So... wow, yeah, hi guys! It's been a long time. This chapter was... phenomenally hard to write. And that mixed with the lack of proper motivation to push through it is what took so gosh darn long to write it. This chapter is kind of like the climax of an act if I were that organized in the beginning to have created acts for my story. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say the story is just shy of being half way done and I refuse to give up on this story because I personally think it's just gonna keep getting better.
Anyways, so! Big thanks to my new friend Kharonreaper for working so diligently on editing this chapter. He's been a huge help in cleaning up the mess that was this chapter. And on the mention of editors, while I have him and uomoape, because of vastly differing schedules between all of us, if anyone else wants to become an editor for me, I'd love the additional help! Just send me a PM if you're interested.
And one more note. I just can't seem to write short chapters to save my life XD This chapter and the soon upcoming chapter 11 were once combined in my master document before I stepped back and realized how much was going on and decided to split them. At 9.4k words for just part 1, yeah it's a bloody good thing that I did that lol.
Please do review and tell me what you think of all my hard work. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 10: Animal
"Who's corrupt?!"
"The ZPD!"
"Who was supposed to 'protect and serve', but never has?!"
"THE ZPD!"
"Who chooses sides in this war when they're supposed to be unbiased!?"
"THE ZPD!" screamed the crowd as loud as they could in response. The entire Central Zootopia park was now filled with mammals yelling and protesting in chorus. The speaker had only been at this a couple hours and the crowd was veritably 'foaming at the mouth'!
Said speaker now looked triumphantly over the massive crowd of mammals. What had started as a large group of predators had surprisingly developed into a mixture of prey and predator (though the prey were staying on the outskirts of the crowd and keeping to their own kind). Word that the ZPD were now unequally protecting both prey AND predator had really fanned the flames.
Perhaps there truly was hope behind this cause, the tiger thought for a moment. All these mammals were shining light on the darkness that so many were trying to hide; everyone here was pointing out the truth that so many couldn't see, or refused to.
This was the true battle that needed to be fought. It was no longer about prey versus predator but rather the common mammal versus the corruption of the city, which admittedly was mostly prey, but so many prey were here today... maybe The Surge should start expanding their horizons. Not that that was his call to make.
"That's right. The ZPD!" He continued. "For those of you who may not have heard, last night one of our fellow predatory brothers was provoked, yelled at and verbally abused by an anonymous equine. When he finally had enough and fought back, guess what happened next? The ZPD's famous first bunny officer came to the rescue of said horse and our beloved Mr. Manchas was chained, muzzled and locked up by the CED!"
"BOOOOOOO!"
Delgato grinned. This was too easy. He could see why The Hood enjoyed doing this. It made him feel powerful, whatever you say is understood, believed and repeated with even more conviction.
Looking through the crowd closest to him, many of which were holding signs depicting exactly what they thought about the ZPD and their first bunny officer, he found The Hood.
Delgado almost laughed to himself as humorously enough, he wasn't wearing his grey sweater hood and because of that no one in the crowd even recognized him as the usual barker at these protests. Clearly, no one cared who he was until he put on the hood. To everyone in the crowd, he was just another red fox.
A vividly red fox. One that actually kind of looked like a teenager with both his paws in the pouch of his grey sweater. But instead of looking like any teenager would, that this was the last place he'd rather be, he was looking around with that foxy grin of his, apparently pleased with the way things were progressing.
Delgato had never gotten a very good look at him as his trademark hood always cast a very concealing shadow, the darkness wrapping his muzzle like a mask. But as he stood amongst the crowd in broad daylight, his deactivated collar giving him the air of an average predator so he garnered no suspicion, Delgato really noticed how vibrantly red his fur was. He wasn't a red fox so much as a Crimson one.
Maybe he should be renamed the Crimson Fox... nah that'd be boring, Delgato thought.
Making eye contact with him, The Hood nodded, a pleased smile curling across his muzzle, and made a gesture with his hands that said: 'Go on, you're getting there.' Delgato nodded back and the tiger began to pace between the protesters and the stairs of ZPD building as he thought of what to say next to rile the crowd.
Suddenly inspired, he smiled viciously as he imagined how the crowd would react. He sincerely hoped that Bogo and his precious Precinct 1 would be listening.
As it happened, there were several dozen officers and other ZPD personnel standing just inside the precinct doors listening in. Or trying to. Not all prey had the best of hearing, so those with better hearing like Francine the elephant were relaying what was transpiring to the others.
The responses from the Officers were all over the place. There were murmurs and quiet conversations going on all around the lobby, with all members debating their differing views on what was happening. Some were angry that The Surge had the balls to protest right in front of them, others were irritated that they were being accused of something they didn't do and both groups were throwing around specist slurs in their anger. But there were others who were simply shocked. Shocked and worried about the future of their city, such as Francine the elephant.
Francine was one of the senior officers at Precinct 1 and continued an exemplary record in the face of the increase in chaos in the city. Her coworkers snide and specist remarks bothered her, but she never stood up to it. Because, what was the point? On numerous occasions she witnessed Judy Hopps, the tough little grey bunny, stand up and make herself seem as tough as someone ten times her size, but little ever came of all that effort.
Now there were hundreds of mammals outside, loudly protesting a system that had been in place for nearly two decades. One that never seemed completely fair, but not completely unfair either. And mammals wanted that to change… But change was scary, and whenever The Surge was mentioned, Francine became nervous about what the future would hold if they ever became anything more than a protest group. Not afraid for her future, but for her little boy, Dumbo. The city he'd come to live in could be so different than the one she knows today.
