-Chapter 1-
It was a cold, quiet night in Zootopia's Savannah District. The cool, refreshing breeze blew through the spaces between the densely packed tenement houses. There were only a few lights on at this hour of the morning, with most of the animals having been asleep for hours already. The only store still open was the 24-hour convenience store on the corner of the avenue, which hadn't seen a customer in nearly an hour. In the pitch black everything seemed completely still, save for the wind. Only one figure could be seen moving, his masked face and gray fur only being illuminated under the light of the streetlight for a brief moment before disappearing again into the night.
The raccoon continued walking along the sidewalk in the shadows. He had become adept at sneaking around the streets, lurking during the day and becoming almost entirely invisible during the night. Being a nocturnal animal, he had always preferred to take care of things under the veil of the moon, being the most natural time for him to go about his business. Tonight, however, he was not sneaking around anywhere. Tonight he had something else to take care of, he reminded himself. He was surprised at how quiet the street was. Normally, in such a large city, sirens or cars honking could be heard anywhere and everywhere, but for some reason, the raccoon found himself walking along in silence. The wind gusted again, causing him to shiver in his thin sweatshirt that he had decided to wear. It had been such a long time since he had been here, yet he still remembered where nearly everything was and which alleyways were shortcuts to his destination. As he came up to the corner of the street his footsteps stopped. He looked inside the small store, the same as it was since the last time he visited. As he stared into the store, the raccoon felt the air around him start to weigh more, which was followed by a twinge of gut-wrenching nostalgic sadness inside his heart. It was almost too much for him to be back here, staring at the very shop he had once visited daily.
No, I'm strong, I can do this, he reminded himself.
He wasn't going to lose to his emotions again. After somewhat regaining his composure, he began to walk again, rounding the corner and continuing for another block before he stopped again, the scene still undisturbed.
Glancing upward, the raccoon began to inspect the building. It wasn't as lively now as it had been when he last saw it. The flower boxes in the windows were in bad shape, and the paint was beginning to come off the face of the building. He felt his emotions returning as he looked at the barred up door and broken steps, except this time he was unable to contain himself. Tears welled up in his eyes and rolled down his furry mask, landing on the faded welcome mat. He thought that this time maybe he would be able to muster enough courage to keep himself together, but it was not the case. He had failed again, the lingering memories of his past still able to overpower what he had become.
As the door slammed shut, the officers of the ZPD instinctively stopped their chatter and turned the focus to the front of the room. Chief Bogo took his place at the podium, and began to give out the day's instructions.
"Alright, everyone, quiet down," he said in his usual, authoritative demeanor. "We've got a few items of business today. Nothing terribly exciting, I'm afraid, but it's got to be done, so let's move forward."
Nick Wilde sighed internally. It had been a week since he had joined the force after solving the case of the night howlers alongside the bunny who was now his partner, Judy Hopps, and since then nothing of real interest had come up. He knew that every day wasn't going to end up being a high speed chase on a runaway train car as it had with his first case, but Nick still was itching for at least something more dangerous than merely patrolling the streets as he and Judy had been for the past few days. Nevertheless, he still found the position at the ZPD to have more redeeming qualities than that of popsicle hustling, so he stuck it out, hoping that maybe today would be the lucky day when he actually got to do something.
"Wilde!" Bogo yelled, clapping his hooves in front of Nick's eyes, "Stop staring off! I'm giving you your assignment."
"Oh, sorry." the fox replied, "your voice is so captivating sometimes, I can't help myself."
The officers in the room snickered.
"Very funny, Wilde. Anyways, as I was saying before you stopped listening to me, you and Hopps are going to be visiting Savannah Central taking care of…"
Please not patrol duty please not patrol duty, Nick thought to himself.
"Patrol duty," Bogo finished, followed by an audible groan from Nick. "That's all of the assignments. Dismissed."
The officers filed out of the room, heading out to perform their daily tasks. Reluctantly, Nick followed suit, holding the door open for Judy.
