You guys keep blowing us away with your enthusiasm! There's still a few rounds to go, so let's see how big a fox can get!

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GROWTH DRIVE RULES

- This Growth Drive features both weight gain and muscle growth!

- There are two categories you can donate toward! Choose either one, or both!

- As with most Growth Drives, things will start out slow, but ramp up as time goes on and donations increase.
When each goalpost is met, the amount of weight gained per dollar may increase, or a special feature will be added!
For now, $1 = 2 lb Fat or Muscle.

- Nick is about to get some backup for his investigation! Whoever is chosen will gain weight of the opposite type Nick does, and at half the rate!

- A donation of $20 or more doubles the amount of weight gained. So $20 = 80 lbs!

- DONATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED! THANK YOU EVERYONE!

- Once you fill out the form, you will be directed to a Paypal link where you can then finalize your donation.
Be sure you submit the donation in USD WHOLE DOLLAR AMOUNTS ONLY, please.

- The top donor for every round will be contacted on MONDAY and be offered a FREE CAMEO in the following round's picture and story.
If you are contacted, please respond with the needed references or descriptions of your character within 36 hours or your cameo will have to be forfeit.

- The top donor for the entire Growth Drive will also be contacted at its conclusion, and be offered a FREE PICTURE AND STORY COMMISSION COMBO of their character with Nick at any size you please!

- Don't have the funds to donate? No worries!
As with prior Growth Drives, you can still FREE-VOTE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION on how the story goes by choosing one of the three branches.
The choice with the most votes wins, of course.

- A donation of $20 or more also effectively doubles your story vote!

- Donations and voting for this round will end Sunday, May 14th, 11:59 PM CST.

- As always, thanks for your support!


Art by Yours Truly
Cameo by  Alkali
Story by  Renard_DeFleureax

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With the mysterious, off-kilter bounty hunter safely behind bars, Nick and Judy were left to pick up the pieces, and begin their investigation. But before that, they had to figure out what to do with Paul.

Nick was lucky; he escaped Archie while he could still walk. His badger step-father, however, looked like a beached whale. Paul was bigger than his son’s pick-up truck, and it took the combined efforts of Judy, Abigail, Bruce, and a very out of breath Nick to finally get him out of Hill Manor. After that, there was a round of tedious police paperwork to file and an interview with the local sheriff that grew awkward as he could never quite keep himself from staring at Nick’s exposed adipose. Exhausted physically and mentally, it was all the gang could do to roll Paul into the barn and comfort Mrs. Wilde.

“Nicky, look at you!” she fretted, trying to hug her son, but unable to reach around his belly. “I haven't seen you like this since you accidentally ate peanuts during your… baby fat phase.”

Judy stifled a giggle. “Really?”

“I'm allergic and swell up, okay?” the obese fox snapped back. “Mom, I don't know what that freak-aroo was planning, but Judy and I are going to find out. You saw what he did to Paul- imagine if there’s more of them out there.”

“No, Nicky,” Mrs. Wilde put her foot down. “Absolutely not. You’re staying right here where I can take care of you… and put you on a diet.”

“Mom!” Nick sighed with exasperation. “I’m a big…” he looked down at his engorged, jiggling frame, “bigger boy, now. I can take care of myself.”

“You got winded trying to climb the stairs!” the elder fox replied, bordering on matronly hysterics.

“I… just need to get used to carrying all this around,” he said, grabbing at handfuls of fat and letting it drop like a sack of flour, wobbling and threatening what remained of his pants.

Judy stepped forward when Mrs. Wilde seemed unconvinced. “Your son has turned out to be a really smart cop. Even if he can't catch a crook unless he sits on them, he could still be a huge help in this investigation.”

Nick’s mother fretted, clicking her tongue and shaking her head before she finally conceded. “Alright. But please,” she hugged her huge son again, slightly sinking into his belly fat. “Just stay safe.”

“Of course, mom,” Nick reached down to kiss his mother’s forehead, burying her deeper.

“Well,” Judy teased as they walked down the path to the barn where Paul was situated. “Aren't you a big softy.”

