Sorry about the grammar mistakes in this. I am only human and I don't have a beta reader. I hope you have a wonderful day or night wherever you are. Stay safe.
Also, I had to write this. It was trapped in my head for months and would not leave!
Judy's heart screamed. She climbed a dozen steps every second. Agony infected her legs, and she glanced behind. Death glared back tenfold. Hundreds of fangs flashed. Teeth snapped at Judy's tail only missing by a hair's breadth.
"They're right behind us, Nick!" Judy said as an evil and warm breath brushed against her neck. They were so close. Too close.
"Just keep running, Judy. We're almost at the top!" Nick said through wheezing breaths.
"Keep running!" Said one wolf's voice boom amidst the storm of claws, and snarls. "Run to a dead end! You're both only going to die tired!
As Nick flung himself to another corner, and flew from the fourth floor to the fifth floor, The whole time Judy had asked herself something.
What was Nick's plan when they reached the roof?
It began as a simple day. Mammals walked under a peaceful summer sun as Judy and Nick drove around on patrol when the radio erupted with life. Clawhasuer's cries rocked Judy. A bank robbery with armed suspects. Nick's scarlet paw flicked on the police siren. A medicinal wail shattered the peace and Judy slammed her foot on the gas.
Red and blue light flashed across the forsaken entrance of a Whales Fargo bank. Judy's paw jumped to her gun. Carefully, she and Nick exited their vehicle. Bullets came for their lives in a heartbeat. Fire and artificial thunder roared from steel barrels. Dozens and dozens of bullets buried them in a cracked windshield, and in the metal car doors which stood between two officers and their deaths. After ten long seconds, deafening silence consumed Judy.
"You get hit, Nick?' Judy asked, soothing her, shaking her paws with slow breaths.
"Thankfully no. What about you, Carrots?"
"I'm fine. Give me a second. I'm going to try and find out how many mammals are inside."
Judy closed her eyes. She cupped her paws over her ears and strained her hearing until every heartbeat echoed in her skull and shook her bones. Fear, anger, sorrow, peace, Judy's ears picked apart the rhyme of each life they discovered.
"I think there are nineteen robbers inside." Judy said, her eyes open anew, "And I think they have hostages with them too, at least five. Can you double-check, Nick?"
"I'll try, but we foxes aren't known for our acute noses like you rabbits are with your ears," Nick said as he raised his black nose high. He sniffed, and his heart played a fearful tune. "Wolves." He spat. "I think we're dealing with Fenrir's Sons."
Judy paled. All knew Fenrir's Sons. In the last month, they had robbed a dozen banks, and their carnage had filled graveyards. Already, they had earned their place among history's darkest monsters.
Judy and Nick had no choice. Judy radioed for backup and within fifteen minutes several police cars came from every road. So many predators stood in uniform: wolves, lions, tigers, elephants, and bears.
The ground quivered under black hooves as Chief Bogo marched at Judy. A half-ton of muscle hidden under almost black fur, and a strong, willful gaze made Judy stand at attention.
"Hopps, Wilde." Said Bogo in his heavy as stone voice. " I want you two to try and sneak in around the back. You two are the smallest among the ZPD. You'll be harder to stop leaving this scene in front of the bank than anyone else here. Get inside. Report the situation, and wait for my orders."
Nick nodded, obeying his superior without a quip and qualm, and from this Judy knew this situation was all too real and grave. Bogo took a megaphone in his hooves. His booming words rolled into the bank, as Judy and Nick snuck away, moving swift as starlight and silent as shadows.
No soul guarded the back entrance. Nick guessed Fenrir's Sons had grown so fat on their wealth and pride, they had no felt no need to guard their rear. They assumed themselves too good to get caught.
"Pride cometh before the fall," Nick whispered so softly even Judy struggled to hear him as they slinked down empty hallways, passed abandoned offices, and crept closer and closer to danger.
Both fox and rabbit had taken cover under a teller's desk. Nick flattened his ears against his head and carefully peeked over the mahogany counter.
"What does it look like?" Judy whispered.
"Good news and bad news." Nick had whispered back, sliding undercover again. "Bad news: There are twenty wolves. Four are near the front door all armed with assault rifles. Seven are standing over six hostages. I can't tell if they have guns or not. I'm guessing not since they're holding their claws to their hostages rather than just aiming a pistol at them. Good things Mchorn and Jackson found their weapons cache last week huh? The other nine are scattered about the room, some are counting money and others are just looking around.``
Judy whispered Nick's information into her radio, and Bogo's hushed voices trickled out into the tense air around them, "Good work. Stay put."
