Lucas yawned, straining to keep his eyes open. Not that it would have helped; he could barely see out of his goggles anyways. The wolf hated the way they felt. Once they steamed up (which only took a few seconds, it seemed), his fur got wet and it began to itch. Of course, he preferred that over the alternative: an eyeful of toxin. Nevertheless he quickly lifted his goggles and ran his clean coat sleeve against his fur before replacing them on his snout.

On the counter, Lucas lined up five graduated cylinders with a clear blue solution inside. Then using a pipette, the wolf siphoned a small amount of different formulas he had been working on and injected them into the cylinders. He stuck a probe into each container, then turned to his computer.

"Come on…" He growled. "Come on…"

The phone rang and made him jump.

"Ugh," he grabbed it. "Yes, who is it?!"

"This is your butler," the drawling voice answered. Lucas immediately sighed in relief. "I've prepared a minestrone for dinner, and I will be rather cross if I am the only one to enjoy it."

"Right, right. Sorry, didn't mean to snap at you."

"I know how your work gets, Master Lucas. I'm just thankful you haven't died in there."

Lucas sighed as he pushed away from the counter. "Yeah, I… I think I need a break. Thanks for the call, just give me a bit to wrap up some final notes."

"No longer than five minutes, understand?"

"I'll be there." With that, Lucas hung up. He watched for the readings to stabilize and then recorded them—the third and fourth solutions were looking good—then pulled off his goggles. Lucas left them on a hook by the lab door, along with his white lab coat. His tail flicked around, joyous to be free of that oppressive garment. The wolf peeled the gloves off his hands and kicked off his protective lab slippers before finally leaving. The sound of his pads on metal could just be heard as he climbed the stairs to the exit. He opened the door and blinked at the night air that came rushing to meet him. "Huh. Didn't realize the time…"

Chuckling at himself, he began walking back to the manor. The refreshing night breeze helped soothe his sweaty muzzle. The wolf took a moment to take in the outdoors. That's when he saw the car.

Lucas paused and stared. A long low luxury car lurked just beyond the guard booth. Its doors were a shiny black, and its driver was shrouded in dark. They were watching him, he could feel their eyes.

"Hey," the raccoon guard came out from his booth. "Hey, you lost? Otherwise you have to move, it's private—"

Before he finished, the car revved its engine and disappeared back towards the city.

Twelve hours later, Judy nearly walked straight into traffic as she left ZooTech. Luckily she caught herself just before she was about to step off the curb. Her mind buzzed so painfully that it was hard to concentrate. Nick's wild screams still haunted her, the tiger's words, Tina getting muzzled… as Judy got into her cruiser, she pulled out her phone. Her fingers worked through muscle memory, and soon she heard ringing in her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mom."

"Oh Judy!" The voice immediately brightened. "Honey, how's it going?"

"I just got out of ZooTech," she squeezed her eyes shut and rested them on the edge of her steering wheel. "Had to talk to the tiger from yesterday."

"Is he alright?" Now she could hear concern laced into the words.

"He's still alive… but not for long, according to the nurses."

There was a pause. "Judy, are you doing alright?"

She checked the radio to make sure her transmitter was off. "I don't know, it's been a crazy week, and I just saw Tina get arrested, and you know I have to walk on eggshells right now."

"We're all worried about you. Terry's been keeping an eye on the news all day, we can hardly drag him away from the TV!"

"What about the spies?"

There was a pause on the other end. Then her mother whispered close to the phone, tainting her words with static. "The car just lurks around. Sometimes it parks outside our house, other times Stu sees it driving by our field. I don't like it, gives us the willies."

"They're not doing anything too serious, are they?"

"No, the borough president wouldn't allow it. Terry said that she's been resisting Bellwether."

Judy breathed in relief. "Alright, that's good to hear." She paused for a moment. "Hey Mom, I've been thinking… is it alright if I come over for a quick visit this weekend?" Judy opened her door and leapt out of the cruiser, deciding to keep it here, and began to head towards the train to Tundratown.

"Of course, sweetie! Listen, let us know when you're coming over and we'll whip up something really special, okay?"

"Thanks Mom. It'll be nice to just take a breather, you know?"

"You need it. You're out there saving the world, it's what you've always wanted. But you can't do everything Judy. You can try, and you sure do, but in the end you need to be easy on yourself. We'll be waiting for you at home, we've always been."

