Part 4: La Llorona
Judy Hopps had many regrets in her life, one namely being her husband Nick Wilde after he had abandoned their family. What hurt the most however was that deep down, she was still secretly in love with him.
She was thankful that she had managed to save her great-great-grandson after he was trapped in the sinkhole, but that also meant saving Nick.
To her surprise however, Miguel had revealed to her that though Nick did initially abandon both her and their daughter, he had immediately regretted his choice and tried to come home to them until he was murdered by El Honesto John.
Though she was unwilling to forgive him, she had agreed to help both Miguel and Nick to recuperate Nick's photo so Miguel could place it on his family's ofrenda.
Despite Judy's reluctance to forgive Nick, she did have a little hiccup moment when she and her family had accidentally run into El Honesto John. He took one look at Judy and asked, "Don't I know you?"
Without a second thought, Judy immediately punched El Honesto John square across the jaw, "That's for murdering the love of my life!" she yelled at the other red fox skeleton, who found himself stammering in shock.
"Wha-Wha?"
Nick came out from hiding from around the corner, "She's talking about me!" Nick shouted confidently at El Honesto John. Nick then turned to Judy, beyond touched, and with butterflies in his stomach (if he had one), "I'm the love of your life?"
"I don't know, I'm still angry at you!" Judy scowled.
As much as she tried to deny it, she still had feelings for that goofy, dumb fox of hers. But could she honestly admit that to him, or was her anger still greater?
Nick asked her once more with a wide happy smile, "You said, 'love of your life'?"
"I don't know what I said!" Judy proclaimed angrily once more.
"That's what I heard," teased their great-great-grandson in a sing-songy voice, causing Judy to just roll her eyes.
As expected, El Honesto John did not give in so easy when it came to giving up Nick's photo. He had his goons stop them from getting to him. That didn't stop Judy however. She had managed to reach him and slipped her paw into El Honesto John's lapel and grabbed Nick's photo. She fell back as she managed to wrestle it out of El Honesto John's grip. She giggled happily and waved it in the air. She got it!
All of a sudden, a platform beneath Judy's feet began to elevate, lifting her up to the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemamammals, the one, the only, El Honesto John!" announced the stage announcer.
The audience hollered and cheered as the show got underway.
Judy's skeletal ears dropped, scared at finding herself at center stage, literally. The camera-mammal focused the camera on her and she appeared on the titantrons at her sides.
El Honesto John saw at the top of the performance platform, "Get her off the stage!" El Honesto John hissed, disgusted at her stealing his spotlight. Meanwhile Miguel, Nick, and the rest of the Hopps clan ran up to the wings of the stage, catching sight of Judy.
Judy clinged on to the photo and began hyperventilating as she saw Honesto John's goons begin to slowly head toward one of the platform's stairways. She bumped into the microphone, unsure of what to do.
"Sing!" she heard a familiar juvenile voice speak up to her. Judy looked down to see it was her great-great-grandson, Miguel. "Sing!" she heard him encourage once more.
Not certain what else to do, she decided to listen to her grandson and began singing.
Ay…
The microphone's feedback whined as El Honesto John's goons moved in on her at the right stairway.
De mi llorona
Happy to hear her sing, Miguel had another idea! He spotted some guitars behind him and went to fetch one. Nick meanwhile, watched his wife with a slack jaw, as did the rest of the Hopps clan. It had been so long since Nick had heard her sing - she still had the voice of an angel.
As for the rest of the Hopps clan, it was just an absolute shock. They had only ever known Judy to hate music, but to see her now sing, it was unbelievable.
Llorona…
De azul, celeste
Miguel shoved a guitar right into his great-great-grandfather Nick's skeletal paws. The young kit then fetched a working microphone and set it right in front of Nick.
Immediately understanding, Nick approached the microphone and began playing the guitar.
Ay
De mi llorona
Llorona…
De azul, celeste
Judy took the microphone off of the stand when she realized that El Honesto John's goons started slowly moving closer toward the platform. Judy walked with the microphone down the other stairway - moving slowly so as to keep the audience from suspecting something.
Y aunque la vida me cueste
Llorona
As she climbed down the stairway, she glanced over at Nick, realizing that he was the one playing the guitar. A wave of sweet nostalgia hit her hard, as all she could think about was when they were alive and he would play for her and she would sing. Her non-existent heart fluttered at the sight of him.
Despite all that happened in their lifetime, Judy couldn't lie to herself anymore. She was no longer angry at him. She forgave him and realized that she would never and had never stopped loving him.
No dejare
De quererte
She sang tenderly at him, meaning every word of it.
No dejare
De quererte!
Feeling inspired and alive for the first time in a long time, she let the fire inside her burn and she confidently ran down the stairs, singing passionately and relishing in the spotlight.
El Honesto John growled furiously from the wings while his goons began following her around the stage. She dodged them, while they struggled and failed to catch her or the photo in her possession.
Subí al pino más alto,
Llorona
A ver si te divisaba
Como el pino era tierno
Llorona
Al verme llorar,
Lloraba,
Ay
De mi llorona
Llorona…
Llorona,
De azul, celeste
Believing she was in the clear, Judy ran towards the wing where Nick and the others were, only to find herself being stopped by Honesto John. He gripped her wrist tightly and spun her around, playing along with her little musical number.
The song had now become a duet. The audience loved it, but all Judy wanted to do was escape El Honesto John's grip.
Ay
De mi llorona
Llorona…
Llorona,
De azul, celeste
Y aunque la vida me cueste
Llorona
El Honesto John dipped Judy, but she managed to slink out of his arms. Honesto John quickly grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up in the air while he continued to sing, "Let go of me!" Judy screamed angrily while she struggled to break free from his grip.
No dejare
De quererte
Y aunque la vida me cueste
Llorona
El Honesto John set her down and began twirling her all over the place, dancing with her, and swiping the photo from her paw. He then held her tightly in his grip, singing the song's climax as if it were the greatest performance of his life.
No dejare
De quererte,
No dejare
De quererte,
No dejare
De Quererteeeeee!
Ay-ay-ya-aaaaaaaaaay!
Just as the song came to its grand climax, Judy took advantage of the fact that Honesto John was too distracted making a pompous fool of himself and stepped as hard as she could on his foot, causing him to howl mariachi style in pain.
Judy ran for it, swiping the photo back as the audience applauded the false spectacle.
Nick put the guitar he used back with the others, while Judy ran up to him laughing all the way. She jumped into his arms without warning, causing them to twirl with the momentum. When they stopped moving, they found themselves embracing and staring into each other's eyes. If they had cheeks, they would have been blushing. Judy pulled away, a little embarrassed but still happy, "I almost forgot what that felt like," she said, brushing one of her ears back in a shy manner.
"You...you still got it, Carrots," Nick uttered, bashfully rubbing his arm. They took a moment to stare lovingly at each other, smiling the entire time, and rekindling a love they had once thought to have been lost.