Chapter 6: The Loss Of A Sibling/A Request For Partnership
One year after the teething incident…
Alex and Arie were sitting down on the bench, eating ice cream together. "This is so yummy, big brother!" Arie squealed happily as she voraciously attacked the ice cream with her tongue. It was a little odd to eat ice cream in Tundratown, but Joe Novikov's ice cream parlor was the best in Zootopia. Not just for the amazing desserts, but the prices were outrageously cheap, making it affordable even for the homeless animals like Alex and Arie. Plus, the naturally frigid temperatures of Tundratown greatly extended the lifespan of the ice cream, practically guaranteeing that it would be finished before it melted.
Alex didn't like ice cream very much himself, but it was a pleasurable experience when Arie was around. And he knew she wouldn't be completely satisfied unless he too took part in the consumption of ice cream. It was sort of like a special ritual for the tiger/bunny hybrid and albino wolf. Once every month, the two of them would go to Joe's Ice Cream Parlor and purchase two cones of ice cream, then sit on the bench in Tundratown Park and slurp up the ice cream. They may not have been biologically related, but Alex loved, cherished, and cared for his little sister with all his heart and soul; he'd do everything in his power to protect her, even sacrifice his life if it was necessary.
Arie licked up her ice cream, and Alex chuckled at seeing how cute she was. He got up to go and use the bathroom, promising that he would be back quickly. Unfortunately, that was the last time he would ever see his sister. As he was walking back to the park bench, he heard the frightened squeal of his adoptive sibling. "AWWWEXXX! HELP MEEEEEEEEEE!" Arie shrieked out at the top of her lungs, and Alex began to run towards the source of her voice like her life depended on it.
Running to the park bench, he could hear Arie's muffled screams and cries coming from a black van at the edge of the street, which sped off in a hurry. Arie meant everything to him, and now… he had lost her. He had failed her.
Present day, ZPD Bullpen…
"ATTEN-HUT!" Bogo yelled out, and everyone except Judy punched their desk. The chief then wished one of the officers a happy birthday, and Alex kept expecting him to introduce Judy and the other recruits. "There are some new recruits with us I should introduce, but I'm not going to, because I don't care." Bogo grumbled. Instantly, alarm bells started blaring in Alex's head. Something was seriously wrong if the chief wasn't going to introduce the new recruits.
"Finally; we have fourteen missing mammal cases - all predators - from a giant polar bear to a teensy little otter, and City Hall is right up my tail to find them! This is priority number one." Chief Bogo declared, handing out the assignments to the officers. Officers Grizzoli, Fangmeyer, Delgato; your teams take missing mammals from the Rainforest District. Officers McHorn, Rhinowitz, Wolfard; your teams take Sahara Square. Officers Higgins, Snarlov, Trunkaby: Tundratown. Officer Moon, go on patrol. And for our first bunny… parking duty." Bogo listed.
"...Parking duty?" Judy whispered to herself, extremely disheartened by this. She raised her paw to get Bogo's attention. "Chief Bogo? How long am I going to be doing parking duty?" Judy meekly asked. "Until I feel like it. And no, I don't care about the fact that you were top of your class at the academy." Bogo spat, and Alex could tell that something was extremely wrong.
"Sir, I'm not just some token bunny." Judy replied. "WELL THEN! Writing one hundred tickets a day should be easy for an officer of your caliber." The buffalo snarled before standing up and storming off into his office, slamming the door behind him. Judy tapped her foot, frowning in frustration and anger. "I'm not gonna write a hundred tickets. I'm gonna write TWO hundred tickets! Before noon!" Judy declared confidently.
Alex followed Bogo into his office, frowning as he entered. The chief of police let out an exasperated sigh, clearly irritated with something… or someone. "What is it, Alex?" Bogo groaned, picking up a stack of papers and beginning to absentmindedly read through them. "You always introduce the new recruits, Chief. Why didn't you introduce Judy to the rest of the department?" Alex inquired.
"Because if you ask me, a rabbit has no business being on the Zootopia police force, no matter HOW high her scores at the academy were! Are you sure she passed properly? I wouldn't put it past a bunny to use their charms and body for personal gain." Bogo growled. The white wolf's eyes widened. "Y-you…!? YOU SERIOUSLY BELIEVE THAT!? HOW DARE YOU!? I trained Officer Hopps myself! She is the most capable herbivore I have ever met! Do you even hear what you're saying, Chief!? If you ever uttered those words to anyone else the city would burn you at the stake like a witch!" Alex gasped in shock, horrified and enraged by Bogo's words.
In response, the buffalo put his papers down and glared at Alex. "Get to your point, Officer Moon. I know for a fact that you didn't come in here for the sole purpose of defending that bunny. What do you want?" Bogo grunted, and he exuded an intimidating aura that might have made weaker-willed animals fall silent. Alex, however, rose to the challenge. "Very well. I want to become her partner on the force, Chief." Alex stated.
Now it was Bogo's turn to be shocked. "WHAT!? You haven't had a partner since Lem, and never asked for one before now! And of all the animals to partner up with, you choose the rabbit?!" Bogo exclaimed. "Yes. I want to become Officer Hopps's partner!" Alex declared, repeating his statement with more force.
Bogo looked like he was about to blow a gasket, before he took a deep breath and exhaled. "I will… consider it." The buffalo replied through gritted teeth. "I appreciate it a ton, Chief!" Alex happily responded before leaving to go on his patrol. After a few minutes, Bogo slammed his hooves into the table and snorted. "She won't be a cop for long if I can help it!" He hissed.
