Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps sprinted through Zootopia's Natural History Museum, bringing along with them the case they stole from Doug the ram. After their escape from the train wreckage, Judy decided it would be faster to go through the museum rather than around it. Except for one small issue. The museum was supposed to be closed to the public.
Nick grinned. Oh well. It's not like breaking another rule will matter. He wasn't exactly against rule-flouting, but if they were found, there would be serious consequences. He shook his head. This was all Judy's fault for dragging him into this mess.
"Oh, there it is." gasped Judy. They sped up. The exit of the museum grew larger still and Nick could see animals outside minding their business. From here, it would be the simple matter of getting to the ZPD's headquarters and presenting the evidence to Chief Bogo. Nick grinned as he imagined the expression on the Chief's face. After Judy resigned, he must have been sure he saw the last of her. Her visit now would be quite the surprise.
"Judy?" said a voice behind them. Nick nearly tripped and fell in shock. He turned around, half expecting to see Chief Bogo impatiently waiting for them. What he actually saw was no less extraordinary.
Coming out from within the museum, flanked by two rams, was none other than Mayor Bellwether herself. Nick knew very little about Bellwether. He had never even seen her until their short meeting at City Hall. He didn't exactly make an effort to associate with the authorities, being a hustler after all. It was bad for business.
"Judy!" called Bellwether enthusiastically. Judy rushed over towards her. Nick hesitated, then followed, thoughts spinning around in his head. How did Bellwether get here? Better question, why was she here? Judy was supposed to keep this investigation quiet!
"Mayor Bellwether," said Judy excitedly, oblivious to Nick's concerns, "We found out what was happening; someone's darting predators with a serum, that's whats making them go savage." Nick nodded absent-mindedly. He couldn't have put it better himself.
"I'm so proud of you Judy, you did just a super job." praised Bellwether. Her glasses bounced a little as she spoke. Judy beamed.
"Thank you ma'am." exhaled Judy. Nick couldn't suppress a grin. He knew she deserved this success. Against all odds, she had surpassed everyone's expectations, especially his own. Her determination was unshakeable, and optimism infectious. Maybe it would be the right decision to take up the dumb bunny's offer and become a cop. Maybe, just maybe, he could learn a thing or two from her.
As Judy prepared to hand the case over to Bellwether, Nick thought the situation was a bit too perfect. Looks like we won't be getting to see Chief Bogo. Then the truth hit him so hard it nearly winded him. His eyes widened in shock. Everything suddenly made sense. No one knew they were at the museum, except for the rams they had escaped from. So that meant this situation wasn't what it appeared to be. Nick was about to warn Judy when she hesitated as well. Apparently she wasn't as dumb as she looked.
Judy glanced at Nick, suspicion etched across her face. Nick nodded in confirmation. Judy turned back towards Bellwether. "How did you know where to find us?" asked Judy tentatively, testing the waters. She slowly pulled the suitcase away from Bellwether while she talked, trying not to draw her attention.
Unfazed, Bellwether reached forward hurriedly. "I'll go ahead and take that case."
Nick and Judy backed away further. "You know what," Judy said, still slowly and cautiously backpedaling, "I think Nick and I will just take this to the ZPD." Nick couldn't agree more.
They turned around, only to be greeted by a third ram blocking their exit. It was clear from the expression on his face whose side he was on. Nick voiced the only thought in his mind, a thought he was not surprised to hear Judy share.
"Run."
A lot had happened in the last minute, but Nick figured out in his mind roughly what was going on. Bellwether must have had a hand in the Night Howlers operation. After their escape with the evidence from the train, one of the rams must have told Bellwether what happened. In order to not be exposed, Bellwether intercepted them at the Natural History Museum. So here they were. He shook his head. This was bad. This was really bad.
To be entirely honest, Nick didn't really have a plan. After they said run, he simply ducked into the nearest exhibit, hoping Judy would follow. Maybe there would be another exit somewhere. He scanned their surroundings. There were all kinds of different models and artifacts, all of which were scattered around randomly, but no exit. Nick swore silently. He took off towards the back of the exhibit to gain some distance.
Faintly, he heard Bellwether's order. "Get them." Wonderful.
It was only a few seconds of sprinting, yet he was already panting. Physical exertion wasn't his thing. He didn't exercise, period. He promised himself that if he survived today, he would run two miles a day. Every day of the week. For the rest of his life.
Nick glanced back and saw Judy right behind him, running along effortlessly. They were making good distance, and Nick allowed himself to relax. His first mistake. All of a sudden he heard a loud thud. Alarmed, he turned around and saw Judy sprawled on the floor, clutching her left leg in pain. To her right lay the case, and behind her was a gigantic tusk. She must have tripped.
"Carrots!" Nick called, rushing over. He knelt down by Judy and gave her a once-over. From a cursory glance, he could already tell her leg was broken. He felt the bone just to be sure. "Ah!" Judy cried out. Most definitely broken.
"I got you, come here." he said as he scooped up Judy. She was surprisingly light, which helped. He immediately took cover behind a nearby pillar.
Nick pulled out a ball of cloth. Earlier on the car ride, he had wrapped up a few blueberries for a little victory snack later. He could almost taste the irony.