"Thank you," Judy felt her heart lift. "Love you."

"Love you too, Judy." With that her phone went silent, just as she turned the corner to see the platform. On the monorail she found herself sandwiched between a yak and three squirrels; down at the end of the car, she also spotted a ram with a SPEC uniform, hooves folded in front of his body, scanning everyone who came in. Judy felt the searching eyes sweep over. She shivered in discomfort, and she could have sworn she felt the same reaction from the others around her. The ride was quieter than it usually was.

The car disappeared into blackness as they went through the climate wall. Shimmering heat found itself supplanted by the biting chill. Judy waited until she heard the computerized voice: "Now approaching: Glacier Falls." She walked into the icy air alone; the doors shut without any others getting off. Right across from the platform was the border of the predator community, the middle line of the street. In those same streets, SPEC officers arranged brightly-colored blockades with barbed wire coiled between them. Mammals on both sides watched with wary eyes, including a young armadillo with tan and yellow stripes. Judy came up behind him, his head level with her chest. His small narrow ears flicked as she approached, and he turned to look at her.

"Hey… you were the bunny on TV!" He grinned and held out his long and slim paw. "I'm Vincent, but my friends call me Vinny."

Judy gave a thin smile and shook his paw. "Nice to meet you Vinny."

Immediately his attention shifted to the street. "Do you know what's going on?" he asked.

"Well… they're just putting up something to make sure you're safe."

"From what?" He tried to peer into the opposite side. "Was there a radioactive truck spill? I saw that in a movie once, and they had to cory-teen the entire city under a dome."

"No," Judy couldn't help but give an amused sniff, "no dome. Nothing dangerous over there, I promise."

"Oh good," he breathed a sigh of relief. "My friend's over there."

"Your friend?"

"Yeah, she's a liger, a lion AND a tiger." He felt proud of himself, in that youthful way when kids are convinced they'd just taught someone something. "Her parents are super cool, they let us stay up all night and play video games and watch movies. Haven't seen her in a couple months though." The armadillo fell quiet. "Mom made me leave school, and I can't go over to her house anymore." He stared across the street again. "So why are they putting up the wire like that?"

Judy tried to juggle words around. Finally she settled on, "It's complicated. When you get older, you'll understand better."

"That's what Mom said," he sulked. "I just think the whole thing's stupid." Suddenly he looked up with terror at Judy. "Don't tell my mom I said that!"

"I promise," she couldn't stifle a small chuckle. "Wanna know a secret? I think it's stupid too."

"Really?" Vinny filled with delight. His opinion had been validated by not only a police officer, but also a celebrity. "Wow, thanks Mrs. Hopps!"

"You're welcome," she didn't bother to correct him. "Now, I gotta go in there. You stay outta trouble, okay?"

"Okay, bye Mrs. Hopps!"

Leaving Vinny behind, Judy dashed across the street and up to a gap in the wire. She slipped through before the SPEC officer managed to close it. Now she was in the predator side of town, and almost immediately it felt shabbier. Only a day of overcrowding and it already felt too worn down. Judy passed by a storefront with a croissant sign hanging above it. Below the sign, an entire crowd of predators clamored against the door. The owner, an otter, had to stand on a box atop a stool in order to be seen.

"Everyone, please calm down! I only have five slots open! Please listen!" The crowd quieted a bit. "Thank you. Now, I only need five bakers, so hear me out and make sure this is the job you want. I'll need you five days a week, thirty-five hours per week, with a starting wage at eight dollars an hour—"

"I'll go six dollars!" A hyena shouted from the back.

"Five fifty," came a vixen, "and I'll work weekends!"

"Four fifty! I have two cubs, I need this job—"

The desperate mob descended into anarchy again, the otter struggling to retain control. Judy passed by and continued on. Cubs played on the sidewalk in that awkward reserved sense that characterizes play with strangers. Neighbors stood in the streets, yelling over conflicted boundaries or debating about forming renters' associations or whispering in collusions. Laundry hung outside windows and fluttered in the gentle breeze. And on one wall—Judy's stomach plummeted as she saw the graffiti. There were two yellow squiggles, resembling bared fangs. Two peaks reached down from the top line, while two others reached up from the bottom and in between the top. And beside it words scrawled: PREDS DESERVE BETTER. Making a mental note to have it painted over, she shivered it from her shoulder like snow and continued on.

