As was usually the case in a crisis Judy was the first to react.
With a single leap she landed on the long cafeteria table, her one foot ending up in a large bowl of mashed potatoes.
Steadying herself she pointed at Gideon without taking her eyes off the tiny feral rabbit that was hissing at her from a few meters away, "Get Lana and tell her to bring a sedative!" she ordered.
Judy faced off with her niece for several long seconds. The savage five year old was making small aggressive leaps forward, strafing left and right as she knocked various plates and food items to the ground.
Never breaking eye contact, Judy removed her shirt entirely and stood bare-chested, holding the button-up in front of her like a shield.
Nick sprang forward at almost the same moment as Judy. Using the ongoing distraction to his advantage he had crept around the table until he was only a short distance behind Abby.
"Judy! Bowl!"
No further prompting was necessary and Judy delicately kicked the glass bowl off her foot and set it sailing over Abby's head; showering Nick and the back half of the room in chunks of garlicky mash.
With that, the crazed kit had had enough and launched herself forward intent on gnawing on Judy's leg. This proved fruitless as, using her shirt, Judy bounced the child backwards where she spun and kicked in a fury.
Seeing his moment, Nick dove forward and slammed the bowel down, trapping her inside.
Judy bounced into a wide legged victory pose and pumped her fist, "Yes! Nice one Nick!"
Moments later though, a frenzied sound began emanating from inside the bowl.
tink tink clack tink tink tink
The rabbit trapped inside was hurling itself against the glass and scrabbling against the inside of the glassware with her tiny claws. Every second the sound became increasingly frantic.
"She's going to hurt herself. We have to grab her and hold her still." Nick said in a rush.
Judy not only trusted his judgment but instinctively could hear that he was right, "Ok, I've got my shirt; lift in three- two- one, NOW!"
The instant Nick released his weight from the bowl a mashed potato covered missile of fluff squirmed out from underneath. Judy grabbed her up with the shirt but unfortunately the paste she was covered in made her extremely slippery. With a heave the little bunny broke free of Judy's grasp and careened out onto the floor.
As Abby made her escape, other adult rabbits attempted to grab her up, but were far too slow. She weaved through their feet, running on all fours; finally barreling down a nearby hallway.
Nick, having predicted the escape attempt was right behind her and gave chase running full tilt.
Judy found herself being left behind as she got caught up amongst a crowd of her panicky siblings.
Ahead, Nick sprinted after Abby. They turned a corner first veering left and then sliding to the right as Abby sought a means of escape. Nick reached out and just missed the back leg of the fleeing lagomorph.
He was feeling extremely dizzy. The sudden all-out exertion was taking a toll on his weakened, sustenance deprived self. He chose to ignore his body's persistent warnings as, just ahead of him; the little bun was making a bee-line for a steep set of stairs. If she hurtled down those, the injury she might do herself would be dire.
Nick felt his focus narrow and with a final burst of energy, he charged after her. This time on four legs himself, he made a long leap, and for a second soared a foot off the ground; stretched out like a diver.
He felt Abby in his paws and grabbed hold. The two of them skidded to a stop at the very edge of the staircase.
The little rabbit got off a few minor bites to Nick's hands before he managed to grab her head from behind in one huge paw; his fingers wrapping around to the front of her face. The other paw encircled her entire torso.
Nick flipped her up towards the ceiling as she continued to struggle; hissing and growling.
Then suddenly the kicking stopped and Abby froze, her eyes going glassy and her mouth hanging open.
Nick wasn't sure what was happening but he was going to take advantage of it. Lifting her up to his chest he began jogging back towards the cafeteria.
He could feel her heartbeat racing like a tiny motor against his chest. She needed those sedatives before she gave herself a heart attack.
Turning the corner he almost ran right into Judy, "You got her?!"
"I got her. We have to find Lana."
A minute later all four of them were standing in a huddle as Lana injected Abby with a tranquilizer that knocked the little bunny immediately unconscious.