"I can't believe we're on patrol duty again, Carrots," Nick said as they walked out of the room. "I mean, we have all of these animals in Zootopia and you're telling me none of them are committing crimes? I don't believe it."
"That means that we're doing a good job," Judy said. "And besides, there are worse things than patrol duty that we could be stuck with, you know."
"Like being a meter maid?" Nick joked, earning a smirk from the rabbit.
"Or, you know, popsicle hustling."
"Hey now, popsicle hustling is a noble profession. I used to know someone who did that for a living."
"Yeah, I used to know someone like that too," Judy said, "and they were anything but noble."
"Okay, so maybe they weren't all that noble," Nick admitted, "but I'll bet they were fiendishly handsome."
"Oh stop it, you dumb fox."
Nick grinned as they went out to the police cruiser together. Judy hopped into the driver's seat, as she always did when they went out on patrol. It wasn't Nick's inability nor his willingness to drive the vehicle that kept him from being behind the wheel, but rather the fact that the driver's seat was specifically suited to a bunny. The ZPD had gotten the cruiser specifically engineered for Judy after she had exposed Lionheart and found the missing mammals, not considering the fact that she might have a partner who would be alongside her. In the end, it probably worked out for the best, as Nick knew better where to look to find shady activity than Judy did, and sitting shotgun allowed him to keep a closer watch.
The day went by relatively quickly. There was absolutely nothing criminal going on, not even speeding. The two of them decided that it would be a good chance to catch up on all of the paperwork they would have to do. Eventually, they both grew tired of watching cars go by and decided to take their lunch break.
"Let me guess, you're getting some lettuce with a side of carrots from that shop over there," Nick said, pointing to a food cart that was advertising typical prey foods.
"C'mon Nick, I can branch out sometimes," Judy replied. "This is just not going to be one of those times."
Nick grinned. They had only been partners for a little over a week, yet he already knew her so well.
"Well, I guess I don't call you Carrots for nothing. Now, as for what I'm going to eat..." he looked around the food court, trying to decide what looked the most appealing. An attractive, seemingly new shop caught his eye. "I think I'm going to try that place," Nick said, pointing out the shop.
"That new place? Why there?"
"I don't know, it looks interesting," Nick shrugged.
"I mean, I guess," Judy said confusedly. Her parents, while they didn't pass down many of their tendencies, still had raised her with a very basic, albeit very satisfying, bunny diet, and as a result she never had really felt the urge to explore other areas of the food world. Nick was more adventurous, being willing to try nearly anything regardless of what it looked like. He loved berries, unlike most predators, and wasn't picky when it came to what type of meat to eat.
In spite of this, Nick still wasn't sure about whether or not the food would be good. As he got closer he was able to make out the sign. MIN ROJ PESH: The Best Alimandish Food in Zootopia.
Ah, he realized, it's a foreign place.
Most animals in Zootopia, including Nick, had vaguely heard of the city of Alimand before, or knew where to find it on a map. In terms of population, it was in the same tier as Zootopia, but that was about all that they had in common. The Alimandish people spoke a different language, had a different culture, and lived vastly different lives from those in Zootopia. Though new advances in technology had made it easier for people from the two regions to connect, the fact still remained that they were separated by thousands of miles of ocean.
Nonetheless, Nick was not intimidated by the idea of trying something new. Looking over the menu, he was surprised to find that nearly every item had fish in it. A certain dish—fried salmon with a special Alimandish sauce— caught his eye. After waiting in line, he stepped up to the counter.
"Hi, could I get the fried ray-ba? Is that how you say it?"
"Close, but it's actually pronounced rib-a. Anything to drink?" the cashier asked him.
"Just a small Petsi."
"That'll be $6.50 total. Enjoy your meal." Nick handed the jaguar the money and went off to meet Judy again in the cruiser.
"What is that?" Judy asked, upon seeing what Nick had ordered.
