DISCLAIMER: I was about to write that I owned Zootopia here, but Tinkerbell said I couldn't do that. So I don't own Zootopia.

Special thanks to my friend and editor Daee17 (daee17 *dot* deviantart *dot* com) for her help and inspiration in preparing this!

* CI: Confidential informant. Or, criminal informant, someone within an organized crime ring or otherwise involved with criminals that acts as an informant for police in exchange for leniency towards their own criminal activities

Monday morning. The day many mammals loathed. It meant the end of a nice relaxing weekend and a return to the workforce, a constant struggle to eke out a living and appease the heartless, number obsessed corporations known as the banks.

For some mammals, such as celebrities, money came easier than for others. Judy knew going into her career that police officers were among the lowest paid civil employees, despite the risk they took every day capturing criminals and defending the city. It didn't matter to her. Bringing home the carrots was secondary. Making the world a better place the only way she knew how was more important for her.

But today was even more special for her. Today would be Nick's first day on the force. A day that she would be able to share her dream of making the world a better place with her fo—best friend. A day of the easy jokes and banter that had become second nature to the two.

So, it was with greater enthusiasm than usual that she once again silenced her alarm and bounced out of bed. A quick shower later, she donned her uniform, giving her badge an extra polish, before bouncing out the door and heading towards the train station, eager to see Nick.

Nick wasn't normally a morning mammal. Even after 6 months in the academy, he had a hard time getting himself out of bed. As a fox, he was naturally semi-nocturnal. Most foxes were active in the afternoons and the first half of the night. But there was one thing that was an easy motivator for the red fox: Judy Hopps. His first day as her partner on the force. That one fact had the fox crawling out of his comfortable childhood bed. He'd showered late last night before turning in and was able to get away with a quick breakfast, muzzle wash and brushing of his teeth. He knew Judy liked to be at work early, and he figured there would be no harm in him doing the same.

His mom had already headed off to work, so Nick just had to remember to lock up when he left. One of the things he had to do this week was look for a place of his own. He wanted one where he could not only crash for the night, but could also invite a certain female over for a movie or to hang out or something. He didn't have a lot of cash available to him, but now that the main reason for him not having a flat before was out of the way – he had a steady, honest source of income as opposed to a shady, often fluctuating source – he figured he'd have better luck.

He hadn't been kidding when he had spoken to Judy of living in a box under a bridge. That had been his home for almost 10 years. Rain, shine, snow and hail. One particular winter was so harsh and cold, he'd almost considered trying to patch things up with his mother, just so he could have a warm roof over his head, but his stubbornness had prevented him.

A few mammals glanced Nick's way as he plodded down the road to the subway station. Many of them gave him distrustful looks, but most were curious at the navy-blue uniform he now wore. A fox cop? Who would have thought? Nick just gave them all his usual half-lidded grin and a finger pistol in their direction. Some continued to stare. Some just shook their heads and continued on their way, sure that the fake uniform was part of just another scam the fox was undoubtedly involved in.

The subway was much the same deal, except the stares from the other commuters lingered longer. The fox didn't care. Today was day one of the rest of his life. He wasn't going to let anything ruin it. Nothing at all.

The subway trip, which normally took 20 minutes, seemed to fly by, with the fox lost in thoughts. One half of his mind was reviewing the many things he'd learned at the academy over the last 6 months, and the little tips he'd picked up from Judy during the same time, and the other half of his mind was on the gray doe herself.

That his mom had figured out his feelings for Judy so easily was concerning, in a way. He didn't want the brass to pick up on his feelings for the doe. They'd separate the two, at the very least, and Judy, being the senior officer would likely get reprimanded, if not fired. He couldn't let that happen. She'd worked too hard to get where she was, a respected and honoured member of ZPD's prestigious precinct one.

The fox disembarked at Grand Savannah Central Station and made his way across the plaza. The gleaming edifice of City Hall stood next to the equally prominent precinct one building, to which the fox was making a beeline. The center of the plaza, however had been transformed into an outdoor concert venue in preparation for the Gazelle performance that evening.

