Hi again! Now this is where the real fun begins!

Also, a side note:

I know court proceedings are very dry and boring, so listen to this track on Youtube when you reach the asterisk and play it to the horizontal line:

Phoenix Wright ~ Objection! (English Court Suite) - Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

I listened to these while I wrote this chapter, and they make this read much more exciting!

MAJOR UPDATE 1: I figured that this chapter might have been a little too short when I posted it, so I have decided to merge the next chapter with this one.

MAJOR UPDATE 2: Last section of the Prologue has been made a flashback in Chapter 1.


Chapter 1

Zootopia District Court, Courtroom 3; 3:38 PM, Six weeks later.

"OBJECTION!"

The elk defense attorney stood up from his chair and gave the wolf standing before him a smug grin.

"Mr. Edgewolf, I'll admit. You may have proved that my client tried to drug a fox into murdering a bunny, but all the evidence and you have presented to the court is merely circumstantial and barely support your witness' testimonies, and thus far do not prove that my client is the mastermind who ordered all the other fifteen mammals to be drugged."

The black-robed gray mouse on the judge's bench turned his head left to face the wolf.

"The defense has a point there. I do hope you have evidence tying Mayor Bellwether to the fifteen mammals drugged with Night Howlers. Otherwise, those related charges will only stay on if pigs fly," agreed the judge.

The audience went silent with the suspense. In the front row, Judy Hopps sat on the edge of her seat, barely able to contain her anxiety.

"...Tsk tsk."

The wolf flashed a sly, toothy grin, one that made Bellwether slump uncomfortably back in her chair in mild fear.

"Your Honor, you know me too well," said the wolf in a smooth, baritone voice, "which is why I have saved my last few pieces of evidence for this moment. Ladies and gents, preds and prey, members of the jury, I present to the courtroom, this carrot pen!"

*Start Track here

The prosecutor pulled out a plastic evidence bag containing Judy's pen. The elk sat puzzled.

"Just what does this prove?" he asked with disappointment.

The wolf merely shook his head.

"This is more than just your average novelty pen. This pen has a very special hidden feature. This pen has a concealed sound recorder, and it belongs to Officer Hopps, who was kind enough to have recorded the defendant's very confession to her crimes!"

"NO!"

Bellwether's attorney jumped back in his seat in disbelief. He slowly turned to his left to look at his client in barely contained rage.

"You told me we would have a fighting chance!"

The audience immediately erupted in awe at such decisive evidence.

"Order! I will have order!" demanded the judge as he hammered his gavel, "Mr. Edgewolf, play this recording at once!"

"With pleasure," the wolf calmly answered with an evil grin.

The courtroom fell silent as the wolf rewinded the tape. Two female voices could be heard over the canine snarling of a fox in the background.

"Gosh, think of the headlines! Hero cop killed by savage fox!"
"So that's it. Prey fear predator, and you stay in power?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"It won't work!"
"Fear always works! And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."

Edgewolf released the tape and gave the jury a light bow.

"And now that we have established motive and, by logical extension, suspiciously extensive knowledge of the plot, the prosecution would like to present their final pieces of evidence: this sticky note and an affidavit, from the defendant's hired gun himself!"

He then held up a manila envelope and a second evidence bag, this one containing a sticky note with a certain phone number written on it in red marker. This time, both Bellwether and her lawyer jumped back in their seats in shock.

"Bellwether didn't personally drug any of the other fifteen predators, oh no, and she obviously had help, and thankfully he was only in it for the money. That help came from professional marksman and chemist, Doug Ramses, and he admitted everything! And what's more:"

He held up the bagged sticky note.

"The phone number on this sticky note belongs to Mr. Ramses, and it was found on the computer screen in the defendant's office in City Hall! And I highly doubt she is into rams like him, if I might add. Therefore, it is safe to deduce from the note and Mr. Ramses' testimony, that she has been in touch with her hit-ram since day one!"