"Ok just relax." he said, more to himself than to Judy. Paws trembling, a few blueberries fell out. Whoops.
"Blueberry?" offered Nick. "Pass". Judy said weakly. He popped the blueberries into his mouth. Delicious. No sense in wasting perfectly good berries, right? He set Judy's leg and tied it off neatly as gently as possible, trying hard to avoid causing her any additional pain. Regardless, she still grimaced in agony. Nick's ears unexpectedly perked up. So did Judy's. Someone was coming.
"Judy." called Bellwether. They were trapped.
Judy thought for a moment, then grimly offered the case to Nick. "Take the case," she said urgently, "Get it to Bogo."
Nick frowned. "I'm not going to leave you behind, that's not happening." He pushed the case back towards Judy. He couldn't just leave her here. If he did, he had a feeling that he'd never see her again. The issue was, somewhere in the back of his mind, Nick agreed with Judy. There was more at stake here than just the life of a bunny.
"I. Can't. Walk." emphasized Judy. She looked at him pleadingly.
"Just, we'll think of something." He lowered his head, avoiding her accusing stare. Surely there must be some trick up his sleeve, something cunning he could pull, a sly scheme to execute. He was a fox, dammit! Problem was, there was no way for them to escape. The only exit was blocked by Bellwether, and Judy could barely walk, much less run. Panic threatened to overwhelm him. He took deep, calming breaths. In, out. In, out. Okay.
Nick assessed the situation. With Judy out of commission, there was little chance of outrunning their pursuers. Diplomacy was out of the window. That left trickery and deceit. His two favorite words. He turned out his pockets and was disappointed by what he saw. There were two pawsicle sticks, a paperclip, some string, his wallet, a few leftover blueberries, and the carrot pen.
"Any ideas?" whispered Nick. Judy looked over their supplies and frowned.
"You know," Judy said, giving him a sly smile, "Why don't we have Bellwether confess her crimes and record it on my pen? Then, you can go give the case to Bogo, and I'll just wait for you here." Nick rolled his eyes. She was catching onto the whole sarcasm thing.
"Don't be serious, there's no way-" Right in the middle of telling her off, Nick stopped midsentence. Maybe Judy was onto something. The more he played around with the idea in his head, the more he liked the sound of it.
Judy smiled, watching him reconsider. "So we're going with the 'Get the case to Bogo' plan?" Nick flashed his trademark grin and snatched the case from Judy.
"Not exactly." There was no time to explain, so he got to work. Bellwether was still slowly getting closer to their hiding spot. He grabbed the paperclip and untwisted it, then fed it into the case's lock. After several precious seconds of fiddling, the case popped open. Nick grabbed the gun, then gave it to a puzzled Judy.
"You want me to shoot them?" she said, perplexed. She turned the gun over in her paws, admiring the craftsmanship. Nick shook his head, perspiration rolling down his neck.
"Your a cop right? You know how to use a gun. Can you replace the Night Howler serum with blueberries?" asked Nick. He scanned the ground around them, looking for something to distract Bellwether with.
"Of course I can. But how does this help?" Judy said. She popped the chamber open, revealing three dark blue pellets. They had an almost sinister glow to them, fitting since they had caused so much trouble.
"Just do it. Trust me." Nick pleaded. He found what he was looking for, then pulled it over to where they were hiding.
"Here's the plan." Nick said. He laid it out, piece by piece to Judy. She didn't like it. Too many things could go wrong. She tried to object. They went with it anyways.
"Were on the same team Judy." Bellwether crooned. She sauntered forward slowly, savoring the moment. After she tied up these loose ends, she could return to her office truly unburdened.
"Underestimated, underappreciated, aren't you sick of it." she spat. Anger rose from within her. After years of kowtowing to Mayor Lionheart, it felt good to express her true feelings. "Predators, they may be strong and loud, but prey outnumber predators ten to one!"
Out of the corner of her eye, Bellwether spotted movement. She turned and saw the shadow of a bunny standing up. She couldn't suppress a smirk of derision. Did the brave, foolish Officer Hopps really think she could overpower her guards? She gave the rams the signal. They nodded and slowly crept forward, making less noise than a whisper.
Buying time now, Bellwether continued to talk. "Think of it, ninety percent of the population united against a common enemy, we'll be unstoppable." She smiled. Victory was almost upon her.
The rams closed in on the pillar. The first ram leapt forward with a snarl on its face, only to be greeted by a statue of a cave bunny. There was a moment of puzzled silence, then the sirens kicked in.
"Over there." cried Bellwether, pointing in the direction of the exit. The rams quickly launched into pursuit. She hung behind, fuming. The fox and Hopps had outmaneuvered her. The shadow must have been a distraction to keep them from looking at the exit. Bellwether furiously kicked the ground. This would be the last time this pair offended her, she swore.
Then, she saw outlined on the ground, something blue.
Update 4/29: Don't worry, I am working on additional chapters, it's just been slow going because of AP testing week. I will have the next two chapters finished in less than a week. Additionally, any feedback is always appreciated. Leave a review with any suggestions, everything helps.