Walking into the precinct building, Nick immediately spied the jolly overweight cheetah at the receptionist's desk, and in front of him, bouncing on the balls of her hind paws was Judy. So engrossed was she in enthusiastically explaining something to the cheetah that she didn't even notice him approach.

"…so, then Wolford had to spend the next 15 minutes untangling the dingo from the clothesline. The sow wasn't too happy about her underwear getting scattered to the four winds either, so she was yelling and screaming at us, and I had my paws full keeping that stupid dingo's partner in line."

The cheetah in front of Judy nodded in understanding before she continued.

"So that's what all the 911 calls were about regarding the yelling on Humpback Drive on Thursday."

Sneaking up behind Judy, and giving the cheetah a wink and a "sssshhh" gesture when he noticed him, he made to grab the bunny by the shoulders, and give her a good friendly start. He was just about to make his move when the rabbit spoke.

"I know you're there, Nick."

The fox froze in his tracks, as the rabbit turned one ear toward him.

"Bunny hearing."

The fox slumped. He'd been caught. The rabbit turned to face him with a smirk on her face.

"You just wanted to ruin my fun," the fox complained.

The rabbit's smirk grew into a genuine smile. "Good morning, Nick!"

The cheetah's eyes lit up behind Judy.

"Oh. Em. Goodness." They really did hire a fox? That's just-"

"Clawhauser, you said the same thing the day I first joined." Judy cut the big cat off. "Ben, this is Nick Wilde. Nick, meet Ben Clawhauser. Receptionist, dispatcher, and even bigger Gazelle fan than me."

"Wait, you're the fox that helped solve the night howler case. Oh wow! So, you and Judy are going to be partners now? That's so awesome! Who'd ever thought that a bunny and fox would become partners?!"

Judy glanced over at Nick with an affectionate smile at this, something that didn't go unnoticed by the cheetah. The fox however, was completely oblivious, his face still a mask with that smirk he carried. The cheetah grinned internally. This would be a good betting pool. There hadn't been one for over a year now, since Officer Pennington finally married her beau.

He would mull this over in his mind. He'd need to come up with odds. Stay friends, become something more? Mammals will want to know odds before they put money down on the relationship and any dates.

Getting word out of the new bet without the bunny or the fox getting wind of it would be tricky. But nothing the precinct one unofficial bookie couldn't handle.

The rabbit grabbed the foxes paw and started leading him away, an eager bounce in her step. "Come on, Nick. I'll show you around and introduce you. God knows Bogo won't."

Judy lead the red fox on his tour of his new workplace. The first floor held the gym, a large break and recreation room, the bullpen, visitor's lounge, some conference rooms, and cubicles for the officers. Nick was delighted to learn that he would be sharing one with Judy. It had originally been for a wolf, but with their smaller size, they could easily fit in there quite comfortably

The second floor was all the crime lab and other forensics services. The morgue, contrary to popular TV shows, was not housed in the police station, but instead in its own building several blocks away.

Short on time, Judy elected to skip touring the third floor, saying it was all administrative offices, though she did give the fox fairly detailed instructions on how to get to Bogo's office, assuring the fox with a wink that he'd need them in the very near future.

Meanwhile

"Chief, sir, I got word from one of my C.I.s(*) last week. Says there's a new player in the underworld. He couldn't elaborate, but he got me some meeting dates and times."

The massive cape buffalo regarded the smaller wolf officer in front of him.

"You want to be put back on undercover duty."

The wolf nodded. "Yes, sir. The fact is, this rise in hate crimes has given birth to some underground elements that are using the chaos for their own agendas."

The cape buffalo nodded in understanding. There had been suspicions that criminal empires would use the civil unrest in the city to make a push. His own contacts in Big's empire had noted an increase in his businesses, but nothing with any substance that could nail the old shrew.

If there was another element in the criminal underground, they needed to know about it, and soon.