"Wait, Chief." Said Nick into his radio, "I told Carrots I had good news too. I have a plan. If it works, we can end Fenrir's Sons today. Carrots, it's 10:45 am right?"
A confused Judy nodded. What part did time play in Nick's plan? Nick himself never told her. He had gotten too busy mumbling.
"Okay, so it's 10:45 am." Nick said to himself, " He should be heading back home after his morning meal. So, if the sun rises in the east and the front doors of this bank are facing east then the south is to our right." Nick peeked over the desk again. "There are no wolves at that staircase. If we can reach the roof with most of them and I'm loud enough he should hear me."
Judy shook Nick's shoulders with one digit holding down a button on her radio so Bogo heard every word. "Want to fill me in on your plan, Slick? Who are you talking about? A buddy that can help us?"
"Something like that. Do you trust me, Judy?"
"Now's not the time for stupid questions."
Nick smiled. "Okay, so here's my plan. Chief, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, Wilde."
"Judy and I can't take out these wolves by ourselves and no other officers on the outside can get in like we could without risking the hostages' lives. It'd be easy to take these wolves if they had fewer numbers or fewer guns. My plan deals with the former. Chief, in five minutes, at 10:50 on the dot, open fire on those four wolves at the front door."
"No!" Bogo said. "Are you mad, Wilde?! If we kill those four, the seven wolves near the hostages will kill them once their comrades are down."
"Not if they're confused. That's where you and Judy come in. Five seconds before you open fire Judy and I will distract most of the wolves, have them chase us up to the roof, and most of them will. I've never met a wolf who didn't love a good chase. Anyway, those few seconds of confusion should give you enough time to take out the gun mammals, and save the hostages while their kidnappers are still reeling from our distraction. Send in Delgato, Fangmeyer, and Jackson to run inside and take out the other seven wolves. Not counting Carrots, those three are the fastest mammals in ZPD. They should reach the hostages before the wolves can kill them."
Terror gnawed at Judy's stomach. "This plan seems risky."
"That's an understatement." hissed Bogo, "It's suicidal. What are you going to do once you reach the roof? I can't call a chopper and have mammals up there in three minutes."
Nick's sly smile endured. "Just trust me, Chief. I wouldn't have Judy be a part of this plan if I thought it was going to fail."
Bogo sighed. "Alright. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I will be ready at 10:50. It's 10:47 right now. Sync on my mark and wait."
Those were the longest three minutes of Judy's life. 10:49 ticked at a painful pace, and five-second before 10:50 rolled around, Nick put his plan into action. He jumped up. He stood proud and tall on the counter and shouted, "Hey!"
Every wolf's head snapped in his direction, like snakes spotting a noisy mouse.
"Bet you can't catch us!" Nick said, blowing a raspberry at psychopaths and murders, Ina flash, he and Judy bolted for the stairs. Ten wolves broke into hellish sprints after them. At the same time bullets soared from police guns. Four bodies began to fall as a tiger and two lions officers rushed inside. They came armed with guns, their claws, and fangs ready for battle and blood.
At last, Nick and Judy reached the final flight of stairs. Nick kicked open the door. He rushed out, and Judy followed his fleeing shadow. Fresh air kissed her. A breeze danced as Judy fell to her knees, panting, sweating, and wheezing. They had made it to the roof, and no one waited for them. No backup, no trap. It was just Nick, Judy, and those wolves.
The ten beasts blocked their exit. Bloodlust dripped from their smiles.
"You've got nowhere to go now." Said one wolf.
Nick held himself up with one arm, his knee digging into the hard cement. "And you've got nowhere to hide. Give up. Let us arrest you, and let's end this peacefully."
Cruel laughter stabbed Judy's heart. "You want us to give up?" Said one wolf. "No way. We're going to kill you, and after that, I might drink the marrow from that rabbit's bones." She said, eyeing Judy, "Chasing you worked up an appetite."
Nick's stern face defied them. "I gave you a chance." He rushed to Judy and pressed her against the roof's southern edge shielding her with his body, much to the baffled faces of their foes. Then Nick took a deep breath. His chest swelled and swelled, and he unleashed the loudest scream ever heard from any fox to ever live.
