Or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Some learn this lesson the hard way.
AN: I do not own Zootopia or any of its characters. It belongs to Disney. And the very famous quote 'You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain' is not mine either, but from the Dark Knight trilogy by Christopher Nolan.
'I thought this city would be a perfect place where everyone got along and anyone could be anything. Turns out, life's a little bit more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker. Real life is messy. We all have limitations. We all make mistakes. Which means, hey, glass half full, we all have a lot in common. And the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be. But we have to try. So no matter what kind of person you are, I implore you: Try. Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you. '
Felix Reynard turned the TV off, rolling his eyes. The bunny's speech reached a popularity on par with Zebraham Lincoln's 'four score and seven years ago...' Martin Lemur King's 'I have a dream'. Some fan filmed it, put it on Ewetube and it went viral over a few hours. Both prey and predator loved her despite her mistake because she was one of the rare mammals who acknowledged she was wrong and sought to fix the problem. Naturally, Judy Hopps became a celebrity, an icon and a hero seemingly overnight.
Well. Her and Nick Wilde, of course.
He had to admit, he never thought Nick had it in him. Not the cop part, although that in itself was a little hard to believe. But he would have never believed that Nick would have ever even befriended a bunny, let alone become her partner.
He's heard the rumors, of course. All around Zootopia, everyone only spoke in praise regarding the ZPD's dynamic duo. Not only did they get the job done, they had the closest friendship anyone's ever seen. And some even expected more.
A little research and he even found that there's an entire fanbase dedicated to them not only as friends, but as romantic partners. Pictures taken in stolen shots, fond gazes when one of them wasn't looking, sly and flirtatious smiles even if they were, constant hugs and high-fives...overall, it was the kind of thing that could have easily been described as sweet.
Others say that their friendship alone is ground-breaking enough: living proof that prey and predator can not only tolerate each other but maybe even love each other, platonically or romantically. Socialists often used the two misfit officers as prime examples of a new era in Zootopia's society.
Felix sighed. Everywhere he looked, it was as if he couldn't escape that cheerfully naive smile of that bunny and Nick's cool grin. He picked up The Zootopia Times only to find yet another article on the terrible twosome. This one was something about Zootopia's crime rate decreasing by 20% for the past two years, and many mammals are saying it's all thanks to-one guess as to who that was.
There was a direct quote from the bunny in there: 'It's flattering that some think that, but really, the decreased crime rate is a combined effort of not only Nick and myself, but of my fellow officers at the ZPD and of course, the citizens themselves who have turned away from a life of crime.'
And another quote from Nick, which was marked as a joke in between paranthesis, 'And you know, now that they know a fox is on the squad, they're too scared to try and hustle any of us.'
Felix chuckled and kept reading, but the article pretty much said the same thing everyone else these days kept saying: life is getting better, little by little. And although they deny it, the bunny and the fox had a huge impact on it. What began as a simple drop by mentioning that two naturals enemies solved what was known as Zootopia's great conspiracy slowly turned into a ripple effect until mammals started questioning what they thought they knew. After all, if two natural enemies could be friends, what does that say about everyone else? Is forgetting your prejudice really all that simple? Is learning to love really that easy?
Overall, most mammals were filled with hope and pride at the sight of Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.
Most, but not all.
The government could call it whatever they wanted: progressive, modern, tolerant. Felix knew it what it truly was. Disgusting. Unnatural. Wrong. Now, he could already hear the protests against his beliefs. Claims that he was ignorant and living in the past, as this generation claims it.
This generation...Felix has seen disrespect before, but he believed that this generation seemed to take it too far as they seem to reject almost everything that what was considered to be law: homosexuality and interspecies relationships were now allowed, sexual confidence in both sexes was beginning to be celebrated rather than being shamed, feelings were not considered a real branch of science and the weak mammals who were too afraid to speak or to be around other people could now use the excuse that they have a mental condition...There were so many rules now, restricting everything they were once capable of.