“Can it, Carrots,” Nick snipped. “I'm still mad at you.”

“Mad at me? What’d I do?”

Nick gestured to his bulbous frame. “Look at me! If you'd just listen to me, we’d be at a fancy resort, and I could still fit in a hot tub.”

“Well, yeah… but who would’ve saved Paul?” Judy countered, crossing her arms.

“I…” Nick grumbled something under his breath. “Fine. You got me there.”

Judy grinned. “It's not all bad. You're still not as big as Clawhauser.”

“I'm not as tall as him.” He grabbed his middle, shaking it vigorously until it wobbled like jelly. “I'm rounder than him by a few inches.”

“Oh, well… at least you carry it better than him?” Judy offered with and innocent shrug.

“Mhm. Is that you trying to say I'm still good-looking?” Nick shot back with an arched brow.

Judy smirked. “Maybe.” They came at last to the barn, Judy opening the door wide to reveal Bruce and Abigail tending to their father.

“Hey, big guy,” Abigail called to Nick. “Y’got here just as he fell asleep…” she gestured over to Paul as he let out a huge snore. “I have no idea how we’re going to get him to lose weight… all he can do is eat and sleep.”

“Should-a never left my secret stash of jerky in here,” Bruce grumbled. “Pa found ‘em and slurped ‘em all up like they were spaghetti.”

“Did he tell you anything that could help us?” Judy asked, pulling out a notepad from her pocket.

Abigail rubbed the back of her thick neck. “All I know is that Archie fella was braggin’ about his friends. There’s a whole bunch-a them hiding out ‘round here.”

Judy’s nose twitched as she frowned. “What motive could they have?”

“I’unno, maybe they just like really big fellas?” Bruce shrugged.

“Let’s… put a pin in that,” Judy said as diplomatically as possible.

Nick scratched his chin. “Anyone in town not a fan of Paul’s?”

Brother and sister looked at each other, shaking their heads. “Pa’s pretty popular. He’s on the Town council, on account of our fishin’ business,” Bruce said.

“We got time to ask questions later,” Abigail grabbed Nick’s plush arm, and began steering the bloated fox out of the barn. “For now, you’re comin’ with me.”

“Wait, what?”

Abigail sighed. “Nick, I just watched my Pa get blown up like a balloon. That almost happened to you, too. I ain’t lettin’ one of my brothers fall to this kinda weird crap. I'm takin’ ya to my gym, and we’re gonna whip you into shape, buddy boy.”

Nick threw a pleading look Judy’s way, but she subtly shook her head. “I’ll take Bruce with me. Maybe we can find something, and I need someone who knows the town.”

“A’right!” Bruce slapped Judy on the back. “I get to do some real detective work! You get much bigger, bro, an’ you might hafta watch out. Officer McCoran’s on the job!”

Nick gave a wry look to Judy. “I’ll be sure to keep my guard up.”

When Abigail wasn't chopping wood, her home away from home was the Fitness Factory; a sprawling gym housed in an old brick industrial complex. The badger was greeted with a raucous, friendly cheer from her gym buddies, which quickly dissolved into confused grunts when they saw her gym partner.

“Hey y’all, quit your starin’,” Abigail snapped, wrapping a strong arm around Nick’s flabby back. “This here’s my brother, the Nick Wilde.”

A huge badger with a broad chest and arms like a gorilla’s snorted. “Looks like a pig; gotta be a cop.”

“Hey!” Abigail shoved Nick out of the way, marching up to the bigger mammal. “He just saved my pa. You’re talkin’ to a hero, Avery.”

The hulking badger snorted. “Cop that busted me n’ my brother weren't no hero, McCoran.”

“Yeah? You wanna make somethin’ of it?”

Avery glowered down at Abigail and stalked off. The rest of the gym were suddenly far more interested in their workouts.

“Jeez,” Nick muttered. “What’s mungo’s problem?”

