Nick (Video Game)

"Everyone I grew up with... it all happened to them. Now, it's gonna happen to us."

- Nick to Clementine.

Nick is an original character who appears in Telltale Games' The Walking Dead: Season Two.

Location Unknown
Before the outbreak Nick had been born to a distant, alcoholic father and an unnamed mother. Nick's uncle, Pete, took on the responsibility of raising Nick. Pete felt that it was best for Nick to learn about the cruelties of the world as soon as possible. Because of this approach to raising him, Pete was often condescending and brutally honest with Nick about life and his place in the world, causing Nick to suffer low self-esteem and anger issues, and resulting in a serious strain in their relationship that continued throughout their lives.

Once, when he was about Clementine's age, Pete took Nick on a hunting trip where they spotted a roe buck. Pete was disappointed that Nick didn't want to shoot the buck, and when they argued over it, Nick's rifle went off and nearly hit Pete. Pete later went out and found the buck, killed it and took it back to his sister's house to show to Nick, after which Nick didn't speak to Pete for weeks.

Later on in his life, he forged a strong friendship with Luke, whom he went into a failed business with for six-months in an impulsive decision on a drunk Luke's behalf.

"All That Remains"
Nick is first encountered as the group argues about how they should handle Clementine after her dog bite is confused with a walker bite. As Clementine wakes up, Nick presumes her to be reanimating, and accidentally pulls the trigger on his rifle. This startles both Clementine and the rest of the group, who then proceed to berate him. Nick is next seen escorting Clementine to the shed along with Luke, per the group's agreement.

After the group discovers that Clementine has surpassed the time limit for reanimation and has killed a walker that made it into the hole in the side of the shed, marking her survival skills as impressive, Nick apologizes to her about earlier as she is offered dinner. The player can choose to accept or reject his apology. Luke later reveals that he lost his mother when they were trying to help a bit victim. But that person turned and killed Nick's mom (this could be why he wanted to kill Clementine)

The next morning, Pete, Clementine, and himself venture to the river in order to check if any of their fish traps caught aquatic life. As they arrive, they are shocked to discover a massacre of people with bullet wounds in their heads and one severely injured man. As the three of them inspect the dead bodies and strange circumstances, walkers emerge from the woods and ambush them. The player can choose to either save the ammo-less and bitten Pete or choose to aid Nick, who has been surrounded and almost overrun by walkers.

In-Game Decision
Clementine has the choice to go help Nick when she, Nick, and Pete are attacked by walkers.

Help Nick (Alive)
If the player chooses Nick, Clementine will cross over the river to help him. Clementine and Nick then watch as Pete is helplessly devoured by walkers on the other side. This visibly horrifies Nick and he scolds Clementine for not rescuing Pete first.

Help Pete (Unknown)
If the player chooses to help Pete instead, Clementine will run over to the former. The two of them then watch as Nick flees into the woods in order to escape the overpowering horde of walkers.

"A House Divided"
If Clementine went with Nick at the end of Episode 1, she and Nick will be holed up in an old moonshine distillery. After blocking the door with a crate of apples to keep the walkers from breaking through, Nick becomes listless because of the death of his uncle, and refuses to help Clementine devise a plan to escape. After Clem finds some old jars of whiskey, Nick drinks them, and when asked about a plan, says, "Oh, fuck if I know. We wait, I guess." Clementine wakes up in the early morning to a drunk Nick smashing the whiskey jars against the wall, alerting nearby walkers. Nick then confesses to Clem that he had to kill his mother after she was bitten, and that he is simply "not built" to have the same ambition and drive as Luke. He then offers Clementine a drink, saying that it will be "[her] first and [her] last." Clementine can accept or refuse. She then can either convince Nick to try to escape with her, or leave him. If convinced to leave, Nick will smash one of the jars over a walker's head as they leave, alerting several other walkers because of the sound. He then draws their attention in order to provide Clementine a means of escape.

If Clementine went with Pete at the end of Episode 1, she will have the opportunity to promise Pete that she will look out for Nick, though he isn't seen until after Carver's arrival. He was presumably found by Luke and Alvin. Nick is eager to find his Uncle, and when Clementine leads the cabin survivors to the cigarette truck they hid in, Nick is distraught to see Pete disemboweled and shot.

After the group continues on their walk, Nick will speak to Clementine, either to thank Clementine for not giving up on him, or to demand to hear about Pete's last moments. Either way, Luke will be concerned about Nick's emotional and mental stability, and tell Clementine that he doesn't even trust him "to tie his shoes." On the bridge to reach the ski lodge, Nick will run over as Luke and Clementine speak to the stranger, and, after assuming that the man was going to shoot them, Nick fires first, hitting the stranger in the neck and sending him over the side of the bridge. Luke will admonish Nick for the preemptive attack. Clementine can take either side.

Once across the bridge, Clementine has another opportunity to speak to Nick. If Clementine was with Pete at the beginning of the episode, Nick's monologue about his mother and going into business with Luke will be spoken. If Clementine was with Nick at the beginning of the episode, Nick will comment on Clementine's loyalty to him, either genuinely thanking her for "having [his] back" about shooting the stranger, or sarcastically thanking her for her lack of support. Either way, he begins to doubt himself, saying "maybe I am losing it." He will then ask what time it is, check his wrist, and remember that he left his watch in the cabin; it was a gift from Pete. If Clementine grabbed the watch during All That Remains, she can give it to Nick, and he will thank her.

