Hello, my fellow Zootopians!
It's been almost two years since I published the first chapter of this story. Back then, after just having seen the movie Zootopia for the first time - and liking it immensely, of course -, I immediately had several ideas for a (probably somewhat sappy) romantic comedy revolving around our favorite prey/predator couple. So I sat down and started writing, never even thinking that I could publish it on any fanfiction site.
But then several things happened, and all at the same time. First, I discovered this fanfiction site and decided on a whim to publish the story there - and I still like to think this was one of my better decisions. Next, several events changed this story in a massive way, so the end result had nothing in common with what I had had in mind at the onset. When the story was completed after about three weeks, I started writing a sequel, which soon exploded in size and scope. And all of a sudden, I found myself smack in the middle of thousands of elaborate ideas, threads, and possibilities.
In short, everything changed.
Today, this story, my first ever attempt at writing fanfiction, is as far from being a comedy as Clawhauser is from fitting through the eye of a needle. It firmly belongs in the "Drama" department, with a bit of "Romance" thrown into the mix. And it no longer is a standalone affair. It actually is part of a trilogy that starts with "How to Treat a Festering Wound" and will find its conclusion - eventually! - in "Hammer to Fall." While it may still be possible to read and understand this story all on its own, it's quite useful to read "Wound" first before reading this, as it explains quite a lot of things which I will take for granted in this story.
In case you think that you can't be bothered with reading a story that's 180k+ words long, here's a (very short) summary:
"Wound" begins shortly after the arrest of Dawn Bellwether. Judy, Nick, and Bogo go on to discuss her successor, agreeing that Leodore Lionheart, despite having falsely imprisoned several predators, still is the best mammal for the job. Judy, hell-bent on repairing the damage she caused single-pawed during the press conference, convinces Bogo to allow her to appear in front of the press for a second time. There, she goes on to deliver a lengthy speech in which she explains her mistakes and apologizes for them. On top of that, she accuses prey mammals of harassing and even attacking harmless predators, claiming that they were using her mistakes as an excuse to make the lives of predators a living hell. And she suggests that Lionheart might still be the Mayor Zootopia needs.
A series of rather convoluted events follows, which leads to the arrest of four more members of the City Council. Nick plays a vital role in those arrests, since his extensive knowledge of Zootopia and its citizens gives Bogo and the other police officers the tools to enforce the law in a proper way. This in turn motivates Bogo to help Nick get the coveted place at the Zootopia Police Academy, turning the former con-artist into a police officer.
In the end, everything falls into place. Lionheart is freed from prison and becomes Mayor of Zootopia again. Nick enrolls at the ZPA, finishing with top grades to become a police officer, and after some hardship, Judy also finds her place within the ZPD. And both go on to become highly successful and respected crime fighters.
There are a lot of secondary characters to be found within "Wound." Some of them play a vital role in this story, some will only reappear in the sequel, "Hammer."
I'm fully aware that this short summary doesn't really explain a whole lot. That's the problem with storylines which span over several distinct stories. But that's all the explanation I'm going to give you right now - I don't want to retell "Wound" in its entirety here, after all. (It would render its existence quite pointless.) In case you don't understand several things within this story and would like to, please read "Wound" first - it should give you all the explanation you need.
"Wound" also ripped a few sizeable holes into this story's plot, which is why I decided to give this story a thorough overhaul. So in case you've read this story before, be prepared from a lot of changes, some of them quite subtle, i.e. you won't even notice them, but some of them major, i.e. plot-changing.
Like I said, everything changed. So this story has to change, too. And this goes for everything, the story itself as well as the author's notes which, as a rule, are quite lengthy. (One of my faithful reviewers told me that some guys within the fanfiction community have started calling these extensive author's notes "Catweazeling." I take that as a compliment!) I tried to keep the author's notes largely as they were when I first wrote this story, particularly in regards of the stats and reviews, but there are some changes I deemed necessary.
This story is, in its core, a WildeHopps story. Some of the topics I mention are quite gruesome, and a few four-letter words may crop up here and there, hence the T rating. Whenever I sit down to write a story, properly researching the subject matter I'm dealing with is hugely important to me - it usually is what takes longest. Still, it's very possible that I made a mistake or two. Should you find one, please let me know. And if you come across a grammar and/or orthographical blunder, please tell me, so that I can make the necessary corrections. I'm from Germany, German's my native tongue, not English, and while I like to think that my grasp of the English language is extraordinary, I'm fully aware that there still are mistakes I make on a constant basis, simply because I don't know better. If you spot one of those pesky mistakes, please let me know! Thanks in advance!
If you want to comment on this story, fire away! Criticism, comments and reviews are always welcome. I have vowed to myself to answer every comment in person, so as long as you are logged in, you can expect to receive a private message in response to your comment. And for all members of the "Zootopia Discord Server," I can also be found there - my username is "TheCatweazle," obviously enough. Just give me a shout!
Disclaimer: The movie "Zootopia" and everything depicted therein belongs to Walt Disney Pictures/Walt Disney Animation Studios, copyrighted in 2016. I own nothing of it. I'm just playing in their backyard and beg forgiveness for the damage I may have caused to their property.
The title is a reference to the song "Nightmare" by Avenged Sevenfold, one of my favorite heavy metal songs. If you don't know it yet, check it out! (Written by Brian Haner, Jonathan Seward, Matthew Sanders and Zachary Baker, from the album "Nightmare," Warner Bros., 2010)
Speaking of songs, I've made it a habit of giving every chapter of "Wound" and "Hammer" a motto song. I didn't do it with this story the first time around, something I regretted in the meantime. Now, with this overhaul going on, every chapter receives its own motto song, and I also changed the format a bit, similar to my other stories. It's just a stylistic change, but I think it improves readability. I also changed the titles of several chapters - during my first attempt, I hadn't bothered with giving titles at all, adding them only later on a whim, a whim which led to some quite ill-fitting ones.
With all that being said, on with the show!
Chapter One
The Fastest Bunny in all Zootopia
Nobody gonna beat my car. It's gonna break the speed of sound.
Deep Purple: "Highway Star" (Written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice, from the album "Machine Head," EMI/Warner Bros., 1972)
Zootopia was groaning under one of the worst heat waves in the history of mammalkind. For more than four weeks, the metropolis had seen little rain and countless hours of scorching sunshine. The technicians maintaining the climate wall of Tundratown had to work overtime to make sure the district stayed nice and frosty, yet even there, the temperature had risen to an unheard-of 30 degrees Fahrenheit, at least ten degrees higher than the norm. Savanna Central, meanwhile, was reeling under 120 degrees Fahrenheit and had been for almost three weeks in a row.
