"You throw the sand against the wind, and the wind blows it back again." - William Blake
*BONUS QUOTE*
"Beat back the beatback." - Sage Francis
It seemed that adventure followed Nick and Judy no matter where they went.
Upon first arriving in the heart of the Deciduous-District, neither of the two mammals had been expecting to undergo very exciting nor dangerous types of police work. Their agreement with Chief Bogo only stretched so far, and from the start, both Nick and Judy knew that they were in for one dulling experience; Ticketing, parking duty, and paperwork.
Just about every single police officer's worst possible enemy.
With their steadfast instructions from Bogo himself, preparation for their little vacation, as Nick liked to call it, was quite simple, especially with a new and temporary place of residence already waiting for them in the forest district. Once they had arrived, there was nothing left to do but what they were told. Chief Urzo, of Precinct Seven, would direct the two of them during their stay, and ensure that their time working beneath him was filled with little else other than paperwork, ticketing, and parking duty, boring as it may have been.
However, it seemed that new and exciting opportunities followed Nick and Judy no matter where they went.
Despite not anticipating much more than the very basest and bland of police work, it was only a matter of mere time before a whole brand new adventure was within their grasp. Roughly one week into their three week exile, a mysterious new situation had reared its head: The robbery of a local historical museum, and the murder of its innocent nightguard.
Once again, it was time to show the whole entire world and all within it who doubted them just how strong of a team that Nick and Judy could be together.
8:47 A.M
Only twenty four hours ago, if you would have asked Nick and Judy if they thought that they'd be were they were now, they would have nervously laughed off the question.
Neither of the two mammals had truly been expecting Chief Urzo to give in to their request, even despite their own sense of hope and determination. Least to say, they were quite a bit surprised to learn of his approval for their advances with the case involving the museum larceny and murder, convoluted as it seemed to have been. With their grizzly superior on their side at last, Nick and Judy could now finally do what they were best at: Getting results, and getting them quickly.
After finishing their meeting with Chief Urzo, the two officers promptly retired to their place of residence, where they spent the night relaxing and preparing for their big day. The following morning, both Nick and Judy were practically ready to get back on the beat as soon as they rose from their peaceful slumber. Upon arriving at the head-quarter's of Precinct Seven, deep in the heart of the Deciduous-District, the bunny and the fox immediately made their way to the precinct's armory, where they intended on gearing up for their coming mission.
If anything, Judy herself was more than happy to finally ditch her meter-maid vest (Or her clown suit, as Nick insisted on calling it) in favor of something more her style. Digging through the supply of gear and other items, she soon came across a plate of chest-armor very similar to her very own that she would wear in the city of Zootopia itself, however, this one that she had just selected was camouflage on coloration, its overlapping hues of mud-brown and leafy-green matching with that of the forest floor. She donned a beige bodysuit identical in color to that of Nick's forest-issued police uniform. It may not have been what she was used to, but she'd take it over the standard ticketing uniform any day.
The rabbit was plenty satisfied with her new look, and upon collecting all the standard gear that she would need, met with her husband outside of the precinct. From there, the two tiny officers piled their supplies and themselves into their police cruiser, with Nick manning the wheel of the vehicle while Judy sat by in the passenger's seat, ready to help.
After nearly ten minutes of driving in silence towards their final destination, the township of Beaverdam, Nick found himself curious as to the inner workings of their scheme.
"So, what's the plan, fluff-butt?" The fox inquired with a single raised eyebrow.
"Good question." Judy said with a determined expression upon her face. "Once we get to Beaverdam, we'll start interviewing mammals over the evidence in our new case."
"Simple enough."
"Simple enough, indeed." The rabbit repeated.
"Tell me again, though..." Nick added. "Why Beaverdam, of all places?"
"If we're gonna be interviewing anyone, best to do it in the most populated region of the district, no?" Judy replied easily.
"Ah, I see. Good point, Whiskers."
"Good point, indeed."
Nick let out a considerably long yawn; One that caused his emerald-colored eyes to briefly close shut and water very slightly around the edges. He quickly recomposed himself.
"Feeling sleepy?" Judy questioned, her tone laced with a slight degree of teasing behind it.
"I guess I'm just a bit tired of driving. I can't wait to see Beaver-" The fox momentarily hesitated as the vehicle evened itself out to the sight of the city before them. "-Damn."
