EDITED BY: DrummerMax64

Chapter Two - Bad Blood

The mammal sitting across from the predator looked off into the distance as a light breath flowed out of the old man's nostrils. The young mammal almost felt the need to break his poise to crack a smile. Without even looking, he knew exactly what the old animal was staring at. Hanging along the dining room wall was a family portrait that he'd become quite familiar with over the years. Four animals smiled happily in the picture: a mother and father, a brother and a sister. As to the specific animal he was eyeing in the photograph was an easy question. It was his beaming little girl, not even ten years old yet when the picture was taken.

Twisting and fumbling around fluidly in the older mammal's paw was a small black box that he'd taken from the young predator only a minute prior, its owner still waiting patiently on the other side of the dining table with his paws clasped together.

"You really love her, don't you?" The old mammal finally spoke.

The younger animal across from him gave a simple nod and a firm answer. "Absolutely."

The small box stopped moving in the prey's grasp. His gaze didn't break away from the picture, and neither did the younger mammal. Despite the homely setting the space bore, the conversation held a completely different feeling. They were tense. Both mimicked the blank stare that only the police could recognize.

This was an interrogation, and the younger animal was willingly on the chopping block. Could that mammal sense his fear, the youngling wondered as the next question presented itself.

"Do you make her happy?"

Again, he shook his head in agreement.

"Good." Now his old eyes trained onto him, the younger animal impulsively tensed up as he continued. "I honestly didn't know what to expect when she brought you home. Then again, I thought that with every other guy that walked through the door. But you? Of all animals… you were the last on that list."

He brought the small box into both of his paws and looked downward.

"I've been by her side for the last twenty-five years of her life, protecting her from the dangers that this cruel world holds. Now you've come into my home, sat yourself down in my chair after years of being a couple, and ask me to give up my job… for this?"

There was something about the way he gestured towards the box that shook his determined spirit as a forceful gulp fell frightfully down his throat. After getting this far, he wouldn't, couldn't be swayed. He would not dare allow him to see his fear.

Out of the blue, a piano and the beauty of angelic vocals softly broke through the thick air around them. The music's timing could not have been any more perfect. It reminded him that they were in the comfort of a beautiful home, filled with family and friends. The ambiance of the lovely Christmas tune eased his mind. He prepared his ears for the next line of speech.

"So," the older mammal spoke, "I guess there's only one thing left to ask…"

The moment of truth.

"Will you... protect my little girl… and keep her safe?"

A chuckle escaped the younger animal. He wanted so badly to say to him how wrong his question was. How it would be his own daughter that would be protecting him, or how she was the strongest out of the both of them. It was quite obvious where she obtained all of her strength from.

With the sincerest tone he could muster, he gave his final answer with utmost confidence.

"With my very life."

o o o

The darkness in the window of the subway car lit up as they quickly passed a couple of bright yellow lights. Ed watched as they sped out of view and turned his head forward towards the train's window. He eyed every detail in the reflection of the glass: the plethora of other animals that were standing or sitting beside him embedded into their phones or tablets, the dim lights of the train car, even the walls of the tunnel they were in. Just watching everyone on their own devices nearly tempted him to take his own out of his pocket and check his text messages or z-mail account, but decided against it. He thought taking his phone out for the fourth time this train ride would look incredibly silly to the other animals standing next to him.

If he needed to answer something on his phone, he knew where to find it.

Feeling the sudden discomfort in his lower legs, he shuffled his feet a tad to wake them back up. He could feel the moisture on every strand of fur from his head to his toes. Just outside the comfort of the subway train and the tunnels that protected it was a huge and sudden storm that hit the city like a whirlwind. High winds, sheets of rain, and the muggy air were what waited for him when he left nearly an hour after his three o'clock goal.

And that wasn't the worst of it. After his ride on the subway, he would have to run all the way back to his apartment, a nearly fifteen minute walk away on foot. No matter what way he went about going home, he would be absolutely drenched by the end of it. Even he had trouble seeing anything good about this dilemma.

With a silent groan his head rested on the metal bar he was holding onto and shut his eyes. It had been a long day, and he couldn't wait to get back. After forcing a semi-good mood for most of the work day, rest was all that he wanted, and he planned to get it. For now, he would take the chance he had to just shut out the world and forget about everything around him for a second.

Then sound of the intercom chimed in the train car. Both his eyes rolled. A charming female voice followed the chime as the car quickly slowed its speed. 'Now arriving at… Acacia St.'

I didn't mean literally a second, he thought wryly. The station came into view as the car came to a complete stop. The doors shot open to the station to reveal a new set of tired mammals impatiently waiting to get on. Animals hastily shuffled off the train and a new set hopped on, finding their places in metal benches and bars, then held on as the train took off for its next destination.

With the quick movement of the previous stop, a whiff of the musky, wormy, dirty smell of the subway car and the passengers traveled down his nostrils and into his lungs. The very smell would have made any new resident to the city gag with disgust. Thankfully, this wasn't the first time he had traveled through the underground, so he'd grown accustom to the varying scents and fragrances that infested the car with every work day.

The comms chimed again. 'Next stop… Savannah Central.'

"Finally," the wolf whispered irritably, his long train ride for the day coming to an end. Today the ride home felt like an eternity.

On a normal day it would take around forty-five minutes to an hour and two trains just to make it from the station at Flock Street back to his stop at the heart of the city, Savannah Central. Despite the sheer length of the ride itself, he didn't mind it one bit. It beat having to drive from place to place and pay for parking. And with the only car that he and his wife owned being used to get to and from the MASA space center outside of the city limits, which was an hour drive itself, he didn't mind taking the train to and from work.

He opened his eyes to see the train pass another set of lights on the brick tunnels, then squinted as the train entered the enormity of Savannah Central Station.