Looking out of the windscreen of their cruiser, Nick Wilde observed the pedestrians on the sidewalks passing their parking position - the few there were. They were moving slowly, as if each and every one of them had miraculously turned into sloths. They were all, Nick thought, probably just trying to play the Mikado game - he who moves first loses. Every movement in this kind of heat was sucking energy out of your body, and not everyone was as fortunate as Nick to be seated in a fully air-conditioned police car. Still, the heat and especially the relentless burning of the sun were taking its toll on him. Hadn't it been for the sunglasses he was wearing almost constantly, his sensitive eyes would surely have started to suffer at one point or another, and he found to his dismay that it was very hard to avoid panting, the only proper way for him to cool down a bit, as the few sweat glands in his paws and ears weren't enough to disperse heat. A frosted smoothie was a huge help, like the one he was sipping on while enjoying his little break - carrot and celery, mixed with a bit of basil. As the omnivore he was, vegetables were fine with him, but a few years ago, he would probably have bought something with a higher protein content, crushed crickets or something. Back then, he wouldn't have touched a carrot smoothie with a ten-foot pole, but the stuff had long since started to grow on him. His partners' antics were slowly, but surely, rubbing off on him, no doubt about that.
Said partner, sitting next to him, looked at him with her huge eyes. "Your turn." Her eagerness was almost palpable. Whatever Judy Hopps did, it always left the impression of huge intensity. Regardless of the weather.
Nick didn't bother concealing his grin. She was so going to lose this one! "Okay, Carrots. I spy with my little eye something that is purple." Lowering his sunglasses to confirm the hue was unnecessary. He had seen the color so many times, he would probably still remember it on his deathbed.
She made a frown, and her nose started twitching. "Purple?"
"Yep."
She gave him a grin. "You don't exactly strike me as the kind of mammal to be interested in the color purple."
He had to chuckle at that. "Come on, do I look like an ordinary mammal to you?"
"Define 'ordinary.'"
"Gee, I don't know. A guy with a regular job and solid income, maybe a wife and three cubs, a guy who pays his taxes, a guy who stays within the boundaries of law." He shrugged. "Just ordinary."
"You mean everything you are not."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She grinned at him. "Didn't you just say you were not the ordinary type of mammal?"
"Hey, I am a police officer, Fluff! And I pay my taxes!"
"Yeah, now you do."
He gave her his most mocking grin. "You know you love me."
Of course she jumped at the opportunity to return their usual jest. "Do I know that? Yes, yes, I do." She looked around through the windscreen of their police cruiser. "Well, let's see. That armadillo in the purple dress?"
"Nope." Nick watched her in amusement. She would never be able to find this one.
"Erm, the handbag."
"Which handbag?"
"That one, belonging to the hippo." She pointed in the appropriate direction.
"No, not that one."
"But it is a handbag?"
"Did I say that?"
She growled, a sound which still struck him as funny, seeing that it was coming from a bunny. "Stop messing with my head! Uh, the car parked back over there."
Nick chuckled. "Sweetheart, I can see at least sixty parked cars from here. I'm afraid you need to be a teensy bit more specific."
"There," she pointed again. "In front of the cinema."
"Again, no." He looked at his wristwatch. "Hurry up, Carrots. You already lost a minute of your precious time."
As far as Nick was concerned, nobody should be forced to work in this kind of weather, but Judy and Nick were doing just that, at least in theory - they were on patrol duty in Savanna Central. Not that it seemed to be necessary. It was as if life itself was in stasis - from their high vantage point in their police cruiser, Judy and Nick saw much fewer animals than usual walking along on the streets. Nick had been quite glad to be able to sit in their cruiser, driving around instead of being forced to walk, with the AC running at full power. Sadly, this had not alleviated the horrors of patrol duty on a day when nothing seemed to be going on whatsoever. The day had been so outrageously boring, the biggest threat they had faced was falling into a stupor. So far, their patrol had yielded a complete and utter blank - no grab-and-run, no conning, not even traffic or parking violations. Since starting their shift, they had worked their way through at least two dozen different children's games to while away the time, to prevent falling asleep due to heat and boredom. The one they were playing right now, during their break, hadn't even been known to him, but Judy had a lot of experience. After all, she had grown up among hundreds of brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews, and what have you, most of them younger than she was, and some of them with an unquenchable thirst for games. This experience, however, didn't help her at all right now; she was going down, big time. No surprise there - a fox's eyes are much more effective at spying things from a distance, at distinguishing colors, than a rabbit's eyes could ever be. She had only been able to find one out of the four items he had asked her to find, while he had found the five items she had wanted him to with relative ease.
She surveyed their surroundings, turning her head in an almost frantic way. In the meantime, Nick was watching her. Not looking for a certain movement, for any clue that she unraveled his latest hustle. Just watching her.
There had been a time when he had deliberately called her "cute," just because he knew it annoyed the heck out of her. But things change, and now he would never, not in his wildest dreams, have dared to call her cute.
Because he thought she was.
It's funny what three years of working together on a daily basis, of seeing each other a lot in their free time, of building a good, solid friendship can do to you. They had become so close, their workmates had at some point begun referring to the two of them as "WildeHopps," as if they were a single mammal. One entity in two bodies. Two mammals who were joined at the hip. You can't have one without the other.
Nick would never have thought that there would be a person he just couldn't do without. Heck, he had done without his mother for more than two decades! Judy, on the other paw … They had met less than four years ago, but their relationship had reached a point where the mere idea that she would one day no longer be around him sounded ludicrous to him. Not only did they work together on the force, they also spent most of their free time together, going to the movies or concerts, playing games, watching TV, walking through the park, going to the pub together - just stuff that friends do.
Friends …
The Muzzle Incident, as he usually called it, had taught him a valuable lessen: Most mammals considered foxes to be the scum of the earth. This in turn had convinced him that if he wanted to get something, to achieve something, he had to fight for it, because there was nobody willing to lend him a helping paw. To him, relying on other mammals was futile, so he had rarely done it - he had rather learned to be highly self-sufficient. This of course meant that he had made very few friends over the course of the years. And those few friends he had made had either left him at some point or vanished into obscurity, as most friendships did when you lived on the fringes of society. Some had been arrested, some had turned their backs on hustling, some had turned their backs on him, and some had simply vanished without a trace. Granted, an old friend of his had risen from the dead a few months ago and was currently attending the Zootopia Police Academy to become a cop himself, but apart from that, he had lost sight of virtually every mammal who had meant something to him at one point. The only friendship which had survived over the years had been the one he had with Finnick, who'd found him on the streets when he was twelve and had cared for him ever since. They had been partners-in-crime for the better half of twenty years, partners and friends.
