No Bats Allowed
Chapter 11: A Hero Zootopia Needs
It was the day before Election Day, and there was a lot of tension as the crowds once again gathered in the auditorium to listen to Panthera and Nightshade. However, there was something noticeably different. After Erik was killed, the news media finally was allowed to report on the kidnappings to the public. As a result, there was a growing hostility toward Panthera and her supporters on social media. The news of the kidnappings was blown out of proportion to the point where Panthera and her supporters were stereotyped as terrorists and criminals. Because of this, when Panthera tried to get the crowd excited like she always did, rather than get the usual cheers she was used to, the crowds were hostile and shouting insults and catcalls directed both at her and her supporters. Nightshade was also trying her best to debate, but as the debate went on, even she was growing tired under the stress.
Then it finally came when the moderator brought up the big question. "What do you plan on doing about the bat criminals in Zootopia?"
"I..." Panthera hesitated as she heard the crowd already start to yell chants at her.
"Kidnapper!"
"Terrorist!"
"Tyrant!"
Panthera's supporters were also yelling their own support, but the crowds wound up devolving into a loud cacophony of indistinguishable words.
"I can't do this anymore." Feeling overwhelmed, Panthera turned around and walked off the stage. As the crowd continued to boo and yell, Nightshade could feel her anger rise as she grew more frustrated and annoyed with the crowd's behavior.
She took a deep breath and shouted, "ENOUGH!" into the microphone. Her voice carried throughout the hall, causing several animals, especially those with sensitive hearing, to cover their ears in alarm. Nightshade waited for the crowd to calm down.
Nightshade took a deep breath to calm her own emotions. She glared at the crowd and said, "Look at what you're doing. Do you really think that throwing insults at each other would make others listen to you? Did it not occur to you that getting angry and defensive only pushes others away? Now don't get me wrong. You have every right to complain, but when you resort to bullying, insults, and blind anger, that only makes YOU look like the bad guy. When you behave like that, you don't look like you're in the right, and you only push others away and further polarizes everybody.
"But with that said, I'm not going to pretending I'm not responsible for this. For the longest time, I couldn't understand why anybody would want to support Panthera's plans for a bat registration. There's no way of enforcing such a law and it would clearly make the problem worse. But now I do understand. Panthera was at least addressing your concerns, while I on the other hand only belittled and ignored you all, and for that, I'm sorry.
"One thing this past experience has taught me is that it doesn't matter if you vote for me or support me. What matters is that I serve all of you and not just my loyal followers. I will still fight for what I believe in, but I will try my best to address the concerns of everyone."
There was a moment of silence before the moderator asked, "But what're you going to do about the bat gangs?"
"I'm glad you asked," said Nightshade. "I offer an alternative solution. I was going to unveil my plan at the end, but I think I should show you now. Could you all please fly down here and join me."
From out behind the crowd, four bats flew over the heads of the audience, flying to the podium and landing right behind Nightshade. The bats were wearing uniforms indicative of their professions.
"I have some friends I want to introduce," said Nightshade. "These four bats serve Zootopia in various important jobs. First off, we have Amy Betelgeuse who's both a meteorologist and a geologist who specializes in securing buildings against harsh weather and landslides.
"Next, we have Mark Chiroptera who works in the fire department, and he specializes in locating victims caught in burning buildings.
"We also have Jeffry Fang who also works with the fire department, and he even has been known to pick up mice from burning buildings and flying them to safety.
"And lastly, we have Tiffany Majoris who works as part of the emergency crew at the local Zootopia hospital. Thanks to her wings and her small size, she is able to travel quickly anywhere in the hospital, allowing her to handle multiple patients in one day.
"If I win the election, these four will become the first bats to join the ZPD. We employ bats to do all sorts of essential jobs for Zootopia, so why not hire a team of them to help the ZPD take down the bat criminals? It's basically evening the playing field."
There were some murmurs amongst the crowd, including some animals who voiced outrage.
Hearing the anger from the crowd, the moderator asked, "Are you sure the public would be okay to trust bats to be on the ZPD?"
Nightshade looked out at the crowd. "Look, I know I can't please all of you, and I know there will always be problems with no easy answers, but instead of attacking each other, why not listen to one another and be willing to compromise. If we do that, then I know we can make Zootopia a great please for everyone to live."
There were further murmurs amongst the crowd, this time more contemplative than angry.
"Thank you, Nightshade," said the moderator. "You're time is up."