No matter what happened with The Surge, something was going to change… And Francine was feeling very conflicted on what to think or how to feel.
A little further back, detached from the group in front of the doors, Alejandro was snickering. The donkey was surrounded by his two friends, a pig and a gazelle by the names of Wilbur and Gilbert respectively, the equine quietly laughed to himself as he reached his desk phone, "Oh, Bogo is gonna love this."
Upstairs in his office, Bogo was trying his absolute hardest to ignore the protest outside. He really shouldn't and didn't want to pay attention to it. He already had to deal with all the trouble the mayor was giving him. Between The Surge, the protests, some survey results on current satisfaction with the city and a few recent articles on the ZPD's relationship with City Hall or something, Bogo had really checked out at that point. It seemed like it was the Mayor's job to find things to complain about and unload it all on Bogo's poor ears. Sometimes he wished they would just fall off and render him deaf.
But the most aggravating of all was that apparently a pair of officersinterfered with CED business and the mayor was not having that. Bogo could only guess as to who that was, but he was mildly curious as to why she would mess with the CED just to find that damn fox. Who her partner in crime was though, he had no idea as a description wasn't given.
Beeep rung his desk phone. "Hey, Chief, there's something you should-"
Without even looking at it, Bogo pressed the intercom button down with a finger. "Not now." He grumbled.
"Sir, I understand you're frustrated but-"
"NOT! NOW!" He roared at the accursed speaker as he slammed the tiny button once for each word.
Silence.
He was about to release a sigh of relief from the momentary peace and quiet when, "It's about Officer Hopps, sir."
After another beat of blissful silence, during which Bogo processed what the front desk receptionist said (whatever his name was) then turned a mildly curious look at the source of the voice.
Once Judy's meeting with Bogo abruptly ended due to Nick's phone call and revelation about what he found in the Fox's Den, Judy had been ready to book it to wherever he was. However, Nick swiftly stopped her with some very compelling points of logic. "The only bunny cop in Zootopia waltzing into the Fox's Den? Yeah, not the best idea I've heard today."
She tried to argue that she really wanted to see the evidence herself and investigate further, but Nick was adamant that, "You can't do any more good here Carrots. It's not like you're gonna bring ALL this evidence to the precinct, if that would even be the right place to take it."
"But-"
"I'm safe if that's what you're worried about, Fluff. I walked right back out just like I came in: without any trouble. The mammals here are probably used to random predators coming and going. The security guys gave me the eye, but as it's the Fox's Den and I'm a fox, they probably just made an assumption."
So here she was, sitting at her desk with her phone in one paw, her head resting on the other while listening to Nick as he told her about what he had been up to that morning and what he found. After he'd gone through it all, he patiently waited for her to take in everything.
Or at least... he was. She'd been quiet for a while now. "Carrots?" he tentatively asked.
"So... so lemme just- let's just... ok so- hold on..." she stumbled as her mind continued to short circuit.
"Holding."
"Shush. So... lemme get this straight. Let's do a recap."
"Ok."
"We know from an inside source Bogo has in The Surge that they're possibly planning on doing some terrible things to the city. Maybe a weapon or something. We know that Mr. Big also had a source in The Surge but he was probably found out about and they turned on him. And now you just found there's a huge cache of police weapons and gear that The Surge will no doubt get their paws on. Not to mention all this has been happening while I'm on a 48-hour time limit to get my paws on you to bring you in for questioning in order to prove myself so Bogo will finally show me some respect!
Nick took a moment himself to process all that then slowly said, "Yeah... Yup, that just about sums it up."
Judy leaned back in her chair and sighed. "What're we going to do Nick? I'm trapped and we can't do anything about that cache of stuff! Bogo is probably involved in that and I can't go off and do something about The Surge today because I'm supposed to bring you in."
"Why do you need to prove yourself to them? You've already proven yourself to be far more capable than any officer I've met."
Judy softly smiled, touched by the sentiment. Her emotions must be rubbing off on him. "I've been over this already Nick. I am treated horribly here and with absolutely no respect. It's kinda why I could empathize with your mistreatment for being a fox. I'm usually cut out because I'm a bunny and so small and oh so cute. Bringing you in was my last-ditch effort to gain some respect around here!"
The more she thought about that, the more she wondered: if she had brought Nick in without pause, would it have changed anything? She knew others had failed to catch him, but now it doesn't seem farfetched that if she had brought him in, they'd find a way to twist it so she still didn't deserve a scrap of respect.
"And what happens if you don't?" Nick softly pressed.
"The deal I made with Bogo was that-"
"Wait, you made a deal with the devil?" The red fox interrupted.
Judy snorted and laughed. "Yeah that was just about my thinking too. If I didn't catch you the deal was that I'd allow myself to be transferred to another precinct where I'll probably be treated just as bad, if not worse."
"Well, at least you won't be fired once the 48 hours are up or something dramatic." Nick supplied, trying to lighten the mood.
"At this point I can't say I'd mind all that much…" Judy mumbled in response.
'Attempt failed. Would you like to try again?' Nick drily thought. "I thought you said this was your dream job?"
"It was. But you saw me out there Nick. All Bogo had me doing is meter maiding and other useless activities the entire 9 months I've been here."
"You haven't done any actual police work this whole time?! Sheesh Carrots, I really can't fathom why you want to stay."
"Because I worked so hard to get here Nick! I was valedictorian of my class, first of my species and like I've said, I want to make the world a better place. I still think this is the place to do that though I haven't been able to do much good. So far, all I've achieved is getting dozens of mammals to point out how they feel about my parking tickets."