Almost every animal around him started shuffling around the car, nearly crowding the door in the process. Just as he was about to move from his comfy position himself, he saw something cute in the reflection of the window. It was two antelopes, a mother and a son, paw in paw moving behind him. He smiled, a merry thought of little pups prancing around his apartment blossomed in his head—

A shot of pain zipped through his back end as an audible whine shot out of his muzzle, halting the pipedream in its tracks. Ignoring the embarrassing cry, he quickly brought the tip of his tail in front of him and caressed it with his paws. Someone had stepped on it. He looked behind him to find the source of whoever caused it as he struggled to keep his cool. Except, the only thing he found was the smaller prey child with a shocked look on his face. He shared the same expression as he put two and two together.

"Jason!" His mother nearly burst, grabbing the young antelope's arm. She looked at Ed first, then at her wide-eyed little boy. There was something about the look on her face that made him uneasy, sad even. "I-I'm so sorry." She stuttered as the doors to the train opened, both mother and son quickly leaving the train the first chance they got before he could even respond.

He slowly stepped off the subway car and spotted the two on the escalator to the main pavilion above. They were walking fast, the mother glancing behind as she dragged her boy along. Edward's ears drooped and his shoulders slumped slightly. The look on both her face and her son's face were irrefutable. They were… afraid…

He looked down at his paws—more specifically his claws— as a black nail unsheathed itself from his pointer finger. Another thought poked around in his head. Do I really look that menacing?

With a sigh he slowly began to leave the Inner Loop station and started strolling towards the top floor of Central Station, taking all the time he needed to prepare his furred body for another trip through the rain.

In the back of his mind, however, a strange thought of a sinister version of himself had slowly pieced itself together. He could imagine the dark image of himself cackling away like an evil villain would in one of those cheesy spy movies. Only this time, this villain actually looked terrifying.

Savage eyes… sharp teeth and blood-red claws… an almost devil-like grin. He was the true definition of a monster.

…W-will… I go savage, he thought uneasily.

Would he even remember? Would there be any trace of him left?

What about the pour soul—or souls—who would be bared into his own teeth?

The taste of blood on his tongue...

The look of fear on his victim's face as they stare into his cold savage eyes...

Mauler.

Murderer.

Killer.

This lingering suspicion stuck with him for a solid minute before the sound of another train brought him back to reality. He felt weak, almost sick to his stomach. His heart was pounding, and his hands were trembling. Tears had nearly formed formed in his eye as he tried desperately to suppress the need to scream. He looked around all four stations and watched the Zootopia Loop train carefully for any passengers coming off of the train. Ten seconds passed, then fifteen, as a round of quick inhales and exhales stopped him from losing the precious lunch still sitting in his stomach. As soon as he was safe, one last slow and shaky breath entered his lungs and he took a step forward, wiping away the water away from his eyelids. It was time for him to think about something else.

Savannah Central Station had a grand total of three stories that held four of the seven major lines scattered around the city. Going from left to right, the first major line connected to Central Station was the Inner Loop, suited for those wanting to go to and from Downtown—which was the line he had just left. Up next was the Bunnyburrow line. This train was made for any mammal outside the city wanting to visit and vice versa. He had a personal attachment to this line, mainly because he grew up in the Tri-Burrows area himself. After that was the Zootopia Loop which, as one could imagine, looped around the entire city. Finally, there was the Stadium line, which provided stops all the way to the stadium at the edge of the city. At the end of the day, utilizing and understanding these trains was one of the most crucial parts about being in the city. It was one of the most efficient ways to get around, and it most certainly was the best if you knew how to navigate the different lines.

The silver wolf walked steadily past the empty Bunnyburrow line, a weak grin slowly creeping onto his face. A happy memory of his family's farm replayed itself like an old movie. His brother Gary would help him and their father tend to the crops, and his sister Lavender would help their mother in the house to make their meals for the day. He'd have to go over and help Lavender and their father at the farm soon. Good times.

Wind poured through the archways in the back of the station platform and drew his attention towards the open archways. It wasn't hard not to notice the darkness that consumed the city and the rain that steadily collected on the tracks below the platform. The weather hadn't gotten any better than when he left work, and it didn't look like it was getting any better.

He quickly scurried up the empty escalator to the other half of the station where all of the gift shops, the various food and drink stands, and—more importantly—the exit, were located. Unsurprisingly, there were several groups and lines that had formed around the vendors present, and they looked to be getting even busier by the minute. If he had to take a wild guess, the weather had drawn some of the crowd from the central park inside. They were probably waiting for the weather to die down a bit before going back outside.

Speaking of… He thought as he pulled out his phone to check.

Just before he could unlock his phone, a bright flash illuminated the room for a split second, calling the attention of most the animals in the vicinity, including him. He waited, expecting a loud blast of sound to make his eardrums burst. Fortunately, the sound the lightning strike produced was only a soft yet strong rumble that easily shook the entire building.

The metal support beams rattled and vibrated, creating this eerie sound that was almost similar to the roar of a lion. It reverberated and bounced off of the walls of the atrium before slowly faded away into nothingness.

For a couple seconds, the building went completely silent. No one spoke. The wolf looked around, almost frantically, thinking that he may have actually become deaf. Obviously, and thankfully, this thought didn't last long as sounds started to flood through the large savannah themed room. He breathed a sigh of relief.

His phone was still grasped inside of his paw, which was at his side now, still waiting patiently to be used. Without delay he unlocked the device and brought it back into view, navigating to the pre-installed weather app. He looked closely at the different times and icons on the screen, hoping to see a fraction of sunshine in a reasonable timeframe.

He read the current weather in the area: Zootopia, Savannah Central - 64F - Chance of Rain, 100%. Below the simplistic image of a storm cloud were the hourly outlooks for the area, which would give him an idea of when exactly the storm would pass.

"No way…" He whispered silently. Based on what his weather application read it wouldn't be until eleven o'clock before the storms would even begin to die down. He could feel the frustration brewing in his paws as he clicked the power button. "You've got to be kidding me."