Some two to three miles away, the two tiny officer's final destination, the township of Beaverdam, stood sturdy at the base of the mountains, bordering the nearby river. The river itself tore through the center of the town, flushing slightly downhill towards the lower region of the Deciduous-District. Water mills, generators, and small hydroelectric facilities all connected to the stream of water, and many different homes also bordered its banks, most of them made of wood and concrete, shaped into structured domes of splintering planks and rigid timber beams.
"Well spoken, fox." Judy acknowledged with a playful grin. "Just look at all that machinery, though... Beaverdam probably has more tech to it than all of the Tri-Burrows!"
Throughout the large village, outcroppings of power plants and generators gave the area a surprisingly industrial feel to it, as if it the town of Beaverdam and all of its residential buildings had been erected atop some giant machine connected to the river; The very life source of the town itself. This machine appeared to feed from the raw power that the body of water produced, and used said power to fuel its own existence. Indeed, the entire town of Beaverdam, and in turn, the air conditioned walls that supplied energy and climate control to the citizens of Zootopia, were all linked back to this one river.
Talk about dependent.
Back in his younger years, Nick recalled learning about the Great Dam of Beaverdam, the largest and most powerful of its kind in the entire city of Zootopia. Although being a part of the township, it was constructed a few short miles away from the residential areas due to its rather inconvenient size and occasional noise pollution whenever the massive valves were tinkered with so as to control the water flow of the river. Although there were other sources of power that the air conditioned walls fed from, the great hydroelectric facilities of Beaverdam undoubtedly provided the cleanest, most efficient source of energy and power that the city of Zootopia had ever known and come to harness.
That, Zootopia welcomed with wide and open arms.
To Judy, Beaverdam reminded her of the Canal-District, of which lay to the northwest of the Rainforest-District, bordering the edge of the Marshlands; With both places having boat-stricken river ways, a majority beaver population, and lots and lots of wooden buildings and other structures, the many similarities were quite apparent. However, the differences were not to be ignored either, such as the fact that the majority of the Canal-District was made up with channels of water, while Beaverdam only had one, single river.
Overall, the township of Beaverdam seemed a very pivotal and important place of interest, despite its rather humble position far out in the depths of the forest district. It was quite clear to both the lapin and the vulpine respectively that sometimes, the very greatest of things first appeared to be the most simple, much like small moments in the overall scheme of life. Small as they may have been, it was they that filled the gaps and enforced the backbone of reality in the world. Yet another adventure to add to the books.
"It's go time." The fox stated before adding pressure to the cruiser's speed pedal, accelerating the vehicle as it drove towards the seemingly ever growing city of Beaverdam.
Soon entering the town in their vehicle, Nick manned the wheel of the cruiser, carefully steering he and his mate through the surprisingly crowded streets of the village. As expected, the vast majority of Beaverdam's residential populace appeared to be, surprise surprise, beavers. However, through the crowds of whittled buck-teeth and flat fleshy tails, the two tiny officers occasionally spotted a sore thumb of a mammal, whether it be a pig, moose, or even a raccoon. Having spent the past week driving around half-empty parking lots and cozy villages out in the more rural parts of the Deciduous-District, Nick and Judy were both somewhat uneasy and extra cautious around the larger crowds, but quickly became accustomed to it once again, with their city-driving instincts kicking in and directing them through without a single grievance to be witnessed; A truly skillful art.
Back on the beat, as it were.
"Pretty thick crowds, huh?" Nick mumbled, causing Judy's ears to twitch upon detecting his statement.
"Yeah, no kidding. But hey, at least it's not as bad as Bunny-Burrow, am I right?" She added with a slight shrug.
"One hundred percent, Hopps." The fox agreed. "At least here I can breathe properly without inhaling a noseful of someone's fur."
Judy snickered, soon recomposing herself before taking a brief and momentary glance out of her passenger window, where she spotted a small, cozy-looking little pub wedged between two larger buildings. She eyed over the restaurant's sign, where the words 'The Twisted Root' were painted out in green against the dark brown hue of the wooden sign.
"Say, we should start thinking about lunch, soon."
"Lunch?" Nick repeated out loud. "It's nine in the morning, ya dumb-bunny. Didn't you just eat, anyways?"