Nick fought the impulse to snicker and tried to wipe the grin from his face before he spoke. "Maybe so, but think about all the good you're doing now that you're working to stop The Surge."
"Would it do that much good though? We may be stopping them from doing some evil things, but we'd also be stopping a movement for predator rights. We don't even have that much proof, if any, that they're gonna do something bad."
"Carrots we've been over this-"
"No, we really haven't Nick. We've only gone off word of mouth from Delgato and our gut feelings that they don't seem to have the best intentions in mind. We don't have any actual evidence that they are evil unless you know something I don't."
On his end of the line Nick stopped, stiffening like a board before tersely responding, "No. Nothing like that Judy."
Nick winced. Even to him, that sounded suspicious. Then he sighed and looked off into the distance, a tortured expression twisting his features as he debated what to do. He was between a rock and a hard place! He could either reveal his involvement with The Surge, or he could continue withholding that information from her. Either case could be disastrous. Option one could cause Judy's trust in him to evaporate, thus killing their budding friendship. Option two would hide the fact that the Surge was basically a terrorist organization, not a rights movement. A rights movement that Judy was already having conflicted thoughts about being opposed to.
Before he could say anything, a small beep came from Judy's side and he furrowed his brow in wonder until a voice came a second later, "Hopps! Get. Back. Here."
Judy sighed in exasperation and pressed the reply button, "Chief, I've literally been at my desk since I left your office, there's no way I could've done anything to upset you."
"Trust me, you've done plenty. Get in here!" Nick and Judy both winced after the Chief loudly smashed the receiver back in place.
"Sounds like fun is in your future Fluff," Nick snarked.
"I don't think I've ever wanted somebody to leave me alone so badly," she deadpanned back. "You're welcome to join me! Having you there might actually make Bogo pass out." The thought of an unconscious cape buffalo made the fox laugh.
Once they said their goodbyes and agreed that they would meet up later, Judy headed toward Bogo's office. When she stepped outside of her cubicle however, she immediately noticed the distinct vacancy of the office around her. Where in the elephant's milk was everybody? Well at least this way she wouldn't come across anyone on her walk back to Bogo's office.
After lightly knocking on the door and opening it without waiting for a response, she walked in and was hit by a wave of deja vu. 'Oh that's right, I was JUST here an hour ago.
Sitting in the oversized chair once more, she looked at Bogo expectantly while he pretended to look busy by looking through some documents. Then, setting them down with a slow exhale, he spoke. "Are you aware there's a protest occurring on our doorstep?"
"What?!"
"Apparently not. They're protesting YOU Hopps. And by extension, the ZPD as a whole for your actions." Bogo accused as he leaned forward.
A look of pure confusion dawned on Judy's face, "Me?! Why?"
"Why indeed." There was a pause in his speech, and Bogo looked at Judy like he was trying to solve a puzzle. "What did you think you were doing last night Hopps? Interfering with a CED capture operation and insulting a high-ranking officer?! I gave you one chance to go and catch a criminal and this is what you do with it?!"
Judy was flabbergasted by this turn of events and had her briefly working her mouth wordlessly trying to get her mind back on track. "I've been chasing Ni-Wilde this entire time! Last night I was trying to save lives. I saved one and almost saved a second! Are you against that sort of thing now?!"
Bogo quirked an eyebrow and slowly leaned back in his chair. He then took a calming breath and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Judy took a calming breath of her own and explained how when she got to the scene, no officers of the ZPD or the CED had responded to the call yet. She explained how she managed to get Manchas' attention away from the stallion and onto her and how she ultimately tranq'ed and restrained him. Omitting Nick's presence and involvement was difficult, but she got the point across: if she hadn't intervened the poor horse would be dead now.
Bogo was surprised by this to say the least, but he did his best to hide it. He had not heard this side of the story, and hearing that she fought a savage jaguar and lived to tell the tale was impressive for someone so small, he admitted begrudgingly.
After a few moments of thoughtful silence, the buffalo heaved a sigh. He had to concede the point. "I agree that what you did was nothing short of heroic, Hopps, but it was not your job."
"My job is to protect and serve. That's what I was doing. With integrity, trust, and bravery as this badge states," she said, tapping her golden badge with a finger. Bogo took a moment himself to admire not just the object, but what it represented.
He reminisced for a second on how he himself used to follow those same words as blindly as she did. But that was a long time ago. He now knew that the world wasn't that simple, but he had to wonder if one day he could return to that way of thinking.
Getting his thoughts back on the conversation at paw, he asked with honest curiosity, "I understand the choice you made to save his life, assuming what you told me is true, but why did you interfere with the CED's detainment of the jaguar Mr. Manchas once he was under control and the horse was safe?" He wasn't even looking for reasons to judge anymore, he wanted the full story now and somehow, Judy Hopps' tale was making far more sense than that of an irate pig.
Judy sensed both the shift in his tone and lack of malicious intent with the question, so she responded in kind, "As I said, I was trying to save a life. These attacks have been happening consistently for years, and as far as I'm aware they've never been thoroughly investigated. All the 'savage' mammals get sent to the Asylum, and no one has ever determined the cause, not officially anyway, just theories, so..."
Judy paused as she almost outright admitted she saved him so she could get answers and somehow, that didn't sound the best in her mind.
"So?" Bogo pressed.
"Well, what does it matter?" Judy rhetorically asked cynically while looking to the side. "The CED won in the end and brought him to the asylum anyway since nothing was found at the hospital."