Either he was one of the unluckiest mammals alive, or the universe decided that today would be the day where he just wouldn't win.

After stuffing the phone back into his pants pocket and a slow stroll through the atrium, he passed underneath the archway leading to the area under the building's canopy. He slowly sat down on the edge of one of the pillars' bases and watched the storm unfold in front of him. The rain and wind rattled the leaves on the trees and made the light poles illuminating the area wobble back and forth. He could even smell the hint of worms in the moist air. A deep breath filled his lungs, which he then let out in a slow sigh as his irritation transformed into bliss.

He leaned back and crossed his legs, putting the weight of his upper body on his paws as he looked ahead. Behind Savannah Central Park were the tall skyscrapers that defined the Zootopian skyline. He could see it all. The Matterhorn building, Zootopia One, even the waterfall that flowed in the middle of downtown. Even in the worst weather the city looked spectacular. With the image still in his head he shut both of his eyes and put his paws behind his head, now fully flat on his back. He listened to the sounds of the rain and wind, embracing the coolness of the air that blew through his fur.

"If only I could sit here forever…"

B-bzzz… B-b-bzzz…

In a split second, the smile that was adorning his muzzle had been utterly eradicated, and in its place was one of the straightest faces he could muster. He quickly yielded however and pulled out his phone, still retaining his position on the stone surface beneath him.

"You just had to open your big mouth, didn't'cha Ed," the cynical part of mind rhetorically asked, waving his cell phone around in the air callously.

He brought it in front of his face and stared at the screen. Embedded in the pixels was the picture of he and his wife, a selfie of the two of them cuddling on their bed with goofy little smiles plastered on their faces. It forced a minor chuckle and dorky smile out of him to see the purity and joy in both their eyes. He remembered the moment well. It was a couple days before their wedding day, one of the proudest and most wonderful days of their lives. But even with the happiness he felt, there were still the events afterward that really took their toll on him.

Nearly a week after the ceremony, his mother passed away, and a couple of weeks later came the funeral. Now, only two days later, he was back to work in Zootopia. There came a question of if he was ready to come back, if he were emotionally stable enough to carry on. Strength. All he needed strength, he kept repeating to himself.

Remembering he quickly shook away some of the lingering melancholy, replacing it with a blank expression. He thought to himself, maybe she wouldn't mind picking me up today?

The wolf finally put the speaker of his phone to his ear and accepted the incoming call. "Hello?" He drew out playfully, silently hoping that she couldn't sense the sadness looming through the speaker of the phone.

"Hey, Eddy!" Her charming midrange voice replied. "Was starting to think you'd never pick up."

"Like I would ever not want to talk to the love of my life."

An audible laugh bellowed over the speaker as he sat up straight. If he were a betting mammal, she was blushing like mad on the other end of the line. "Ed, you're so cheesy."

"I aim to please," he teased.

"That you do."

He looked out towards the park and continued to watch the rain pelt the ground. It even started to overflow on the top of the canopy, cascading over the edge almost like a waterfall.

"Where are you even at, Ed? It sounds like you're in the eye of a tornado."

"Close." He snickered, "I got stuck at Savannah Central."

"You're still there—" She halted her question as her voice cracked, then sternly uttered, "Don't you dare."

Her timing was impeccable as always. Just as he was about to poke fun at it too. "What," he replied innocently, "I was just gonna say how adorable that was."

She let out an audible sigh. "You're lucky I love you."

"That I am," he agreed. "But, to answer your question, yeah. The storm's really bad over here."

"Aww, but I thought my big bad wolf liked the rain?"

"Not when it's pelting you half to death. A day in the Rainforest district beats this any day of the week."

"Eh, whatever you say Eddy." For a couple moments, the conversation between them went silent. The rain continued to fall, and the wind started to pick up again. Then, out of the blue, a car horn blasted through the speaker, causing him to reflexively move the phone away from his ear. As he brought the device back to his ear, he could hear his wife's reaction as she screamed over the microphone. "COME ON, PAL! MERGING IN FRONT OF ME AIN'T GONNA GET YOU HOME ANY FASTER!"

An uncontrollable urge to laugh consumed him as he attempted to respond. "Charming."

"Oh, shush."

"I mean, at least you're attempting to stay safe on the road."

"I said shush."

"What did that guy ever do to you?"

"…You're really working for that couch tonight, aren't you?"

"…"

The corners of his mouth dropped in an instant. He could feel his entire body tense up. The dreaded word 'couch' was in play. The question now was deciding whether or not it would be prudent to continue to push her buttons. The small, barely comfortable for long periods, barely enough space to fit long ways couch would be the result. He involuntarily shook his head in disgust.

It was probably in his best interest to knock off the sass before she got cross. Switching topics was probably the best option in this situation.

"So…, considering you're stuck in traffic, you're on your way home?"

"Good boy," she acknowledged, the silver wolf letting out a sigh of relief, "And yeah. Traffic is being stupid right now. I just left work."

"I figured as much," he shrugged. "You wouldn't happen to be remotely close to the city, would you?"

"Nope." She said without hesitation.

Biscuits. As soon as her answer hit his ear, he stood up and slowly walked toward one of the columns holding up the canopy.

"It's pretty much stop and go traffic for me."

"Well that's a bummer. I was hoping that if you were close you could come pick me up so I wouldn't have to run through the rain."

"And I totally would if I weren't stuck here. Sorry, hon."

"It's fine Sharla. Wouldn't fret about the small stuff. It's just rain, and…considering my mood lately…I could use a nice walk."

"Are you sure? At most, it'll probably be two hours, and even then I'm probably overestimating…"

A firm reply stopped her in her tracks. "I'm sure."

An audible sigh blew through the phone. "Alright. Just make sure you dry yourself off. If any of my wool gets wet or if you get sick, you'll be sorry."

"Of course." He chuckled.

