Happy Easter, everyone! Took me long enough, but here's the next chapter. I'm actually more proud of it than I thought I would be. Some stuff starts to pick up, and trust me, you'll have more questions after this than you did before.

By the way, thank you guys so much for all the follows and favorites, and especially for the reviews. I love the feedback. :3 Here's your reward, peeps! Thanks for waiting!

I do not own Zootopia. Enjoy!


* * * Chapter 2 * * *


Judy fumbled with her phone and took a picture of the note. "Oh, Nick, you'd better not be pulling something over on me," she mumbled. "This isn't funny."

She stuffed the note into her pocket and stood, suddenly very uncomfortable in the abandoned apartment. She managed to check the closet and bathroom for any clues—of which there were none—before hopping out the window and pulling it shut.

She sat on the fire escape for several moments, thoughts racing through her brain faster than her little brothers on caffeine. She pulled out the note with shaking hands and read it over . . . and over and over and over.

"Of course Nick wouldn't panic about all that stuff," she mumbled. "You dumb fox." She squinted as she read over one of the lines again. "Wait, if the window was jammed yesterday . . . why is it open now?"

She decided not to waste brain power on it. She had more important matters to deal with, including getting the note to the station.

Judy scampered down the stairs and out into the street. It was late, but not late enough that the nocturnal animals had come out. Thus, the streets were mostly deserted. Judy found that to be acceptable—the tension inside her would make social interaction difficult.

Her mind sped as fast as her feet—she really needed to get a car.

All the thoughts and fears left her unaware of her surroundings, so when she found herself chucked into an alley, she didn't have time to collect herself before a bag got thrown over her head.

She screamed and warned of her status as a cop, but the owner of the hands that ripped Nick's note away from her didn't seem to care. They also slid her phone out of her pocket as she struggled to remove the bag—a momentary fear of suffocation hindering her in that process. There must have been another animal there, because something strong held the bag in place. Judy flailed her arms, trying to get free.

Then she was.

The bag came off and she gasped, looking around for her attackers. They were nowhere to be seen—she sat alone in the alley. On the ground a few feet away was her phone. She moved over to pick it up, circumspection guiding her movements.

The phone did not blow up, and when she turned it on it appeared to be fine. She stood and forced her knees to stop knocking.

The only thing missing was the note.

Judy wanted to look around, to see if she could find clues, but being in an alley at night did not sit well with her. She ran back to the street and tried to keep her nose from twitching.

A few minutes later she reached the station. Clawhauser waved to her, and she smiled back. He caught the tension behind her look and asked, "Is something wrong, Judy?"

"Well, Nick might be missing and I was just attacked," she with a sigh.

"O-M-Goodness! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm going to see if I can pull up the security footage. I didn't see who did it."

Clawhauser didn't have time to say anything else before Judy rushed up to her cubicle and powered up the computer. Being in the system made this part much easier. She was able to find the camera pointed at the spot where she had been pushed into the alley, and she was about to play it when a someone rapped on the wall.

"What are you doing, Hopps?" Chief Bogo asked. "You're off duty."

"Yes, sir, I know, but . . . I found an incriminating note in Nick's apartment. It—uh—it had a . . . a bloodstain on it, sir, and it was in Nick's handwriting. I was coming back to show it to you when someone attacked me on the street. They stole the note—here, I have a picture of it on my . . . phone . . ."

She had opened her phone and was prepared to show it to the chief, only to find that the picture of Nick's note was not in her albums. "What?" she mumbled, scrolling through every image. "No, it was . . . it was in here . . . I know I took it!"

"Hopps . . ."

"Wait, wait, I'll show you the footage of me being pushed into the alley." Judy tapped away at the keys and pulled up the footage from the camera taken fifteen minutes ago. "Here, this is where they . . . huh?"

The image showed Judy walking past the alley and going on her way with no interaction from others. No one attacked her or even approached her. She just went right on her way.

"Something's wrong." Judy tried switching to a few other cameras, but they all showed the same thing. "No . . . I know what happened to me!"

"Officer Hopps, I don't have time for these games."

"It's not a game, sir. Nick's in trouble and someone's trying to cover it up."

"Oh, well, seeing as how you have no evidence, of course I'll believe that."

"Sir! Please!"

"Hopps, it's been a long week for you. Sometimes newer officers, they get a little too excited. They think everything is a new case for them. Well, rabbit, not everything is that way in Zootopia. Don't let your imagination run away with you. Now, since you're off the clock, I'll kindly ask you to leave your computer."

Judy turned off the power and stood. "I know what I saw, Chief. Something's going on here."

"Where did you say you found that note again, Hopps?"

She looked up into his stern face and her ears fell back. "Never mind."

"That's what I thought."

Clawhauser ran up to them, huffing as he went. "Judy! There you are. About Nick—whew, hold on a second—okay, okay, I'm good. Anyway, Judy, Nick called just after you left. He said he wasn't feeling well. That's why he didn't come in or call earlier."

"Insolent fox," Chief Bogo muttered. "Someday I'll have to teach him what a job is."

"He's just out sick?" Judy said. "But . . ." She blinked and shook her head. "But that doesn't make any . . ."

"Are you all right, Judy?" Clawhauser asked.

"She's just paranoid," Chief Bogo said. "This is why I didn't want a trigger-happy bunny around."

He stormed away, and while Judy was inclined to be angry, she decided to let it slide. Chief Bogo was going to speak his mind no matter what, and Judy had bigger problems.

"Ah, don't mind the chief. He's like that with everyone." Clawhauser gave her a sympathetic smile. "Did you find whoever attacked you?"

"No," Judy said. "According to the security cameras they don't exist. Ben, are you sure it was Nick who called you?"

"Who else could it be? It was from his cell, and that was definitely him."

"And he said he was sick?"

"Uh-huh. Poor thing."

Judy nodded. "Thanks. I . . . guess he is fine."

The two parted, and Judy pulled out her phone as she walked out of the station. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment.

So you're not feeling well? That's all? - Judy

She turned down the street to head back to her apartment. More of the nocturnal animals had come out, and Zootopia's night life came alive.

Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket with apprehension and a twinge of excitement.

That's all - Nick

Why didn't you tell us earlier? - Judy

You worry too much. Relax, carrots - Nick

Why weren't you at your apartment earlier? - Judy

I was helping Mrs. Ramsey down the hall with her groceries. Why were you at my apartment? - Nick

Because I worry too much. Goodnight, Nick. Feel better. - Judy

No, that conversation didn't help anything. She felt worse than before. Too many things didn't add up. Something was off and she knew it.

She also knew she wouldn't get any sleep tonight—she had too many mysteries to solve.

She wasn't crazy. Or paranoid. Or trigger-happy.

She wasn't.


If any of the editing is off, I apologize. I'm editing most of this (and writing the A/N) in the car while going to my grandma's house for Easter. So apologies for any weirdness because of that.

Well, well, well. Nick's okay. Right? But, uh, that note? And Judy being attacked? Is Nick messing with her? Or is she just going insane?

I would LOVE to hear your theories about all this. Drop me a review and let me know what you think. They make me happy. :3

Tune in next chapter for a flashback (which will have Nick in it) and the return of Jack. You'll find out more about what started all of this in the first place. There's a lot more to this story. ;)

Happy Easter, everyone! Jesus is alive! :D See you all soon!