"Fried riba," Nick said, correctly pronouncing it this time. He opened up the plastic pack of utensils that came with his meal hand began to eat. As the food entered his mouth, he tasted a blend of herbal spices mixed into delicate sauce that complimented the fibrous fish meat perfectly. "Wow," Nick said, stopping in between words to chew his food "I don't know that much about Alimand," he swallowed, "but I know that this is probably the best thing I've ever tasted."
They finished eating their meals together and went back out on patrol, both feeling better about the day having the satisfaction of a good meal.
"Welcome everyone," Clawhauser said to the next group of guests. "My name is Clawhauser, I'm the receptionist here and for the next hour, your tour guide of the facilities here at the ZPD. So, before we begin, is there anyone that needs to use the bathroom?" Clawhauser waited for a moment to allow the visitors to respond. "No?" Okay then, let's get going! You'll see over here we have the newly added gift shop, where you can purchase some ZPD memorabilia once the tour is done. We sell a lot of things in there, including t-shirts, posters, mugs…"
The raccoon slowly stopped listening to the cheetah, his words fading into the background. So this was it, the headquarters of the Zootopia Police Department. It was a fairly nice building, relatively new and up to date with state of the art equipment. He was impressed by how orderly the building was. It seemed as though everything was running as a well oiled machine, from what he could see.
Right, he remembered, I've got to stay focused if I want this to work.
"Now on your right, you will see the briefing room. This is where all of our officers get their assignments for the day, as directed by the police chief."
"The police chief? Will we get to see him today?" a small zebra asked Clawhauser, clearly excited to be taking the tour.
Clawhauser bent down to make eye contact with the child. "Aw, aren't you a cute little fella? What's your name?"
"I'm Beth!"
"Nice to meet you, Beth! Are you excited to see the police department?"
The little girl nodded.
"I'm terribly sorry for disrupting the tour, sir," the zebra mother said. "She's rather adamant about becoming a cop when she gets older."
"I assure you, it's of no issue, ma'am. Here, take this badge, sweetie," Clawhauser said, giving the small child a sticker that was a replica of the ZPD badge. "Now you can be a real police officer."
"A real police officer?" her young, bright eyes lit up, beaming with excitement. A series of "aww"s emerged from the crowd.
"What do you say to the nice cheetah, Beth?" the mother urged her child.
"Thank you!" Beth said, clearly ecstatic.
The rest of the crowd was overcome by the cuteness of the child, but the raccoon, standing in the back of the group, felt a sense of pity for the young zebra. He had been exactly like her at one point, still excited about dreams that he wanted to chase. He sighed. That had been a long time ago. Since then the world had hardened him, crushing his spirits, like it did with so many other animals. And he suspected that this zebra would grow up to be no exception.
"Alright folks, now we're going to be heading upstairs. If you'll just follow me, I'll now show you where all of the offices are," Clawhauser began slowly moving up the steps, each step being more and more taxing on his body. By the time he had reached the top, he was practically gasping for air. "If...If you'll all just..give me…give me a minute to catch… my breath."
Once Clawhauser had recovered, the rest of the tour went on as expected, with the cheetah showing the guests how things ran, first showing them Bogo's office, then the break room, all the while throwing in interesting tidbits about the ZPD. The tour conveniently ended where it had started —at the gift shop— in what was undoubtedly an attempt to get the animals to empty their pockets.
"Alright, that's the end of our tour, folks. Thanks for coming to see the ZPD!" Clawhauser said, as charmingly as ever. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask!"
The visitors all dispersed, some heading in the direction of the gift shop, others exiting the building or heading to find the bathroom. Clawhauser was standing alone, watching over the group, trying to make sure that they were all content. He was getting better at doing this with each tour that passed. Ever since the night howler case, the ZPD had become somewhat of a tourist destination, and people at city hall thought that it would be a good idea to capitalize on the demand to learn more about the ZPD by offering tours of the headquarters. Clawhauser, of course, had been happy to oblige as a tour guide, his friendly personality a natural fit for the role.