"Well, yeah, but it was a pretty light breakfast. Besides, there's nothin' wrong with a little bit of planning beforehand, is there?" The bunny exclaimed cheerily.
"Nah, I guess not."
"Right! I'd rather we know what we want to do sooner rather than later, so that we don't waste any time here! I wanna learn all that we can about these marsupial sightings!"
The fox chuckled softly to himself. "Sounds like someone's excited." He stated, his words filling the interior of the cruiser.
"You bet your scruffy tail I am!" Judy claimed, lightly punching her husband across the shoulder. "I've been waitin' for some real police work all week! This'll be good!"
"Glad to see the enthusiasm, Carrots. Now, let's get to work then, shall we?"
11:58 A.M
Back on the beat they may have been, but as Nick and Judy soon discovered, not all situations could be won over with a bright face and a few reassuring words.
For the past three hours or so, the two tiny officers had been venturing across the city of Beaverdam interviewing various mammals (Mostly beavers, unsurprisingly) about their suspicions involving the various marsupial sightings that had been taking place throughout the territory of the Deciduous-District. Around the town, Nick and Judy met with all sorts of different citizens, ranging from security guards, to taxi drivers, to ordinary pedestrians walking down the streets, all the while inquiring each one over the topic at hand.
They walked for miles around Beaverdam, learning all that they could, however insignificant, for each detail that they managed to acquire was one step closer to a resolution.
However, for all of their hard work, the fruits of their labors were less than substantial, it seemed: Despite hours upon hours of interviewing, analyzing, and thinking, Nick and Judy had little to show for their combined efforts. Most of the mammals that they interviewed had not a single clue over what they were being interviewed over, and the few that did were of little to no help, with the officer's most insightful piece of evidence being that of a local sheriff's report of a group of mammals, all marsupials, having been reported roughing up an innocent passerby in the middle of the night a few days past, though suspects still had yet to be brought in. Quite the frustrating scenario, understandably.
Yet still, past their own irritations, both Nick and Judy kept themselves together. With all of their hard work came the desire to take a break for some time, and so came into being Judy's suggestion from earlier that day: Upon concluding their jobs for the morning, and in preparation for what was sure to be another loaded few hours of activities, the two officers set out for 'The Twisted Root', where they intended on eating a quick and hearty lunch so as to refuel themselves for their coming endeavors, and ready to work.
Parking their vehicle in a nearby lot, the lapin and the vulpine approached the watered down pub, the latter taking note of the building's rather run-down appearance, but still appreciating the humble, cozy atmosphere of the restaurant's interior, with its root benches, pillow-padded booths, and slightly smokey feeling to it. At the bar, two male beavers sat on wooden stools with the legs carved into the shape of giant teeth, one of them clearly a bit tipsy from his previous drinking. The drunk gurgled in a slow and watery tone;
"S-Say, if... If a tree falls in the f-forest, with... With no teeth marks at the bottom, and n-nobody sees it-" He paused to let out a slight cough. "-Is it still our fault?"
The other beaver let out a rather disgruntled sigh before turning toward the bartender and requesting aloud;
"Rimshot, please."
Nick bit back a small chuckle before audibly clearing his throat and briefly shaking his furry head from side to side, swiftly recomposing himself before taking a seat with his mate at the booth in the corner of the pub. After a few seconds of waiting, their waitress, an old ewe, came up to them and took their respective orders, with the rabbit requesting a large house salad, and her foxy counterpart ordering a simple soup of shrimp and steamed vegetables. Once their waitress left them, Nick turned towards Judy and stated out loud;
"Some day so far, huh?"
"Mmm hmm." Judy murmured in acknowledgement. "All that walking, talking, and writing... I'm just glad we can take a nice little break. That's all I need."
"You and me both. Still feeling hungry, Whiskers?"
The bunny sat up in her seat, rolling her eyes before saying; "Why else would we be here?"
"Oh, I dunno, maybe to listen in on the tearful, drunken ramblings of the good citizens of Beaverdam?" Nick quipped, stealing a brief glance at the nearby bar.
"I'd take that over paperwork." Judy grumbled, smiling as she met eyes with her husband's very own.
Soon enough, their orders came, and with them, satisfaction to quench their hunger. Both the rabbit and the fox alike took to devouring their respective meals without a single thought, as both were quite hungering to sate their desire for sustenance. They did not speak very much while they ate, understandably, but as they forked down bite after bite of their food, both of the two officers thought long and hard about the situation at hand: For all of their efforts thus far, they had very little evidence and intelligence to show for it.
