WildeHood: A Zootopia and Robin Hood Crossover

Chapter 8

Nick sprung to life, seeing that it was late morning. After his little dive last night, he had crawled out of the water, coughed up a mixture of water and...um, something that was definitely NOT water, and collapsed right there onto the coarse, wet grass, paralyzed by his strange state. He felt just as useless as when he woke up in the cage, an incident which he remembered next to nothing about. Now, however, he was ready to...what was he supposed to be doing again? What was that cloaked guy going on about? Who was he? A cult member?

All he could think to do was check for his gun, flashlight, name tag, and most importantly, his sunglasses, all of which were accounted for . He brought his weak ankles together and scratched the back of his head when...ooh. The fur below his right ear was matted with blood. He had forgotten since last night that his head scraped a protruding rock on the way down.

He couldn't remember most of what the mystery fox had told him, and he couldn't run from the feeling that he was forgetting the most important parts. Trying to collect himself, he took a dirt trail through the thick underbrush.

Being a fox should make adapting to this new environment a breeze, but this place was so different than Zootopia he had no idea what he was hearing or smelling. He had never seen such a charming, yet offsetting forest that was deprived of any concrete roads or buildings. He always knew he secretly didn't belong in the city.

No, he was kidding himself. He was petrified. Even putting everything else aside, was that strange fox out here ?

One reckless movement, and he may find out what was out there.

But for now, he had stumbled upon a berry bush, and fortunately, a blueberry one. He consumed a pawful and continued on, not feeling much better.

A few minutes later, he picked up a strange, peaceful sound that enticed him to come off the trail and follow it. Was it...water? Just when he thought he had had enough of that for one day, he trampled through some weeds, and came upon a breathtaking sight: a small lake and waterfall, bordered by a wall of blueberry bushes. For a moment, he thought it was some sort of mirage; like when travelers in the desert see an oasis (usually just before dying of thirst), so he just had to try some of the blueberries to be sure. After eating another pawful or two, or three, or four, he glanced over his shoulder at the miniature lake. He was still feeling drained, and he was fairly unpleasant smelling, so he decided to go for a swim. Besides, nothing seemed to calm his nerves more than that. He climbed out of his uniform, dipped it in the water a few times, and draped it over a low-bearing tree branch.

Lowering himself into the water, he closed his eyes and relaxed so that his snout was barely poking above the surface. Somehow, despite literally everything, he found himself relaxed. However, it didn't last long.

The water began to ripple slightly, and Nick's ears perked, picking up the sound of heavy footsteps. That smell...it was either a raccoon, or the second smelliest bear he had ever sniffed. My senses are muffled from this new environment, he convinced himself.

He took a big gulp of air and submerged himself. Sure enough, the footsteps stopped right at the edge of the lake. Nick tilted his head up, seeing the blurred shadow of a bear, who seemed to be shouting something. Soon, a gigantic brown paw was thrust towards him. Nick was grabbed by the collar, kicking and flailing as he was forced out of the water. Feeling exposed, he blinked laboriously at the bear, who was now grinning back at him with a mouth that seemed, to Nick at least, to be too small for the rest of his body.

"There you are!", the bear bellowed, nearly rendering Nick deaf. "What're ya doin'? It's not like ya to go for a swim this early."

"Ahahaha, yeah," Nick replied dryly. "Now, put me down, put me down."

"Boy, that cold's really botherin' ya throat, intn't it? I thought you's about over it. You'll need some more honey. Your voice sounds awful!"

Luckily, Nick didn't have time to be offended, as he was tossed into the lake before the bear had even finished speaking.

By the time he resurfaced and dried his eyes, the bear had strolled over to the branch, and was now holding up his uniform. "What're these strange clothes? They yours?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just don't touch it." Nick couldn't have him discovering his gun and name tag.

"Hmm...must be noble stuff, eh?"

"Yeah...just leave them hanging there."

The bear obliged. "Hmm...well, I guess I could join ya. Its awfully hot, and I needed some washin' up anyway."

Nick felt his face tighten as it dawned on him that this weird bear was about to strip in front of him. He took another deep breath and prepared to go under, when a concerned voice interrupted.

"Johnny, what are you doing? Too eager to take a bath?"

The bear's jaw dropped, his eyes pouncing from Nick to the animal who had just spoken. Curious, Nick cautiously turned to face him.

A slender red fox stood behind him, his shiny black eyes looking down at Nick's green, currently heavy ones. His ears weren't tipped brown like Nick's, but they were remarkably similar in size and shape, and so was his snout. He wore a green shirt-thing similar to the bear's, and a lighter green hat with a red feather sticking out. Around his right shoulder was a bow and a bag of arrows, which he layed on a nearby rock as he kneeled down to examine Nick. "Who's this and why were you about to get naked in front of him?"

"R- I thought- he looks exactly like you!"

"He does, doesn't he? The handsome devil. And his eyes are green!" He lowered his head, chuckling. "I don't know if you've realized, but I'm rather fond of green. I didn't know of any other foxes around!"

Nick suddenly felt a tingling excitement run through him. "No...no, this is some crazy...it can't be a dream, I...you're...Robin Hood?"

Robin blinked in surprise, and grew a smirk all too similar to Nick's. "Why yes, and who might this be?"

Well, now what can I say? I couldn't say I'm your great x15 grandson! What if he asks about how I got here? Some cloaked guy who wanted something from you brought me back in time by mistake? Ooh, that would make for a great story, just not a great explanation.

"I'm...-

Robin was pushed into the water by the naked bear, who plunged himself in afterwards.

"Dang it, Johnny! The water's too wet this time 'a day for this!", the fox laughed as he grabbed his hat and sat it on dry ground. "That's alright, I was thinking about it anyways. Terribly hot, isn't it?"

Nick, everything but his snout and up submerged, crept farther and farther away from the fox and bear pair. They had gone into a conversation that would hopefully last long enough for him to think.

Should he even bother explaining his relationship to Robin? If he can't be a grandson with several "greats" tacked on, what could he pose as? A cousin? No. Maybe he should leave that in the air for a bit.

Where is he going to say he's from? Robin had already said he didn't know of any other foxes around. Plus, with his strange accent and clothes, they had probably already guessed he wasn't from here. He could stick with the name "Zootopia" and leave it at that.

How is he going to explain how he got here? Should he mention anything about the mystery fox and whatever it is he wanted?

Great. Still, no solid answers to any of it.

This should be fun.