The cape buffalo nodded. "Very well, Wolford. Report to the bullpen. We'll make it an official assignment there. Dismissed."

Wolford nodded and exited the office. Heading down to the undercover offices, he reviewed his plan: The rumours were that a pro-prey group had arisen somewhere in the central districts and was currently working on a weapon of some kind. If he could get close enough, he might be able to ascertain the details and stop the project in it's tracks.

Being outfitted with a disguise that would fool the casual observer was easy. For now, he didn't need direct interaction. Once that was needed, he would see about other alternatives. A wolf in sheep's clothing, working to take down a pro-prey group. How poetic.

He was on his way to the bullpen when he encountered the fox and the rabbit heading in the same direction. The rabbit was her usual bouncy, happy self, while the fox sported a disarming grin.

"Hey Eric! Just finished showing Nick around the place! Headed to the bullpen?"

The wolf grinned and nodded. "Yep. Just picked up some supplies for my new assignment. After this morning, you won't be seeing me for a while. Gotta work some undercover angles."

The bunny bounced up and down, excitedly. "Oh, that sounds awesome. You HAVE to tell me how that goes!"

The wolf grinned at the bunny's enthusiasm. Before she'd come along, Wolford had been starting to wonder what the point of doing a job like this was, if seemingly every mammal out there just hated you for doing it. But then Judy on Duty had joined the force with her unbridled enthusiasm, and things had slowly turned brighter. He'd found his love for his job again, and overall was a happier mammal. Judy just had that air about her. Even his wife had commented on it.

"Undercover work, Hopps, dunno how much I'll be able to tell you," he said with a wink. "but I'll still be making the world a better place." He held his paw up for a fist bump, which Judy gladly returned.

The wolf gave a grin to the fox standing next to the gray bundle of energy. "Keep the reins on her, Wilde, or she'll end up taking you for another ride!"

The fox rolled his eyes and gave Wolford the smirk that the larger mammal decided was his signature. "Wolfie, if you know her, you know she can't be reined in. I'll just have to hang on tight."

The bunny and wolf laughed at that, all three knowing just how true that was.

"If it's all the same to you two though, we should probably head to the bullpen. The chief will be there soon, and he'll have our butts if we're not there," Wolford said, and the trio made their way to the aforementioned room.

The briefing went as planned, though, aside from Judy, no one was prepared for Nick's snark and sarcasm. Although Judy did have to admit even she couldn't hold in all of her laughter. The smallest two ZPD officers made their way to the motor pool having picked up their keys from Clawhauser.

"So, Judy, since I'm the new guy, I get to drive, right?" The fox gave her his most disarming smile.

It didn't work

"No, Nick, I'm driving. I had to sit as Wolford's passenger for three months before I was allowed to drive at all, and I scored higher than anyone at the academy driving course."

The fox pouted.

It still didn't work.

"No, Nick, your sad fox face won't convince me. I'm not letting you drive."

Well, nuts.

The two reached the carpool and started looking for their cruiser. Though one of the smallest vehicles on the lot, it still dwarfed anything they would normally drive on the roads. Technically, they were small mammals and would normally buy a car relative in size. The ZPD had modified one of its available cruisers to accommodate the two small mammals at the wheel, and still be able to transport anything up to and including a tiger. The result was a vehicle that, to them, was absolutely massive.

Academy training included lessons in advanced handling of many sized vehicles, though.

No one seemed to include lessons in such advanced tactics for the joke mobile though.

Climbing into the cab, the two settled in for the task ahead: find a street racer. Judy fired up the engine and pulled into the street. The fox called in to dispatch, and the two were on their way.

Unfortunately, finding a single street racer is easier said than done. Savannah Central was a large district, and the only evidence they had to go on was that the mammal was somewhere in Savannah Central. That left a lot of questions and not many answers, so the only thing the two could do until they found him or a call came in was patrol the most likely streets a racer would frequent. Long straight runs without a lot of traffic.