"Alexander, strike! Alexander, can you hear me? Help! Strike these wolves!"
It happened half a millisecond later.
Something soared above the roof, hiding the Sun, and drowning the bank in darkness. And horrid gale ran wild. It dragged cars along the Earth, clawed at Nick and Judy, and pressed them against the railing. Then a sonic boom roared. It shattered windows, split stone, made steel shiver, and inspired terror and wonder in any living creature it struck. Yet peace returned quickly as it had left, and Nick lifted himself off of Judy.
Judy gasped. Gone. The wolves had vanished as if whatever had brought the wind had erased them from reality itself. Her eyes combed the area, searching for any sign of them. Nothing.
"You okay, Carrots?" Nick asked paws in his pockets.
"What just happened?" Judy asked, jumping to her feet. "Where'd the wolves go? What caused that wind? Who was that Alexander mammal you were calling before? Did he cause it? And why did everything get dark for a moment?"
Worry flashed across Nick's face. "All wonderful questions. But, trust me on this one. It's better you don't know. Now come on. Let's go back down to the others."
And before Judy could ask him anything more, Nick strolled down the stairs and left her alone.
Judy's feet carried to her the door as question after question burst into her brain. But something stopped her from leaving. Judy had caught it out of the corner of her eye. It floated away. Judy ran and grabbed it seconds before the breeze carried it off into unknown lands. Her jaw dropped. Judy had never seen a feather like it before. Longer than a sword, it gleamed like polished silver. It smelt like saltwater, like the sea, and Judy had to hold the feather with both paws to stop it from dragging her arm down.
Judy tilted her head, studying her discovery from every angle. Where did it come from? What kind of bird could have a feather so massive? Judy had no idea, but her gut told her that wherever this feather's origin, it had something to do with Nick, one named Alexander, and the fate of those wolves. Choosing secrecy, Judy folded the feather in her pocket. She joined everyone downstairs minutes later.
Nick's plan had gone flawlessly. Delgato, Fangmeyer, and Jackson had beaten their enemies down and captured the seven wolves. Judy found Nick talking to Bogo as Mchorn led the last of the shaken-up hostages outside.
"And they just vanished?" Said Bogo.
"Yep." Said Nick, "I tried calling for my help from my friend Alexander to enact my plan, but before I could that crazy wind and thunder, I think it was thunder, came out of nowhere. Judy and I hung on for dear life, not able to pay attention to the wolves. But when the wind died down, the wolves were gone. We looked over the edge, thinking maybe they had fallen off. Nope. Just gone, all ten of them. Poof. Who knows? Maybe they grew wings and flew away."
"That true, Hopps?" Bogo said, turning to Judy
Bogo's steely gaze gave Judy two choices: Tell Bogo Nick had lied to his face and ruin her best friend's life, or join in Nick's lie and put her dream in jeopardy.
In the end, love won.
"Yes, sir. It's just like Nick said. They vanished, and we've got no idea where they went."
Bogo nodded. He ordered all units to look out for the ten wolves. But as Judy walked back to her car, something told her they would never find them.
Neither Judy nor Nick spoke about that case again until the day Judy unraveled the feather's mystery.
In her cramped apartment where spiders made their webs, and mold grew in dank corners Judy slammed her head on her little desk. Honking car horns blared through thin walls. They added to her throbbing headache. Judy glared at the feather. For six days she had tried to discover its secret origin, and for six days the feather had denied her. Judy leaned back in her chair, the old wood creaking under her weight. She laughed at herself.
Nick and I solved the Missing Mammal Case in less than three days, and here I am, unable to solve what kind of bird has this feather after almost a week. Maybe I need help.
As if Fate read Judy's mind, the rabbit's phone buzzed in her pocket. Judy fished it out of her blue jeans while her ringtone, Try Everything by Gazelle, barreled. She smiled at the caller I.D and tapped the video call button. Her mother's loving and soft smile greeted Judy.
"Hi, sweetie," Said Bonnie dressed in her classic pink checkered apron, "Just calling to check up on my favorite police officer. How are you doing, dear?"
"I'm fine, mom."
Bonnie gave her daughter a knowing look, a look no child could withstand for longer than a few futile seconds.
"Okay, I'm not fine. Something happened at work with Nick about a week ago, and I'm trying to figure out what's going on."
