Chapter 1

The city of Zootopia was hustling and bustling as usual. Many different animals were traveling from their homelands, to find what they were looking for in the large hodgepodge of animals. The main subway station was where all the action was. Younger animals ran around the street, getting into trouble and in the way, old friends were reuniting with each other after having not been seen for a while, and some gave to the poor animals who didn't have anything except the torn clothing they wore.

Judy Hopps, the first rabbit on the Zootopia Police Force, and her companion Nick Wilde, the first fox on the Zootopia Police Force, were returning from a short break from their duties and visiting Judy's parents in Bunnyburrow. For some odd reason, Judy had been having headaches for a while before they even went on break. Nick assumed it was just overwork and put in for Chief Bogo to let them have a break, but after a visit from a doctor in Bunnyburrow they found out it was some kind of flu. When they couldn't find a cure there, they decided to cut their break short and head back to Zootopia to find a cure.

When they arrived in Zootopia and got off the train, Judy slipped a little, causing Nick to run forward. "You okay?" Nick asked worriedly, placing his hand on her small forehead. "You feel a little bit warm."

"I'm alright." Judy replied, playfully brushing his hand away. "I know you care, but I'm pretty sure it's not life or death."

"Yeah, but I don't want you fainting in the middle of traffic and getting run over. They'd be asking for a death wish."

Judy rolled her eyes. "Come on Nick," She spoke playfully as she grabbed his hand and pulled him along. "You said Finnick was going to meet us here."

"Yeah." Nick replied, looking at the crowd of animals. "If we can find him…"

They continued walking through the crowd of animals until they heard a deep, loud voice calling for Nick. "Yo, Nick!" the deep voice shouted. "Over here! Look on top of the crates!"

Judy and Nick looked and saw Finnick, a miniature fox with tan colored fur and sunglasses sitting on top of a pile of crates that an elephant was trying to move. "Hey, wait a minute!" the elephant spoke, his look becoming angry. "I recognize you! You're that mini fox that tried to con me at the ice cream parlor!"

Finnick instantly jumped off the crates and ran through the crowd to meet up with Judy and Nick. "I thought you had left that life behind…" said Judy, crossing her arms.

"Ahh, well…" Finnick shrugged. "I wasn't able to get a real job thanks to the stature, so I had to go to that again."

"Whatever." said Nick, kneeling and shaking hands with Finnick. "Good to see you again, little friend."

"Little friend?!" Finnick growled. "What are you talking about little friend?!"

"Nothing, it doesn't have to do with size." Nick replied quickly, not wanting to get the little guy angry. "Uh… Finnick, you know my associate and best friend, Judy?"

"Yes." Finnick replied, lowering his sunglasses to look at Judy. "And I have to say, I'm surprised that you two are working together. When I first saw you too working together, Nick, you looked like you were ready for your own execution."

Suddenly, a group of 8 elephants, wearing police armor and carrying rifles marched through the crowd, nearly crushing Nick, Judy, and Finnick if they hadn't moved out of the way. "Who are they?" Judy asked, looking at the group move through the crowd like a ship through ice.

"They're high class soldiers sent by the head of Zootopia." Finnick replied.

"Mayor Lionheart?"

"Nope, some bear who is higher up in the ranking than Lionheart. Calls himself 'Pontius Pilate' and is not to be messed with. He's taking Mayor Lionheart's place while he was called on business and decided to have his own personal guards come to Zootopia."

"And pray tell, where do they come from?" Nick asked.

"Dunno." Finnick replied.

….

A little bit later, the trio had gone to the marketplace of Savannah Central to find a doctor to help Judy. Since Judy and Nick were just returning from break, they weren't wearing their police uniforms. Nick wore a dark red shirt with a black tie and black pants, Judy wore a red flannel short-sleeved shirt and blue pants, and Finnick wore a black shirt with blue designs and brown pants.

"The doctor is living by the synagogue." said Finnick, pointing at the house besides the grandiose building that was surrounded by workers.

"Syna-what?" Nick asked, confused.

"Synagogue." Finnick corrected him. "Some kind of religious building for the Jews." He pointed towards a wolf and a turtle watching the construction. The wolf wore a purple suit and tie while the turtle wore an orange suit and tie.

Judy let her eyes travel across the construction of the synagogue. Several different animals such as antelope, rhinos, yaks, tigers, wolves, and lions were either lifting something, chiseling into stone, or working on the building.

One such worker caught her eye. He was a lion, with pure white fur and brown colored eye pupils. He wore a black shirt with no sleeves, brown pants with a red belt, and a yellow hardhat. A toolbox with carpenter tools lay beside him. He was on a scaffold platform hammering on the nails on a part of the synagogue, making sure that they went in cleanly and with no problems.

Something about this lion gave Judy a calm feeling, like he could do something to help her. But then, another dizzy spell hit her and she tripped. "Judy!" said Nick as he and Finnick raced forward to catch her.