"What the hell happened?" Lana said as she took the child in her arms.
Judy responded in a way that was maybe a little too excited for the present situation, "She went savage Lana. Savage! Nick we need to get to the bottom of this. A bunny can go savage. Can you believe it? It's not just predators!"
"That's great detective Hopps. And you're right, we need to figure out what caused this. First though (and if you choose not to then you won't hear me complaining) but, maybe you might want to put on a shirt before we go solving the mystery of the Littlest Savage."
Judy reacted instantly, ears springing to attention and one arm clapping across her chest to protect her modesty. Of all the many blushes she had achieved in the last twenty-four hours this was perhaps the most intense.
Silently Judy grabbed her potato mashed shirt, shaking it out with one hand as she turned her back to him. She donned the garment in two seconds flat before turning back, seemingly unfazed, still fastening the top few buttons.
"Ok, here's the plan. We find out what happened here and then we check out her room. Maybe there'll be some clues. We should also talk to her siblings and parents. I want to know everything she did today. Lana, we'll come find you if we find anything."
Nick noted that Judy was doing an admirable job of playing the 'I'm just going to pretend nothing happened' gambit'; as a hustler it was one of his all time favorites.
He wasn't about to let her off quite so easily though.
"Sounds like a plan Fluff." kneeling down so that him and Judy were at eye level he continued (unable to contain a self satisfied smile), "You know, and maybe this is just a bunny thing, but if you're going to be ripping your shirt open on the regular… there are these special female undergarments called bras that you might find useful."
"Stop talking!" The facade of coolness Judy had tried to shroud herself in evaporated, "One more word not related to the current situation and you are going to lose what little blood you have left." Judy held a trembling finger pointed at him, her left foot was jittering against the ground.
Nick just adopted an especially smug grin and shrugged.
"That's right fox." she spun on her long feet, "Come on Gideon, Nick can investigate by himself for a while."
Gideon didn't argue but glanced at Nick, raising his eyebrows. Nick returned the look and for a moment marveled at what was probably the most genuinely friendly exchange the two foxes had ever had.
We're surprisingly ok just as long as the two of us don't actually say words to each other…
Within ten minutes the story had become fairly clear.
The rabbits from mess six had been sitting down to dinner. A few adults noticed Abby eating her food messily. At first cramming it into her mouth and then simply driving her face into her plate as she chewed.
Someone had tried to reprimand her and that was when things took a turn for the worse.
Her siblings were still very upset by what had happened to their sister but gave a quick account of the day's activities,
"We went hunting for treasure all around the farm. I found a coin and some other stuff but Abby just picked flowers all day. When the foxes had a fight we went to go see. Abby went off by herself and we didn't see her until dinner."
Judy was the one asking questions, "Where are the things you found today?"
"In our baskets back in our rooms." The little boy, 'Thomas' answered.
His sister Lyra hadn't said a word throughout the conversation but sniffling she added in a small voice, "Abby picked bad flowers. Mommy said she shouldn't but Abby said they were magic."
Judy's ears perked at this, "Do you know what the flowers were called."
The cute bunny shook her head 'no'.
"What do they look like? Can you tell me?"
"They are blue and pretty. But mommy says they will make you s-sick." She had started crying again. "I-is Abby gonna die!"
Judy reached out to pet the little bunnies head, "No sweetheart, she'll be fine I promise. We just have to find out what happened."
Judy stood and began walking toward mess six, the two foxes following behind. She didn't notice Nick weaving on his feet and then Gideon wrapping an arm around his shoulder to help support him. She was too focused on her thoughts.
Blue flowers… blue flowers… blue... !
An image of her standing in front of chief Bogo flashed across her inner eye.
Moldy onions… blue flowers... Mindicampus Holocithias.
It was a strange coincidence. Judy knew that they were grown on the family farm and that yes, they were indeed poisonous. But what did that even mean? What were the effects of the poison?
