Chapter 27

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"You there! Freeze. You're under arrest for impersonating an officer!"

Nick and Judy broke through the crowd just in time to see the tiger standing by another one of the barriers, glaring down at what was most definitely a fox in a cop uniform. Presumably a fox cop too.

He was small and thin, only coming up to Nick's shoulders and wearing clothes that seemed to hang off of him. His ears were small round things and he had a short, child-like muzzle, along with a striking fur pattern: his back was black, contrasting with his white belly fur, the two meeting and mixing on his face to give him a soft, mottled look. The white on his stomach went up along the underside of his muzzle and around his jaw line, just like with Nick's belly fur, but it also went up around his eyes, where it met with the soft grey on the upper side of his muzzle which dappled in. All was framed by his black back fur, though the pure white insides of his little round ears shone out of that in turn.

He wasn't any unique fox species though, nor even a unique colouration. Both Nick and Judy knew exactly what he was, an arctic fox in his summer coat, the more familiar bushy white fur shed a month or two ago. What they didn't know though was how this whole mess was going to go down.

The arctic fox cop glanced up at the angry tiger cop and immediately spoke out. "Right!" he said, paw going up into a crisp salute. He then immediately swung around, looking through the fence in the direction that the big feline had been pointing. "Uh, sir. I don't see the perp."

The tiger's face grimaced with anger. "Listen kit, if you think that this little act will get you out of this, you've got another thing coming!"

The fox cop kept on staring out through the fence, before stepping back and pouncing up so that his head was hanging over the railing. "No… I can't see anyone, I -heyyyyy…." He was cut off as the tiger grabbed him and pulled him off his feet. "-Thanks, but I still can't see anyone…"

Nick and Judy began running along, ready to stop this all, when a new voice did it for them, cutting through with an angry Latina accent. "You there, what are you doing with my partner!?"

Both the tiger and the fox cop turned to see a very angry hyeness standing there, her arms crossed. The fox cop blinked. "Hey Carla, he's just helping me find someone who was impersonating an officer."

The tiger blinked a few times, before frowning. "Officer Jones, newly assigned to Precinct One. RJ-16373. Tell me, Officer Ca…"

"-Carla Hyenandez, CH-27301."

"You're pulled in from Sahara Square, right?" He enquired.

"Yes."

He frowned, hard. "So then why is your 'partner' an arctic mammal from Tundratown?"

The hyena blinked a few times, before her voice got a lot angrier and shoutier. "I don't know! Don't you think I asked my superiors that, huh!? Why are we out in Sahara square getting an arctic mammal!? Why isn't he back in Tundratown? But all I get from los mamiferos idiotas in charge is that he's coming to us and that's that! Back before he lost all his white fur we had to fill up bags full of ice from the precinct drinks machine and fill tubs full of it on his off time so he could cool down…"

"We called them ice-cuzi's," he added happily, as his partner continued on, now beginning to frantically wave her paws in the air.

"I had the aircon down so low that I had to have blankets in the car. And then they say, oh, maybe you can both transfer to Tundratown instead? I'm even less built for that than he is for the desert! Do you know how long it would take my wife to knit me a jumper? I'll give you a clue, she's a rat in a wheelchair, -caused by a freak wrestling accident, not involving me. So it'll take a long, long time! So don't ask me why he's in my precinct because I don't know why, all I know is that I'm having to suck it up and I do not need mammals like you mamhandling my partner!" Her paw dove into her pocket and pulled out her badge. "Now let him go, or I will beat you and then arrest you for aggravated assault!"

There was a long pause, as the tiger slowly put the fox cop down. "Name and badge?" he asked.

Smiling, the fox pulled his one out and showed it off. "Officer Jimmy Frost, JF-12345! Now, about that mammal impersonating a police officer?"

"My apologies," the tiger said quietly, tail between his legs. "I didn't recognise you… At ease." He then turned, walking off, leaving the two mammals looking at each other.