For the first time since they'd met, there was a long quiet pause where no one said anything and both were enveloped in their own thoughts, with neither of them glaring at each other. As both her mind and eyes wandered, she glanced at the papers strewn about Bogo's desk. A couple mug shots of predators caught her eye, so she stood up to get a better look, with Bogo making no attempt to stop her.
After looking at what they were: reports of the "savages" incarceration at the Asylum, news reports, the mayor's old responses, she softly inquired, "And yet you're often looking into these attacks by what's on your desk, aren't you sir? I've seen reports like these before."
When Bogo gave her a half dubious half irritated look, she shrugged and said. "I've been in here a lot Sir."
Rather detail oriented, aren't you Hopps. He mentally noted with a smudge of admiration. "Exactly Hopps. I look into them, I don't interfere with official CED business, nor do I interfere with an arrest. If I were to actually get involved, I'd have the mayor right up my tail telling me that is not the ZPD's concern," Bogo growled out.
"That must be frustrating..." Judy said, trying to empathize a bit. He nodded and Judy continued, "But if they don't want you searching for the truth about the savage attacks, or doing anything against The Surge, or looking further into the ZGate conspiracy, then how can you still believe we're in the right if we don't know what's actually going on?"
Ah, Bogo thought. That's what you're after. "There isn't some hidden truth Hopps. The ZGate conspiracy and all that related to the savage attacks were dealt with and closed. The terrorists were handled and all ideas of foul play went cold due to a lack of evidence; what you're looking for simply doesn't exist."
"But if we're actually the bad guys and The Surge are the good-"
"The world isn't as black and white as you think it is Hopps!" Bogo interjected, the friction between them returning. "It's not light vs dark. There isn't just one side or the other. There are a million mammals out there, each one with their own beliefs and ideas on what is right and what is wrong. Our job is to protect them all. We can't afford to pick sides."
"We can't afford to be forced into complacency either when there are so many problems to deal with."
"There aren't that many problems to deal with! The Surge is the only real problem these days and I can now add you to that list as you're the reason that mob is out there." Bogo yelled while pointing out the window behind him.
Clearly Judy was not going to convince him and she was beginning to understand why they always clashed. They simply had very different ideologies. And he refuses to wake up and realize that something about all this smells fishy, Judy added with venom
"Fine." She relented with a huff. This wasn't going anywhere and they were both wasting time. "Are we done? I still need to catch Nick by the end of the day, don't I?"
"...Nick? You mean Nicholas Wilde? That slippery fox that you're supposed to be catching?"
Judy stiffened slightly at her slip. She did not need Bogo to find out about her being on a first name basis with the person she was supposed to be bringing in. "Yes, that Nick. I got tired of calling him by his full name."
"I see..." Bogo dubiously remarked. "To answer your question, no I'm not done with you yet. As you were the one to bring the ZPD virtues up, do you know what integrity means Hopps?"
"Doing the right thing when no one is looking. Being honest regardless of if you'll be judged." Judy responded like she was reciting from a textbook. Seeing what he was doing, Judy tried to put the ball back in Bogo's court. "While we're on that topic Chief, do you know anything about the Fox's Den? I've been looking into it recently in relation to my search for Wilde."
Bogo clicked his tongue disinterestedly and allowed himself an eye roll. "I know of the urban myth. It's the ultimate black market and place for anyone wanting anything that they shouldn't have. There were several investigations into this in the past few years, but nothing ever came of them. Why?"
"What would happen..." Judy gave him a sly look, "if a large amount of police gear ever got into their hands?"
Bogo grunted and tried to change the topic. "We have more important matters to discuss than theoretical situations, Hopps. Namely that protest out there."
"Humor me for a moment, sir." Judy quickly responded, doing her best to force an answer from the cape buffalo.
"Nothing would happen, because that never will happen. Why would you ask such a thing?" Bogo replied just as quickly with a tone that Judy couldn't quite place.
"But what if it did?" pressed Judy.
"It won't." Bogo firmly replied.
"Sir."
"Hopps. Let. ." He growled, once more getting irritated with her. "Now, getting back on topic, that protest outside is your fault, so I am sending you out there to deal with your mess."
Judy's eyes widened for a second. Then she scoffed, "I'm not even going to bother with false pretenses sir, that is a really stupid idea. Send not only a bunny, but the officer they're condemning, to placate an angry mob of predators. What could go wrong?"
"I'm really itching to slam that FIRE button Hopps. Don't test me."
"Oh, get some new material." Judy snapped, rolling her eyes while one of Bogo's ears flicked. She was done with false pretenses. "You've been using that threat against me ever since I started asking to be assigned real cop work. Something you've vehemently resisted, because how dare I try to accomplish more."
"If you want to fire me so bad for trying to be more than a meter maid, well, here's your chance buffalo butt," Judy finished, more venom leaking into her voice than Bogo had ever heard as she unpinned her badge from her chest. She then walked to the edge of her chair, and slammed her badge down on the desk.
Bogo's features fell neutral as he sat there shocked for a few heartbeats staring at her, then her badge in turn. If anyone had told him that Judy Hopps would be so ballsy that she would slam her badge down on his desk and dare him to take it, he would have put them on psychiatric leave. Yet here she was, defiantly staring him down, having done just that. From what she'd told him, this job was her dream since she was a kit and yet here she was, throwing her badge in his face and telling him to take it.
It was the boldest thing he'd ever witness an officer do. Such boldness, some might say bravery, would be a fine quality in a cop. The admiration that went along with that thought was among a long list of emotions that flickered across his features as he waged an internal war on whether or not to officially take her badge.