"I'm alright!" said Judy, shaking her head. "Really, Nick. I'm okay."

"What's wrong with her?" Finnick asked.

Nick sighed. "She has the flu." He said to Finnick in a low voice. "It gives her major headaches. It comes and goes, but each time it comes it's-"

He was cut off by the loud growling of a lioness. This lioness was named Mary Magdalene. She has several evil spirits inside of her and it drove her insane. Her eye pupils were big and black, like a shark's after it smelled blood. Her cream-colored fur was matted and crazy. She wore a torn white dress, torn black leggings, and a ragged red shawl.

"Look!" shouted a gazelle worker. "It's mad Mary!"

Mary spat at him and growled. "I know who you are!" she said, her voice wild with anger.

"Oh dear…" Nick groaned. He, Judy, and Finnick walked away and headed to where the doctor was.

"He's in here." said Finnick, pointing towards the house.

"Thank you, Finnick." said Nick, shaking hands with him again. "See you around."

Finnick nodded, flipped on his sunglasses, and walked off. Nick went inside the doctor's office while Judy sat outside on the steps of the building.

…..

At the construction of the synagogue, the white lion was done with his job. He packed his tools in the toolbox and began climbing down the ladder near the platform he was on.

"See you later." said a tiger worker, tipping his hardhat to him. "And look after yourself while you're at it."

"Bye!" replied the White Lion as he stepped off the last rung of the ladder.

Over about a few yards, the wolf and the turtle were in deep conversation. "I don't think you'll get him to stay." said the wolf in purple.

"We pay good rates." replied the turtle in orange.

"Yes, but he's finishing today."

"Today? I'll pay him double, what does this guy want?"

"I've got no idea." said the wolf in purple. "Nobody knows." They looked over at the white lion, who was handing his hardhat to a wolf worker. "But he is an interesting person…"

They heard loud roaring and looked over to see Mary Magdalene causing a ruckus. "I've seen all of you!" she shouted.

"Get away!" growled a giraffe, shoving her away with a broom.

"You murderous dogs! Thieves and murderers!" Mary continued to shout, attracting the attention of the construction workers. "You think I don't see through you! Pilate told me! He told me!" She caught sight of the new synagogue and her eyes lit up. "Oh, how lovely!"

"'Oh, how lovely!'" a lion worker imitated her, causing his two fellow workers to start laughing. Pretty soon, almost all the workers were laughing their heads off.

"Get back to work!" shouted a buffalo who acted as the boss, brandishing a whip.

Judy watched the scene unfold with great interest, wondering why the lioness kept acting crazy.

"You like nice things?" Mary asked the wolf in purple, latching onto his arm.

"Get away, you wench!" shouted the buffalo, grabbing her and shoving her to the ground. Mary screamed in fear as the wolf raised his whip over his head, ready to bring it down on her.

Judy was about to jump up and run over to stop it, when the White Lion rushed forward and grabbed the buffalo's arm, keeping him from whipping the lioness.

The buffalo pulled back and watched as the white lion knelt beside her and helped her up. Nick came out of the doctor's office and sat beside Judy. "Nick…" Judy said softly. "Look…"

Nick shook his head. "Maybe you should come into the doctor's office. I don't think we need to see anything more crazy than usual…" he replied as he went back in, followed by Judy.

She paused however and watched as the lioness ran off, apparently shamed and unable to look the white lion in the eyes.

The white lion looked at the buffalo with a friendly gaze, which caused the buffalo to look ashamed. "Back to work!" he shouted, trying to keep his eyes of the white lion's gaze.

"You say he's from where?" the turtle in orange asked the wolf as the white lion bent down to collect the tools he scattered when running over.

"Nazareth. It's a small backwater neighborhood in Sahara Square." replied the wolf in purple.

…

Inside the doctor's office, Nick looked crestfallen. "No cure…" he spoke under his breath. He looked over at Judy, who was looking out the window, and realized that she, his best friend and partner, was going to… die.

"There is… medicine." said the doctor, a sheep with spectacles and a lab coat. He went to a drawer and pulled out a vial with a purple liquid in it. He handed it to Nick.

"What will this do?" Nick asked quietly.

"Ease the pain." The doctor replied darkly.

Nick sighed. "Thank you for your help." He said sadly as he reached into his pocket and handed the doctor some money.

…

Nick and Judy walked out of the doctor's office and into the Savannah Central. "What did the doctor say?" Judy asked when she saw Nick's down look.

Nick perked up, trying to act like nothing was wrong. "He said that you need rest." He replied reassuringly.

"But I'm not tired." said Judy as they walked along. She caught one final glimpse of the white lion, who looked at her with a steady but friendly gaze and then went on his way, out of Savannah Central. Somehow, Judy felt that she, Nick, and this white lion were connected in some way, and that they were going to meet later.