Still, excitement was starting to build inside her. She jogged the rest of the way to Brian and Dorothy's rooms and let herself in. She quickly found the baskets and began carefully digging through them. In the last basket she found what she was looking for, badly crushed but unmistakable; the blue flowers.
Just as she began inspecting them Nick and Gideon arrived.
"Take a look at this. I think the reason that Abby went savage has something to do with these poisonous flowers."
The foxes looked into the basket in unison.
Gideon made a 'humph' sound and nodded his head, "Night Howlers. Yeah, guess that't do it aw'right."
Judy grabbed Gideon's muzzle in her paws, "What?! Night Howlers? Where did you hear that?"
"Thhhe fflower udy." Gideon got Judy to release his jaw, "Them flowers are called Night Howlers."
It all came together, "OH! Cheezing shii- Nick! The mammals going savage; Night Howlers! They are being poisoned. Someone is doing this on purpose. We have to go back to Zootopia right now! We can fix this! We can fix everything! Come on-"
Judy grabbed Nick by his vest and began dragging him down the corridor.
Halfway to the cafeteria though she noticed that he was stumbling, using the wall as a means to keep himself upright.
"Nick are you ok?"
"I'm fine carrots. Just winded from the chase. I'll grab a nap in the car and be good to go by the time we reach the city."
He wasn't fine though, it was plain to see. He was sweating, his nose was dry. He was barely able to hold his head up. The more Judy watched him the more she realized that he probably shouldn't even be standing.
"You- you need to rest Nick. You have a concussion and your nose… there is no way that you will be able-"
"I'm going to stop you right there. Let me be clear. You and I honey bun, we're a team. I'm not letting you walk into danger without having me there to help you. You have the skills and I know Zootopia. We are going to have to work together to figure this one out. You can try and leave me here if you want but you had better be prepared to tie me up because otherwise I'm going to follow you. I just got you back… I'm not about to lose you again."
As their conversation became more intense Gideon chose to slowly back off, quietly disappearing into one of the various rooms.
"You're right Nick, I do need you. In fact, there is no way I can do this without you so… so…" Judy fell silent and a sad expression fell across her face before she whispered, "I'm doing it again."
Nick started to speak but Judy interrupted him, "We are staying here." Judy turned towards where Gideon was hiding out, "Hey Gid, can you help Nick to the cafeteria. Both of you should get some food."
"Judy I'm going with you." Nick began.
Judy turned back towards him, "I'm not going anywhere. I am not going to hurt you again. I promise. I'm… I'm going to call Bogo and tell him what we learned."
"But Judy, you said… this is your chance-"
"This is my chance to do the right thing for once. Not the thing that I want to do, but the right thing."
The two looked into each other's eyes for a short while and it seemed to Gideon that some understanding passed between them.
"I'll meet you guys in a few. This shouldn't take long."
The two foxes nodded and supporting one another began making their way down the hall.
Judy's phone rang several times before the familiar voice of Clawhauser erupted through the phone with deafening glee.
"O-M-Gee! Judy Hopps! What are you doing calling little old me?"
"Hey Clawhauser. Uh, sorry I didn't call sooner. I guess I've been kind of worried that you might be mad at me for... you know. But listen I need a huge favor.
"Really! Don't worry I got you girl! Judy I saw the video of you and your fox, Nick right? Holy- it's the cutest thing I've ever seen. You guys are a thing right. Please tell me you're a thing. Judy I will die if you guys aren-"
"Clawhauser! Listen I need to talk to Bogo. It's really important; maybe a matter of life and death. So please just help me and I'll pay you back."
"Uhh, yeah that's gonna be hard Jude. Chief is super busy right now. Crazy stuff has been happening today."
"It has to be now. Please I'm begging you. Name your price."
"Oh, uhh. I'm for sure going to get in huge trouble if I… well."
Judy heard the portly cheetah humming on the other end of the line.
"Ok Jude here's the deal. I want a picture of you and your new boyfriend giving each other a big passionate kiss. Lips on lips, OH, and tongue! It needs to be good if I'm gonna risk spending the next six months doing parking duty."