"Did you two fight?"
"Not exactly. He's hiding something from me, something big. I'd bet the farm on it, but I can't ask him about it. I tried. He said something about it being a family secret that he'd take to his grave, and he made me promise to tell anyone. Like an idiot, I agreed to keep his secret even when I don't know all of it."
"Judith, being loyal to your friend is rarely an idiotic thing," Bonnie said, using her tender scolding tone. (Bonnie hated when her children belittled themselves, even as a joke.) "But you said that you didn't know all of whatever Nick's hiding? Does that mean you know some of it? Some of it that you can share with me of course."
"All I've got is this," Judy said, lugging the feather up the camera. "I know Nick and this feather are connected. I just don't know how."
Bonnie leaned closer to her screen, her eyes brimming with amazement before the feather's majesty.
"I've seen that kind of feather before," Bonnie said breathlessly.
In shock, Judy dropped the feather on her face. "What did you say?!"
"She said that she's seen the feather before," Came yelling through Judy's cheap apartment walls.
"Shut up!" Another voice came from the same place as the first, "They're trying to have a private mother and daughter moment."
"You shut up!"
"No, you shut up!"
Like always, Judy ignored her neighbors.
"So mom, where have you seen this feather before?"
"Well, I've never seen one in the flesh before. The feather I saw was only in a picture. It was when your brother Marvin had come home from college for spring break. He was reading some book about birds and when your father called him away to help with something, I happened to walk by Marvin's book when he'd left it open on the sofa."
"And you saw this feather in the book?"
"Yep. I remember it since I was so amazed and horrified that a bird that large could have existed. But I never asked Marvin about what bird it belonged to. If you want to know, you should ask him."
"Thanks, Mom. But why was Marvin reading a book about birds in the first place?"
"He's an ornithologist, dear. Knowing everything about birds is his job. Give him a call. If any rabbit knows something about that feather, it's him."
Judy beamed. "Thanks so much for your help, Mom. I love you."
"Anytime, honey."
Judy ended one call and began another. Three rings echoed off her walls before a rabbit answered.
Marvin Hopps had black spots sprinkled about his white cheeks and the tops of his ears. A big, flat pink nose twitched, and laughing almond eyes shined upon Judy.
" What's up, Jude the Dude?"
Judy groaned and pulled her ears over her face. "Only dad is allowed to call me that, Marvin."
"Whatever you say, Jude the Dude. So, why are you calling? Not that I don't love you or anything but I've seen that look in your eyes before. You're on a mission, I'll take it. Police stuff?"
"Kind of. I need your help. Mom says you might be able to help me. Do you know what kind of bird has a feather like this?"
Judy showed Marvin the feather and at once he paled. Marvin jumped away. He sent research papers flying across the camera, and. Pressed himself to the walk with shaking arms.
"Judith, where did you get that feather?!" Marvin's scream froze her blood.
Alarmed by her brother's reaction, Judy stammered, "I just found it."
"You just found it?! You just found something so rare and deadly?!"
"Deadly?!" Judy dropped the feather as if it had caught fire.
Marvin recollected himself somewhat. He paced back and forth, sometimes staying in the frame, other times walking off-screen. "Okay, don't panic: He said more to himself than Judy, There haven't been any more missing mammal cases, so it probably has eaten anyone yet. But it's only a matter of time before it strikes."
"Marvin, what are you talking about?"
"Judy, that feather belongs to an emperor eagle."
"An emperor eagle?"
Marvin took his seat again before the camera with his paws on his head. "Emperor eagles were the largest and most dangerous bird that ever lived. You remember how in history class they told us that in the stone age eagles ate rabbits, raccoons, and other mammals like that?"
Judy nodded.
"Well, the only reason we lived is that mammals evolved. We grew smarter than our aerial predators. We beat them back with spears and swords, while birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians remained savage beasts. Our intelligence conquered our avian predators, but emperor eagles? Those monsters lived in a league all their own. Even with modern weapons, emperor eagles still devoured mammals by the dozens. Though their numbers were small, towns died overnight. They were killing machines, plain and simple. "
Judy shivered. "But what do you mean by 'They lived in a league all their own.' Are they extinct?"
"Because they're supposed to be. A little over a hundred years ago, emperor eagles were such a mince, that the government issued a federal order to every soldier and police officer in the nation: kill all emperor eagles. They crushed every egg and killed every bird. They found and burned their nest to ashes. In short, we massacred them."