Abigail snorted. “He lost his job when this place was still a factory; made a lotta canned food and preserves. The city closed it down when it turned out to be a death trap; people like Avery lost their jobs, and instead of makin’ honest work, he turned to crime.” The badger shook her head. “Can't believe I was stupid enough to date him.”

“Uh… wow.” Nick looked over his shoulder, as Avery started grunting like a wild animal as he began his next exercise. “You got any other friends that… aren't one bad day away from Night howler?”

Abigail nudged him. “Be nice.” She scanned the room, and waved down a timid but well built otter in a cap and glasses. “Hey! Al! Get over here and say hi!”

Slowly, the otter worked his way over to them, dwarfed by fox and badger both. “Hey, Abby.”

“Nick, this here’s Alkali. He’s shy, but get a drink in him, and he’s the biggest attraction in the gym.”

“Oh, gosh, you don't mean that…” Alkali brushed off the compliment. “If you need any help, I can give you a few pointers… if you want to,” the otter smiled timidly. He then flexed his own arm, which bulged out impressively.

“Well, guess I can use all the help I can get…” Nick braced himself as he turns to Abigail. “What do we do first?”

The badger gave her step-brother a toothy grin as she cracked her knuckles. “We’re gonna break ya down until you don't know which way is up.”

Nick had a bad feeling in his huge gut. “...sounds great.”

Abigail, and surprisingly Alkali, were borderline ruthless with Nick. The fox barely knocked out ten push-ups, an impressive feat, given the size of his belly, before the otter knocked back a drink and clambered on top of him, demanding ten more. It was grueling work, but the results began to show faster than anyone had anticipated.

“Well…” Nick’s mother patted her son’s pumped arm, hard muscle quickly surging to the front after only a week. “So long as you feel better, dear.”

Nick smirked down at his mother; everyone seemed a little smaller lately. “I feel pretty great, actually.” He tucked into his steak; the more he worked out, the more his mother was willing to lift restrictions on his diet. “If I keep this up, I could go up against the big guys back on the force. Can you picture McHorn’s face if I beat him at arm-wrestling, Carrots?”

“Uh… yeah, it'd be a sight…” Judy looked from Nick to his two step-siblings. All three of them looked noticeably bigger, even if Nick had claimed the lion’s share of growth. And all three of them had at least one taste of that jam Archie had been so keen on pumping them full of. “How’s Paul doing?”

“Darnedest thing,” Bruce said, polishing off his third helping. “Pa just keeps findin’ food! Don’t know how he does it. Hasn’t lost a pound so far. In fact, I think he’s just gotten bigger.”

Mrs. Wilde betrayed a look of concern, but waved it away. “It’ll just take a while longer.”

“I sent a sample of the jam back to forensics in Zootopia,” Judy said. “If that Archie guy had it in vats and hoses, who knows how it could effect people…” she trailed off with a meaningful look.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s a mystery,” Nick muttered. He patted his thickened arm, smirking a bit. Even his once doughy chest was beginning to take form, bulging out with hardy muscle.

Judy rolled her eyes. “So… did you get any leads?”

“Yeah,” Nick punctuated with his fork. “There’s this big guy, Avery… though, uh. Is he like, going on cardio these days? He looks smaller.”

“Couldn’t say,” Abigail grunted.

“I don’t like the way he carries himself. He’s got reason to be mad at the police, and he’s bitter about his job. The gym used to be a factory, and a lot of people lost work when it went.”

Bruce thumped his fist on the table, his cheeks bulging out, still full of food. “Thought-a somethin’!” He gulped, clearing his throat. “The jam that weirdo had; didn’t it taste familiar?”

Abigail slowly nodded, rolling her increasingly broad shoulders. “Bruce, yer right- it came from the old factory. We grew up on that stuff…”

Nick and Judy exchanged quick looks. “Why did the factory close down?”

“Aw, the place was a death trap. Company went bust, and Pa and the rest of the town voted to close it down.”

Judy frowned, tapping her notepad. “Your dad voted to close the factory? Was that well known?”

Abigail nodded slowly. “He was the deciding vote.”

“Well,” Nick crossed his increasingly impressive arms. “I can think of our primary suspect out there. Avery’s big, angry at the police, and lost his job.”