Jimmy blinked a few times before his face contorted with shock and sadness. Pointing a paw out, he gestured at the receding officer. "He…" He then pointed back at himself. "I…" Carla looked up, then glanced down at him as he tried to gather his thoughts. "-I knew I should have dyed it all white," he said, pointing at his fur. "But mom was like, 'I love you the way you are all seasons…'"

He carried on talking, watched from afar by Nick and Judy, their mouths piqued. The fox looked down at the bunny. "Okay, that went… better than expected."

"I guess it did. Though I heard that our tiger's been transferred here before an internal review. Were it not for this protest, he'd be on parking duty. But, if we can get them to chip in…" A grin grew on her face, Nick joining in.

"Sly bunny, I like where you're…"

"SQUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEE…" The pair shook as the sound of an ecstatic fox scream rang out, before looking over to its source. "It's you, it's you, it's really you!" Nick looked down as Officer Jimmy Frost, 2nd Fox in the ZPD, ran up to him, jumping up and down on his feet even faster than a caffeinated Judy. "-Hi-Officer-Wilde-I'm-a-really-big-fan-you-inspired-me-to-join-the-ZPD-you-are-so-cool-and-I-finally-get-to-meet-you-and-this-is-so-awesome-and…"

The first fox cop looked on, shocked at first but then with an ever widening grin on his muzzle. It was soon toothy wide as he put forward a paw, Jimmy shaking it eagerly. "Carrots," he said, looking over to her. "Can I keep him?"

"No, Nick."

"Pleeeeaaaassseeee…"

She crossed her arms and shot him a look. "You know that I'll end up having to do all the work."

"But I promise…"

"-And-I-finally-get-to-meet-my-hero-in-real-life-and-you're-as-cool-as-I-imagined!"

"Cuss yeah I am," Nick replied, bringing out his black shades, flicking them out, and slipping them onto his head.

"SQUUUUUEEEEEE… I, oh hi Officer Hopps. You're cool too!"

"Thanks," she said, as Nick glanced down.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure that you're there for when the second bunny cop arrives. Say, Jimmy was it?" he asked, looking back. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-two!"

"And fresh out of the academy. Any other bunnies making their way through it?"

"No, but the first vixen in the ZPD started training just as I left. She's a corsac called Aliya Sari, and knows Judo. It's almost as scary as Carla's luchador wrestling."

"-I do not know what you're talking about," the hyeness said, stepping in. "We have a job to do, Officer Frost."

"Yup! Of course," he said, looking back to Nick and giving a firm, proud salute. "Duty calls."

"-Actually," Judy interrupted. "-That tiger. He's coming up on a discipline tribunal in the not too distant future, about his treatment of some foxes in the past. With you as witnesses, maybe…"

"Yes," Carla replied, blankly. Judy was taken aback by the bluntness.

"Just yes?"

"Yes."

Nick snickered a bit, before recovering, Carla giving him an odd look. "What's the joke?"

Nick was sorely tempted to just say yes again, but instead paw-waved it off. "Ah, nothing. Anyway, better be off. Duty calls. And, for our second fox officer…" He brought out a junior detective sticker and placed it on Jimmy's chest, his tail sweeping around in joy. "Eeeeh…. Thanks! Though I think Wallace wants one too!"

"Wallace?" Nick asked, his ears going askew as Carla facepawed. Jimmy meanwhile reached into his pocket and brought out a stuffed white wallaby plushie, dressed up in an officers uniform.

"I got him on a holiday to Outback Island! Isn't that right?"

Paw on the wallabeanie™, he rocked it back and forth, ventriloquising as he went. 'I come from the land down under! Where beanies grow and mammals wonder…'

"We better run, we better take cover," Nick added out of the corner of his mouth.

Judy looked on from the side nervously, nodding in agreement. Carla just looked at them grumpily. "I apologise for my partner making this weird. Thankfully, this is as strange as it gets."