Once upon a time, there were no rules. No social conduct needed to be respected, no tolerance of these perversions...Way back before they used to put shock collars on predators. No, this was during the time when predators ruled and it was the prey who served and feared them. A time when mammals knew respect. They didn't need to be taught it. They just knew it, learned from experience. Deep down in their instincts, prey knew they were inferior. Respect and power was once earned through who was the strongest and most powerful.
A world where a mammal like Felix Reynard could reign free. No more stares of suspicion. No more rules that would tell him what he could or couldn't do. No more limits. No more problems.
And no one to stop me.
"Hey, Boss, you got a minute?" a voice interrupted his train of thought. With the rough voice that sounded like he had been smoking and eating shards of glass for breakfast, Felix knew that the voice belonged to Ralph Canisson, a coyote who's definitely seen better days. When Ralph was younger, he was the fastest runner in his high school. Had the ladies falling to his feet. Now, he was a high-school drop out who pays child support for a kid never sees and a life he would give anything to erase. These days, however, he was doing better. Much, much better, all thanks to Felix himself.
Felix answered with a friendly smile and welcomed him with open arms, "Sure, pal. What do you need?"
"To be honest, I don't really need nothing." Ralph admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "My kid, however..."
Felix raised his eyebrow. "What's wrong with little Tracy?"
"Well, my girl's super bright, you know? Always getting them As and all. Kate's been talking about sending her off to them big schools and all, the fancy private ones. And I can't afford that yet with my salary, so-"
"You want more jobs, is that it?" Felix finished for him. Ralph's eyes widened. Felix could see his fear, and while he enjoyed knowing he could inspire fear in a mammal twice his size, he's slightly offended that Ralph believes Felix would ever be cruel to him.
But if Felix was offended, he never showed it. Instead, he took a great big sip of his mug and he waved his paw as if it were nothing serious, "Jeez, Ralph, the way you're acting, you'd think I was Mr Big or something. Calm down! I may be your boss, but we're still friends, right?"
"R-Right..." he stammered, giving out a nervous laugh. Ralph wanted to agree with him, he really did.
"And as per your request, what have I been telling you?" Felix asked, "Pretty soon, every school from Zootopia to Japawn will be begging to have us predator in their school. It's just a matter of time!"
"I know, boss, I know, it's just that...well, me and the guys have been wondering, how soon is exactly a 'matter of time'? 'Cause my girl's not getting any younger, you know? I don't wanna be making her promises I can't keep like tell her she's going to be in a fancy rich school when in reality she's gonna stay in that sad excuse of a school in Happytown." Ralph said, more than he wanted to.
At that, Felix pursed his lips. "'You and the guys'?"
Ralph nearly hit himself, realizing his mistake, "N-No, I mean-"
Felix held his paw out. His voice was still kind and friendly, like he was just having another friendly chat. But Ralph wasn't stupid. And neither was Felix. "Listen here, Canisson. I made you a promise. I made you all a promise that things would change soon. That your Tracy and my son and everyone's children and we will have better futures. Now, have I ever made a promise I can't keep?"
The moment Felix saw Ralph's eyes widen, he knew that he had him there. Ralph was a panicky sort of fellow. It was sad to see what might have been a strong predator become so meek and nervous. He had so much potential, too. But potential or not, he had to know his place.
So before Ralph could answer Felix, he began to make a list: "When you came to me in tears, patches of fur ripped from your body, black eyes still swollen from that beating, shaking and trembling from the unforgiving rain and half-dead from lack of food, did I not take you in? Did I not give you a place to live, food to eat, a job to earn money?"
"Of course you did, Mr. Reynard! I-I'm sorry, it's just that-"
"And when you told me what those disgusting horses did to you, stealing your drugs from you, the only way you could make a living because no one would wanna hire a coyote, then beating you so you wouldn't squeal, did I not send someone to...rectify the situation?" Felix went on. His tone remained the same. But each word was said with more impact, more passion, that it was like beating the memory of his gratitude into the coyote.