But that was before Nick had become a cop.
Now that they were enemies of sorts, Finnick had disappeared out of Nick's life, too. Nick hadn't seen the fennec fox for two years now, give or take a few months, and if he was honest with himself, it was fine with him. He had moved on, and if others hadn't, it certainly wasn't his problem. If someone asked him whether he regretted this, as some of their workmates had done in the past, his usual reply was that life was too short to ponder on things which you have lost.
But losing Judy …
"Uhm, the third bicycle from the left, there."
"Which one?"
"In front of the cinema, in the bike rack."
"Wrong again!"
It was a thought that ruined his nights on an almost constant basis. The image of Judy, mortally wounded by some villains, lying in an ever-expanding pool of her own blood, looking up to him with eyes glazing over, trying to say her last words but unable to …
Or even worse - much worse -, their plan against Dawn Bellwether backfiring - the sheep shooting him not with a blueberry, but with the Night Howler poison, turning him savage in the process, leading to him ripping Judy's throat out without hesitation or compunction …
This was the point when he usually managed to wake up, gasping, clutching his chest as if it was hurting him.
It was common knowledge that life as a cop was fraught with peril. Both of them had suffered their share of injuries in the line of duty - Judy spent two weeks in hospital after being run over by a fleeing rhino, resulting in a broken paw, several lacerations and contusions and a mild concussion, and Nick had been shot in the right shoulder once - not a dramatic injury, all things considered, but painful and annoying. It had taken him almost half a year before his right arm was as strong again as it had been before. Judy had heavily berated him after the shooting, not because he had been negligent, but because the bullet that had pierced his shoulder blade had been aimed at Judy. He had pushed her out of the way and taken it himself. His behavior may have shocked Judy, but he had remained resolute.
He'd rather die than see her suffer any harm.
They were almost constantly mocking each other with the famous "L"-word. They were constantly telling each other that they loved each other, even in the presence of others. It had long since stopped to cause their workmates to raise their eyebrows in surprise. However, over the course of the last fifteen months, ever since he had been shot, he had become painfully aware of the fact that it was no longer a simple taunt or pun. He did indeed love Judy Hopps, plain and simple as that. He loved talking to her, he loved watching her. Simply being in her presence was enough to make his heart beat faster.
I'm pining for a rabbit! Me, Nick Wilde, red fox, scoundrel, ex-con-artist, ex-trickster, police officer, falling for a cute, fluffy little bunny!
Who'd have thunk it?
The laid-back con artist of old would certainly have tried to woo her, but the police officer of today couldn't even think about it; the mere fact that he had fallen for his partner presented him with an avalanche of problems. The first and most important one was that he had no idea if the feeling was mutual. He knew she liked him, and she always claimed to enjoy the time they spent together. But despite the fact that she usually wore her emotions on her sleeve, he was getting not even the tiniest signal from her that she loved him as much as he loved her. Maybe she did love him, too, but as long as she gave him no further clue, he had to assume that she didn't.
And he couldn't have blamed her. Inter-species relationships may have become increasingly common lately - one of their colleagues from the TUSK team, a wolf, had begun dating a lynx two years ago, for example -, but it was always predator and predator or prey and prey. It was simply unheard-of for a predator wooing prey - at least as far as public perception was concerned.
The truth, however, was completely different, of course.
"What about the balloon?"
"The one the hippo kid is holding? Nope."
During his hustling days, Nick had seen quite a lot of mixed-species relationships, and some of those had even been between predators and prey. But those that had chosen this way of living were invariably forced to spend their lives among the dregs of society. Not surprisingly - the "Nighthowler" case which had taken place more than three years earlier had made a few shortcomings in the public life of Zootopia painfully obvious. Despite all the best efforts from all the right mammals in all the right places, there were still a lot of resentments between predators and prey.
Resentments that even Judy and Nick hadn't been immune to. She had carried around a bottle of fox repellant during her first days on the force. While she hadn't bought it herself - it had been given to her by her father, and she had only accepted the gift to placate him -, she had held onto it and had almost used it on Nick. He, on the other hand, had initially dismissed her as the stereotypical dumb bunny, small, cute, way too emotional, good only at multiplying, and daft as a brush - in short, good enough to be conned, but a complete waste of time in all other regards. He still called her a dumb bunny every now and then, but it was always in jest - she was one of the smartest, most determined mammals he had ever come across. Her promotion to Sergeant almost a year ago was testament to the fact that she was one hell of a capable police officer, despite her diminutive size. She was respected by her peers, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that she was well on her way to a highly successful career. Some even went so far as to say that she might replace Chief Bogo one day. Who probably wouldn't have minded. Bogo had turned from someone despising the mere idea of having a bunny police officer as a subordinate to one of her staunchest supporters in just a couple of weeks. Or rather, he had his mind changed for him - by Judy.
Nick wasn't quite as popular as Judy was, but he was okay with that. He was respected as a police officer - he had also been promoted to Sergeant, albeit half a year after Judy -, and while most of their workmates frowned upon his cynical attitude and his pessimistic view on the world, they still treated him with respect and even courtesy. And that was good enough for him. He was very content with the place he was at.
And a huge part of why he was content happened to sit next to him in the police cruiser. Judy trusted him completely, he knew that. She had put her life in his paws several times without hesitation. If she still harbored any trust issues with predators on the whole or foxes in particular, which he doubted, she showed none of them towards him. She liked him very much, probably more than any other person in Zootopia. (Her extensive family in Bunnyburrow was a different matter, of course.)
But did she love him? Nick had no way of knowing.
What was her opinion on a possible relationship between predator and prey, between a fox and a bunny anyway? She was a fierce advocate of animal equality, yet going so far as to promote relationships between what would basically have been natural enemies a few millennia ago? Nick simply had no clue what she thought about this.
And then there was the fact that they were professional partners. There were getting along spectacularly well and had always done so, pretty much from Day One, which probably was the chief reason why their union had produced such great results. The two of them were without the shadow of a doubt the most successful crime fighters the city had seen in a long, long time. They had solved cold cases which had lain dormant in the archives for decades. They had unraveled plots and schemes which had eluded the most capable detectives. They had subdued dangerous criminals, most of them much larger and much more powerful than the tiny bunny and the only slightly bigger fox, and brought them to justice. Zootopia was a much safer place, just because the two of them did their part. At least this was the public opinion. They were media darlings and therefore hugely popular. Over time, Judy and Nick had become the ZPD's poster girl and boy - they had in fact appeared on no less than three different posters so far. Prey and predator, woman and man, bunny and fox, working together as a seamless union to fight crime - it was the success story of Zootopia. Wherever they went, there always seemed to be a host of fervent admirers. Nick would never have thought in his wildest dreams that he would one day be asked to put his autograph on books and posters.