The next emotion after admiration was confusion. This move was almost warranted in retaliation for a rather... questionable command. Had she brought this to Mammal Resources, as the manual suggested, there would probably be repercussions for him. Yet here she was, sticking it out - dare he say it? - like a real cop. But this just seemed so... extreme… Even for Hopps. Was there more motivating this bold move that he was unaware of? That question then led curiosity and interest to show in his features as he continued his staring match with the golden shield.
'But does the reason really matter?' The angry side of him spoke, 'she's refusing an order and literally asking to be fired. So, let's do it. Finally get her out of our fur. No one could even question this as she's handing it over voluntarily. There's no reason to keep her.'
'Except the already large and still growing amount of evidence that, if we let her, she'd become an extremely capable cop,' countered the other side.
While Bogo's fierce internal war was waged, Judy stood in her chair and kept her gaze icy and furious. She saw the variety of emotions on Bogo's face, which was quite odd and would be humorous in another instance, but right now she simply didn't care. Judy was trying her hardest to keep herself from shaking from all the adrenaline pumping through her veins and the tension in the room was palpable and worsening.
'Make. Your. Move.' She silently prompted.
Anger seemed to be winning inside Bogo as his features started to contort and twist almost maniacally and Judy prepped herself for the outcome she both expected and feared. But when had fear ever stopped her?
Bogo looked like he was about to explode from all the anger that was bubbling up inside him and... 'Is he shaking?' Judy wondered with slightly squinted eyes. He looked like he was about to erupt like a volcano, his tightly clenched fists shaking on the desk. Judy expected any moment for him to smash the table into splinters.
Then finally all at once, Bogo let out a breath and looked away from the accursed badge, causing all tension in the room to vanish as his decision was apparent even before he spoke. "Keep it," he growled quietly his voice devoid of vigor. "I don't want it."
He just couldn't get himself to do it. Not after hearing both first and second-hand accounts of what she accomplished. Compounding that, she was digging into conspiracies, messing with the CED while simultaneously pissing off The Surge, which was something that still didn't sit right in his mind. Something doesn't add up there…
Like Bogo, Judy released the breath she was holding and let her anger and physical tension dissolve. Reaching out with limbs stiff from being held rigid, she slowly retrieved her badge back and pinned it in its rightful place. Its familiar weight on her chest further easing the tension in her mind and body.
For a few moments, neither spoke and Judy awkwardly shifted her weight from one foot to the other while Bogo continued to divert his gaze anywhere but at her.
"As punishment for your interference with the CED, combined with however indirectly causing this protest and your continued insubordination, I'm placing you on temporary leave."
"What?! But I'm on a case." Judy reasoned.
"You have proven what you are capable of in more ways than one. Which is part of the reason why I don't want you here right now. Times are chaotic right now Hopps. I don't need you interfering and making it worse than you already have. Besides, last I checked you haven't taken a single day off since you started."
After taking a moment to let the backhanded compliment sink in, a slightly confused Judy asked, "...So is this a vacation or a suspension?"
"Yes."
The corners of Judy's mouth twitched upwards as the snarky response reminded her of a certain fox. For just a moment she fondly reminisced on Nick and his antics but apparently Bogo wasn't having that.
"Go. I'll figure out how to calm them down without you so the CED doesn't show up."
Hopping down from her chair, she started to walk out when a question popped in her mind. "You don't like them either, do you Sir?" she inquired with a small amount of dry humor in her tone, slightly turning back to him.
Once again, Bogo averted his gaze from hers and said, "They certainly don't... help... defuse… situations... Much." But this time, Judy was wise to the Chief's admission and was both amused and surprised to note Bogo, while still looking away, cracked a small grin of his own. Unobserved, she let herself smile fully as she walked out the door and closed it softly behind her, with Bogo turning to watch her leave.
Well, that was... That was...
That was a lot to process. It certainly could've gone worse. Probably could've gone better if either of them had kept their cool. But, she could more or less confirm one thing, Bogo was definitely aware of, or had something to do with, the equipment Nick found at the Fox's den. And now she no longer had to worry about bringing Nick in as she was on a "temporary leave"... Whatever that meant.
'Wait,' she came to a sudden halt. 'For how long?' Bogo never specified. But it's not like she could go back into his officer and ask. That's just not allowed. So, she figured she'd just call in later or something.
Once she was downstairs, she paused for a moment as she looked at the large group of officers standing at the front doors. Beyond them was the protest she somehow caused by stopping the CED from bringing Mr. Manchas to the Asylum. 'Ungrateful jerks.'
She was about to turn away and walk out the side doors when she caught sight of a fluffy cheetah walking up from the lower level. He didn't look particularly happy, so Judy bounced over.
"Hey Clawhauser! What're you doing up here?" She asked, suddenly feeling more upbeat.
He stopped and turned to her and Judy's bright mood dimmed when she saw him looking glum. "Um... Chief Bogo just gave me my first real assignment... but it's… I'm supposed to deal with the protestors outside. He said that because I'm a predator and a very social one, I'd have the best chance."
"You have got to be kidding me! The ONE time I think he's starting to come around he turns the leaf back OVER and acts like a total specist sh-"
"Woah Judy, let's keep it PG rated. I'll be fine. While I may not appreciate the specism, he sorta does have a point. They might listen to me."
Judy relented with a slouch and huff. The key word there was 'might.' So, there was only one thing to do in her mind. "Then I'm going out there with you. I'm the one who caused a lot of this mess anyways.
Clawhauser was relieved to hear that he would not be going out there alone, but was worried about Judy's size versus a very large group of protesting predators. Which... she apparently... "Wait, what do you mean you caused this? The Surge have been protesting for some time now and you've been here all along."