Out of the corner of his eye, Clawhauser noticed that the raccoon that had been in the back of the group was now approaching him. He was wearing a comfortable navy blue hoodie, and a pair of typical faded blue jeans. He was slimmer than most raccoons, who had the reputation to be on the bulkier side. His fur was well kept,
"Hello, sir," Clawhauser said. "Can I help you?"
"Hi zhere," the raccoon said, "I had a question about zhe ZPD."
God, the raccoon thought, I forgot how bad my accent is. He had always been self-conscious about how bad his accent was, making him nervous while speaking.
"Sure thing! What's your question?" Clawhauser asked.
"I was just coorious, you know," the raccoon started, trying to appear confident despite his accent, "are you guys friends to zhe animals at city hall?"
Clawhauser paused contemplatively, before answering, "We at the ZPD have a good relationship with the folks at city hall. We both try our hardest to work to serve the people of this city, which means that we naturally get along well."
"Hm. Interesting. Well, zhank you for your time, you deed a great job on zhe tour," the raccoon reached into his pocket and pulled out two dollar bills. "Consider zhis a tip."
He handed the bills to the cheetah, who accepted them gratefully. "Why thank you, sir," Clawhauser smiled.
"Of course," the raccoon said, adding, "Have a nice day." He started walking towards the exit, thinking about how he was going to execute the plan that he had devised. Knowing that city hall and the ZPD were on good terms was a good sign for his plan, as he needed them both to cooperate if it was all going to work. If things went accordingly, his life was going to be very different in a few days.
As he opened the door, he noticed a certain bunny and fox coming towards the building.
"You first, offizhers," the raccoon smiled as he held the door open for Nick and Judy.
"Thank you, sir," Judy smiled back as they walked through the door. Nick began looking around the room, and noticed the larger number of visitors than usual.
"Hey Clawhauser," Nick said, causing Clawhauser to turn around to face him "you know anything about what all of these visitors are doing here?"
"It's part of a new touring service that we've decided to do. People come in and look around the place and buy merchandise. You know," Clawhauser added, "you two made this place pretty famous after that last case."
Judy sighed. "I guess that taking down top level of government officials will do that, won't it?"
"Yep," Clawhauser acknowledged. He started heading back to his desk, tired from being up on his feet for the past hour. "I wish I could be as cool as you two sometimes. Think of it, in the field, punching the bad guys away as they try to tackle you and inject the night howler serum, karate chopping Bellwether in the face..."
Nick smiled. "It was exactly like that," he said. "Except you're missing one key detail."
Clawhauser, surprised, asked, "What detail?"
Nick beckoned for Clawhauser to lean in closer. "All of the bad guys…" Nick whispered, "were ninjas."
Clawhauser's face lit up in awe. "Woah...ninja sheep, are you serious?"
"Stop messing with him, Nick," Judy said.
"Aw, why did you have to ruin the joke, Carrots?" Nick asked sarcastically. "I wanted to see how long he would believe it."
The rabbit rolled her eyes. "Anyways, we were wondering if you have any new leads for us on any of our cases."
"Let me check," Clawhauser said, pulling up the database files on the cases that Nick and Judy were assigned to. "It doesn't look like there's anything here, unfortunately."
"Darn. Alright, thanks for the help Clawhauser, we'll see you later," Judy said.
"No problem. I'm always here if you need me," Clawhauser replied, instinctively pulling out his phone as the conversation ended.
"I really hope we get some new leads soon," Judy said as the two of them walked away from Clawhauser's desk. "I'm sick of patrolling."
"You and me both, Carrots," Nick sighed. "You and me both."
Hey everyone! After watching Zootopia, I completely fell in love with the characters, and decided to imagine my own story for them. I'll be adding chapters fairly regularly. Feedback is encouraged and appreciated :D