Of course he enjoyed it immensely, and he didn't want it to end any time soon.
"Holy hay bale, this is tough! Erm, the scarf Gazelle is wearing, there, on the poster next to the taxi stand?"
"As if I would pick something you are sure to like, Fluff. That's not how the game is played, isn't it?"
"Don't talk to me like you're the expert on the game, Scruffy!"
"Hey, I'm not the mammal who's losing here! And, just in case you forgot, the clock is ticking!"
If he confessed his love to her, and she did not reciprocate, what would happen to their partnership? Would it unravel, or would they be able to continue as a team? As the pessimist he was, a fact that even Judy's best efforts hadn't been able to change, he was quite certain that their work relationship would sour to such a degree that their partnership would come to an untimely end. He knew colleagues who had had a private falling-out and were unable to work together anymore afterwards. This was the one situation he was most keen to avoid. He wanted their partnership to endure for as long as possible. Jeopardizing it by confessing his feelings to her sounded like a very stupid idea to him. He didn't want to lose her, so he never dared to tell her what he was thinking of her.
And then there was the problem commonly called fraternization. Relationships between police officers were strictly forbidden. Apart from the problem of upholding the chain of command and the discipline within the force, a police officer in love with a workmate was often said to become a liability, taking too much care about his or her partner and thus neglecting duty. Or the officer could face total emotional devastation after the loss of a loved one.
With his days as a con fox long behind him, Nick was perfectly fine with following laws and rules, but this one seemed just plain idiotic to him. On paper, laws like these tended to sound great, but in the line of duty, they quickly lost all their appeal and all their sense. Nick had seen the most hardened police officers break down completely after losing their longtime partner, with whom they had not been romantically involved. Friendships between officers were the norm, and losing a close friend often was just as bad as losing a loved one. He hadn't seen any relationships between officers (which wasn't all that surprising, since most of the mammals working in Precinct One were males and had partners from outside the force), but that didn't necessarily mean there weren't any. There were some rumors that one of their colleagues, a tiger named Nero Jackson, was dating a female tiger working in administration. If they were, they were very covert about it. And rightly so - fraternizing was a punishable offense resulting in loss of job and two years in jail. Despite his checkered past, Nick had never set foot inside a prison, and he was determined to keep it that way.
And since that was the case, he had to content himself with watching her do all those cute things that made his brain go slightly fuzzy. Nibbling her lower lip, for example. Which she just did.
"Ooookay, what about the ad next to the Snarlbuck's entrance?" While pointing, she leaned over to quickly look in the rear-view-mirror to check her appearance, trying to tame a few wayward hairs in her fur which had obviously irked her all day.
She's doing it again, she simply doesn't see it! Nick thought it was hilarious. "You know what? You couldn't be farther from it."
Judy's face fell. "I couldn't?"
"You're looking waaayyy too far into the distance. It's much closer than you think it is."
"Closer." She looked through the windows of their cruiser. However, there were no purple items in their immediate vicinity, which was sure to puzzle her further. Nick was simply relishing this. "Err, Nick, you sure you mean 'purple' and not 'pink?'"
Nick chuckled. "Yes, I am. One hundred percent."
Judy sighed in obvious frustration. "Damn it, Nicholas Piberius Wilde! Why do you always have to make it so darn hard for me?"
Now, Nick laughed out loud. "It's very simple, sweetheart." He grabbed the rear-view-mirror and adjusted it so that she was able to see herself without leaning to the side. "Just watch and learn."
She looked into the mirror. "Uh, what am I looking at, exactly?"
"Why don't you just tell me what you are looking at right now?"
Judy squinted her eyes, then they widened in shock. "NO! Nick, that's unfair! How am I supposed to see the color of my own eyes?"
"By looking in the mirror." Nick grinned. "You've done it nine times in the last five minutes alone."
Judy paused, then she grinned sheepishly. "I guess I did. Dumb bunny."
Nick leaned over and patted her shoulder. "No, sly bunny. Devious fox."
She laughed out loud at that. "I should have known you would resort to …"
It was at this very moment that they heard a load roar, and seconds later they saw a small black sports car speed down the road, towards their cruiser. It veered to the side, passing a tiny bus full of lemmings on the right side and dashing past their parking position at what Nick estimated to be at least 90 miles per hour - three times faster than the speed limit in Zootopia.
Words weren't necessary. As Judy powered up the cruiser, Nick activated lights and sirens while speaking into the radio's microphone. "Dispatch, this is One-17. A speeding vehicle just blew by, southbound on Fifth. Commencing pursuit. Over."
"Copy that, 17," Benjamin Clawhauser, their dispatcher, answered immediately. "You need backup?"
Nick shook his head, despite the fact that Clawhauser wouldn't be able to see it. Judy, in the meantime, had thrown their massive car into a 180 and was now speeding down the wide avenue, following the other vehicle. Despite being the much larger car, its hybrid engines were so powerful that they reached 100 mph in no time at all. The pursuit was officially on. "Negative. Let's see if we can catch that sucker first," Nick concluded.
"10-4, One-17. Over."
While the sidewalks may have been rather empty, the street was quite crowded, which forced the driver of the speeding vehicle to change lanes, overtaking slower cars on whichever side wasn't blocked. He didn't seem to be the best of drivers, since his attempt to avoid hitting a huge car, probably driven by a giraffe, led to him demolishing two traffic signs. Nick squinted, trying to make out the license plate. "Dispatch, can you run a 10-28 for us? Car's a black convertible, a Boarsche 911 Cabriolet. Plate number is Papa-Uniform-Sierra Tango-Mike Niner … scrap that, Ben."
"Say again?"
"It's a foreign plate. We'll radio in once we have him. Or her. One-17 out" Nick placed the microphone in its rest and squinted again. "I may be mistaken, but I think this guy's from Gnuganda."
"Are you sure?" Judy asked. "It's still awfully far." The gap between them and the fleeing vehicle was still more than 400 feet.
"I am," Nick said. "Not on the Gnuganda thing, but he's definitely not from around here."
Judy nodded while gunning the accelerator. "Wherever he's from, he's not getting away from us."