As Judy approached the building where Pierce lived, she spotted a little sign hanging from a nail on the door. It featured a cute smiling pumpkin over the words "Home Sweet Home", an attempt to liven the scene. Judy pushed the door open without a second glance at the pumpkin, and soon found herself knocking on Pierce's door.

"Judy," the black wolf greeted her when he opened the door. "I got some bad news. Tina's been arrested."

"I know, I saw her at the hospital."

"I can't believe they darted her," Pierce shuddered as he closed the door. "We're gonna have to—"

"No no, she wasn't darted," Judy corrected him. "I saw her, she was coherent and speaking."

"What?" Pierce's scar arched as his brows lifted.

"Yeah, they're not even bothering to dart predators any more." She could see the realization flooding Pierce's eyes. "We gotta move fast. You said you were talking to a lynx and his team, are they still up to it?"

"Yes, we just have to meet up with them to discuss the details. We have a problem though…" Pierce began chewing on his claws. "Lucas called me last night, said he saw someone stalking outside our place. And we can't have them here, not with SPEC crawling around."

"So what you're saying is, we need a new place to meet?" Judy felt her mind working quickly. "I think I know just the place…"

"Come on, Stu," Bonnie rolled her eyes as she slid another rack of muffins into the oven. She stepped over to a second oven, already full, and began pulling muffins out. "We gotta be out there to meet them."

"I know," he grunted as he ran the carrots against the grater. Small orange flakes rained down inside, a couple getting trapped in his fur. "Don't worry, we'll be out there in time, as soon as Cotton hollers for us—"

"Uncle Stu! Aunt Bonnie, they're coming!"

"Whoa!" Stu fumbled with the carrot for a moment. "Well, uh, guess that's our cue. Molly, Peter, can you cover for us?"

The pair of them went outside and watched as a large pastel-yellow truck came rumbling into the yard. Besides the driver, a pig wearing a slim newsboy cap, someone else sat in the cab this time, and she waved excitedly.

"Judy!" Stu and Bonnie opened their arms, and as soon as she hopped out of the vehicle she leapt to them.

"Oh, I missed you guys so much!" She snuggled into their embrace. "I got so much to share with you."

"Thanks Arthur," Stu tipped his cap to the pig. "Oh, by the way, can you drive the truck over to the back this time?"

"Huh?" The pig looked confused for a second.

"We're doing some work in the front room, so I need my supplies delivered to the back instead of the front of the house."

"Oh, sure thing Mr. Hopps!"

Bonnie watched as the pig turned over the engine and began to maneuver to the other side of the Hopps residence, a large grassy hill with windows sticking out in all directions. Her gaze briefly flitted to their fence. A long black car prowled along the fields, watching. Nervous about making too much eye contact, she turned back to watching the truck curve around their house, backing up against their rear porch. Looking back, they were away from the street now.

"There we are. Want me to help unload?"

"Nah, that's why we had kids," Stu joked. "I actually wanted your help with something though, you good with power tools?"

"Of course Mr. Hopps!" The pair of them moved towards the barn, deep in conversation. Meanwhile, Bonnie helped Judy unlatch the back of the truck.

"Everyone back here?"

"Ugh," A grey wolf groaned as he slid out from behind a stack of boxes. He straightened his back. "I prefer the limo myself."

"Oh how terrible," A buffalo snarked as he tried to pry himself from a wooden crate; it was almost comically small, and Bonnie wondered at how his bulk had fit. "Next time, I'll make sure to bring champagne when we're sneaking in some place."

"Come on guys," A black wolf uncoiled himself from with a sack of lemons. "Let's just get outta here."

"Yes yes, let's go," Bonnie motioned, and they all disappeared into the house unseen. "I hope your journey wasn't too bad?"

"Two hundred miles in a produce truck," the black wolf twisted his torso around. "For what it was, not bad at all. Enjoyed the citrus smell." He cleared his throat. "Sorry, I'm Pierce Canisson. Pleasure to meet you," he extended his paw.

"Oh, Judy's told me all about you." She accepted it warmly. "And you must be his brother Lucas?" The grey wolf nodded and shook her paw too. "And Chief Bogo?"

"Now don't tell me Hopps has been talking about me too?" He chuckled as he accepted her paw in his hooves.