"Aaaand... you've just jinxed it," Nick said.

"There is no such thing, I…"

They were broken off by the earth shaking as a massive mammal landed right next to them. He towered over even Carla, had massive muscles, a determined look on his face, and had only one thing to say. "PRO-TEIN!"

"Said you jinxed it," Nick said, before looking up to the massive red kangaroo yoga instructor. Judy joined him, waving.

"Hi there. I've seen you before. Mr Jumpilili, correct?"

Hey gave her a blank look, before bringing out his paw and pointing it at himself. "Protein."

"Ah… right, Protein it is. Nice to meet you. Here for the protest?"

"Protein."

"Uhhhh…"

"Ooooh, I think that's his translator," Jimmy said, as another mammal arrived. Bent over, using a cane to walk, dressed in a pair of shorts, a red cloth on his head and with tribal markings painted on his face, an ageing koala walked up next to them. "What does Protein have to say?"

The koala nodded. "Huuuhunnuu hunnu. Hunnu hunnnu hunnn. Hun hun hun, hun-hun-hun."

Jimmy blinked, turning back and shrugging. "You got anything Wallace?"

"No. But Carla shouldn't have jinxed it."

"Por el amor de Dios," she grumbled, tearing out some pads from her note book and handing them a pen each.

The two mammals looked at it, at each other, and began writing.

"Pro-tein," one said, handing over a note to Judy. 'We're going to meet with some friends out in Bunnyburrow soon. Do you know anywhere that serves food for both pred and prey, offers megafauna sized portions and is wheelchair accessible?'

"Well, Gideon's bakery," Judy said with a shrug. "He can serve horses in there, and being a modern building it meets modern disability regulations."

"Protein," he said, solemnly, bowing his head. He brought back the piece of paper and wrote some more on it. 'Thank you very much. These are troubling times, so please stay safe. You are important to this city.'

The bunny couldn't help but blush a little. "Well, just making the world a better place."

"Protein," he said, adding some more. 'As am I. Sidenote: I've heard there's been a new jewellery thief operating around, stealing out of mammals' homes. Just hearsay, but I thought I'd let you know.'

"Thanks," she said, nodding. She gave her head a little shake, another thing to keep an eye on. Still, lots to do, lots to do. For now, she'd make sure all her valuables were locked up safely, especially Kozlov's necklace. Whether he was on their side or an enemy, he'd still entrusted her to keep that thing safe.

"Protein," he said, one final time to her. He then turned, joining with his koala guru as they looked up at Officer Carla Hyenandez.

"Am I of use to you?" she asked.

"Hunnnuhunnuhunu hun hun."

"Protein," he agreed, as the smaller marsupial wrote out a note and handed it to Jimmy.

"Dear Officer Hyendez. As part of our meet-up, we'd like to give a gift to one of our friends and former students, who to this day is a big fan of your artwork… -Oooh, you're a painter Carla?"

"No," she groaned. "Just get it over with."

"A long time fan of Lucha-Libre… -can you sign this poster."

Nick and Judy looked at each other before looking at Carla, the hyena frowning. "Am I not allowed to have a life outside of work?" The pair stayed silent as a poster was unwrapped, showing a hyena in a wrestling ring, pinning down a lion beneath the bold title 'La Mala Perra'. Despite the skull mask she wore, the similarity was obvious, even if the wrestler in question seemed to be in the middle of a laughing fit.

The koala gave Jimmy another note. "Sign at the bottom."

Carla brought out a pen. "I want to make it known that I'd be happy to engage with my fans at any other time than my day job," she said, as Jimmy carried on.

"To my biggest, boldest, bravest fan…"

Meanwhile Nick and Judy glanced at each other. "Well this has been fun," he said.

"Yup," the bunny agreed. "Better than other protests I've supervised, for one thing."

"-yes, like the river in Australia, but starting with 'The'. Put your full name first, and then your stage name with a bit of a flourish."