"Alright…" she repeated. "I'm gonna have to let you go, I just found out why traffic's the way it is." She paused and he waited in attention for the reason why. "Looks like there's an accident up ahead. It's down to one lane… Looks bad."

"Yikes…" The word came out of impulse. A vivid picture of the scene formed in his head. What was she seeing, he wondered silently.

"I'll see you when I get home, Ed. I love you! Bye!"

"I love you too, Shar. See ya."

With their little talk ended he brought the phone back into the confines of his pocket and let out a breath of his own. Better she not get caught with her phone out while she was right next to the police. Another hard sheet of rain fell onto Savannah Central as a strong gust of wind made his fur tousle wildly about. Even his eyes were beginning to water as they shut uncontrollably.

A funny thought regrettably formed into words as the wind began to die down. Could be worse.

Without a second thought, he bolted out of the canopy and began the trek back to the apartment.

And after fifteen minutes of running through the rain, he regretted ever thinking the phrase 'could be worse.'

Not even a couple minutes into his run he managed to take a major spill in front of his local Snarlbucks. His paw was clutching his throbbing right upper arm, almost certain that there was some form of scrape under his damp fur if the minute dabs of blood were any indication. If he had only avoided one of the few tree pits on the side of the path, he could have avoided injury altogether.

Stupid lightning. He cursed quietly at the flash that caused his injury.

Any doubt in his mind that the universe was out to get him that day was utterly eradicated and replaced with absolute certainty.

But, at long last, he stumbled weakly into the doorway of the Grand Pangolin Arms. He'd finally made it. Waiting just three floors above him was the luxury apartment that he'd been looking forward to for the entire day. Even the awful, stiff couch seemed like a wonderful paradise full of pure comfort and relaxation. All it lacked was the warmth and comfort of his wife, a warmth that he most definitely needed after all that had happened today.

He twisted the golden doorknob and pushed on the door, a big silly grin on his face as a thought of that couch popped back into his head, then—

SMACK

"Ow!" He yelped as he slammed muzzle first into the wooden door. It hadn't budged even a millimeter. Almost instantly he began rubbing the stinging parts of his snout as a small part of his pride started to quickly fall out of his reach. He gave the door an irritated gaze, then grasped the door's handle with a firmer, angrier grip. This time, he intentionally slammed his body against the door, ignoring the twinge of pain that shot where his scrape was, to get it to open. Just like before, it didn't budge. He took in a steady breath and exhaled. With all of his strength he charged at the door and braced his shoulder for the impact. He shut his eyes.

"Hello?"

His eyes shot back open. Before he knew it the door was wide open, and the world was quickly turning sideways. He hit the ground with a hard plop, followed by another cry and wince as he clutched his sore arm.

"Oh my gosh! Sir, are you okay?" the mysterious voice asked worryingly as she quickly kneeled down behind him.

He lay there for a couple seconds as he tried to find his bearings. Soon the pain started to dissipate into a dull annoyance, then used his left paw to hoist his upper body off of the ground. He shook his head back and forth, rainwater flying in every direction around him. Edward brought his mind to attention as he began to acknowledge the being before him.

"I'm—"

Just as he was about to speak, the first glance he got at this animal made his blue eyes grow wide.

Wait…

As he turned his head, something sparked in his mind. This rabbit seemed familiar… a little too familiar. Quickly he scanned her as his memory attempted to find any info on his perp. He couldn't help but think that he should know who this was… he just knew it. A list of her physical attributes formed in his head. Grey and white fur, stunning purple irises like his sister's, and her nearly pristine police uniform.

That was it. His mouth was agape. He could recognize that bunny anywhere.

Standing before him was none other than the very first rabbit officer in Zootopia, the one who solved one of the biggest cases the city had ever seen in just two days: Officer Judy Hopps, in the flesh.

A flurry of different emotions rushed through his mind as they stared at each other. He could feel his heart start to race as he pulled his torso up straight. A fist formed on the side she couldn't see. The first was anger, obviously emanating from the rising problem of prejudice in the city, no thanks to her. Next was utter despair. Just seeing another animal acknowledge his existence other than his close circle of friends was shocking to say the least, and if it weren't for the mental blockers in his head, he could very well just fall apart right in front of her. It would feel good to tell someone about everything that he'd experienced today, to take the load off of his shoulders, but there was something else. Hidden below these emotions was something he felt every time another case of 'savage' predators came up in the news: disappointment.

How could she let this happen? He thought as he brought his clustered mind back to reality. His gaze turned away from the officer as he brought himself back up, then attempted to speak once more.

"I'm fine," he uttered in crisp monotone.

Her ears drooped. "A-are you sure? That was a nasty fall you took there, and you're bleeding—"

"I'm fine," the wolf repeated firmly, quickly covering his right upper arm with his free paw. "I can manage a little scrape. I've been through worse. It's nothing to worry yourself over, officer. Trust me."

"Please, I've got some first-aid, maybe I could help patch—"

"I said, I'm fine."

He started his wobbly stroll over to the stairway, his exhausted legs carrying him to the final leg of his journey. Before he got a couple of steps up the stairs, he stopped. He felt like he'd forgotten something, something that he needed to get off of his chest. With newfound confidence, he turned to the rabbit with a sneer.

"Hey, Officer Hopps?"

She pulled her ear towards him wincing, then waited to hear what he had to say. There was a pause between the two of them. He stared at her with a surprised look on his face. Something about her and her reaction at that moment put a stop to whatever he'd had planned to say to the officer, and made him rethink.

Normally, he'd think of the ZPD as these hardened enforcers of the law, neutral and swift in their actions and judgments like a mother or father would when parenting a young pup. They would be made of stone, resilient to anything you'd throw at them. But, this officer, this mammal… was just a normal animal, an animal going about her day like any normal mammal would. Despite her title and badge, she was just like him in this cruel world—this cruel city.