The wolf then turned towards the elk and slammed his notes on the defense desk, causing the elk and his client to jolt upon the impact.

"A lesson for an amateur like you to remember. Be careful for what you wish for."

The elk sat slouched at his desk in defeat, unable to lock eyes with his opponent. The judge sat back in deep thought, and noticed a tiger in the jury box give him a stern nod.

"It appears the jury is ready to make a decision. I shall grant them a twenty minute recess. Court is adjourned," he said, hammering his gavel.

And with that, as the audience and jury filed out of the room, Dawn Bellwether, still seated in her chair, leaned forward and banged her head on the defendant's desk in anguish.


Zootopia District Court, Courtroom 3; 4:15 PM

Twenty minutes had passed, and as the audience took their seats, the room was abuzz with excitement.

"Order! Order!" declared the judge, hammering his gavel once again, "Court is back in session, and the verdict has been handed to the bailiff. The defendant shall rise."

Judy and Nick watched as Dawn Bellwether and her elk defense attorney, Mr. Thornhoof, silently stood up before the court. A zebra in a tan uniform quickly handed a slip of paper to the mouse on the judge's bench. The judge took the slip and began to open it, which was a difficult task, as it was twice his size. As he struggled with the task, the audience watched with quiet amusement. After a few seconds of fiddling, the mouse ended the moment of comic relief when he finally managed to open the paper, read it through, and pass it to a smartly dressed goat standing beneath his stand.

"If madam clerk would please read out the verdict," declared the judge.

"Thank you, your Honor," replied the goat with an English accent.

The court clerk swiftly made her way to the stand, put on her reading glasses, and held up the slip the judge gave her. The courtroom fell silent with anticipation.

"Case number GR-9, City of Zootopia versus former mayor Dawn Bellwether. Based on the evidence presented to the court by Prosecutor Edgewolf and witness testimony from Mr. Nick Wilde and Officer Judy Hopps, as of September 28, 2016, the jury finds the defendant guilty of conspiracy, all sixteen cases of drugging a mammal without consent, attempted second degree murder, assaulting a peace officer, attempted evasion of arrest, and two counts of jaywalking. So say we all."

"Madam clerk, will you please poll our jury?"

"Yes, your Honor. Mr. Pawson, was this your verdict? Ms. Hartfur, was this your verdict?..."

As the clerk asked each of the eight jurors to confirm the verdict, Judy felt as if the stress over the Night Howler case that weighed on her heart and mind crumbled and fell to the floor, piece by piece. It's finally over. She looked around, acknowledging the diversity in the audience and the jury. Judy then turned her gaze over the Bellwether. Her back was turned to the crowd, but Judy could imagine a twisted, angry scowl on the ewe's face, not that much different from the one she gave to Judy as the bunny supposedly was about to be mauled to death by the fox. Judy couldn't help but smile at Bellwether's predicament.

"Carrots, your grin is starting to scare me," said Nick in a playful tone.

"Oh shut up, Nick. I know you're smiling on the inside," Judy jabbed back.

"Order, order," declared the mouse, hammering his oversized gavel.

The duo both looked up. The clerk had just finished confirming the verdict and the courtroom apparently was becoming a little too chatty.

"The sentencing hearing for Ms. Dawn Bellwether shall be held tomorrow at 10 o'clock AM in Courtroom 5. That is all. This court is adjourned"


Courtroom Foyer; 5:00 PM

Nick and Judy struggled to make their way out of the courtroom. The noisy crowd of journalists and spectators from the trial was simply too dense to go through to reach the main entrance. Instead, they did their best to squeeze their way out the side of the crowd as it fanned out.

"Shall we look for a side exit, Carrots?"

"Yeah, good idea. Not really interested in talking to the press anyway."

"I understand."

The two quickly made their way towards a corridor. When they walked in, a familiar wolf in a gray suit, trenchcoat, and fedora turned the corner at the end. It was the prosecutor. He gave them a wide grin as soon as he saw them approach.