That didn't mean they couldn't talk though. And of course, Nick has an endless supply of jokes, and it wasn't long before he had the doe struggling to concentrate on the road through her giggles.

"Hey Carrots. So, a cop walks up to a drug addict and he says, 'sir, we're going to have to administer a drug test.' And the drug addict says…' The fox paused for dramatic effect.

It also gave Judy time to brace herself for another round of giggles.

"'Of course, officer! What drugs will we be testing?'"

It was a good thing they were stuck at a red light. The rabbit burst into a fit of laughter. Most of the cop jokes she'd heard over the months tended to paint cops in a negative light, or make them look stupid. This was the first one she'd heard that was actually funny.

Once she calmed down, and they were moving again, Judy decided to pop a question of her own. "Nick, would you come to the Gazelle concert with me tonight?"

The coffee that the fox was drinking ended up inhaled.

The fox hacked and coughed trying to clear his airways. After a good several minutes, he shook his head, cleared his throat, and looked at the bunny. "Say what?"

Judy immediately felt even more embarrassed, and started backtracking. "I... I mean…if you're busy… or you don't want to that's OK. I won't be upset. It's just... I… I bought two tickets and since Ben is already going I thought we could have some…some fun together?"

Nick's sly smirk crept onto his face. "Wait. Are you asking me on a date, Fluff?"

"Yes—NO! I mean yes. But as friends! Not…not… Oh sweet cheese and crackers!" Judy's ears flushed beet red and she dropped them behind her back to hide them.

The fox laughed at his partners attempts to salvage the situation. Call it what you want, Carrots, it'll be a date to me. "OK, Carrots. I'll go with you to this concert on this not-date."

The rabbit groaned and dropped her head forward onto the steering wheel, repeatedly banging her head on the upper part of it.

A short blast of a horn from the car behind them informed the rabbit that the light they'd been sitting at had turned green. Oops. Judy gave a quick wave to the irate llama that was behind them.

"C'mon carrots, pay attention."

"Stop distracting me!"

"Excuses, excuses."

Judy huffed and refocused her attention on the road. Nick on the other paw reached into an ice cooler he'd brought along and pulled out a pawpsicle. How it hadn't melted yet was something Judy didn't want to think about.

"So, are all rabbits bad drivers, or is it just you?"

OK, that's it. Seeing the light ahead turn yellow, Judy slammed on the brakes. Too bad the fox was just lifting the pawpsicle for another lick. The fox went tumbling forward, despite the seatbelt. She suppressed the laugh that threatened to burst forth when he popped back up, pawpsicle stuck to his eye, instead saying in the most sarcastic tone of voice possible, and with absolutely no remorse at all, "Oops, Sorry."

The fox chuckled. "Sly bunny."

"Dumb fox!" was the automatic response.

"You know you love me." What? Where the fresh peapods did that come from? OK, keep it together Judy, don't blush, throw him off the trail.

"Do I know that?" She paused, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the fox beside her lose some of his composure.

"Yes, yes I do." I do, Nick, I do love you.

Flash. Flash Slothmore. Flash "it-took-six-hours-to-look-up-a-plate" Slothmore. She couldn't believe it. That DMV employee that had run the plate for them was the street racer!

The rabbit was still trying to wrap her head around that when the day was over. As much as Nick would have liked to cut Flash a break for helping them solve the missing mammals case, there was just no way that they could explain letting someone out of an 85 mph-over infraction. The sloth's sports car was towed and impounded, and his license was confiscated.

How Flash had not had a terrible accident yet, or killed a pedestrian, was beyond Judy. She couldn't understand it.

Shaking her head, she decided it wasn't important at the moment. There was a concert to drag her fo-friend to.

Everyone kept a change of clothes in their lockers for times when they needed to be somewhere in a rush. Like Judy. Whipping off her uniform and changing into a teal T-shirt with a black undershirt and black yoga pants. Not great, but it will have to do.

