this out soon enough. After all, you are a clever con-mammal."
Nick took a breath to correct the stranger, but he couldn't find the words to say. What? How can I not correct him? The stranger shook his head.
"You need to face yourself to-" he began. He was interrupted by yet another fox. This one wore the uniform of a ZPD officer.
"I don't think he is able to," the fox officer told the stranger. "He is far too proud to admit he was wrong."
"Wrong? About what?" Nick asked confused. This is getting crazier by the minute. And where is Carrots? Last thing I remember is... His eyes went wide. The last thing Nick could remember was waking up in his beach chair.
"Look at him, he's scared." Another voice. This wasn't an adult however. It was a fox kit in a scout uniform.
"I'm not scared," Nick answered. "What would I be scared of?" He felt his mask slide into place. Never let them see that they get to you. Somehow, he got the feeling that no matter how hard he tried, the strange foxes around him would always know how he felt or what he thought.
"Yup, you're scared Nick," the kit said. "We all know."
"I think he starts to understand now," the first stranger said. Nick nodded.
"You all are aspects of who I am." The strange fox smiled.
"I am the voice of Reason," he finally introduced himself. "If you listen to me, you'll get out of this mess soon enough. However..."
"You still have to face the facts," the kit finished. "You have to face yourself and all that you have become."
But don't worry," another new voice rang out from behind him. Nicks ears perked up. He knew this voice anywhere. "I'll be here if everything becomes too much for you to bear." When he turned around, he saw her. Walking slowly towards him, was Judy Hopps.
"Carrots! Am I glad too see you." She shook her head. This surprised Nick.
"In a way, I am her. However..." She looked at Nick. His smile fell.
"You are another aspect?" She nodded.
"I am here to help you, as I am the most primal of all the aspects," she explained. "I am much stronger than the others, because you would do anything if I drive you to it."
Suddenly, Nick understood which aspect she was. "Love..." he said under his breath. When he looked over his shoulder to check if the others had heared him, his eyes went wide yet again. They had vanished as sudden as they had appeared. Where were they?
"They'll show up again, sooner or later," the aspect answered his thought. "We manifest whenever we are needed."
"Correct," Reason walked back into his field of vision. "Now, are you ready to begin your journey?" Nick swallowed. Him meeting Judy as the aspect Love has had the same effect on him as the real Judy had. Without asking any more questions, he motioned for Reason to lead the way.
"That's the spirit," Love said. "Never forget, you are not alone on this journey." Nick nodded.