They were indeed gaining fast, reducing the lead to little more than 200 feet in mere seconds. Despite Nick's incessant teasing that all bunnies are bad drivers, Judy was easily one of the best drivers he had ever seen, far better than he could ever be. Their cruiser was so huge that Procurement and Logistics had been forced to outfit it with bespoke seats and controls adjusted to bunnies and foxes, just to allow them to sit and work in it properly. But despite this distinct disadvantage, Judy had no problems controlling the cruiser whatsoever. Even the most seasoned officers, most of which were more adapted to the car in terms of size, simply were unable to drive as fast and safe as her. She dodged traffic with ease, helped by the fact that the car's massive bulk and enormously loud sirens were highly effective in clearing their path. The fleeing driver wasn't so lucky. And by the way he was changing lanes at a frantic pace, he knew it, too.
"Ooh, watch it, you moron!" Nick shouted, looking ahead. The fleeing driver had just driven through a red light, narrowly avoiding a collision with an elephant mother and her two children. All of whom were much taller than the car.
"That's the third red light," Judy snarled. "At least 14 endangered pedestrians. Not to mention the other cars. And three traffic signs and two parking meters. We need to take him out, and fast, before mammals die! This is an accident waiting to happen!"
Nick spared a glance at his partner. Her snarl matched her facial expression quite nicely - she was wearing the mother of all scowls. This is one seriously pissed-off bunny. He nodded. "One carrot milkshake he'll take a turn to the left soon."
"Why do you think so?"
"Well, he's a foreigner, and … whoopsie!"
The driver, realizing that his pursuers had reduced his lead to less than 50 feet, did indeed make a turn, but one to the right.
"Shit!" Judy exclaimed, stepping hard on the brakes, but given their speed, they overshot massively.
"No!" shouted Nick. "Floor it! Take a left over there!" He pointed at the next crossing.
"What? Why? He turned right, Nick!"
"Trust me! He needs to go to the left."
It was obvious that Judy didn't agree with Nick, but she didn't hesitate to follow his suggestion. Not that he had expected her to. Ever since they had hustled Dawn Bellwether, she had always trusted his judgment without hesitation. Although that didn't stop her from complaining. "Make it a cheetah-sized milkshake. No, a rhino-sized one," she said while accelerating again, taking a left turn at the crossing.
"You know where this road is leading?" Nick asked.
Judy made a frown. "Err, the ferry, right?"
"Very good, Carrots! A few more years, and you'll know the city just as well as I do."
Judy snorted. "Yeah, right! I'll never catch up with you!"
Living in Zootopia for more than three, almost four years, had certainly given Judy a pretty solid knowledge of all the important places. But she simply was no match for Nick. Having been born and raised in Zootopia, Nick's knowledge of the place was stuff of legends - most of their workmates claimed that he knew the metropolis better than the back of his paw. He knew all the roads, all the important places, even all the shortcuts. And his track record at guessing where culprits were heading was almost flawless.
He gave her a smile. "Don't sell yourself short here, Fluff! You were perfectly right, the ferry to Aquatica. Which, if you take the Route 34, leads to Deerbrooke County. And from there, you can reach all the other outlying regions."
Judy nodded. "Including Gnuganda."
"He needs to catch the ferry," Nick said, pointing at the watch on the dashboard. "If it's punctual - and it usually is -, it'll leave in less than five minutes. He needs to get there, and fast. That's why he's speeding along like someone set his tail on fire."
Judy grinned. "What would I do without you?"
Nick shrugged. "You'd find some other poor fox to hustle." Both had to chuckle at that.
It took them less than two minutes to reach the port and thus the ferry, which was still attached to the pier. Judy turned their cruiser around and came to a stop next to a truck that probably belonged to elephants, as it was even bigger than their massive cruiser, much bigger. Craning his neck, Nick was able to look down the street through the gap between the driver's cabin and the trailer, still the truck hid their cruiser to perfection. They were facing the street, and Judy let the car idle, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.
"And sure enough, there he is," Nick said, pointing ahead. Indeed, the convertible they had been chasing came into view, still at considerable speed.
Judy climbed over to his side to have a look herself, leaning into him completely, sending a nice, tingling feeling through his body. "Have I told you today how brilliant you are?" she said.
"No, but you are excused," Nick said with a grin, "what with losing silly games against your favorite fox and some such nonsense."
Judy raised an eyebrow. "You know what, Slick? You can kiss my fluffy ass."
"With pleasure. Do you want me to be tender, or do you want to be clean afterwards?"
Judy, midway through climbing back onto her seat, burst into laughter. She was still laughing when she gave one last burst of acceleration, blocking the path of the convertible.
Nick activated the microphone again, signaling Judy to be quiet. She out one paw on her mouth, still giggling, "Dispatch, One-17 here. We caught the speeder near the Aquatica Ferry. Proceeding with the arrest now. We'll probably need a 10-51. 17 over."
"Copy that, One-17," Clawhauser said. "Tow truck's on the way. Dispatch out."
Nick put down the microphone again, opened his door and jumped down. The heat seemed to envelop him like a very uncomfortable glove immediately. He adjusted his glasses with his left paw while putting his right one near his standard-issue tranquilizer gun, just as regulation dictated. Judy had left the cruiser, too, right at the moment the sport car's side window slid down. What they got to see, however, was something they hadn't expected.
"Well, what do you know? A rabbit," Nick said. "Would you please be so kind and explain to us what you were doing at more than 100 miles per hour within the city limits, sir?"
The male rabbit looked at Nick, who was smiling, then at Judy, who was wearing a frown. He was one or the other side of fifty, and wearing a suit which looked both immaculate and highly expensive. His fur was a light brown, just like his eyes. His whole posture screamed annoyance. He may have been caught red-pawed, but he obviously refused to let it show that he knew. Judy took over. "You tried to catch the ferry, right, sir?"
"Vot is it to you?" He spoke with a very heavy accent.
"Well," Judy said with a very fake casual tone in her voice, "what's it to me? Perhaps it is to me that you have exceeded the speed limit by some 80 miles per hour. Perhaps it is to me that your reckless driving put more than a dozen pedestrians in mortal danger. Perhaps it is to me that you ran over three red lights. Perhaps it is to me that you caused significant damage to public property." With each word, the temperature in her voice seemed to drop by a few degrees.
"Would you please get out of the car, sir?" Nick said pleasantly while opening the door.
When the rabbit didn't respond or make a move, Judy stepped next to Nick, deliberately putting her paw on her gun's handle. With a voice that still surprised Nick, even after all these years - he had never imagined that such a cute bunny could bring forth such a cold voice -, she said: "Please get out of the car, sir. Now!"
With a huge sigh, the rabbit got out. He was quite tall, for a rabbit, easily four inches taller than Judy, and the immaculate suit became even more noticeable. He was obviously quite well-off, and if the numerous rings on his paws were any indication, quite happy to make this fact known. "And vot happens now?"