Leaving the locker room in a rush and running down the hall, phone in paw pulling up the ticket app, she almost ran right into the very fox she would be spending the evening with. Nick caught her before she ran head-on into him, lifting her up slightly so her momentarily still-going legs were running on nothing but air.

"Whoa Carrots, where's the fire?"

The fox set her down on the floor.

"Sorry, Nick, I'm just too eager to get out of here! You know, we have to get there early so we can get good spots! You know open air concerts don't do assigned seating. And then there's food. Do you want to eat first? I'm not very hungry. Maybe get a drink then? Maybe water will do. Should we run home and change and come back?"

"Sheesh, calm down Fluff, you'll burst a blood vessel or something. The park is right across the road from here and we have two hours. Plenty of time. As for food, I'm not very hungry. Or thirsty for that matter. If you want to get a drink we can. I'm sure they'll have food trucks there where we can find you a nice fruit smoothie. And as for changing, I think you're just fine as it is." More than fine, actually.

The rabbit sighed, ears dropping a bit. "OK. I'm sorry, Nick. I'm just so excited and worked up about this."

Nick grinned. "Excited" described Judy most of the time. So, when she described herself as excited? Watch out.

Letting Judy go, Nick gestured to the door. "Come on Little Miss Excited, let's go check out the concert."

On their way out the door, both mammals failed to notice that Clawhauser wasn't at his desk, and that the light in the Chief's office was turned off.

Crossing the street to the watering hole plaza was a quick endeavour. The rabbit groaned when she saw the terrifyingly long lineups to get in. They'd be standing there awhile. It didn't seem like any one line was shorter than the other or moving faster, so the pair simply picked one at random near their precinct and stood there.

After a while, they both had to admit they were a little hungry and thirsty. Looking around, Nick spotted a cluster of food trucks, of the type that you would normally see at a carnival or other outdoor event.

"Hey Carrots, I'm going to see about getting us something to eat."

"OK, how about smoothies?"

"Sounds good. What do you want in yours?"

"Some veggie blend, please."

Nick nodded and headed in the direction of the mobile concessions. Scanning over them, they seemed to offer the typical food as well. Everything from heart-attack-inducing greasy to rot-your-teeth sugary. Ironically, the healthier options were the farthest away…but thankfully had shorter lineups.

It still took a good twenty minutes to order the smoothies – Nick had gotten a blueberry blend with raspberries and cranberries mixed in – and find his little rabbit again. They drank their treats in relative silence, finishing up just as they got to the gate. The puma there took Judy's tickets, frowned, looked at a sheet of paper, and asked her name.

Judy was confused. Why did it matter what her name was?

"Judy Hopps."

"Judy Hopps, ZPD Officer?"

The rabbit was just able to suppress a groan. Oh, not this again. "Yes."

"Can you wait off to the side for a minute please?"

The puma gestured to the side, and pulled a radio from his belt, calling for someone. The two small mammals just stood there, both more than a little perplexed as to what was going on.

It wasn't two minutes later when a wolverine approached them from the side. "Excuse me? Judy Hopps?"

"Yes?"

The new mammal made a gesture to follow him. "I need you to come with me. Your friend, too."

Glancing at the fox beside her, who gave his own confused shrug, they both started following the dark brown mammal. He lead them out of the area that had been set up for the concert and over to a line of trailers.

The rabbit doe looked around, perplexed. This is not how she saw the evening going. "Sir, where are we going? We're in the dark here."

The wolverine shrugged. "We'll be there in a moment. Oh, and before I forget again, my name is Adrian. Adrian Clawnier. I'm Gazelle's manager."

The bunny's ears shot up. Gazelle's manager? This was unexpected. Could they…?

"Ah! Here we are." The wolverine rapped his paw on the door of one otherwise nondescript motor home.

"It's open!" Came the very familiar Spanish-accented voice from inside.

The manager opened the door to a modestly decorated interior, leading the fox and rabbit inside, the latter a bit in shock, immediately spotting the famous singer, seated on a small sofa in the lounge area of the motor home.