Nightshade did a bow for the audience and flew off with the other bats behind her.
The very next day, Nightshade won the election by over 10%.
#
Judy was lying on the floor of her apartment as Nick hovered over her, gently massaging her back.
"Ow! I thought massages were supposed to be relaxing. Ow!"
"You're just tense, Carrots. Not to mention you're not used to having your muscles stretched like this."
"Just do it a little more gently this time, and watch those sharp claws of yours."
"I'll be more gentle."
Just then, her cell phone went off. "I messed up tonight, I lost another fight..."
Judy picked up the phone. "Hello!"
"Is this Officer Hopps?" asked a squeaky voice from the other end.
"Yes!"
"Are you still interested in the apartment?"
"Who's this?"
"My name is Lucy Sunflower, I'm the new landlord of the Oasis Apartments, and I was told by Mayor Nightshade that you've been wanting the apartment. Do you want to come over and look at it?"
Judy felt a twinge of excitement and joy despite her sore muscles. "We'll be there right away."
#
Judy drove her motorcycle with Nick to the Oasis Apartments, and as she pulled up into the parking lot, she was greeted by a very large figure who came out of the building's main entrance.
"Good morning, Judy," said Francine, carrying reusable grocery bags in both her hands. Right behind her was Clawhauser who also had bags in his arms.
"Good morning, you two," said Judy as she took off her motorcycle helmet. "I can see you moved back in together."
"Sure did," said Francine. "Thanks to you guys."
"I'm sure Mayor Nightshade had more to do with it," said Clawhauser.
"True but they're the ones who saved her," said Francine. "Ben, could you get to the car ahead of me, I would like to talk to them privately."
"Sure thing, Sweetheart," said Clawhauser, walking to the car with the grocery bags in hand.
As soon as Clawhauser was out of earshot, Francine knelt down over Judy and Nick and whispered, "Uh...thanks...for not telling Bogo about what I did. You didn't have to do that for me. What I did was wrong, and I deserve to be reprimanded for it."
Judy affectionately grabbed Francine's massive finger and gave it a squeeze. "It's all right. The rules exist for a reason, but what good is punishing you when you were acting out of desperation? It wasn't fair that you and Clawhauser had to move apart like that. I can't fault you for doing what you thought was your only option."
"If you want to talk about being bad," said Nick, "try spending 20 years making a living scamming people with pawpsicles. We all do bad things sometimes. It would do nobody any good to beat yourself up over it. Just make up for it by doing good for the ZPD."
Francine looked to be on the verge of tears. "Aw, I'm lucky to have friends like you."
She stood up and walked to the car where Clawhauser sat waiting.
"Do you think those two will be all right?" asked Judy.
"I'm sure they will," said Nick, "but don't worry about them. We got ourselves to think about right now."
#
Lucy Sunflower turned out to be a tiny hedgehog dressed in a bright pink dress. When they arrived at her office, she happily led them to the empty apartment on the fifth floor. Using a motorized platform for small animals (kind of like a Segway with a raised platform), she was able to reach the keyhole to unlock the door. Once the door was open, Nick and Judy were treated to the sight of their new apartment. Having been so used to her tiny bachelorette pad, Judy was overwhelmed at the sight of how big the apartment looked. Although it was designed for small-sized animals, it had enough space for a living room as well as a good-sized kitchen.
"If you need anything," said Mrs. Sunflower as she rode out of the apartment, "I'll be in my office."
Nick walked off into the adjoining bedroom with a bathroom connected to it. Meanwhile, Judy got onto the balcony behind the sliding door. She looked out at the apartment complex, enabling her to see the animals down below. From just a few floors down and in the building across from hers, she could see Mrs. Otterton, waving up at her.
She went back into the apartment, meeting Nick in the living room.
"Well, what do you think, Carrots?" asked Nick.
"It's beautiful," said Judy. "The lease on my apartment is going to expire next month, so I say we move in today."
"Eager, huh?" said Nick, affectionately hugging her. "I'm eager to start our life together too."
There was a light coughing sound, and as they turned to the open door, they could see the cough came from Bellwether, standing there. She was covered in bandages concealing her cuts and bruises. She wore a cast on her left foot, which she supported with crutches, and she had a cast on her right arm. Her face still looked bruised and battered, although her black eye wasn't as swollen.
"Hey Judy," she said, sheepishly.
"Bellwether?" said Judy. "What're you doing here?"
Bellwether hobbled into the room. "After Nightshade pardoned me, I moved in with Eliza. She was able to get me a job at the local library."