Standing before him was a defenseless rabbit, waiting for his unneeded punch to her self-esteem, waiting for what would more than likely be the millionth berating comment she'd received to date, or even this week. She was the first rabbit officer in Zootopian history, and one could probably imagine all of the animals that said she should just give up while she can.

Now he was standing before her, about to add on to that doubt, that quitter attitude she'd been fighting for years to get to this grueling point. She was doing everything she could to protect the city without a second thought, and here he was, the mere journalist, about to talk all high and mighty as if he was her superior. Continuing on that mindset would make him no better than the bullies that belittled him in his own younger years, the runt of the litter with neither voice nor howl to save his life, and no better than Sharla's childhood bully, Gideon Grey. And of course, Sharla would never forgive him if he were mean to Judy, one of her closest friends from the Burrows.

He shut his eyes and regained his composure, letting out a gentle sigh. It was time to address the situation in his own, milder way.

"My… my wife and I came to this city because we dreamed that we could be anything if we set our minds to it, despite what our limitations are. This place, this city, is our home. It took us a long time to get to this point, and we're finally making a living for ourselves in this cruel world. If… if you could do us a huge favor… keep making this city, the city that we all love, a better place for everyone."

He tried his best to fight off the tears that were building near the end of his rant, but failed as one fell onto his damp fur, instinctively wiping it away as he strode quickly up the staircase before more followed them.

o o o

Judy watched as the wolf moved up the wooden stairs, the steps creaking and moaning with disapproval. She could feel both of her ears clamped to the back of her head as her gaze went downcast, staring off into empty space as the broken world around her kept moving along.

All she wanted to do was make things right, to mend the city in any way she could, but for what?

Keep making this city… a better place for everyone.

His words repeated in her head like a broken record. A better place for everyone? How could she make this city a better place, when all she had done was tear it apart, when even her closest friend hated her guts? She couldn't even help a troubled citizen in need.

Animosity in the city was starting to become worse, and she couldn't help but feel that she was at the heart of it all. Her paw brushed over her police badge, feeling over the engraved words: Trust, Bravery, and Integrity.

Of all her prized possessions, that badge was everything she strived for, all that she had worked for. This item was her very life. She'd do anything to keep it safe. But, with everything that followed after the arrest of ex-mayor Leodore Lionheart and the press conference gone awry, she found herself doubting everything about the gleaming metal pinned to her chest. What would those words mean if she couldn't follow even one of them?

She unpinned the badge from her chest plate and brought it in front of her violet colored eyes.

"Do I really deserve this badge?"

o o o

Room 302.

Sharla stared at the gold number on the door as she fumbled about trying to get the set of keys unhooked from the belt loop on the back of her blue jeans. It was hard to believe how much time had flown by since they moved to Zootopia. It seemed like only yesterday she asked Edward out to their first date. She remembered it all: the awkward stares, the bland conversations, not to mention his trembling paws when they were held in hers. She loved every bit of it, and he did too. Who would ever have guessed that her first concert with her band would bring her where she was today?

Next month would make it three years living in their apartment together.

Now they were officially a married couple, living about their days together as 'Edward and Sharla Snow.' She knew it had to have taken a great amount of courage to ask her father for her hand. Just being a wolf alone put him at a major disadvantage considering her old man's stubbornness and past prejudice. But, in the end, her father approved. Now here she was, waiting to see her husband inside on his phone or watching a show on the T.V. they owned.

With the proper key in-hoof, she shoved it into the keyhole and twisted it, unlocking and opening the door before her. The room slowly opened up, light from the hallway bringing a gentle yellow hue into the darkened space. The television was showing a commercial for some male predator hygiene product meant to block their musk.

"Speaking of…"

She nearly let out a squeal when she saw that the love of her life was curled up like a fluffy half donut on the small couch they owned. Very rarely did he sleep the way that he was, and when he did, there were plenty of pictures and cuddles to be had. It was incredibly amusing to see how he comfortably nestled into the back of the sofa. Even the cushions were beginning to gobble him up as his chest continued to slowly and gracefully rise and fall.

Finally taking her eyes off of the silver sleeping giant, she shut the door silently behind her and moved to their dresser. Her keys and thin wallet were placed in a ceramic bowl next to a picture of them in their wedding attire, smiling happily as they both danced the night away.

A tender memory of his angelic singing that night rang through her mind. The purity in his tone and the level of ease that he'd displayed, it was like he'd been waiting his entire life to shed that last layer of doubt and worry away. The fact that he had that kind of talent hidden away for years was amazing, to say the least, but more or less heartbreaking at the same time. If only he had more support in his younger years, or if they had met sooner, maybe she could have lifted a little bit of that weight off of his shoulders.

If only he could see how strong he really is, she thought quietly to herself.

After grabbing her earbuds and turning on a lamp, her gaze glanced back at the sleeping wolf, his foot twitching subtly back and forth. She pulled out her phone and snuck her way in front of him, ready to snap a quick picture.

Say cheese, she thought lovingly as she nearly caught the moment forever. But, before her hoof tapped the screen, she noticed something off near his eyes. The sheep's eyelids narrowed and took a closer look. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the space around his eyes looked wet, unlike the rest of his ruffled dry fur. In fact, as she looked deeper at his face, his expression appeared rather gloomy.

She looked at him with a warm smile and put her hoof gently on top of both his paws. Must've been a rough one, she guessed as she planted a soft kiss on the top of his head. She cozied up in the small circular space he left in front of him, trying her best not to disturb his slumber as she nudged up as close as she could.

Once she got situated comfortably beside him, she pulled out her phone and swiped away at it until she reached her audiobook app. While it loaded, she looked back at the television screen and put her free hoof on top of her husband's head, gently rubbing his fur as the channel burst with color. It was the Zootopia News Network, and there was apparently a developing story.

News junkie, the sheep sassily quipped to her resting husband.

"More bad news in the city tonight; a family of four attacked by the now confirmed report of a wolf gone savage, marking this the twenty-fourth savage attack to date."