"Yeah but I kind of..." Judy looked around to see if any other officers were listening and they were all still at the door, paying the pair no attention. "I kind of tried to save the jaguar from the CED after he went savage."
"Ok..." Ben blankly said. "You have to help me out here honey bun, I don't see how that puts you at fault for this."
"Well apparently they're protesting my involvement because it served as an example of the ZPD's unequal protection of predators."
"Well," Clawhauser said scornfully. "So much for gratitude."
"I know, right?!" She explosively exhaled, feeling frustrated as she stood with him and looked out the front doors past the group of ZPD personnel standing there, observing the crowd outside. "But before we try to do anything about the protesters, first we gotta get past them."
"Maybe I should..." Clawhauser said apprehensively, taking a half step back.
"They're not gonna do anything Benji, they're just a bunch of talkers. They might even be afraid of you." She paused as she realized how that might sound and quickly added on, "Which of course is silly but I mean we-"
He chuckled lightly. "It's all good bun bun. Even as a predator, I'm the least scary one out there. I'm just a big donut eating flabby cheetah that's as slow as a sloth."
"Come on Benji, you are so much more than that. I think compared to most of those lazy bums," she motioned at the officers over her shoulder with her thumb, "you're one of the most capable cops here."
He turned to her and when Judy looked up into his eyes she saw the beginning of tears already showing. "You really mean that...?" He choked out.
Judy blinked. He was even more emotional than some bunnies she knew. "Yeah, and trust me, you are not as a slow as a sloth. Having met some, I can say that now."
"Heh, I'll take you word for it."
She nodded with a smile and then turned to face the crowd of ZPD personnel. After a deep breath to prep herself, Judy stalked forward with Ben following close behind her.
Without any intention of stopping, Judy called out, "Coming through guys!" In the hope that those who heard her over the noise of the protest would part. They didn't.
The whole mass of prey officers including but not limited to zebra, deer, hippos, elephants, and rhinos turned to the familiar voice and laughed.
"You can't seriously be thinking about going out there are ya Hopps?" Challenged a goat who was feeling brave at the moment. "You'll be eaten alive out there! Lit-er-al-ly."
"Um... yeah that is what we were-" Clawhauser tried, then stopped, seeing that his presence was hardly noticed.
"Yes. We are going out there. What about it?" Judy spoke over.
"What makes you think you're gonna do any good?" Spoke up a pig with a goatee. "They're just gonna laugh at you cause you're a bunny and keep on complaining."
"That's why Clawuhauser is here, the chief thinks they might listen to him. And I'm not letting him go out there on his own!" Judy wanted to speak further and say something along the lines that 'at least we're going to actually do something unlike you lot' but she knew that'd just start a fight.
A few doubtful murmurs and cross looks passed between them as they all judged her probability of success. She was about to retaliate further when another new feminine voice spoke up. "Then you two aren't going out there without me."
All heads turned to the source. It was Francine the elephant. As they all stared at her in shock, she met each of their gaze evenly, challenging any of them to say anything.
Then she turned to look at Judy and gave a small nod and an encouraging smile then looked at the unfamiliar cheetah. "Clawhauser was it? I assume you work down in records with the other preds?"
Ben simply gave a nervous nod and for some reason, this made Francine smile more under her trunk. "Chief's right, they might listen to you. Come on." Physically pushing her way through if they didn't move on their own accord, Francine opened the doors and walked out with Judy and Ben following.
The trio stood at the top of the stairs with the ZPD behind them and the massive crowd of protesters in front of them, each of them suddenly getting a grasp of how far they were in over their head.
The noise of the crowd broke over them like a wave. The sound of hundreds of predators, and even some prey off to the sides, was nearly loud enough to make Francine and Judy want to cover their more sensitive ears.
They needed a plan. They needed a plan right now, and without Judy even noticing, both the elephant who was many times her size, and the cheetah who could be considered a far fiercer animal, both looked to the strongest mammal they knew: the little grey bunny Judy Hopps.
Letting out a small breath, Judy began to take action and noted that the mammal in front of the crowd was a tiger. If she couldn't get him to listen to them, no one would. 'Cut off the head of the snake..'
"Francine," she said without breaking eye contact. "Can you do the trumpet thing loud enough to get their attention?"
The elephant grinned. She'd never gotten the chance to see how loud she could truly blow her trunk. "Can do. Both of you might wanna cover your ears though."
Once they did so, Francine sucked in a huge breath and blew as hard as she could through her trunk creating a deafeningly loud trumpet. Even with their ears covered, Judy and Ben grimaced.
As the sound traveled over the crowd for a few seconds as she blew, like magic, the overpowered voices disappeared while mammals either covered their ears or wondered what in Zootopia that was about.
When Francine was finally out of air and breathed in heavily, the air around them was incredibly silent. Seeing her chance, Judy projected her voice with as much authority as she could muster and said, "Ladies and gentelmammals, please listen! We here at the ZPD understand-"
"You understand nothing!" The tiger in the front immediately countered. "The ZPD is entirely made up of prey, yet you have no idea what it's like to be prey!"
"YEAH!" The crowd vehemently agreed.
"We are not here to have a philosophical debate with you all, we're just here to keep the peace! We recognize-"
Oh boy, did that do it. At once, the tiger in the front, a multitude of mammals in the frontlines, and even a few preys started broadcasting their own opinions and thoughts.
Francine took matters into her own paws and blasted the crowd with another trumpet before things spiraled out of control. Judy made to speak again, but another voice beat her to the punch.