"How come I've never heard of this?"
"Because, Judy, you'd never have any reason to hear about it. It happened over 100 years ago. It's ancient history. You were only taught history from Bunnyborrow, and Bunnyborrow did not bother you about emperor eagles, because emperor eagles never bothered rabbits. Heck, I didn't even know about them until I went to college and started studying for my master's degree."
"What do you mean emperor eagles never bothered rabbits? Didn't they try to eat us?"
"Judy, emperor eagle didn't eat rabbits. We were too small for them. Ten thousand rabbits couldn't satisfy their hunger. That's why they went after bigger prey. That's why they ate tigers, lions, and elephants, and one wasn't enough. I read that emperor eagles had to eat at least 100 lions or 5 elephants a day to survive."
Judy gulped, staring at the feather on her desk in horror.
"Yes," Marvin said, "That's why everyone feared them so much. They were large and powerful and you, little sister, have proof in your apartment that the nightmare's still alive. There's an emperor eagle somewhere near or in Zootopia and as long as it's alive, thousands of lives are in danger. You have to do something.
Judy said nothing for a time. " I will. Thank you for your help, Marvin. I love you."
"I love you too."
Judy hung up. She slumped in her chair with a great weight resting on her shoulders. Again, two choices tore her asunder. She could honor her word and her friendship with Nick and keep this secret, or follow her duty as an officer and ensure the children of Zootopia didn't die in the belly of a monster. She studied the feather. It gleamed and Judy steeled herself. She took the feather in her pocket, got in her car, and drove on.
Judy came to a neighborhood where hundreds of trees stood tall as skyscrapers. Their lush, emerald whispers echoed. Shadows of leaves and branches danced upon flowers and pavement while Judy drove down a road. She stopped and came to stand before a humble home of white with a golden yellow door. She knocked, and Nick answered her.
"Judy"? Nick asked, dressed in his pajamas, a white shirt, and long blue pants. "What's up? It's not like you to show up out of the blue like this? Is something wrong?"
Judy pulled out the feather and Nick's eyes widened.
"I know what an emperor eagle is." Judy said, "And the only reason that I've not told Bogo about it is that I'm putting my trust in you, even when you don't trust me. So please tell me, what's going on?"
Nick frowned. "Give me a moment to get dressed."
Judy nodded and minutes later Nick emerged dressed in his normal tan pants and a Hawaiian shirt. He held his phone to his ear, talking to someone.
"She found out about Alexander." He said, " She found one of his feathers on the ground. I don't know how. I must've missed it when I was on the roof. Yeah, I know this is bad, but I think we can trust her. Dad, what choice do I have? No, you don't have to come… alright, I understand. Okay. See you all soon." Nick hung up, huffed, and sat down on his front porch. He patted a place next to him.
"My family is coming over. You'll find out everything when they all show up." He scowled at Judy.
"Nick, I'm sorry but the emperor eagle is dangerous! Did you know the government-"
"Put out an order for all of them to be killed? Yeah, Judy, I knew that. And I don't care. Alexander's never harmed an innocent mammal in all the years he's been alive. He's a good boy."
"You're talking about a vicious monster like it's a pet."
"We've both met a sheep that was more vicious than Alexander could ever be."
Half an hour later a large blue parked in Nick's driveway. From the vehicle came three foxes. Two walked towards Nick and Judy, while the third wheeled himself forward.
Nick stood up. He embraced a fox who seemed like his older brother, a todd with sharp eyes and a gentle face. "Judy, this is my dad Jonathan Wilde."
"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Hopps." Said Jonathan, his soft voice as comforting as a fireplace on a cold winter night.
Jonathan turned to the elder fox behind him, who had so much gray only the smallest red remained on his thin coat. He had heavy wrinkled eyes and gnarled paws. "This," Said Johnathan, "Is my dad, Theodore Wilde. Dad, this is Judy Hopps."
Theodore gave Judy a toothless smile. "So this is the rabbit my Nick has spoken so much about? I'm glad I've lived long enough to meet you, Miss Hopps."
Theodore placed a dry kiss on Judy's paw before he turned to the fox in the wheelchair. This fox had no legs. Time had reduced his coat to patches, and blind eyes stared ahead with a somber expression. The skin under his chin sagged to his chest.