"Well, sir," Nick said, "I would like to see your license and registration, please, if you would be so kind." He gave the rabbit a friendly smile. It had long been established between him and Judy that when dealing with criminals, he would usually be the good cop and she the bad one. Due to his hustling days, Nick had perfected the unctuous tone, the flattering remarks and the innocent look. Judy was great at just being intense. And to most mammals, intense came across as aggressive, sometimes even as angry. There had never been any discussion between them as to who would assume which role. And they both found certain glee in messing with stereotypes. Everybody seemed to expect the predator, the sly, shifty, untrustworthy fox, to be the bad guy, and the prey, the meek, cute, dumb little bunny to be the good guy. Having it the other way around had irritated a lot of mammals, and an irritated criminal is much more likely to make mistakes.
With slow movements, betraying his reluctance, the rabbit took his wallet out of the inside pocket of his suit, handing it to Nick, who opened the wallet with deft digits, quickly finding both the driving license and the registration certificate. Returning the wallet and looking at the documents, he said in his most pleasant voice: "So, you are Tobias Alfons Mümmelmann, from Pusemuckel, Gnuganda, is that right?" The rabbit nodded. "And this is your car?"
The rabbit looked over at the ferry, which had just departed the pier. Anger crept both into his voice and his posture. "It is," he literally spat. "I hope you are not zinking zat I stole it." He glared at Nick.
"No, not at all. Merely appreciating." Nick had never been a real car enthusiast, since for most of his life he neither had the money to buy a car nor the license to drive one. Still, he knew a nice ride when he saw one. "A Boarsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet. Bet it cost you a fortune."
"Actually not, Officer. Zis is my company car. I work for ze Boarsche AG." He puffed his chest, in a blatant attempt to make himself look bigger.
Judy was obviously and decidedly unimpressed. "You do? What, at the production line?"
A look of outrage crossed the culprit's face. "I am ze CEO," he almost shouted with an air of annoyance.
Nick gave a low whistle while looking at the car again, admiring its smooth curves. To him, it was a real shame that during his wild flight, the rabbit had managed to severely damage the car. There were scratches in the paint and several dents along the bumper, the right side mirror was missing - even one of the headlights was smashed completely. The damage was so extensive, it came as a surprise to Nick that the airbags hadn't triggered."Nice," he said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in his voice.
Judy took over, her voice at her most menacing while still managing to wear a smile. "Your ride may be nice, but where it is going, its looks are not going to help."
The rabbit turned to fully face her. "I beg your pardon?"
"You know," Judy said, dropping the smile, "your car is going to be impounded. And you, sir, are under arrest."
What little color had been left in the face of the rabbit seemed to vanish at once - he became quite pale under his fur. "You are going to … a-arrest me?"
"Oh, yes," Judy continued harshly. For a fleeting second, Nick was quite glad he wasn't on the receiving end of the tongue-lashing the poor rabbit was about to receive - he'd been there a few times, and those weren't memories he particularly cherished. "Speeding, reckless driving, damage to public property, reckless endangerment of numerous pedestrians, and resisting arrest. I think this warrants a warrant. You, sir, are going to jail, and believe me, the streets will be a much safer place because of it!"
"You cannot be serious," the rabbit shouted. "Do you know who I am?"
Judy took the pawcuffs from her utility belt and approached the rabbit. "I don't want to know who you are, because I couldn't care less. As far as I'm concerned, you are little more than a road hog who needs to be taken off the streets."
The rabbit took a little half-step back. Nick deliberately moved two steps to the right to block the most obvious escape route. Seeing this, the rabbit, thankfully, visibly deflated, showing no more signs of resistance. Nick would have hated to give chase in a weather like this. When Judy pawcuffed him, she said: "You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer question. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right …"
She was suddenly cut off by the rabbit sneezing. Once, twice, three times. Violently.
"Gesundheit," Nick said, raising an eyebrow. This was a sight he had certainly never seen before. Working with Judy for three years had given him a pretty good idea what was normal for a rabbit and what was not. Hell, she had even brought him to visit her family's farm in Bunnyburrow, several times even. And despite a somewhat rocky start - her father had not been particularly partial to foxes, to put it mildly -, by now, he and her parents were on first-name-terms, and their countless children just loved to play with "Unca Nicky." The concerns about those trips he had felt at one point had long since become a thing of the past.
And during all these times, he could not remember seeing a rabbit sneeze like that. He had seen three of Judy's sisters come down with a cold, and that was it. This was something else. And while he thought about it, he realized that he had never seen a rabbit seriously ill. To him, rabbits were just a bunch of abnormally healthy mammals. It was probably all down to the good, organic food.
"Vielen Dank," the rabbit countered. "Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass Sie Gnugandisch können."
Nick had to smile at that. After having dropped out of school before he had turned twelve, he did have little in terms of formal education, but living on the streets for twenty years had given him a lot of knowledge you don't necessarily get in school. This gave him a solid grasp on most common languages. Usually he was able to understand what had been said to him, but his skills were insufficient to really converse in a foreign language. "Sorry, but the term 'Gesundheit' is used in English, too. My Gnugandan is, how shall I put it, quite lackluster."
"Oh. Vot a pity."
Judy continued to read the rabbit his rights, and afterwards they dumped him unceremoniously in the back of their cruiser.
"And," Nick grabbed the last paper out of the printer's slot, "this," he took a pen from his desk, "was," he signed the paper with a flourish, "that." He finally placed the paper on the desktop, next to a sizeable stack of similar pieces of paper.
"Are you done?" Judy asked from her desk. Her eyes had followed his every move. One of the nails on her left paw kept scratching an empty Styrofoam cup which at one point had contained a carrot milkshake - Nick had lost their bet, after all.
"Yeah, finally! Why is it that every time we arrest some jerk, we always have this bureaucratic nonsense to deal with? I mean, six reports in quadruplicate? Gimme a break!"
Judy gave a small smile and threw the empty cup in the trashcan while walking over to sign the last report as well. Another thing they had established long ago was that it usually was up to Nick to write the reports. Although Nick liked to complain about filling out forms, when it came to dealing with "bureaucratic nonsense," he was a natural. It usually took him less than half the time it took Judy to complete a report; Judy was a stickler for details and way too pedantic, whereas Nick simply had the phrasing, the tone and the delivery down pat. His reports were succinct and to-the-point, a textbook example of efficiency - as many words as necessary, but not one word to much. Much unlike is usual manner of speaking. Placing the signed piece of paper on the stack, she said: "That's the way it is, Nick."