Carla did just that, finishing off. "And done," she said, handing it over. "Stay safe, obey the law, you all know the drill."

"Protein."

"Hunnunu hunnunu."

And, with that, they left, leaving the four cops.

"Well, this has been nice," Nick said, "but I must bid you adieu."

"Yes," Carla said, slapping her head. "Before anything weirder happens."

Nick slapped his head. "Don't jinx it!"

"I do not believe in…"

"'Scuse me, I stink I can set up here," came a new voice, as a skunk with a ZNN cap, a pinescent necklace and a microphone came jogging up. "Steven Stinkman, ZNN reporter! Hi, mind if we can set up here?"

"Looks good," Judy said, looking around.

Meanwhile Nick was staring up at the hyena, giving a smug gesture over.

She frowned back. "This proves nothing."

"Shhh," Jimmy said, whispering up at her as he pointed at the reporter. "Don't say anything to annoy him. I have the feeling that he could make our lives really miserable if we annoy him."

"Yeah," 'Wallace' added. "Like having a bunch of lovestruck vixen assassins chase Jimmy across the city, or have an evil bat put you in a deadly escape room with tickle boots attached to your feet, or mama Frost not washing me with fabric softener."

The reporter didn't seem to hear, instead gesturing over to his small crew as he set up a camera and gear. They found their places as he stood tall. "Great, this is real important, my mother said she'll be coming in with my brother too, so we all have to make it look good!"

There were a few rolling eyes and mutters as he frowned.

"My adopted mother, Murana Wolford…"

There was a sudden buzz of activity, the camera and sound crews hurrying around to get things set up. The skunk reporter, paws on hips, sighed in happiness before looking back. "Oh, anything you can say about the case?"

"Police business," all four of them said, Wallace agreeing along after. And with that, the 'five' mammals finally said their goodbyes and split. Nick and Judy walked around, watching the crowd slowly grow. More young mammals, plus some older ones, plenty with different banners and signposts too. They glanced Pounceheart again, this time going over to talk to the reporter, everything seeming to be going okay.

Judy's ears rose as she heard some panting, looking over to see Honey coming up.

"Hiya… hiya… -I made it… Wooo, I'm…" She collapsed, paws on knees. "Outta…" she panted. "You know…" Taking a large breath in, she steadied herself and looked up. "This is looking good!"

"Yeah," Nick agreed. "What's the plan?"

"Oh, well Haida and Retsuko can't come, cuz they're on the nine to five and we need their boss mam. Mr Fox and Mr Silverfox say they're coming soonish. Pounceheart will be around, somewhere. Skye is working back on her gadget stuff, don't know nothing about Jack..."

"The fennecs?" Judy asked.

"Still doing their IT stuff."

"Great," she replied, waving the honey badger off. Together they began walking on and around. Nothing much was going on, which was a good thing. When something exciting finally did come, it wasn't from the crowd.

"Yup, ten-four, Spots," Nick said into his radio. "Uh-hu… Oh… Hmmmm…" Putting it down, he turned to an expectant Judy. "We need to high tail it over to Little Rodentia. Apparently there was an attack, from the sound of it an attempted kidnapping, early in the morning."

Judy looked on, confused. "Why isn't Precinct 0.5 looking at it?"

"Because the attacked mammal specifically asked for Basil and Dave, and in lieu of them, us."

"Right," Judy said, her ears going down. "We better get over there. It must be an old friend of theirs."

Nick looked on. "He may be, he may not be, but I do know he's a pain up The Chief's backside, and in a few weeks he might have been our best friend in the whole wide world. Heck, you've even been in the same room as him."

"Huh, when?"

"At Fru-Fru's wedding."

"Have I?" she asked, thinking back.

Nick nodded. "The best defense lawyer in the city. Vern Rodenburg."

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Ash stepped into his form room and scanned around, taking a few sniffs for good measure. It almost seemed normal, the various different mammals filing into the science lab, talking, chatting, the wheelie stool long since claimed by a pronghorn and current circling around his regular table as his friends pushed and tapped back.