"LISTEN TO US!" Clawhauser roared.
If Judy's jaw could've dislocated, it would've hit the floor. Clearly, most of the crowd within earshot was just as surprised as they actually obeyed and the park was even more silent than it was when Francine first blew her trunk.
Caught off guard by the results of his sudden outburst as well, Clawhauser stumbled and tripped over his words for a moment or two. "Uh...Hi. Um." He stole a quick glance down at Judy who continued to stare up at him in surprise, then he seemed to collect himself and turned back to the crowd with a stern expression.
Gone was the friendly, smiley cheetah that Judy knew. This was an only business and serious side of him she'd never seen. 'See Ben, I knew you were capable of more,' Judy thought before she was pulled from her inner monologue as Ben started to speak again.
"I understand exactly where you're coming from! Yes, the ZPD is not perfect and the CED is just plain villainous, but that's exactly why you must disband! RIGHT NOW! Enough of you should recall what happened the last time riot groups and protesters started a movement. It only made things worse! The CED is probably already on their way here. I don't want to see anyone here hurt!"
"The Surge won't fail like others have." Delgato countered. "It is said that it's 'the strength of ones' convictions that determines success not the number of followers, and our convictions have never been stronger. And we have the numbers too anyways!"
"The numbers to do what exactly? Start a street war with the CED? You don't want to all be arrested do ya?"
"It's better than doing nothing! Once The Hood's plans are complete, we're gonna see some huge changes to this city. Just you wait! You and your precious ZPD will be brought to true justice! And don't make the mistake of thinking we don't have the power to! We've all gone through more than enough years of this nonsense. If you're going to protect one of us from the villainy of the CED, protect all of us! But you won't! You're all pawns of the corruption! So we will use whatever methods necessary to bring you, your corrupt ZPD and this rotten city down upon your thick heads!"
"I'm not for the ZPD!" Clawhauser countered to everyone's shock. Judy and Francine both looked over with wide eyes. "I've been doing my best to help you guys where I can! And I'm trying to do so now. So please, for the good of everyone here, you must leave!"
Breaking off from listening to the endless debate, Francine lowered herself a bit to speak to the rabbit that barely reached her knees. "Judy, they're predators and will probably never listen to ZPD, much less prey officers. But the prey that have shown up might."
"There are prey here?!" She replied, shocked and tried to crane her head to locate any prey mammals.
"There's pockets of them on each side of the crowd. Benefit to being so tall."
"Alright then, new plan." Judy spoke quietly to not disturb the argument that Ben was still having with the lead tiger. "Maybe we can convince them instead to get out of here and if we're lucky, it'll domino and more mammals will start to follow them and leave. You take the ones to the right, I'll go left."
"Yes ma'am." Francine said with a nod.
Judy had taken a step, but came to an abrupt halt at the sign of respect and turned back to say something, but Francine had already taken off, so she followed suit.
While Judy made her way around the crowd, she looked back to Ben, suddenly aware that she didn't directly communicate with him what was going on. Clawhauser however, wasn't concerned as he kept on trying to convince the leader to tell everyone to disband. Great job Benji, she mentally praised.
Once Judy jogged up to a crowd of prey that eyed her carefully as she approached, she spoke. "You're all very brave, and good citizens of Zootopia to come here. But, I must ask that you leave before things take a turn for the worse."
"What's the worst that could happen Officer Hopps?" Rumbled the deep voice of a koala in a suit. What's with small mammals and deep voices? Judy mentally quipped. "The CED is what you warned them of, but that's the Collar Enforcement Division. A division of the ZPD. Not only are we not wearing collars but shouldn't the ZPD have control of them and therefore-"
"Sir," Judy interrupted, exhausted with all the arguing that she'd been doing today. "This isn't just about the CED. This is about The Surge and the predators who follow them. They're-"
"They're right about you guys! If even the famed Judy Hopps has become jaded, then their cause really is worth fighting for." The koala firmly stated, with various prey mammals surrounding him nodding their heads in agreement.
Across on the other side of the plaza, Francine was having no greater amount of luck with convincing the prey to leave. All three members of the ZPD were only doing their best to keep everyone safe and were becoming increasingly frustrated by the thickness of the skulls in the crowd.
Ironically, the one who had listened the most and was already acting, was the true head of the snake. The Hood. But this wasn't due to the three speakers of the ZPD. No, although the appearance of the officers turned spokesmammals did peak his interest, particularly the cheetah and his mention of helping them. What coerced him into action was receiving a simple text on his phone that vibrated in his pocket just a couple minutes before the three appeared.
Sirens.
Progress was frustratingly slow as to find The Surge members and tell them to dissolve the protest, he was forced to work his way through a sizeable, rowdy crowd of mammals. While few mammals would listen to official Surge members, there still wasn't a whole lot that a few authority figures could do about a crowd this large in a short amount of time.
As The Hood made his way to the back of the crowd, he found the racoon he was looking for conversing with some other predators and telling them to leave. "RJ!" He called out. The raccoon immediately looked up and with a last word to the citizens, he ran over.
"Send up a red flare." RJ's eyes widened and was about to question it but The Hood cut him off before he could speak. "It's our only chance of getting most of us out of here. They're on their way."
RJ somberly nodded and reached into the golf bag hanging from his back and got to work. The Hood was about to warn others when he heard it. The sound of sirens approaching.
Shit.
"Hurry!" He cajoled the raccoon.
More and more predators all throughout the crowd started hearing the sirens and the noises started changing from angry to worried. Only now were mammals starting to disband and leave since trouble for them was actually-
"Gah! Ah... ugh." Gasped out a male lynx that The Hood passed.