"The victims of the attack suffered only minor injuries, able to narrowly escape before police arrived on the scene…"

The rest of the broadcast droned on while she sat there, staring at the two news anchors talk about the situation in detail. Was she baffled at the fact that yet another predator had sadly gone savage, or that no one was working on the solution to this issue? Perhaps she was more frightened by the fact that the love of her life could have the chance to transform into one of those terrible monsters himself? After all, there was no telling where, when, or even how he would even achieve that state anyway.

She let out a calm breath and continued to massage the adorable wolf around her, looking into his closed heavy eyes. She reached her final conclusion that there was absolutely no way he would ever become something so vicious and vile. His soul was too pure and too strong for anything like that. If anything, he would be quite literally the exact opposite of savage given his very nature.

In her other paw, she swiped away at her phone until she reached her desired book, continuing her read into a sci-fi world filled with aliens, warfare, and action, all taking place in one of her favorite locations in space, the Vega system.

o o o

It was nearly nine o'clock in the morning, and Edward was just starting another workday at the Gazette. A gigantic yawn filled the entirety of his lungs. One would think after getting an appropriate nine hours of sleep they wouldn't be tired in the slightest. It was clear that it wasn't the case for him as a slow exhale made his heavy eyes involuntarily water.

He stared lazily at the corner of his computer screen for any new email notifications from Horn or the editors. As he sat there waiting, he attempted to recall what had happened the other day.

Of course there was that entire thing with Officer Hopps, and him leaning against the door bawling his eyes out, but what else? His brain had to have gone completely offline. He didn't remember drying his fur, putting on his favorite pajamas, or even turning on the television. All he knew was that when he woke up this morning, he and his wife were cozied up comfortably on the sofa, her wool flattened by him using it as a makeshift pillow.

Thankfully, she didn't ask him about what happened the day prior or about his obviously dim spirit. He would hate to have to relive that entire series of events again. All she did was smile and give him a little kiss on the cheek before getting ready for the day.

Before they both left for work, however, he remembered to mention that her old childhood friend was living in the same building as them. Needless to say, she was ecstatic. Turned out not talking regularly with each other for two years made her adamant on seeing her rabbit friend again. She was even considering skipping work just to see her, and considering her tenacity he was sure that she would get that time by the end of the workday.

On the topic of work, he continued to stare at the mail icon at the corner of his screen. Again, nothing happened. Impatiently he clicked on the icon and brought his z-mail inbox into view. Inside it was all of the same z-mails that had been there when he left. Normally, a new topic would just be sitting in his inbox as he'd sign back into his computer for the day. But today there was…nothing.

He turned around in his chair at his other coworkers. Nearly everyone was working their tails off, tapping away at their keyboards and clicking away at their mice. He felt slightly out of place. Admittedly, he was glad nothing was on his plate, and knew that things like this happened quite often with some of his other coworkers. However, something about not receiving work after that repeat of an article he sent in the other day didn't sit right with him.

Deciding it would be for the best if he didn't pursue it any further, a tab opened up to the ZNN homepage, the silver wolf once again becoming the total news junkie that he was.

At the top of the page was the latest headline…

A Family of Four Attacked: The Twenty-Fourth Savage Animal to Date.

His blue eyes stared at the title with displeasure. Twenty-fourth… In the picture behind the title was the police trying to hold back the predator gone mad as he struggled to free himself from their restraints. They looked painful. The muzzle around his face, the sturdy rope pulling the wolf towards the officers; it sent a shiver down his spine thinking about it.

But what about the family? Were they okay? Were they safe? Did he even dare read to find out? With a scroll of his mouse, he began to assuage his hunger for information in the blocks of paragraphs below.

The savage predator attacked a family of four late in the evening…the family of zebras narrowly escaped before the ZPD arrived on the scene…

A sigh of relief calmed his nerves a bit. If he knew anything from the rough nature of his brother Gary, or the beatings he got from the 'pack' back in school, wolves were a force to be reckoned with.

He skimmed through the rest of the article with his questions answered, glancing over the carefully worded news report. After scrolling down the page a bit, something interesting caught his eye in the midst of his speedy reading. A statement from the newly appointed mayor, Dawn Bellwether. Definitely unexpected, for sure. The quote supplied by the ZNN read this:

"These are trying times in the city, but we have to remain strong. The board and I are avidly working to find solutions to this terrible problem affecting our city, and we're getting close to finding an answer. We will keep you updated as we get more information."

He sat back in his chair and stared at the quote. Oddly enough, he'd met the assistant mayor once before thanks to an unveiling of some brand new technology that his wife had developed. If any word could describe her, awkward would've fit the bill perfectly. He could imagine her high scratchy voice speaking into a plethora of microphones sitting atop an immaculate wooden podium, getting all the press a mayor should.

A halfhearted chuckle softly filled the air. He rested his paws behind his head, doubting the sheep and her claims. Was there really a solution on the way, or was it all a ploy to get the masses to calm down? If it was the latter, then he could mark it one of the biggest fails of her career. It wouldn't do anything to bring peace to prey or predators. In all honesty, all it would do would make matters worse than they already were.

How long would it be before something disastrous happened in the streets? What if a fatality were to occur within the city because of these predators gone savage? How bad would it be then? The line between prey and predators was thin at best given everything so far. If something else were to happen—

A tap on his shoulder brought him back to the Gazette. Opening his eyelids revealed a four-eyed tiger wearing a sharp black overcoat and green shirt to match his emerald colored eyes. His arms were crossed over his chest, and the smile he'd adorned every time he made his way over to Edward's desk was notably absent.

Instead of asking about the lack of happiness on his visage, the wolf simply grinned and greeted him. "Hey, Charles."

"Hey Ed," he said blandly before his stare slowly moved towards the window to Edward's right.