"I know." He finally looked at her, a weary expression on his face. "And you know what's even worse? I'm pretty sure this bunny is leaving the building as we speak, returning home as if nothing happened."
"You think so?" She sat down on her uncomfortable chair again. Procurement and Logistics had never been able to provide her with an office chair suited for her size and body structure.
"Of course, Carrots! He's a millionaire. I don't think this building's able to hold him without a proper arrest warrant. I'm certain he can pay the bail out of one of his petty cash deposit." He sighed. "The only positive thing I see in this is that he is without his car and his license."
"Thanks to you, Nick. I may have lost him."
He smiled. "That's what partners are for, right?"
She nodded vigorously. "Right."
He looked at the watch. "Hey, Carrots, still more than three hours to go."
"Yes, I know, Nick." She got up. "Well, let's get cracking."
Right at this moment, as if on cue, an enormous baritone seemed to fill the whole huge bureau. "Hopps! Wilde! My office! Now!"
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Oh, how I have missed the dulcet tones of our beloved Chief."
"Shush!" Judy said. "He might hear you!" They got up from their respective chairs and left their shared cubicle to walk down to their superior's office. Nick couldn't help but feel an awful sense of foreboding, which was most certainly shared by his much more emotional partner.
They had good reasons to be wary. If Judy came across as intense, Adrian Bogo came across as simply menacing. It didn't matter if he wanted to reprimand you for having screwed up or commend you for having done a perfect job, he always sounded as if he was about to rip your head off. Everything about the Chief was big. Even for a cape buffalo he was tall, underlined by the fact that his love for working-out had left him with muscles threatening to rip his uniform to shreds. And his voice was able to fill a cathedral, even when he was whispering. He was a force of nature - his presence alone was able to instill terror in a lot of criminals. Even his subordinates weren't immune to those feelings, which is why both Nick and Judy approached the door with considerable trepidation.
Judy knocked, and they heard Bogo shout: "Enter!" She opened the door and entered the office to stand in front of their bosses' desk. Both flashed a salute which Bogo countered with a dismissive gesture.
"At ease, Sergeants. Have a seat." They both climbed into the chair which was so big that both of them were able to sit in it at the same time. "Clawhauser told me you apprehended a street racer."
"Sir," Judy began, "technically he was no street racer, merely a speeding driver."
"A distinction without a difference, Hopps. Dangerous lunatics, the lot of them."
"I agree, sir."
Bogo heaved I sigh. "Unfortunately, we had to release him. His company has bailed him out."
"Why am I not surprised, sir?" Nick said, smiling. "Still, he is without his license. And his ride. A Boarsche 911. Too bad you won't fit in it, Chief." The Chief's love for cars was well known in Precinct One.
If Nick had expected Bogo to smile, he was sorely disappointed. "I take it your patrol was uneventful, apart from chasing said lunatic through Savanna Central," the Chief said matter-of-factly.
Now Judy sighed. "That, sir, is an understatement."
Bogo shrugged. "As annoying as this heat wave is, it seems to have sucked the energy out of the criminals. Crime rate is at an all-time low. We should be thankful for that."
"We are, sir. It's just that these patrols are so … boring!"
Now Bogo smiled. "I know. I've been in your shoes once, too, you know."
Nick couldn't help himself. "I doubt it, sir. I don't think you would fit into one of our boots."
Bogo merely held his smile, and Nick fought the urge to raise an eyebrow. Their Chief was unusually kind and friendly. His sense of foreboding grew. Something was off, but he wasn't able to put his digit on it yet.
As if responding to Nick's unspoken thoughts, Bogo said: "You're probably asking yourself now why I have called you into my office, right?"
Judy and Nick exchanged glances. "The thought had crossed our minds, yes," Judy said, failing spectacularly at sounding casual - her tone and her shaky voice betrayed her nervousness.
Bogo picked up a few pieces of paper from his desk, "I wanted to ask you a question. How would you feel about being reassigned to Homicide Squad?" He handed them the pieces of paper. "Homicide asked for two additional officers. In the last five years, the number of murders in this city has risen by 37 percent, and they need every able-bodied officer they can lay their hooves on. Especially smaller mammals. Most officers in Homicide are just too big to really comb through a crime scene without disturbing or destroying half of the evidence in the process." He made a pause. "The leader of Homicide Squad, Major Mastiff, specifically asked for you."
"Us?" Judy looked up from the papers. "Why?"
Bogo got up from his chair to walk over to his window. Looking out of it, not even looking at them anymore, he said: "You two have the necessary qualifications. You have an almost flawless track record. Your detective work is outstanding. You are without the shadow of a doubt the most successful crime fighters in the ZPD at this point in time. Homicide needs the best. Major Mastiff accepts nothing less but the best. And you happen to be the best."
Nick and Judy just stared at his back, open-mouthed, completely flabbergasted. It was rare for Bogo to heap praise on someone for just doing their job, and they had certainly not heard him praising someone to the skies, like he had just done. Bogo continued: "I do not say this lightly. Working for Homicide is a huge commitment. They call for ungodly hours, working overtime, working under strenuous circumstances. You will face grisly sights and even worse stories. Things may happen that will make you wish you never accepted the jobs in the first place. But both the Major and I are convinced that you are the right mammals for the job. You have proven countless times that you have what it takes to solve the grossest of crimes. But you need to be in it with all of your heart and soul. Half-assed work will get you nowhere in Homicide."
Nick looked at Judy, wordlessly mouthing: "Who is this?"
Judy nodded, countering just as silently: "And what has he done with the Chief?"
Bogo, unaware of their exchange, made a pause and sighed. "I want to be frank with you. When Mayor Lionheart assigned you to Precinct One, Hopps, I thought you were in way over your head. 'No bunny could ever become a cop, much less a good one,' I thought. And I certainly treated you accordingly during your first months of service, or rather, I mistreated you. I let you run the proverbial gauntlet, and believe me when I say that I'm very sorry that I did. It was a mistake on my part, a mistake you taught me never to make again. You proved me wrong. Time and time again, you proved me wrong. The same goes for you, Wilde. If all foxes were as trustworthy, hard-working and capable as you, your species would not be forced to face so much ridicule and slander. The fact of the matter is, you two are the best officers on my roster. You are so good in fact that you're way too valuable to solve petty theft and work on patrol duty. No, I think you'll do fine in Homicide. If you decide that this is the future career path for you."
Nick was the first to regain the ability to use his vocal cords again, and to his own surprise, no sarcastic remark wanted to come out. Instead he said, like the biggest ass-kisser: "We are deeply honored, Chief."