"No. That's not happening. We aren't- look, just choose something else."
"Sorry bunny but that's what its gotta be. Also if you do this I forgive you for getting me stuck down here in the boiler room. If you really don't want to though feel free to get in touch with Bogo some other way... Annnywho, Z-mail me the photo and then call me back! I'll patch you through. Byeeee!"
"Hey don't hang up-" But the line was already dead.
Noooo. Why can't anything be easy!
Judy grabbed her ears and yanked on them as she marched in tight circles.
Fine. Fine! Crap… damn. Fine.
Judy walked briskly down the hall and emerged into the cafeteria determined to do what had to be done, also repeatedly telling herself to not think too hard about what it would take.
Sitting at a nearby bench Nick was speaking quietly with a familiar rabbit.
"Hey Mom." Judy exclaimed when the seated mammals looked up at her.
And here I thought this couldn't get any more embarrassing.
Judy used both her paws to gently push at her seated mother, "Could you slide down the bench for a sec... Gid, come over here."
Bonnie blinked at her daughter in confusion, "Sure hun. What's going on? You know I'm glad you're back I need to talk to the three of you-"
"Hold that thought mom." Judy beckoned Gideon down so she could whisper in his ear. The fox's eyes grew round, a look of befuddlement crossing his features. After conveying her message she waved him off and handed him her phone.
"You know how to use it right? Set it to take a bunch of pictures."
Nick had been watching Judy passively up until this point, "So Fluff, you gonna tell us what you're up to?"
Judy pretended she hadn't heard the question, "Nick, I want you to throw one leg over here so that you're straddling the bench."
Amused and intrigued, Nick chose to comply with her demands.
It seemed her mother had returned his recently cleaned and repaired clothing which included his pants as well as the goddy silk shirt. After a short span of consideration she loosened the tie he'd magically summoned from who-knows-where and removed it.
"Hey, I just tied that."
"Hush- Judy is working" she said placing a finger over his lips.
The contact caused a small thrill to run up Nicks spine, and in light of this strange sensation, he decided to humor her.
Judy continued looking him over. First she brushed a few stray pieces of potato out of his fur. Then she took a moment to smooth out a few rumpled hairs around his face and ears. Finally she decided to open a second button on his shirt before she smoothed out his collar.
"Ready Gideon?" Judy said giving the larger fox a glance.
"Aw guess as ready as Ah'm gonna be. Go for it when ya'll are ready."
Judy turned back to Nick and took a moment to stand on the bench. With him sitting in front of her she was actually a bit taller and he found himself looking upwards into her eyes.
"Ok, Judy seriously what's going on?"
"You trust me right?"
"Yes."
"Good, I'll explain everything. But for now just go with it ok, and close your eyes."
He did as she asked instinctively, "Go with wha-"
Judy pressed her lips to his, cupping her hands below his muzzle. The kiss itself only lasted for a few moments but in that short time many things occurred.
Among them:
Judy found her fingers weave themselves into the fur at Nick's cheeks. She drew him to her more forcefully as their lips met a second time.
Nick breathed out, startled at the sudden kiss. As he went to fill his lungs, the air rushing into him came directly from Judy. Her warm breath filled him. The exchange set off a sort of firework inside him.
Judy allowed her tongue to explore the roof of Nick's mouth, withdrawing across sharp teeth, only to be met in turn. She was startled by a rapid string of discoveries each coming to her in time with her accelerating pulse.
She wanted this. She had wanted this for a long time. She wanted more; a lot more. Forget want; she needed it. She needed him. She needed Nick. Because she…
I'm in love with him.
This thought caused Judy to end the kiss abruptly drawing back. In front of her, Nick still had his eyes closed, his expression was relaxed; blissful.
Oh shit… How long have I felt this way? Months? Before the press conference even?
Nick's eyes were open now and he was gazing at her in a way that made her feel like she might start floating toward the ceiling. "I'm not complaining mind you, but I would love an explanation now Carrots."