"Miss Hopps," Said Theodore, "This is my father, Oliver Wilde. Father this is-"
Oliver held up his paw. He spoke in a slow and haggard voice. "Time has taken many things from me, Teddy: my legs, my eyes, your mother. However, I still have my mind and my ears. I know who Miss Hopps is. I'm blind, not deaf."
Oliver sniffed the air. He faced Judy, and two withered arms folded over a skinny chest. "So, Miss Hopps, it seems that you have discovered our little Alexander."
"Wait." Said Judy, "You all know about the emperor eagle?"
"Of course we do." Said Johnathan.
"We would not have come otherwise." Said, Theodore.
Oliver cleared his throat. "Let me explain, Miss Hopps. It was 102 years ago. Back when I was just a kid, maybe 17 or 18."
"You were 18, daddy." Said Theodore, "If it was 102 years ago, you were 16 since you just turned 120 two months ago."
"Thank you, Teddy. Back when I was 18 the government had just given the order to have all emperor eagles killed. But, the government ran into a problem. The emperor eagles were too strong. We mammals had more numbers and greater intelligence, but those eagles were just that strong. Even when working together the police and army failed to do anything. The government got desperate. So they put out a reward for the emperor eagles. If any civilians wanted to, they could volunteer. If you did, they gave you a gun, some quick training, and sent you off to hunt emperor eagles. For each one you killed, you'd get five hundred dollars."
"Who'd risk their lives for five hundred dollars?" Said Judy.
Oliver laughed. "Fifty dollars in my day, Miss Hopps would be a little more than nine thousand dollars now. Not worth a life by any means, but just enough to trick some poor souls otherwise. As you can imagine, I was one of those poor souls.
I'd like to tell you I was some tall, heroic, muscular fox who was the first one to charge into battle, wonderfully wielding his gun. Ha! I wasn't even a quarter so great. I was just some dumb kid. I'd never even seen a gun before I signed up. I've forgotten many things over the years, but every second of my first and last day still replays so perfectly in my mind. Cold mud between my toes, heart pounding against my skull, surrounded by strangers brave as babies. I held my rifle to my chest like a blanket. Then we heard it. The great and horrible cry of an emperor eagle. The trees bowed before them. A wind like nothing you've ever dreamt of in your darkest nightmare slammed us into the dirt. We all sprung up. Like, maroons those around me fired their guns at whatever they saw flying in the sky."
"What did you do?" Judy asked.
"I peed my pants and ran." Oliver said, "And if you had been there if you had heard the cry, I bet you would have done the same. The cry of the emperor eagle isn't like some puny hawk or falcon. It's a voice of absolute authority and power. So I fled, leaving my comrades to their fate, and soon found myself alone, a kid lost in a world of monsters. I had no idea where I was going, but I knew it was away from danger. Or so I thought. In trying to avoid danger, I ran straight into it.
It's been over 100 years, and I can still see the emperor's eagles clear as day. Those terrifying eyes, mighty wings, and crushing presence. They had taught us to tell the difference between males and females at a glance. So, the scarlet beak told me a female had caught me in her glare.
I didn't move. I didn't even breathe. I only stood there, in my soiled pants, waiting for death, as she lay on the ground, her one wing bleeding. Someone had shot her before I found her. Then she looked at something under her wing, and for a quick second she looked away from me and I drew my gun. Bam! Bam! I unload shot after shot at her. Nothing. I might as well have shot her with a cap gun. My bullets shattered against her beak, and I had only annoyed her. I dropped my empty weapon and realized why they had set us up in teams. One gun couldn't stop them. I could only quiver. I waited for her to strike and grab me in her talons and crush me in her grip as easily as you can crush a grape. Of course, she never did. Rather the Empress, when she saw I was no danger to her, she ignored me."
"She ignored you?" Judy asked.
Oliver nodded. "She couldn't exactly hold a conversation with me, so I did my best to read her face, to understand what was going through her mind. Then I got a peek at what she had under her wing. It was an egg, her egg, her baby. I had attacked a mother who was only keeping her child safe. Shamefully, I hung my head, and before I even realized what I had said I apologized. You might laugh at me for saying sorry to a bird, but there was something in her eyes that told me that my words reached her and that I was forgiven.