“I didn’t want to think about it…” Abigail sighed. “But you might be right.”

Judy tapped her pen, lost in thought. “Just go back to the gym. Act like everything’s normal for a few more days. All we’ve got now is a motive, no evidence. I’ll keep working with Bruce downtown, see if we can find anyone else that worked at the factory. Know anyone off the top of your heads?”

“Gosh,” Abigail leaned back. “There’s the Dermot sisters, Haley, Alkali…”

“Rob, Mack, Holliday…” Bruce continued.

Nick nodded. “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover… but at least we have something now.”

At the gym the following morning, Nick was getting into a regular routine. He piled on heavy weight plates, grunting with some satisfaction as his chest swelled up with a round of bench presses.

“Oh, hey, Nick!” Alkali grinned, drinking something the fox was certain wasn’t just a regular protein shake.

“Hey, Al,” the fox grinned, letting the ponderous weight bar down before sitting up. The fox was making obscenely impressive progress, with every part of his body now rippling with hard muscle. He chuckled to himself; at this point, he could give Mr. Big’s polar bears a run for their money. There was still a slab of a gut resting on his lap, but it was getting flatter and harder with each passing day.

“You’ve made some great progress, big guy,” the otter gave the fox’s arm a squeeze, his hand barely able to reach around the crest of his bicep. “You’re becoming really popular around here.”

“Well…” Nick gestured over to a now-familiar, scowling face. “Not with everyone.”

The fox and otter looked up just in time to catch Avery’s narrowing eyes, snarling at Nick as he slung his bag over his shoulder and stalked out of the gym.

“Hey,” Alkali patted him on the back. “Don’t worry about him. Avery’s a big jerk. He’s just jealous.”

Nick nodded. “But, y’know, I wouldn’t have made it this far without you. You’re a real drill sergeant after a sip or two,” the fox said with a meaningful glance down at the otter’s flask.

“Hah,” the otter chuckled. “Y’know what they say, ‘liquid courage.’ You should join me for a drink some time. A lot of us spend our nights at the bar; not like we have to worry about overtime at the factory any more, right?”

“I’ll take you up on that offer, maybe tomorrow?” Nick thumped his chest, bouncing his meaty pecs. “I think I can squeeze in a little overtime myself, though.”

“Hey, you go for it, big guy,” Alkali offered him a thumbs up. “If the police thing ever bottoms out, maybe think about wrestling or bodybuilding. You could make a good run at it. Y’know, once you can run again.”

“Hah,” Nick scoffed drily. “Have a good night, Al.”

The fox was left to his weights, going through any exercise he could think of to work up a good, solid pump. He couldn’t help but linger in the mirror, flexing and watching his arms and bulging flanks flare out. “Heh… maybe this vacation isn’t so bad after all.”

“Nick!” Judy’s voice crackled over the two-way radio the fox kept at his side. “We got a break-out! Archie’s not in his cell!”

“What?” Nick snatched up the radio. “What happened?”

“There’s a huge hole in the wall, like some roided up rhino just smashed through.”

“Avery,” the fox growled.

“Maybe- but, Nick, it looks like they’re headed back to the factory. You still there?”


“Yeah. I’ll stay put and watch for them.”

“Right. I’m sending Abigail back over you; she knows the building better. Bruce and I are going to collect the local force and surround the place. Stay safe.”

Nick grinned. “Don’t worry about me, Carrots.” He set the radio down, and glared at the door. Cracking his knuckles and rolling his now-mighty shoulders, he cut the lights, and did what he could to prepare, relying on his natural night vision to wait and watch.

He didn’t have to wait long; fifteen minutes later, the door creaked open. “Oh, Niiiiick…”

The fox stepped out from his hiding place from behind a huge support beam just large enough to cover his bulk. “...Al?”

The otter strided over, swaggering as he threw down his flask. “Buddy! Hey!”

“Al, what’re you doing here? Avery’s headed this way, and we think he’s involved with a jailbreak.”