"I- I'm in a bit of a rush here slick. Can I take a rain check?"
Nick silently contemplated this for a moment, "Yes, but on one condition. We get to do this again."
Judy tried and failed to hide an ear splitting grin accompanied by a flash of heat which travel across her entire body, "Deal."
Completely lost as to what to do next and realizing that every rabbit in the large room (including her mother) was staring at them Judy decided now would be a fantastic time to make a break for it.
Grabbing the phone out of Gideon's hands she jogged out of the room.
A minute later in a nearby hallway Judy looked through the pictures that Gideon had taken.
Holy… what just happened!
They looked pretty good actually. Lighting wasn't the best but… her heart was fluttering rapidly and she felt her emotions see-saw between elation and terror.
Focus!
She still needed to send something to Clawhauser. Without bothering to look for the best she opened a new message and attached a picture, immediately after hitting the send button with her thumb.
She didn't need to worry about waiting around because the response was immediate. Her phone rang and she brought it to her ear. The offending noise that vibrated through her head was something between a squeal and a scream.
"This is it! The greatest day of my life! I can't even, I can't EVEN! Judy!"
"Stop! Oh my god please stop. We had a deal Clawhauser. Get me the chief."
"Right! One, chief of police coming up."
The phone clicked and then began to ring.
Judy furiously attempted to organize her thoughts as Bogo answered his phone, "Bogo here."
"Chief, it's Judy. Judy Hopps."
"Hopps? How did you get this number!? I don't have time-"
"Chief! I know what is causing predators to go savage! It's a poison. Please just let me explain."
The cape buffalo was silent to first and then in a low voice, "Tell me everything. You have two minutes."
Needing no further prompting Judy began, "Remember when I brought that weasel in with the moldy onions? Those weren't onions. They were Mindicampus Holocithias; a.k.a. Night Howlers. I never made the connection before now. Emmett Otterton was a florist. When he was poisoned the driver said he kept going on about 'Night Howlers'. Given his profession he would have known what he was being affected by. Chief, tonight one of my family members came into contact with one of these flowers, maybe even ingested one and guess what; they went savage! A bunny went savage. I believe that what is happening to the predators in Zootopia is being caused by a directed and premeditated source. Have you noticed how predators outside of Zootopia haven't seemed to be affected? If you find Duke Weaselton, you will be able to question him and he can lead you to whoever it was that he was trying to sell the flowers to."
Again Bogo seemed to digest this for a moment. Judy could hear him talking to someone from wherever he was located. "Alright, I've sent several units to pick him up. Hopps, this is good work. We have had a breakthrough on this case as well and this information may be exactly what we need to finally figure out what is going on here. We have a suspect being interrogated right now and I need to get back to it. Listen Hopps, I want you here in my office tomorrow at noon."
Judy felt like a weight had been lifted, "Yes sir, I'll be there."
"And Hopps, is that fox there with you?"
"Uh, yes sir."
"Good, bring him along. Also, you may want to watch the evening news."
"Y-yes s-" Judy never got to finish because Bogo had already ended the call.
Checking the time Judy noted that the news would be starting in just a few minutes. So deciding not to head back to the cafeteria yet, she made her way to the nearest mess and commandeered a T.V. from a bunch of young rabbits playing video games.
"Sorry guys. I need you to clear out for the time being."
The youngsters whined and sighed dejectedly but did as they were told. It was well known in the Hopps burrow never to argue with Judy.
After flicking through a few channels Judy found what she wanted just as the introductory music was coming to a close.
"Good Evening Zootopia, I'm Peter Moosebridge. The main topic of the news tonight. Terror in Sahara Square."
The news anchor changed position as the camera flicked over to an off-side angle. "Three mammals are dead and two in critical condition as an elephant became savage today in downtown Sahara Square. This marks the first time since animals in Zootopia began to go savage that a non-predator species has been affected by this terrible affliction. On top of this new discovery police were seen apprehending a suspect at the scene. Here you can see a photo of one 'Doug Ramses' being brought into police custody. No comment has as yet been made by police but several witnesses at the scene believe they saw what occurred."