"Ah! Adrian! And this must be Judy Hopps?" The bunny's pop idol rose from the sofa to greet them, extending a hoof. The bunny grasped it, a bit softly, still in shock at the revelation that she was meeting Gazelle.

"And who might you be?" The pop star's attention had turned to the fox in the room.

"Nick. Nick Wilde. Judy's friend," the fox said with his signature smirk, also extending a paw, to which the gazelle responded. The two then turned their attention back to the still-speechless bunny.

"Is she normally this quiet?"

The fox laughed. "Gosh, no. She's more a chatterbox than anyone else I know. But I think she broke when she found out she was meeting you. She is quite the fan, after all." The red fox nudged the rabbit, finally bringing her out of her stunned silence.

"Oh. Hi! I'm Judy Hopps."

The fox and the gazelle both burst out laughing, causing the poor speech-impaired bunny's ears to flush red and drop over her face. "Oh, sweet cheese and crackers."

"Relax, Carrots, take a deep breath." Perhaps unconsciously, the fox reached over and rubbed the doe's shoulder, slowly guiding her to the sofa, where they all sat down. Eventually, one eye peeked out from behind her long ears. Seeing only friendly looks, the rabbit took a deep breath and let her ears go.

"I'm sorry. I'm just a little nervous, Gazelle. I didn't expect this at all and I'm a bit overwhelmed."

"It's ok. Would it help if I asked you to call me Isabella? It is my real name."

"Oh. Ok, Isabella." The bunny was still trying to reboot her brain, and it hadn't fully come back online just yet. She shook her head.

"I just…when I bought the tickets, I wasn't expecting to get the chance to meet you."

The pop star smiled. "It's OK. I've wanted to meet you ever since you figured out what was going on with Zootopia's predators. And I'm glad you did."

The rabbit doe slumped. "I was fixing a mistake I made."

The look of understanding on the pop star's face was clear. "From your press conference, no?" There was no accusation in her voice, only kindness.

"Yes. That and more. I screwed up, and I needed to fix what I broke."

"Judy…may I call you Judy?" Upon receiving confirmation, the gazelle continued. "We all make mistakes. You should know that. What counts is what we do afterward to fix those mistakes, and whether or not we learn from them. Words have power, Judy, it is one of the reasons I got into music. Like many other things, they can be a force for good or a tool of evil. I wanted to make a difference."

The rabbit nodded. "That's why I became a police officer. I wanted to make a difference. To make the world a better place."

"That doesn't come overnight, Judy, and a change for the better takes longer than for the worse. Things may be dark now, with the riots, but keep at it, and there will be a light at the end of the tunnel."

"I hope so."

The pop singer thought for a moment.

"Judy do you know why I organized those rallies? Why I stand for predator rights, even though I am prey?"

The rabbit doe shook her head.

"Dimitri, can you come out here please?"

There was a shuffling from the back of the motor home, before one of the pop star's backup dancer tigers appeared. The rabbit looked on, curious.

"Dmitri came over from Russia ten years ago with his parents, his brother and sisters. They immigrated to Zootopia to give their children a chance to pursue their dreams. He and his brother and sisters are now my backup dancers. And he is my mate."

Silence descended. A gazelle, mated to a tiger? It was unheard of.

"The story of how that happened is one for another time, but what I want to say, is we are not so different. I am sure you know this."

The bunny nodded. "I thought I understood that. I didn't even know I was so biased and prejudiced, until that mistake. I thought myself above it."

"You should never think yourself above anything. Every mammal is capable of both the most heinous crimes and the most gracious altruism. What matters is what we choose to act on. If I chose to flaunt my wealth instead of giving it away, what would that say about me as a mammal?"

Judy nodded. The pop star almost never spoke of her wealth, and when she did, it was as a tool to help others.

"I think I understand, Isabella. But, I was only able to solve the Night Howlers case with Nick's help thanks to some new information. I qui…almost quit the force because of that conference. Because of my mistake." The story that she'd been undercover was the one that was given to the press.