"Oh hello! Mr. Wilde. Officer Hopps. I want to say, nice job on the witness stand yesterday. I've never heard more airtight testimonies than yours."

The pair smiled.

"Well, I guess now I know why I was suffocating half the tri- Ow!" joked Nick before his partner elbowed him hard in the arm. The wolf didn't seem offended.

"Ha ha, very funny. By the way, I've never formally introduced myself," said the wolf, holding out a paw, "Francis Edgewolf, Zootopia District Attorney."

Nick grabbed Edgewolf's paw and shook it.

"Nice to meet you sir."

Judy hesitated in thought for a second before taking the paw after Nick released it.

"Pleasure's...all mine," she said.

Edgewolf looked up at the crowd behind the duo, which was slowly thinning out.

"Aren't you two going to talk to the press? They're probably dying to ask some questions to the animals who cracked the case."

"Based on past experience, I think we'll pass," Judy answered carefully.

The wolf chuckled.

"I understand. In that case, nearest exit is to the right at the end of the hall. Take care."

Thanking the wolf, Nick and Judy turned the corner and headed off for the exit. As soon as they turned the corner, Nick looked back, and then down at Judy, who was deep in thought and taking the occasional glance back at where the wolf used to be standing.

"What's on your mind, Carrots?"

"There's something about that wolf. I'll have to look into it later. How did the job interview go?"

The look on Nick's face dulled as he carefully thought out his answer.

"I think it's safe to say it got tossed…"

Judy started to glance down in disappointment.

"...into the basket labeled 'yes'. I'm in, Carrots! I'm shipping out for the Academy in two days, Fluff!"

A surge of joy shot up Judy's spine.

"You!...You almost got me! Dumb fox!"

"Oh, you definitely fell for it, Dumb bunny."

Realizing that they were both once again at a stalemate, the two simply laughed as they walked out the side door at the end of the hall. However, the bunny was slowly able to recall a recent memory after her painful resignation last month...


Zootopia City Hall, Outside Mayor's Office; 6:20 PM, One month ago.

Judy shuffled down the corridor in tears, with her back towards Bellwethers office. All she could think about was how she had ruined the dream of Zootopia. She looked around to see predators of all sizes carrying boxes loaded with personal belongings out of their respective offices. She hung her head low to avoid eye contact, only to glance at the blank spot on her kevlar vest where her cherished badge used to be.

Preoccupied with her thoughts, she almost didn't see a wolf come out of an office door right in front of her, hauling a stack of boxes. Neither of them noticed each other until Judy almost got stepped on.

"Gah!" exclaimed Judy as she leaped out of the way.

"Whoa!" cried out the wolf as he frantically struggled to avoid stepping on the bunny.

Despite the wolf's attempts to regain his balance, the weight of the stack of boxes he was carrying caused him to topple with it like a tree and hit the floor with a sickening, painful thud. The stack quickly fell apart and the boxes all broke open as they hit the ground, spilling thick books and file folders everywhere. The bewildered wolf laboriously sat up in pain.

"Holy roach sausages. What just happened?" he asked.

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers! I am so sorry, sir! Let me help you out." Judy said quickly as she blindly started picking up books and papers. When she dared to glance down at what she was carrying, label belonging to a file folder near the top of the stack caught her eye. AM-8. But before Judy could complete another thought, the wolf had stood up and gently snatched away the book stack she was carrying.

"I appreciate the help, officer, but I think I can handle it," he said politely, and as if nothing happened at all, the wolf gathered what books and files he could carry and headed for the elevator.

Judy glanced over to where the wolf had come from. The name tag was missing, but wooden door was labeled in big black letters Zootopia District Attorney. A brief inquisitive thought began to form in Judy's mind, but then Judy remembered that she no longer had her badge, nor did she want it back anytime soon. As Judy continued to shuffle towards the elevators, the short spark of curiosity died like a starving candle.


I hope you all liked this chapter, and I will continue to post new chapters as I finish them!