As they all greeted and introduced each other, they walked into the living room. Lucas and Pierce were twice the rabbits' heights, and Bogo at least three times, but she saw them raise their brows as they saw the structure's scale. The house had three levels above ground, with a single walkway spiraling up to the top. High above the taller animals' heads the roof arched, and a massive light fixture dangled far out of reach. The walls were soft pink with darker trimming along the floors. In the middle of the rotunda, several squashy couches and armchairs and beanbags sat in an ideal arrangement… or at least, an arrangement deemed acceptable for the next four to six months. Rabbits of all ages looked up as the visitors arrived, and they gasped in delight.

"Well," Lucas snickered, "I didn't realize they'd be so happy to meet us. My name is —"

"JUDY!"

Despite their size difference, the three larger animals cringed as a sea of bunnies inundated them. Bonnie laughed as she tried to shepherd them from the crowd that swarmed Judy. "Family's a big deal around here," she explained. "Please, make yourself comfortable, and holler if the little ones cause you any trouble."

Bonnie gestured to a set of chairs. They had all been reinforced to hold larger guests, with everyone from neighbors to farm bureau agents accommodated. That didn't make it any less absurd to see Lucas and Pierce, in their formal jackets, sitting in plump baby blue armchairs that looked like they were designed for sixth-grade wolves. Nor did it make less absurd the sight of Chief Bogo perched upon a high-backed scarlet recliner, as if he were sitting at a kindergarten desk. Her guests seated, Bonnie went through a rounded doorway; no straight edges existed in the Hopps residence, it was a purely organic design. One right turn later, she ended up in the kitchen.

"Let me just take some of…" She grabbed a plate of muffins from the counter. Feeling them to make sure they were warm (they were), she began to head back. "Thanks, keep it up!"

As she walked back to the living room, Bonnie saw the family still crowding around Judy. She also saw that the little ones weren't who she needed to warn the visitors about.

"I said, gerroff my chair!" An elderly rabbit with one droopy ear and a hunched over spine was whacking his cane feebly against Lucas' pants leg. Pierce had already stood up, trying to reason with him.

"But sir, you said this was your chair."

"They're both my chairs! And I won't have no stinkin' wolves on my chair!" Lucas meanwhile just looked at him helplessly, unsure what to do.

"Alright, Pop-Pop," Bonnie intervened. "That's enough, go back upstairs."

"But they're'n mah chair, Bon! Lemme at 'em, I'll show 'em not to mess with a Hopps!"

"I thought your chair was the one Bogo's sitting in?" Bogo raised his hooves, insisting he not be brought into the dispute.

"Gah!" Pop-Pop began to totter up the ramp. "Stinkin' wolves, with their sharp teeth, don't trust the looks of that grey one, eyes too far apart…" His mumbling died away as he climbed.

"Sorry about Pop-Pop, he's a bit… behind the times. But you know what it's like with family."

"We understand," Lucas smirked. "And thank you for your hospitality." Bonnie handed him a carrot muffin, and he accepted. "They smell delightful."

"HEY! MOM BROUGHT MUFFINS!"

Judy's crowd began to swarm around Bonnie. Quickly she raised her voice:

"Now now, calm down everyone!" They all went silent as she spoke. "We have visitors, and they get served first, understand? Now all of you, up to your rooms, and you'll get a muffin when they're done. Do I make myself clear?"

With a widespread grumble, they all began to flood upstairs. Stu came running up behind them. He panted for breath. "Just got back… I heard the muffins… are done?"

"Visitors first," she sternly reminded him. "Pierce, here you go."

As he accepted it, Stu looked up at him. Then he did a double take. "Oh cripes, what happened to your eye? Did Pop-Pop find you?"

"Stu!" Bonnie elbowed him. "Don't be rude!"

But Pierce laughed. "No no, I did meet Pop-Pop, but he didn't give me a scar. It's kind of a personal story though, don't like to talk about it too much."

"Well don't worry," Bonnie nodded. "We know when to mind our own business." She gave a hard glance at Stu. "And speaking of which, we'll give you four some privacy to talk if you'd like." After Bogo accepted his muffin, she gave one to Judy and set the plate on the table. "And I hope nobody's listening in," she raised her voice, "because they're not getting any muffins!" There were some groans and the slams of doors. "That includes you, Pop-Pop!"

An angry "Gah!" answered, along with one last door slam.

"There we go. Hope it goes well, and let us know when the rest of the team arrives." With that she led Stu through the last door, leaving the four alone to their devices.