"That's good to hear," said Judy, "but is there something else that's bothering you?"
Bellwether looked to be on the verge of tears. "The truth is, I...I don't know what to do with my life. I divided Zootopia, put countless animals in danger, and all because I was so mad at predators. How can I live with myself?"
At that moment, Judy was reminded of what she said to Francine. "It's not all your fault. I was the one who told the public that predators are just genetically predisposed to be violent. But I learned from my mistake, and strived to do better in the future. That's all you can do."
"But what if I can't win back the trust of others?" asked Bellwether.
"Well then..." said Nick with a warm smile, "take comfort in the fact that me and Judy understand and forgive you."
Bellwether sobbed, her body heaving. "Thank you."
Nick and Judy wrapped their arms around Bellwether, embracing her in a hug.
#
Six months later...
The sun was sinking fast in the horizon, giving Judy and Nick the perfect opportunity to sneak up on the Blood Drinkers before they wake up for their nightly attacks. This time, the gang had found a house up in a tree built for squirrels. Several officers were gathered around the tree with net launcher guns in hand.
"Are the suspects inside the building?" asked McHorn over the radio.
"I can hear movement inside of the house," said Judy into the radio.
"All right, we're ready," said McHorn. "You and Officer Pennington may go."
"Ehem!" said Francine, playfully indignantly.
"Sorry," said McHorn. "I mean Officer Clawhauser."
"Okay, we're moving in," said Judy. "Officer Hopps, out."
Francine knelt over to pick up Judy and Nick into her arms. As she got close, Judy caught a glimpse at Francine's new wedding ring. With both arms, Francine lifted Nick and Judy up and over her head so they were at eye level with the house. With one finger, Judy tapped her claw onto the front door.
"Drake Hemocyte," shouted Judy. "We know you're in there. Come out with you wings up and we promise not to hurt you." Her sharp ears heard the bats rustling inside. She heard a soft squeak as the back door flew open. The Blood Drinkers flew out of the house single file.
The ZPD was expecting this. Officer Snarlov and Officer Wolfard were at the other end with net launcher guns, and were able to catch four of the bats in midair. However, six more bats remained, including Drake Hemocyte, to fly away into the night. However, they didn't get far. From out of nowhere, one by one, each of the bats were knocked from the sky. Some were caught in nets while others were tied up in midair. Each of the gang members were left squirming against their restraints onto the grass. The last one, Hemocyte himself, was bound and gagged in nylon rope. He was held in the claws of Officer Betelgeuse who glided down to the group of restrained bats and unceremoniously dropped him onto the floor. The gang was shocked to see four bats in police uniforms standing over them.
"Nice job, Officer Betelgeuse," said Judy as she ran to the suspects with a bat cage in hand.
"It was nothing," said Officer Betelgeuse. "If you don't need us anymore, we would like to get started on our night patrol."
"I'm sure we can handle the Blood Drinkers from here," said Judy. "Thank you."
The bats flew off into the night, looking for nocturnal animals causing trouble.
#
While busy apprehending bat criminals, Judy and Nick had spent much of their money for the passed 6 months fixing up their new apartment. The two certainly had different tastes in furniture. Nick wanted a much more modern look, while Judy favored a more country look that reminded her of Bunny Burrow. The two settled upon a mix of the two ascetics: they had a modern looking black couch and a mahogany coffee table, rustic country decorum and cooking utensils were placed in the kitchen and dining room, and of course, they had to make room for the wide screen TV and surround sound.
However, after a successful raid of the Blood Drinkers, Nick and Judy decided they needed some intimate time in the bedroom. Now that they had a place of their own, they had all the privacy they needed. By the time they were done, the two were too exhausted to pick up the blanket or their clothes off the floor. The two lay in bed in each other's arms with nothing except their body heat to warm themselves up in the cold night.
"You know, Nick," said Judy, dreamily, "I never thought I would find love in Zootopia."
"I never thought I would find love, period," said Nick. "Life is strange like that."
"You know, with Clawhauser and Francine married and Bellwether and Swinton considering it too, I can't help but wonder if we'll ever make that kind of commitment."
"Are you saying you want us to marry, Carrots?"
"I'm just speaking hypothetically."
"I don't know about marriage. It's such a huge commitment, you know."
"Oh, you think I can't be a good wife to you? Come on, Slick, you know you love me."
"Do I know that?" Nick affectionately kissed her. "Yes...yes I do."