“Hey,” Alkali staggered over to the gym’s impromptu smoothie bar. “I just wanted to see if you changed your mind about getting a drink.”

“I, uh… think you’ve had a little much, buddy,” Nick took a few wary steps towards the otter. “This really isn’t a good time. I’m on police work, now.”

“Oh, I know,” the otter popped up, bouncing his own overly-muscled chest with a hose in hand. “Archie says hi, by the way.”


It took Abigail longer than she thought to reach the Fitness Factory; some idiot had left a truck out in the middle, blocking the road.

She rolled her shoulders and tensed her strong arms when she saw the doors locked, throwing all her weight into the metal slabs and slamming the lock apart as she charged inside. “Nick! Where are ya, bro?”

The badger’s jaw fell open as she finally reached for the lights. In the center of the gym was the huge fox, splayed on his back with a hose in his mouth. His expression looked dazed and content, just gulping down more and more of the jam, and all their hard work was practically undone. His arms, chest, and shoulders were still roped with heavy muscle, but his mammoth gut now rose up like a red and tan mountain, with Alkali at the peak, looking as if he was ready to plant his flag in the increasingly doughy, plush flesh.

“Al?!” she gasped.

“Hey, Abby!” Alkali called with a seemingly friendly wave as he slid down Nick’s belly, patting his stuffed cheeks. “I was just sharing some of our native product here at Badger Hill; nothing like our jams, right?”

“You broke that crazy kangaroo out of jail?”

“Hey, I don’t remember everything I do when I drink,” the otter chuckled. “But we’re gonna make sure this foxy blimp doesn’t interfere anymore. I was thinking he should bulk up more, anyways.”

Abigail snarled, tensing her arms and flexing her fingers, letting sharp claws catch the gym’s lights. “Get away from my brother!” she roared, charging towards the otter. Alkali was, appropriately enough, slippery, and easily dodged the badger’s swipe. Growling slightly, she reached for the hose, and yanked it free of Nick’s mouth, more jam gurgling out of the top.

“Get up, fatass!” Abigail barked. “I didn’t train you up to this point so you could sit this one out!”


Nick needed a moment, before shaking his head clear, as if he was just waking up. “What the…” He tried rolling on his side, and saw the badger and otter, then looked down at his quaking, bulging gut. “Oh, crap. Not again.”

“You’ll never catch me!” Alkali shouted, leaping for Nick’s back as the fox lumbered to his feet. Abigail shook her head as she tied a knot in the hose. Nick looked even taller, now dwarfing possibly every resident of Badger Hill.

“Hey!” Nick shouted, his arms too thick to reach for the otter climbing all over his sprawling back. “Get off!”

“Not until this town gets what’s coming to it!” the otter shouted back. The fox growled, thinking quickly enough to slam Alkali the wall, smothering him in nearly a ton of fox plush. As Nick eased up, the otter dropped down with a small thud. Shaking his head, Alkali snarled, slipping under Nick’s legs, only to turn on his heel as Abigail chased after him.

Effectively cornered, Alkali reached for his flask, only to find out he had drunk it down to the last drop “Aw, you gotta be kidding…”

Nick didn’t leave room for chance. He grabbed the otter by the scruff of his neck, lifting him up with ease. “So, still think I need to bulk up, li’l guy?”

“Yes!” Alkali shouted back, struggling in vain as he was left hanging.

“Nick!” Judy had rushed in with Bruce and the Badger Hill sheriff’s office in tow. She came to a stop as she took in her partner’s mammoth frame. “Again?” she swore under her breath. “That does it! These clowns have pulled the wool over our eyes for the last time. I’m phoning District One; we’re getting some backup from Zootopia.”


Looks like Judy means business! Who will come to Nick’s aid?

A - Chief Bogo. He’s not taking any chances on this case.
B - Officer Clawhauser. The Chief has been looking for an excuse to get him in the field.
C - Finnick. Police or no, Nick’s old partner in crime can’t give up on this opportunity!

REMEMBER! Nick's backup will gain weight of the OPPOSITE type Nick does, and at half the rate!