Rubbing the back of his neck with a paw then inspecting it, the feline mumbled, "What the...?" His hazel eyes snapped up to The Hood's vibrant red ones for a moment and The Hood tilted his head curiously in return.
The cat's actions then took a frightening change. His eyes scrunched together while he grabbed his head with both paws and started shaking it and as the fox watched in increasing concern, the predator grew worse and worse to the point that a low growl started to escape his throat. "Noooo. No no no. Not me, why me?!" The lynx cried out as he dropped to his knees with his, and the fox's fur starting to stand on end.
The Hood had a hunch of what was happening before his very eyes but didn't want to believe it. "Uh, buddy...? From one predator to another, are you-"
Before he could say anything else, he heard several other predators gasp in pain around him. Like a machine gun mowing down soldiers, a dozen or so other mammals gasped out as well and rubbed the spot that they were hit.
The Hood's eyes were drawn back to the lynx as he dropped to all fours while furiously scraping and rubbing his head on the ground and full on growling now. Those around him who weren't also hit by... whatever it was, heard the commotion and started to give the lynx extra room, only to find themselves closer to another mammal that was acting in the same fearsome way.
Oooooh no. The Hood's eyes widened as he fully accepted what was about to happen. "Everybody RUN!" His loud booming voice certainly got the attention of all around him but they were also more concerned with the predators that were starting to act a little too crazy for their liking.
As if the dung hadn't already hit the fan, a whole convoy of CED vehicles screeched around the corner with their sirens at maximum volume. The CED had officially arrived and would soon be piling out of their trucks in full riot gear.
Before The Hood could do anything in regards to either threat, the lynx made eye contact with him again and the fox's gut did a somersault. The feline's eyes had become slits and with his hackles fully risen, he was ready to pounce.
The Hood reacted just fast enough as the savage cat pounced to fall onto his back and stop him with his front paws and kick him up and over himself.
Mass panic erupted as every afflicted predator attacked anyone within reach, regardless of if they were predator or prey. In contrast to a few minutes ago when the crowd was yelling in protest, now the air was filled with gut wrenching screams of terror as mammals sprinted away from the horrific scene or were themselves being attacked by a savage. And now with the CED charging in to either deal with the savages or every predator there, no one knew which, everyone ran from everyone.
The Hood struggled to get free of the crowd of panicking mammals as everyone scattered from the area as fast as they could, shoving, pushing and tripping over each other. Several times the fox was knocked over and nearly trampled as he tried to simply escape the crowd. When he finally emerged from the mass of mammals, with mammals running by and around him like a raging river around a stone, The Hood focused his gaze in the general direction that the shots came from that caused everyone to go savage.
There. He found what he was looking for and narrowed his eyes fiercely.
"GO! Go go go! RUN!" Judy yelled as she pressed various prey to get a move on as the screaming started and mammals started scattering due to the CED and the savage mammals.
Once all visible prey were moving and running away from the scene Judy was about to make a beeline back to the ZPD building for shelter when she saw a female leopard down on all fours lock onto the escaping prey and prepare to hunt them down.
"No. No don't!" Judy desperately called out as the leopard loped toward the prey, gathering speed. Putting herself on a collision course, Judy sprinted towards the leopard and with a huge leap, kicked her off course with both feet like she did with Manchas.
This time however, the leopard barely tumbled a few feet before she used her claws to come to a screeching halt. Once the savage leopard properly regained her footing, she turned and hissed, furious with whatever just sent her off course. But instead of immediately charging her, this savage mammal identified her as a threat and started circling her. Judy circled as well, keeping her distance while she looked around for ways she could end this temporary standoff without anyone getting hurt. Remembering how she took care of Manchas, she reached for the tranq gun at her hip but realized she never reloaded it. Didn't exactly think this through. She chided herself.
Acting on impulse again are we, Carrots? Snarked Nick's voice in her head as if he was standing next to her. She simultaneously wanted to tell that voice to shut up and wished with all her might that he was here to help her like last time.
Before she could form another thought, the leopard decided to chance an attack. So Judy did all that she could think of. She ran. And ran fast.
Her powerful legs sent her speeding across the park as she dodged, evaded, and avoided numerous other mammals who were also escaping the scene. Said escaping mammals suddenly had an urge to run faster as they saw and heard a furious leopard heading straight at them.
Veering towards a tree, Judy thought that perhaps if she changed directions sharply enough, the leopard might run into it. Climbing the tree simply wasn't an option, as the leopard would easily be able to follow her. Trying her hardest to add a little more speed, she prepared to jump and use the tree as a springboard to rapidly change directions.
Then right as she was about to leap and rebound off in another direction, a powerful force with a hint of sharpness swept out one of her legs and caused Judy to trip over her own feet and tumble at an alarming speed straight into the tree.
Judy slammed into the tree so hard that black spots formed on the edges of her vision and she fought to remain conscious for a moment. As her world spun, Judy tried to focus on the leopard that was now stalking towards her and desperately tried to back up, only to remember the tree. The tree that was supposed to be her salvation now had her cornered.
Just as her eyes began to refocus and her world stopped spinning, the leopard coiled her hind paws like a spring and leaped into the air with her claws fully extended and ready to land in the bunny's flesh.
Cliffhaaaannggeeerr! It was about time I did one of these. Heh, what did ya think? Dung really hit the fan huh? Tell me in your reviews. Oh and is anyone recognizing all these song titles? And because of that awful cliffhanger, I plan on getting Chapter 11 to you all MUCH MUCH faster than this chapter.