"But you still corrected your mistake and sought forgiveness the first chance you got, Carrots."

Gazelle looked at the fox with a curious expression. "Nickname. Long story."

A knock came from the door.

"Half hour to show time, ma'am!"

The gazelle sighed. "As much as I hate to cut this short, I need to finish getting ready. I didn't actually mean for this to become a psychologist session."

The fox and rabbit chuckled at that.

"I would love to continue our conversation at a later time though, if you would like?"

The rabbit's ears shot up to full height. "Of course, Isabella! I would love to!"

"Excellent! I am on the road lots. Do you have a card or something though? I can get in contact with you."

"Uhhhh…no, actually. All of my cards are in my uniform…at the precinct." The rabbit's ears dropped again.

"No matter." The gazelle got up and went to the kitchen area and rummaged around for a moment, producing a pen and paper. Walking back over to the two officers, she passed Judy the pen and paper.

"Here. Write your number down. I'll get in touch with you next time I'm in town and we'll do coffee or something, OK?"

The rabbit nodded and scribbled her cell phone number and her name on the paper. "I will. Thanks, Isabella!"

The three stood up, with two of them ready to make their leave. Before they did, the gazelle opened her arms for a quick hug, which Judy gladly reciprocated. Shaking paws with the fox, the singer bid them goodbye.

At the door, Adrian was waiting for them. Gesturing for them to follow him once again, he lead them back to the park.

"We have a spot all set aside for you, stage front."

You could have pushed the rabbit doe over with a feather if you wanted to.

The concert itself was very enjoyable. The pop singer had opened with her smash hit Try Everything, before moving on to a mix of old favourites and new pieces from her latest album – and some that weren't on an album yet.

Judy was over the moon, belting out the lyrics to her favourite songs all the way to the train station, despite the crush of bodies as all the mammals left the concert and dispersed to their various night haunts. Nick's stop was just two stations away from her own, so they boarded the train together, and found a seat to settle down in. The little rabbit couldn't sit still, foot tapping the air to the beat, and the rest of her bouncing on her butt to the tune in her head.

The fox chuckled. He loved seeing Judy this happy. It gave him an uncontrollable smile just knowing the rabbit was in a fantastic mood. For twenty minutes, the two sat together, Judy gushing about meeting Gazelle, and the concert in general, Nick just enjoying listening to her voice.

The time finally came when they had to part ways, Judy exiting the train with a wave and a "See you tomorrow, Slick."

The two mammals made their way to their respective homes; Nick to his mother's apartment, Judy to her reclaimed shoebox.

It was hours before either one of them fell asleep. But when they did, their dreams were oddly populated only by an energetic gray bunny and a sly red fox. But neither of them would tell the other that. Or just what the dream involved.

Damian Hornby rubbed his temples. Another simulation a failure. This would not do.

It had been a month since the last Night Savage test, and things had not been favourable. There had been little progress, and the longhorn was frustrated. He needed answers. The Elders were growing increasingly agitated at his lack of progress.

What good is it knowing this stuff if I can't use it for the greater good?

The large mammal made an adjustment to his formula and tried again. Maybe this time it would be different.

A/N

Thus ends the portion of this story that coincides with the movie. We are entering uncharted waters now! This wasn't my favourite chapter to write, and I'm still not entirely pleased with it, but writers are their own worst critics, ya know?

Two people picked up the Shrek reference in the last chapter. Can you find the pop culture reference in this chapter?

Coming up on February 9: *censored*! I really should change the name of the chapter because "*censored again*" is a huge spoiler. But I don't have any better names for it, so *censored a third time* is the name of the chapter.

Wait. Why is the chapter name being censored? Oh right. Spoilers. So I guess you guys will just have to wait until February 9th to get the chapter name!

I reply to all comments, except guest comments on FFN! Questions? Critiques? Did your cat eat a package of Oreos? Leave a comment!