Then footsteps reached my ears. I could hear them, forty other hunters were coming. Wilde?! Wilde?!' They cried, 'Where are you?!' I cursed myself. I had led them to her. I looked back at the empress, "Fly! Go! Leave before they kill you and your baby!" But she couldn't. The Empress was trapped, and what happened next still moves me to tears. She dipped her beautiful, proud head under her wings and placed something on my paws.
Her baby. She had taken the egg and placed it in my paws. I'll die thinking emperors eagles are far smarter than we give them credit for. The empress gave me a broken, heartfelt look that all but said, 'Please, go. I cannot fly my baby to safety. You must do it in my place. Fly well, gentle stranger.' Then she arose to the fullness of her fierce glory and stood between me and those hunters. I cried. I cried carrying her child as I ran, as gunshots echoed, and as her voice fell silent forever. After that, I quit. I took the egg home and kept it safe. Only my wife knew the truth. We watched over the egg, and when it hatched, we raised the last emperor as our child.
"So, the Alexander Nick was talking about is descended from that egg you saved, Mr. Oliver?" Judy asked.
Every fox shook their heads.
"It is the same egg, Miss Hopps." Said, Theodore. "Emperor eagles have long lives. While my father brought the egg home, it did not hatch right away. It hatched six years later, a year before I was born. I grew up alongside Alexander. But by the time I was an adult, Alexander had only the mental and physical appearance of a four-year-old of his kind. When I came of age, my father passed on the task of caring for Alexander to me. In time, I gave that duty to Johnathan."
"But by the time it was my turn," Said Johnathan, "Alexander was too large to hide in any house. So I bought a section of a forest with some money my grandfather and father had saved up just for that purpose and trained Alexander to stay there. Over the years we've kept him fed by training him to hunt great white sharks and other large fish. Alexander hasn't nor will ever be a good mammal. I passed on the duty of looking after Alexander to Nick, around ten years ago."
"And I," Said Nick, "Have not had to do much. Alexander's an adult now. He can defend himself. Though, when you outweigh a blue whale and can fly ten times faster than sound, I don't see what you need to defend yourself from. I still check up on Alexander once a week though. I even taught him some commands, like the one I used on the roof, to help me if I was ever in a jam."
Oliver wheeled himself closer to Judy. "Miss Hopps, if you must tell the Chief of police about Alexander you may do so. I am too old to stop you, and my son, grandson, and great-grandson are too kind-hearted to lay a claw against you. Alexander is young and strong. I'm certain he does not need us any longer. However, should anyone be arrested for the crime of letting him live, let it be me. I alone took the egg. I chose to keep him and gave that mission to my children. Don't blame my sons. They're wonderful children. Their only fault is how they followed the will of an old and tired fox."
Judy took Oliver's paws on her own. His skin was like paper.
"Mr. Oliver, I would never dream of betraying you and your children, not after hearing a story like that. I want to ask something. Can I meet Alexander?"
The foxes agreed unanimously, and after an hour's drive outside of Zootopia, they entered a forest, so lush and wild. Sunshine bathed them in a moment and vanished in the next. The foxes stopped.
"Why are you all stopping?" Judy asked.
"Because Alexander is here.." Said Theodore.
Judy had no time to look up.
Boom.
He had come.
The last emperor looked more like a mountain than a living thing. He wielded talons larger than any lion. Under his feet, boulders became dust. Wherever he settled his incalculable weight, he left pits in the Earth. Colossal wings fluttered. Armored in scarlet feathers, power, and grace rippled through iron muscle and bone. Golden eyes studied Judy, and an ebony beak opened. The maw, which might pick up elephants like ants, unleashed a dangerously beautiful song. Alexander bowed. He placed his twelve-ton head within arm's reach of this strange rabbit who walked with his family.
Awe and horror paralyzed Judy. She stood stiff as stone and held her breath. Slowly, Judy looked behind her. As one, Nick, Jonathan, and Theodore nodded, their faces saying, "Go on. He's dangerous, but he's good. He won't hurt you."
Judy gulped. Her shaking paw petted a heavy, hard beak. Alexander gave something like a smile. He huffed through his nose and Judy crashed on her butt.
Nick and Theodore snickered.
"I'm guessing Alexander knocked Miss Hopps down with his breath?" Said Oliver.
"Yes, Papa." Said Jonathan, walking over to help Judy up.
The oldest living fox smiled. "Congratulations, Miss Hopps. Alexander likes you."