The red fox found himself sitting down at his regular table. The Packson brothers, Remmy and Remus, were there, along with Mitch Dewclaw the Scottish wildcat, Jenny Bourke the wombat and Agnes.

Kris wasn't there.

Neither was Maisy.

A quarter of their members were gone, and so was all their soul.

"Any idea what's going on?" Jenny asked. "How is he?"

"He called us last night," Ash said,looking down and fumbling with his paws. "He's… He's not good but he's not bad. He's surviving."

The wombat waited for a second or two for a clarification that never came, before breaking to the point. "Surviving 'everything's meh' or surviving 'drinking your own piss?'"

"Woah, what?" Mitch asked, eyes wide.

"That's not true, right?" Remmy butted in.

"Of course it isn't," Agnes said quietly, as Ash spoke up.

"Surviving 'he's doing okay'! He's doing okay… He's doing okay," he said, breathing in and out. "Listen, he's Mr Calm, right? And it's not like he's been sent to a dungeon or anything. Just prison."

"Just prison?"

"Yes, it's just a building they sent him to!" Ash shouted, standing up. "Not for long even, we're going to get him out!"

…

He couldn't help but look around, the now quiet room looking at him before turning back to each other, trying to act like they weren't looking on by failing miserably. The red fox tod's eyes narrowed on the pronghorn on the wheelie stool, currently rock firm still.

He was pointing his head down as if he was focussed on his phone. He was a liar.

"Still, the news and stuff are saying he didn't do it, right?" Mitch began. "Or that he shouldn't be there." There was a long pause as he looked forward, eyes focussed on the red fox tod in front of him. A little smile grew across his muzzle. "Who is this we're that you're part of and where's the application form?"

"A bunch of awesome mammals, me and a verbal agreement will do."

"Pawshake?"

"And that," Ash said, paw going forward. Mitch grabbed it and shook it hard, Ash then moving onto the Packson brothers. Their paws both lunged in and shook hard, the pair then tilting their muzzles up and howling out loud.

Jenny looked around, breathing in and nodding. "Yeah, if there's anything I can do."

Agnes just nodded. "Thanks, for all of this. We'll do anything. So would Maisy if she were here."

The mention of her name almost caused Ash to freeze. He managed a nod and looked down as he began to think. Might they know anything about her? Might they have seen anything? Did they know ways of talking to her…?

What would happen if he told them the truth?

"Worried about her too?" Jenny asked, before frowning. "Stupid bullies," she said, glaring up at a certain woodchuck off in a corner. Ash looked up, their eyes briefly meeting before his darted away, as if he'd just touched a hot plate. Was he scared of him now? Thinking that the foxes (or fox) he once liked to rib were capable of getting dangerous.

"Has he been picking on her lately?" he asked, glancing over.

"Not really, no," Remmy said. "I mean, she's been gone since the…" He gave a double whistle and slight paw shake. Nothing more needed to be said.

"With her parents then," Ash carried on. Truthfully, though she was his friend, he'd known nothing about them before. Might anyone else?

"Well, yeah," Jenny said.

"Ever meet them?" he asked, shrugging to give it a casual air.

"No," Jenny said. "But I heard they're nice… they got really hurt after Bellwether's fall though."

"I can imagine," Ash said.

"Yeah," the wombat growled. "Thrown out of their job and everything. Purged because they were sheep, no doubt thanks to that speciesist piece of crap Pounceheart."

"What?" Remmy balked. "Hey. Do not diss Pounceheart. He called the Nighthowler plot!"

"No he didn't," she rebuked. "He just worked out that something dodgy was going on, tried to get everyone going crazy and then decided to be an ovinophobic bully."

"He'd be leading the resistance if she hadn't been taken down by Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps," the wolf rebuked. "He's a zootopian hero!"