There was an awkward pause as the suave animal looked outside. During this time, Edward examined him with a puzzled look that he took no effort in hiding. Charles didn't look like his normal cheery self today, quite the opposite actually. He looked distant, almost trying to desperately shield away whatever he was feeling. This was a feeling he remembered well. You dummy. We dated for six months and you still think you can just hide that from me? You haven't changed at all since high school, haven't you?

His paw waved in front of the tiger's face jokingly, a weak smile plastered on his face. "Zootopia to Charles?" His friend looked back at him with a straight face. "You still here buddy? What's up?"

Another pause allowed the tiger to take a slow, calming breath. "Danielle wants to see us in her office."

The wolf's head cocked. "Danielle?"

He stared over across the desks behind him to the large, windowed-off space on the floor, one of the biggest offices in the building. But it wasn't just any office. This was her office.

Some animals at one time had the gall to call that place the "principal's office." The one who started it got reprimanded so fast that it became more of an urban legend, whispered among mammals working on the floor, fearful that they might be the ones to enter next.

On her happy days, she would walk around the floor with a smile, greeting and talking with people about the day and the stories they'd written. Unfortunately for him, that hasn't happened in months.

The anxiety stirring inside of him made his paw twitch. It didn't take a genius to take a guess as to why she wanted to see him. It was the article he'd sent in. There must have been something wrong with it, or something that didn't appease her. If that was indeed the case, then it would be totally unjustifiable. What she told him exactly was "give me your opinion on the savage preds in the city." That was it. His opinion, his own words on the subject. Nothing more, nothing less. He did everything she asked to the letter, so why did she need to see him? Why did she need to see the both of them? He had to know.

Calmly, he asked his friend, "Why does she want to see us?"

At first, there was no response, just this downward gaze and a groan. Was he avoiding the question?

"Charles?" he asked worryingly.

"Just… follow me," his friend uttered as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

The two slowly detached themselves from Edward's desk and made their way down the aisle, looking directly at the place that everyone dreaded to enter. One by one, mammals were starting to glance over at the two of them walking towards the dark abyss with their tails between their legs. Edward could feel his heart starting to pound as the pairs of eyes pierced the flesh under his fur, his paws and knees trembling.

Why was he such a coward? There was no reason to be afraid. It was just his boss. Another animal, like him, working her tail off just to make ends meet in this city as the head of one of the biggest news providers around.

A shudder shot up his spine. A realization quickly made him remember again: this was his boss. As quickly as she hired him, she could very well fire him. That was the worst case scenario. The best case would be that she liked it so much as to bring him into the office and give him a huge bonus for writing such a successful article. If he were living in a fantasy world, he would have more faith in betting on the latter.

This didn't look good for him if Charles's expression meant anything. He only had moments to prepare himself. His paws clenched as he sucked in a quick breath. They were standing just outside the door.

Don't jump to conclusions. Don't show your cowardice. Fight. You worked your tail off to get here. Don't let her boss you around.

The antelope sitting behind the dark wooden desk grabbed some papers sitting off to the side of her. She stared at them as she waved them in, not taking her eyes off of what was in front of her. Charles held open the clear glass door and let Edward be the one to enter first.

An intoxicating scent of cherry blossoms hit him like a wall as he entered the space. He took in the air and let out a silent breath. Some would normally find the aroma pungent at best, especially one with a strong sense of smell, but the wolf absolutely adored it. The rest of her office had this enchanting, Zen-like appeal to it. A miniature stone fountain sat in the far corner of the room, the sloshing water providing a soothing white noise that could calm even an angry lion. Lovely watercolor artwork hung along the walls, the colorful plant life scattered sparingly around the room. The overall cleanliness of the room was kept so perfectly that finding any flaw in it would be trivial.

Both predators took a seat in the two chairs stationed in front of their boss's workstation. After getting settled in, they waited patiently for her to finish up reading whatever was in her hooves. During this time, Edward got a chance to observe the prey sitting in front of him to see what exactly he was up against.

She wasn't paying attention to either one of them still, and she looked like she was struggling to eye the words typed out on the page even with the help of her glasses. On her face was an expression that was composed and collected, the face of a leader. She didn't slouch and didn't show any particular emotion on her face. He really didn't know how to feel. So, he just sat there patiently with his paws clasped together.

"You know why you're in here, correct?"

Surprised at the suddenness of the light voice, he assumed that she was directing the comment at him. He cleared his throat.

"Actually, I don't."

"That's a shame." She mumbled quietly, just loud enough for Edward to pick out her voice.

The set of papers in her hooves were carefully set back onto the table. She removed her glasses and set them on top of the pile, her brown eyes focusing on him.

"Last evening you sent over your new copy of that article I assigned you to the editors. I received the copy that they were going to put in tomorrow's paper late last night…"

Were? A plethora of saliva fell down his throat as a pitiful smile touched his muzzle. "And?"

"…It's awful," his boss blatantly replied.

All at once the small amount of spirit that he gathered upon entering her office had quickly slipped away from him. The vulnerability he'd tried so desperately to hide was effortlessly brought back into the light and jabbed exactly where it hurt the most. The corners of his mouth slowly dipped as his ears feel back, preparing himself while she continued.

"The whole thing feels like you rushed through it blindly, sticking words and blanket statements all over it like it was some grand puzzle. On top of that, the structure of it was all over the place. Even the editors were having trouble trying to figure it out, and the piece is so undersized that it wouldn't even pass for our shorter excerpts."

"…You told me to write about the savage predators in my own words, my own opinions. I wrote it specifically that way. Everyone's hurting right now. Their minds are scattered. They're scared, Danielle." Hoping that she'd see his lighter point of view, he explained the situation to her. "I'm scared. When I'm constantly faced with the fact that this might happen to me, I wanted my piece to reflect on how I was feeling when I came back to this, from a predator's perspective—"

"That's not good enough."

The ignorant interruption made the wolf do a double take. He couldn't believe his ears. What wasn't good enough about how he felt?

"…Excuse me?"