Ralph wanted to answer. At first, he was willing to plead his intentions, but slowly his ears drooped and he began to feel shame. Truth is, he hasn't exactly known Felix for that long. But in the short time that he did, he did manage to do things he never thought any mammal could do. Ralph was just lucky that he stumbled into Felix's little pack when he did. It was thanks to Felix Reynard that Ralph could afford to even give Tracy that new phone and talk to her once in a while. And here he was, demanding more, as if he was entitled to it all.
At the sight of the drooped ears and the silence, Felix nodded, taking that as a confirmation that his friend understood.
"Exactly." Felix nodded, "Now, you know as well as anyone that the wheels are turning as we speak and it might take sometime before seeing the result, but did I not promise you that it would be worth it?"
Ralph nodded this time. He was afraid that his words might betray him.
As for Felix, he once again gave that friendly, award-winning smile and patted his shoulders. "Well, then don't worry! If I tell you something's gonna happen, it's gonna happen!"
Guess a raise or more jobs is outta the question then... Ralph thought bitterly. Although to be fair, Felix Reynard was a good man and he has helped him through some dark times. He couldn't expect Felix to solve all his problems for him, now, could he?
Ralph quickly thanked him and was ready to leave as soon as possible. But at the last minute, his boss called him again and Ralph stopped in his tracks. Fear struck all over again and he was sure that the boss could probably smell it at this point. He walked back, afraid of what he might say. What Felix Reynard did say, however, did surprise him.
"I admire your efforts, Ralph." he finally admitted.
"...Sir?"
Felix then grabbed the newspaper on his desk. From here, Ralph could clearly see the headlines about that crime rate decrease thing and, of course, the infamous 'Wildehopps', as his daughter started to call them. For a while, it almost seemed like Felix was looking at the newspaper with a certain fondness in his eyes.
"You tried, not for yourself, but for your family." Felix clarified, "There is nothing more admirable."
"I...thank you, sir." Ralph finally said. Sure, praises from his boss weren't exactly rare. In fact, he's never had a boss praise his employees so much. But this one was different. This one felt genuine. Like a personal compliment, not a compliment on his work.
It was at this moment that Ralph decided to ask something no one's really ever asked the him, "Do you have any family, sir?"
Felix looked back at him, soft smile still on his face. "Yeah...yes, I do. But I haven't really seen any of them in a while."
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that, sir." Ralph said, his answer just as genuine. He may be able to talk with Tracy, see her updates on Furbook and share pictures, but it still leaves a hole in his heart that he was never truly there with her. He can only imagine what the poor fox must feel.
Just before the serious feeling could sink in, Felix looked confident and happy once again, "And you know what? I think it's high time for a reunion. Starting with my son!"
Ralph smiled, "Yeah! Good on you, boss!"
Felix nodded. Ralph soon left him to get down to business. Good news is, by telling Ralph a little something private, he'll probably think he's a lot more special than he is. After all, why else would the boss share something so intimate with a simple worker? So, he probably won't ask about any more jobs, try not to push his luck and be a lot more compliant the next time Felix needed him for a job.
But it's not like he was lying. Felix did plan to see his son again. But it wasn't because of some kind of epiphany inspired by that fool coyote.
So Felix looked at the picture in the article one last time, scrunching his nose. He immediately set his mug down, its size completely blocking the rabbit, focusing solely on Nick Wilde.
AN: So, originally this started out as a 'List of Things I Want in Zootopia 2' that sort of expanded into a full-fledged fanfiction. I loved Zootopia and I loved the clever way it introduced racism and prejudice to children yet can also still teach even older viewers a thing or two. I loved how creative and unique it is and I believe that the same has to be said for the sequel, although I do admit I want the sequel to be a tad darker than the first one. What I have in mind for this fic in undoubtedly too dark but there are some mature themes I want to get across.
Now, who exactly is Felix Reynard? Well, as you can probably tell, he's Nick's dad. And you can probably smell conflict coming a mile away. But as to how it's gonna go down, well, you'll just have to see.
Next chapter, we'll join Nick and Judy once again and see how their relationship has evolved overtime!