"Huh… No-one who hangs out with mammals like 'Gruinard Gal' is a hero," the wombat said. "Especially if they then go around in politics."

"What's wrong with Gruinard Gal?" Remmy's twin, Remus, finally asked.

"Guess you don't know," the wombat began. "She's this… I think it was a wolverine, and she…"

"I know that," he said. "Well, not that she was a wolverine. But I followed her channel, before she stopped a while ago."

"You what?" she reacted, her mouth trembling open. "How could you?!"

"The internet," he said, his brother breaking down into laughter.

"It's not funny!"

"I mean it is," Remus said. "That's why I watch her. Or watched her…" There was a long pause. "She hasn't been updating in a while."

"Good," Jenny said, glancing at Maisy's empty seat. "The amount of crap she throws at sheep, it's horrible! Thankfully it's mostly nonsense… I guess that's how you enjoy it."

"Well, she is funny," the wolf said. "And I wouldn't want her running anything, of course. But she has good points here and there and it's worth listening for those."

Jenny looked away, not really wanting to speak about it, while Ash got out his phone. Who was this 'Gruinard Gal…'

Was it Honey?

From what he knew, it kind of made sense. He'd text his dad, asking him to ask her. Meanwhile, Remus had begun to calmly say that Pounceheart really was someone that everyone should listen to. "I mean, he's right. I know it must have been harsh on Maisy's parents, but we did and still do need to purge the government! Do you know how many Bellwether sympathisers might still be in there, undiscovered, working away and helping mammals like that evil DA? Her flock, all hiding behind their fake smiles and white wool. It's systematic. They all need to be cleared out, and if some innocent mammals get caught up then that's sad, but they're well off. They can cope."

"Do you know how many innocents?" Jenny asked, her voice hardening.

Remmy looked at Remus and Remus at Remmy, the two wolves looking back. "You wouldn't get it," Remmy said.

"You're not a predator," Remus added. "You weren't the victim."

"Huh… I lived in fear for three months…"

"Less fear than we did," Remus countered, a lecturing finger pointing out harshly. "Again, you're not a predator."

Jenny's eyes narrowed. "And you're not sheep, with their white wool and 'fake' smiles. Look at Maisy now, how much bullies empowered by those two have made her suffer. How much she went through due to the backlash. Tell me, if she was here, would you be saying this to her face?"

There was a long pause, Remus shrugging. "Hey, I'm not an idiot. But facts don't care for feelings."

"Facts are facts and you're ignoring the question," she pressed.

"Okay, you want a fact, guess who's the one organising everything for Kris, huh?"

There was a long pause, Jenny slowly turning to face Ash. "Is…"

"My Dad's a newspaper writer," he said. "So he knew about Pounceheart and all his fans. We went to him as soon as we could because we want Kris out as soon as we can."

There was a long pause, the wombat nodding. "Okay. But you do admit that he's still a bad mammal."

"I…"

"You do admit he has lots of good points," Remus countered, Remmy nodding along.

Mitch and Agnes just looked lost.

The wolves and wombat looked like they were about to speak again, only for Ash to cut to the chase. "I've never watched them. I will watch them so I can judge for myself," he said. "But I'm fighting for Kris here. Are you going to, too?"

There was a pause, as they all nodded.

"Fight every way we can, as that's what we do," he resolved.

"Just don't mention those two EweTuber's when Maisy is around," Jenny said, her brow furrowing. "Though it's probably too late. She probably heard us and it scared her off."

"Huh?" Ash asked, as he saw her gesture with a nod. He turned around and his heart skipped a beat. There off in a corner and glancing around fearfully, having just come in and being talked to by an energetic Beavis, was Maisy Bellwether.

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AN: A long time ago, I was catching up with Berserker's Born to be Wilde series. And it just so happened that I didn't get to a certain set of chapters in time to include his character Carla and her wife in that scene from 'So we're inters now'. Regardless, I vowed that, one of these days, I'd give his fun characters a chance to cameo in my fic, and here they are.