"I'm not frightened. Not in the slightest." She got up from her chair, straightened out her flamboyant red flower dress, and walked over to the window. "As you should know, three years ago, my father decided to hand over one of the best newspaper companies to me. He had multiple offers from many other mammals to take over for him, and even shut out his pupil to give it to me. So, as you can see, I'm not scattered. I know exactly what I'm doing."

She turned around and stood behind her desk, hooves clasped behind her back.

"There's a fine line between just throwing your sentiment on a piece of paper and actually talking about the problem at hand, even if it's opinion-based. Frankly, I'm angry at everything that's happened. I want something that will ignite the fire in mammal's hearts and push to get actual change done. And if you think that I'm just going to accept your excuses for this atrocity of an article you submitted, think again. Believe me when I say that I'm trying to help you… to save you the trouble."

The wolf's head tilted at the ending of her sentence. "What do you mean, trouble?"

"Have you seen what's going on? Honestly, I'd think you would have considering…"

"Considering what?" he mumbled angrily at her cheekiness.

The implication was obvious. If it weren't for the calming setting, there was a real chance that he would have jumped straight out of his chair and do something he would probably regret later on. In its place was an awkward moment of silence so sharp it could cut through steel.

"…Considering… it's everywhere on all the news channels and social media. I'd thought you'd have an idea."

"Obviously I do. Please, if you would, get to the point," he sputtered.

"Do I have to spell it out? Ninety percent of the population is prey, Edward. If that article about Gazelle told anything about your opinions, I could only imagine how this would turn out. The backlash would be immense. And because your name would be plastered at the top of your work, animals would easily be able to do some simple research and find out everything about you, even down to where you live and the street you live on.

"It'd be a shame to find out that our wolf is hiding a pretty big secret that he's trying to keep out of the public eye."

Again, an abrupt moment of silence brought the mood of this meeting to a darker tone. He was taken aback. Edward's eyes were slowly starting to read the situation in its entirety. This was no ordinary meeting. This was his entire living on the line.

"Come on Danielle…" his friend finally piped up.

"You keep quiet," she exclaimed, her hoof pointing harshly at the tiger's face. "You're in the same boat, don't forget."

Like magic, the tiger's maw quickly snapped shut, and he sat back disgruntled in his chair.

"What do you want…" Edward uttered weakly with his head low, defeated.

With a smile the antelope sat back down in her chair, delivering her ultimatum. "I'm giving you one last chance to redeem yourself. You and Charles will give me an interesting story about the savage attacks in the city before Saturday, and if you don't deliver, not only will that article be posted. You'll be fired."

The word stuck with him for a moment as he attempted to process his situation. Produce a hit story by week's end, written perfectly with solid information, or the blackmail in her back pocket would mysteriously hit circulation.

How'd he get to this point? Not even a month ago he was having the time of his life, working harder than any mammal in the building to make his boss at least pleased with his work. Now, she sat there high and mighty, holding his very job, his dream, hostage. And there was nothing he could do.

"Anything else?" he asked disconsolately, trying to fight back multiple emotions at once.

"No," the firm answer gently flowed.

The wolf quickly attempted to gather his shattered mind and turned tail, leaving the room and trailing down the hallways past his desk to the elevators before anyone could stop him.

o o o

Charles stood up and watched the wolf traverse quickly down the hallway and towards the middle of the building to the bank of elevators. Of all the things that he expected to come from this meeting, the last thing he expected was blackmail. He almost wished that he was the one on the chopping block instead.

"Are you serious?" the tiger's voice boomed.

"What?" Danielle asked innocently. "I'm just trying to do my job as the boss. He hasn't delivered for a while now, and I'm getting tired of it."

"His mother just passed away! Only a week after his wedding! And you have the nerve to tell him that with everything falling in on him, with the city falling apart, that he's going to be fired?! How dare you!"

She shot him a menacing glance. "What would you do if one of your employees didn't meet the standards that you set for them? Hm? Would you leave them be and continue to get mediocre work from them until the end of time, or would you tell them to get their act together and cut the fluff out?"

"Fluff—," he stammered, getting increasingly angrier. "I would talk with them to find out what's wrong, comfort them, and give them more time if need be! Not kick them while they're down and force the work out of them like some—"

The predator cut himself off and recollected himself. This was the workplace, and this was still his boss. However, that fine line looked ever so tempting to stray across, even for a moment. For now, he'd just be the model employee that he was and play nice. For now.

Why was she being so harsh on him in the first place? Edward worked harder than anyone he'd seen at the office, and Charles would often go to him for advice and tips if he got stuck on a topic. What changed?

"You told him that I was going to be sacked too. When we met… before this whole… charade, you never mentioned that little detail to me."

She nodded. "You're right, I didn't."

"So… what? Am I being fired, or not?"

"Well, if you want to be, surely I can arrange something for you. That is, if you mention that detail to your little friend." She put on her glasses again and moved a form in front of her, eyeing the piece of paper meticulously. The predator stood there absolutely appalled. Without looking up, she asked the tiger, "Is that all?"

Sucking in his pride, he quickly turned around and started to march towards the door. However, there was this ever-growing need to finally show her his ace in the hole that he'd been hiding since he walked into her office for the second time.

"You know…" he smiled deviously, "You should really be a lot kinder." He waved the screen of his phone in the antelope's direction, the voice recording application picking up every audible sound in the room as her glasses fell with a thud onto the desk behind him. He turned around to see her stunned expression, infusing him with a tiny bit of joy as a sly expression did all the work for him. His paw pressed the red button on the screen and ended the recording, saving the file onto his device. "I'd hate to see this file find its way to mammal resources, or even the other outlets in Zootopia. Bet they'd have a field day with this little beauty—"

"Get out." The words echoed timidly from her muzzle. Her poised look faded away as her voice became brash. "Get out of my office." For a moment he tried to protest, staring directly into what could've been the sun. A solar flare shot as her paw slammed violently on her desk. "NOW."