The screen changed to a view of Sahara Square. A camel was speaking into a microphone held by a reported, "All I remember was seeing this cheetah bolting across the road at full speed. It looked like someone was trying to shoot him with what looked like, uh, paintballs. I looked over and I caught a look at this ram standing at the fountain over there, holding this weird handgun. I didn't see it myself but others around here say that one of the paintballs flew through a window and hit an elephant who was sitting inside his car. That's when everything just went crazy and… I don't think I can talk about what happened n-next. Excuse me-"
The footage cut off and the screen returned to Moosebridge who was once again turned face-on towards the camera. "After today's events many are beginning to speculate that whatever has been causing mammals in Zootopia to go savage may have been part of some kind of planned attacks. And if all mammals can be affected by these attacks, yet only traditionally predatory species have been targeted thus far, it raises the question of why only predators, and to what end? I now turn things over to my co-anchor Fabienne Growley. Fabienne-"
"Thanks Peter. In other news, the video that is sweeping the internet. Over the last twelve hours video was uploaded to several popular sites concerning the famous Zootopia police officer, Judy Hopps. The ZNN has noted several times in the last months that the cities first rabbit officer has been absent from the public eye as of late. Today we learn that she may have submitted her resignation to the ZPD almost three months ago. The video in question shows what seems to be former officer Hopps in a close personal relationship with a fox. The video also depicts a conflict where Hopps defends herself against another fox. The internet has literally exploded with opinions on this possible new relationship as well as the revelation of Hopps's resignation. Our correspondent on the streets David Koalabell is asking citizens what they think. David-"
A number of mammals began to appear in succession, each being given a few seconds of airtime:
"Did ya see the way that bunny dropped that fox? I ain't evah seen anythan like it. We need more cops like her if you ask me. Someone's gotta keep these preds in line. Bet that's why the ZPD sent her back to Carrotville, she's willin' makin' them look like the bunch of useless failures they are."
"Yah know I was talking tah my girlfriends and we ah pah'sative that those two ah mates. The way she was huggin' him. An the way she defended him. It's an ah-hundred percent absolute certan'tey. Don't blame her mah'self, he's one hawt fox that's fah shur."
"It's clear to me what happened. They say this 'officer' Hopps resigned but I would bet anything she was fired. First she seems to have some kind of perverse fetish for other species. And if that wasn't bad enough she is basically the cause of the unrest we have seen in this city of late. She loves predators and she hates them. She's obviously willing to submit herself to them… sexually… and at the same time attacks one brutally if front of a crowd of onlookers. She's obviously unhinged and in my mind that must be why the chief of police had her quietly removed."
"Judy is an inspiration! Whoooo! You go bunny girl! Me and my boyfriend are pred/prey going on eight years. Fight the good fight. Interspecies rights!"
The screen eventually changed back to the feline news anchor. "Many are speculating as to the relationship between Mrs. Hopps and the unnamed fox seen in the footage. However, just moments ago ZNN bought the rights to an image that was taken just this evening presumably at the Hopps family residence.
Judy didn't realize she was holding her breath. In front of her the image of her and Nick kissing appeared on the screen. She felt for a moment as if she might faint, and then cry, and then she found she was gripping the T.V. remote so tightly the plastic was creaking and threatening to shatter.
That mother biting fat-ass cheetah. Ten minutes, I sent it to him ten minutes ago!
"Clawhauser I'm going to MURDER you!" Judy involuntarily screamed at the T.V.
By the time she could focus again the news anchor had reappeared, "It seems that this answers the question of-"
Judy stabbed the off button on the remote with her thumb.
For a moment she simply stood in place unable to comprehend any of the information she had just learned. But then it all rushed back at her in a stunning wave of partly unexpected, partly unwelcome truths.
"Shit." she hissed into the empty room.