Bogo sat back down, facing them with his stony gaze. Even when he was saying words of encouragement in something closely resembling a friendly manner, he still came across as menacing. "So, take your time reading this. I'm in no hurry."
Both Judy and Nick lowered their heads and started perusing the papers again. It took less than a minute for Judy to speak up again. "Uh, sir, it says here that the request is for two Lieutenants."
"I know," Bogo said simply.
"But sir, we are …"
Bogo cut her short. "I know what you are, but I don't care."
Now Nick piped in: "Does that mean …"
Bogo interrupted him, too. "What can this possibly mean, Wilde? It means that whoever holds the positions offered here will hold the ranks of Lieutenant."
Judy gasped. "But sir, rules and regulations state that between two promotions, a period of at least …"
Again, Bogo didn't allow her to finish her thought. "Just so you know, Hopps, I promote on skill alone, not on some rules and regulations which don't mean squat on the streets. I need the mammals best capable for the given jobs, and if that means I have to promote somebody early, I do. And should somebody try to remind me that there are certain rules and regulations which don't allow me to do this, I remind this somebody that I don't care. I am the Chief of Police, last time I checked, and promoting or demoting officers is my prerogative. Of course, the Mayor or the city council could overrule me, but they never did and they never will. Which means I can run this place pretty much as I see fit."
"So if we apply," Nick said, trying his hardest to sound casually, "we are promoted to Lieutenants."
"You are."
"Automatically?"
"Yes."
Nick turned to Judy. "Could I borrow your carrot pen, please?"
After both had signed their respective application forms, Bogo stood up and rounded his table. Both Nick and Judy got off their chair, and suddenly Bogo knelt down and offered both of them a pawshake. Nick had often shaken the Chief's hoof, but now, for the first time ever, he couldn't help feeling that this was not the mere pawshake between a superior and his subordinates. This was a pawshake between kindred spirits. Deep down inside, they were all just crime fighters, regardless of rank, and his posture made it very clear that Bogo was acknowledging this fact right now. Both of them, and Nick in particular, had come a long way, and it seemed that finally, FINALLY, they had really arrived. "Thank you very much for this opportunity," Nick said, an honest smile on his face. "We will give our very best, Chief."
"I cannot ask for more, Wilde," Bogo said, nodding. "But keep in mind that I will not accept anything less. Nor does Major Mastiff."
"Duly noted."
Bogo stood up again. "Well, seeing as there is not much going on out there, and seeing that you have amassed quite a lot of overtime to use up, why don't you just take the rest of the day off? Remember the PR event on Monday."
Nick looked down at Judy, who shrugged. "I forgot to tell you. We will visit the Meadowlands Elementary School for the usual Q and A gig."
"Ah. Obnoxious kids, nosy parents and demotivated teachers." Nick couldn't help grinning. "I love it!"
"Nick," Judy warned him.
"Don't worry, Carrots, I will be my usual, charming self."
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of."
Bogo rolled his eyes. "If there's nothing else, you are dismissed."
"Thank you, sir," Judy said with just the kind of smile that made the heat rise within Nick. He could literally feel his ears being consumed by fire. "Have a nice weekend."
"You too, Hopps, Wilde."
They saluted the Chief and left his office, saying nothing. It wasn't until they were well out of the buffaloes' earshot that they turned towards each other, both saying the same word at exactly the same moment: "Wow!" Both burst out into laughter.
"Did this just really happen?" Judy asked, incredulity garnishing her voice.
"It certainly seems so." Nick scratched the back of his head. "Although I have to admit, I have never heard the Chief heap so much praise on so few people over such a short period of time." He looked back at the office door they had just walked through. "The old softy!"
Judy grinned at that. "And what do you know, with the extra money you will earn, you might finally be able to leave the dumpster."
He raised an eyebrow. "The dumpster? Carrots, this is my home you speak of!"
"And it's the worst collection of garbage I ever had the misfortune of laying my eyes upon."
"Says the bunny who lives in a glorified shoe box."
She gave him a shove. "Hey, I like it there!"
"Sure. What's not to like? I simply adore the greasy walls, I love the rickety bed, and I totally dig your crazy neighbors." He made a pause. "So, seeing that quitting time's early today, what do we do with the rest of the evening?"
"Movie Night!" she announced, way too loudly, considering the fact that Nick was standing right next to her.
Nick winced. "Okay, fine with me. I assume we go to the, ahem, 'dumpster' of mine."
"Of course, seeing that I don't own a TV set. Hey, what do you say? I get to pick the movies, you get to pick the snacks."
He made a face. "I feel a nightmare coming up."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Bunny flick after bunny flick. I'll certainly pass out at one point or another."
If you think this chapter's leaning towards pointless, please bear with me. I know it's quite the slow start, but at least one aspect of this chapters' content is crucial to the plot, as you will find out later.
Chief Bogo was given the first name of Adrian in the awesome fanfiction story "Zootopia - In the Days That Followed" by ayziks - check it out! I liked it, so I use it, too.
Speaking of Bogo: If you think that he comes across as too darn mellow here, well, any guy who secretly harbors a soft spot for Gazelle sure has to have a soft core. And I'll give the big old softy some background story in one of the following chapters to put meat on his bones.
Now, the OC, Tobias Alfons Mümmelmann. Tobias and Alfons are perfectly normal German first names. The family name actually is a pun on rabbits; "mümmeln" is the German word for "to nibble," so a "Mümmelmann" is "the guy who nibbles," a quite common German term of endearment for bunnies. And the person itself, well, he's little more than me poking a bit of light fun at Germans and their pronunciation problems when speaking English - just listen to Arnold Schwarzenegger (okay, he's Austrian, but German's his native tongue). And before you accuse me of racial abuse, remember that I'm German, too. And yes, even zose German guys who know zeir English tend to speak like zat, myself certainly not excluded!
And just so you know, in the movie, when Judy explains to Nick that she's from Bunnyburrow, the sentence she uses is: "Podunk is in Deerbrooke County. I grew up in Bunnyburrow.". In the German dub, the sentence becomes: "Pusemuckel ist in Gnuganda. Ich bin in Nageria aufgewachsen." "Pusemuckel" is the German word for "Podunk," and "Deerbrooke County" becomes "Gnuganda," hence the names. In my stories, Gnuganda is the name for my version of Germany.
Oh, and the German sentence "Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass Sie Gnugandisch können" translates to: "I wouldn't have thought you knew Gnugandan," with Gnugandan of course being my version of the German language.
And that's about it! The next chapter's going to be quite short, but the ones following after that will be much longer. As compensation, the next chapter will be up really soon!
Thanks for reading, and please send me your reviews!
Take care!
J.O. aka TheCatweazle