The Son of Gazelle

The Son of Gazelle is a story by LupeWolf22.

## Premise

This is esentially an alternate retelling of Zootopia, in which Gazelle and her husband in both this canon and the 2.0 canon, Soren Oryxhorn, adopted Nick when he was a small child. We begin with the adoption, then flash forward to the savage crisis and its aftermath, when Nick is now a cop and the concert happens. After the events of the savage crisis, Judy is now Nick's girlfriend and meets Gazelle in person.

## Story

Many years ago, a fox couple, Joseph and Mary Wilde, brought a son into the world. They gave him the name Nick. However, poor as they were, they could not keep their baby, and so, they put him up for adoption. Because the name Nicholas Wilde had been recorded on the birth certificate, the adoption agency kept the name for the time being. Nick grew from infancy to childhood, but was not adopted due to the negative attitude toward foxes. Nick would cry at night.

"I wish I could get a family," the five-year old kit would say.

All that changed one day when the pop star Gazelle, the up and coming star of Zootopia's music charts, entered the adoption home with her husband, Soren Oryxhorn. They could not have children of their own, and so they had decided to adopt. The moment Gazelle gazed at Nick, she knew that he was the one.

"That's our child, Soren," she said proudly.

Soren smiled at her.

"What about the attitude most Zootopians have about foxes?" he said.

Gazelle shook her horned head.

"He is my son, nothing anyone can say will change that," she stated.

And with that, Soren and Gazelle adopted Nick as their own son. They decided to keep his name, as he was used to it, simply amending it to Nick Oryxhorn Wilde. Nick continued to grow up. He was happy for the most part. The only time he wasn't was during the incident with the Junior Ranger Scouts, the worst day of his life. Gazelle comforted him before bed that night, holding him.

"Listen, Nick. They are totally wrong about foxes like you. One day, my son, you will achieve greatness," she said.

Nick only held her tight. Years went by. As he reached young adulthood, Nick had trouble getting a job, as no one would hire a fox. That's when someone came into his life. That someone was a beautiful bunny cop of the ZPD named Judy Hopps. Nick was smitten with her the moment he saw her, and together, they cracked the case that came to be known as the savage crisis. They defeated assistant mayor Dawn Bellwether, who had perpatrated the plot to turn predators savage, and, in so doing, Judy even agreed to become Nick's girlfriend, as she was also attracted to him. It had happened toward the end of the crisis, with Nick joking that solving the case could be considered their first date. Nick also went on to become a police officer of the ZPD, overcoming the perception of foxes and showing that, if one tried, one could really be anything in Zootopia. Gazelle had watched proudly as her son was given his police badge.

"Oh my son, you have achieved greatness!" she said, hugging him at the end.

Nick hugged her back.

"Mom, I want you to meet the real hero. Meet Judy Hopps, the ZPD's first bunny cop, and my new girlfriend," he said.

Judy was awestruck to meet Gazelle.

"Nick, your mother is Gazelle?" she said with a curious tone.

Nick nodded.

"Yep. Many years ago, she plucked a little fox kit from the adoption home and made him her son. That would be me," he said.

Gazelle hugged him. She was tearing up with a cry of happiness.

"And now that little kit is a ZPD officer. Remember, son, protect and serve," she said, saluting him.

Nick saluted back.

"Will do," he said.

Nick and Judy's next date was at Gazelle's big reunification concert, where she opened with a shoutout to her son and his love, then performed her most popular song, the one that had made her a star, Try Everything, following it up with their other hit songs. After that concert was over, Nick and Judy shared their first kiss. As Nick went to drop her off at her apartment, he held her paws.

"See you at work tomorrow, beautiful," he said.

Judy smiled.

"I'm looking forward to it, especially since my partner is the handsomest cop in the ZPD," she said.

They then kissed one more time before she went inside. Nick made sure she was in before heading off back to his home, Soren and Gazelle's mansion. However, before leaving, he smiled.

"With your encouragment, Mom, I did achieve greatness. I owe it all to you," he said in his mind.

WIth that, Nick headed off.