Nick continues to lament the shooting on the bridge after the cabin survivors reach the ski lodge. Once Luke and Clementine understand that the stranger on the bridge was Matthew, Walter's partner, Clementine has the opportunity to tell Nick the truth. If told, Nick is overcome with guilt and wants to tell Walter what happened. If Clementine insists that Nick shouldn't worry about it, Luke leads him off to find some beer. Either way, when Clementine confronts Walter, who has found Matthew's knife, Nick will join them and ask Clem what's going on. If she told Walter that Nick is a good guy (adding that "he saved [her] life," if she left the stream with him at the end of All That Remains), Walter will demand that Nick tell him what happened. If she told Water that Nick was like everyone else, Walter will demand to know if Nick hurt Matthew, to which Nick will reply that he didn't do anything. Nick's fate depends on this dialogue.

Later, Nick will be caught by a walker, and plea for help. If Walter was told that Nick is a good man, he will save Nick. If not, Nick will have his throat ripped open by the attacking walker. Nick is taken with the others to Carver's camp if he survives.

Walter Saves Nick (Alive)
Depending on what you tell Walter on what happened at the bridge saying Nick's a "good guy" he will shoot the walker that is attacking Nick thus saving him.

Walter Leaves Nick (Dead)
Depending on what you told Walter on what happened at the bridge saying Nick's like everybody else, he will hesitate to shoot the walker and leave Nick to die for killing his partner.

"In Harm's Way"
Nick will appear in this episode if he was saved in "A House Divided".

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Nick has killed:
 * Matthew
 * Nick's Mother (Zombified)
 * Numerous counts of zombies.

Death (Episode 2)
Killed By
 * Zombies
 * Walter (Caused)
 * Clementine (Indirectly Caused)

Pete
"You know Nick, I don't like this either, but sooner or later you're gonna have to realize a simple truth. That nobody in this world is ever gonna give a goddamn whether you like somethin' or not. You gotta grow up, son."

- Pete to Nick.

Although Nick acts with slight hostility towards Pete, Nick is in truth very close to him as Pete served as his paternal figure. As Nick's own father was apparently very ill-mannered and had irrational outbursts similar to those Nick expresses, Pete took it as his responsibility to raise him correctly. Pete has attempted to force his own disillusioned perception of reality onto Nick when he was both a child and an adult, teaching him how to hunt when he was around Clementine's age despite his objections and continuing to tell him to "grow up" throughout adulthood. This has caused Nick to deeply resent Pete. Despite their strained relationship, they love each other dearly. Nick is shown to be depressed after Pete's possible death, wishing that Clementine had saved him instead. Nick is later seen copiously drinking, presumably trying to forget his uncle's death (Determinant).

Clementine
"We've all had bad experiences."

- Clementine to Nick about his mother's death

Nick is initially very hostile towards Clementine when knowledgable of her bite, still scarred by memories of his mother's death. His itchy trigger finger leads him to nearly shoot Clementine, which the group scolds him over. Later on, when Clementine recovers, he talks to her, apologizing for his actions. He reveals his mother was killed when the group took in a bitten survivor, who turned and attacked her, and Clementine brought back such memories and caused him to act hostile, not wanting such horrific events to repeat. Clementine can either forgive him, remain indifferent, or chastise him over his attitude to her. If Clementine saves Nick, he will be angry as she could've saved his uncle Pete over himself.

Luke
"I wish I was like him. I wish I could just keep movin’ all the time. But I’m just not… built like that."

- Nick to Clementine about Luke.

Luke and Nick appear to be fairly close friends, although he and Luke, along with Pete, disagree on what should be done with Clementine. However, once he explains his past, he seems to remain friendly and fairly reliable to the rest of the group.

Rebecca
"You idiot! Every lurker for five miles probably heard that!"

- Rebecca to Nick about the gunshot

Nick and Rebecca don't interact much, but they both initially distrust Clementine, and agree they should kill her. However when Nick missed the shot, Rebecca scolds him, saying the lurkers could hear the shot, and Nick clashed back saying she was the one to tell Nick to shoot her.

Alvin
"It's a shame. Nick was a good guy. He's still a good guy. He's just losin' it."

- Alvin to Clementine about Nick.

It can be assumed Nick and Alvin are fairly good friends within the group, though they are rarely shown to be interacting. When Rebecca and Nick were aguing with everyone about Clementine, Alvin tells everyone to remain calm.

However, during A House Divided, after Nick shoots Matthew, Alvin is extremely critical of his choice -- even moreso once Alvin and Clementine find that he was telling the truth about having food -- saying that, regardless of Nick's intentions, he murdered that man. Later when having dinner at the ski lodge, Alvin will call Nick "a goddamn nut" after he says that Walter and everyone "seem very accomodating for a bunch of people in a big house," meaning that he finds their behavior suspicious.

Trivia

 * Like Carley and Doug, Nick and Pete are the first pair of characters that pit players in making decision situation of Season 2.
 * Nick bears multiple similarities with Kenny.
 * Both sport a mullet.
 * Both have facial hair.
 * Both wear caps.
 * Both have a short fuse and bad temper.
 * Both tend to get angry with the protagonist when provoked.
 * Both have a taste for alcohol. (Shown in Episode 7, if rescued)
 * Both become depressed after losing a family member. Kenny lost Katjaa and Duck, while Nick lost his mother and his uncle, Pete.
 * Both are very protective of their family members.
 * Both apologize to the playable characters for their past actions.
 * Both disappear to a herd of walkers. (Determinant)
 * The symbol on his hat bears a resemblance to a symbol for the game, Halo: Combat Evolved.
 * It is shown that Nick is a poor shooter as he is seen shooting at walkers but misses their heads numerous times.
 * This is shown when Clementine wakes up from passing out and chooses to run. Nick shoots at her but completely misses. Pete also says that he can't "shoot for shit".
 * Also when you save Nick instead of Pete it takes him four shots to kill the two walkers attacking Pete.
 * However, he has shown some skill since he shot Matthew from a distance with a rifle.