After finishing their meals (Save for Judy herself, whom couldn't finish her salad and ended up bringing a portion of it with her in a small styrofoam take-out box) and signing the check, Nick and Judy then promptly left the restaurant, their stomachs filled with food, and their minds filled with ideas as each one thought over what they needed to do next.
As they settled in their car, the fox was about to make a comment on it when something crossed over his eye not too far off in the distance, effectively earning his attention.
Further down the block, tucked away between two larger buildings no doubt relating to the nearby hydroelectric facility, a grimy, run-down warehouse loomed as if it were housing some secretive and deadly. Though, it wasn't the warehouse itself that caught Nick's attention, rather the small group of mammals that approached it: A pack of five marsupials, with species ranging from bandicoots to possums, and wombats to koalas.
Each one was dressed very non-conspicuously, as if they were on some sort of mysterious endeavor. The group of marsupials quickly assembled themselves at the entrance of the warehouse before pulling open the large iron doors and slipping inside, one of them, a burly-looking female kangaroo, briefly taking a moment to eye around the empty street before closing the door shut behind her, sealing the posse of marsupials within the confines of the warehouse and leaving the street as though they were never even there.
"Whiskers, you, uh... You see that?" Nick asked, raising his arm and pointing towards the warehouse in the distance.
"Huh?"
"Those guys that just entered the warehouse over there..." He mused, almost as if in a trance. "Five of them... All marsupials."
Shaking his head from side to side, the fox then turned towards his wife, grabbing her shoulders and almost causing her to drop her salad bowl in surprise.
"Carrots, I just saw five marsupials enter that warehouse down there!"
Nick momentarily paused, taking a brief glance towards the aforementioned building before continuing his previous explanation;
"I don't know about you, but that seems pretty darn suspicious to me."
"What? Are you sure?" Judy questioned.
"Of course! Why would I lie to you about this?" The fox muttered as he released his hold on Judy's shoulders.
"I'm not calling you a liar, but I didn't see them!"
"Probably because you were too focused on that nasty salad of yours."
"It's not nasty!" Judy claimed huffily. "It's packed full of vitamins and minerals!"
"That's what makes it nasty."
"Well it's not nasty to me!"
"Okay okay, we're getting off topic here, fluff-butt!" Nick exclaimed swiftly. "Point is, we should go and investigate. Something about that place makes my fur stand on end."
"You mean that warehouse?" The rabbit added, waggling one of her fingers past the windshield and towards the dilapidated building.
"Yeah, the big one at the very end of the block, with all the rust on the outside... Reminds me of Finnick's cruddy old van..."
"If we're going to investigate it, we should make a call for backup just in case... We don't know what might happen..."
"True, but we're trained police officers! I'm sure we can handle it! Besides, for all we know, these marsupials might just be a group of hooligans out vandalizing, or something."
"That doesn't sound like a very good justification, Nick." Judy grumbled.
"Maybe not, but can you imagine just how angry Chief Urzo would be if he found out that we let an opportunity like this slip away?"
"Can you imagine how angry he'd be if he found out we busted a group of potentially armed riff-raff's without any additional support?" The bunny retorted with a chiding tone of voice.
"Gah, they're getting away, carrots!" The fox claimed, looking over Judy's shoulder and towards the warehouse. "We need to follow them if we're gonna do anything."
"Okay, fine." Judy relented. "Let's just go, then. We'll call for backup if we need it. For now, we'll follow."
"Sounds like a good plan to me." Nick agreed.
Despite knowing the stakes, Nick and Judy both came to the same realization: They had to follow. If they didn't, a potentially priceless opportunity would be missed, and from it, all sorts of new possibilities and intelligence. Steeling themselves for what was to come, the two tiny officers exited their cruiser and made way for the warehouse in the distance.
Hey Everyone!
Nothing better than another new adventure to enjoy, eh? I had a ball writing up this particular chapter for you guys, especially the part where Nick and Judy get to explore Beaverdam! I've always been someone who enjoys fleshing out the world and lore of a given universe, and Zootopia is certainly no exception. You lot will be learning even more bits and pieces that I've cooked up here soon enough, for the coming chapters are just choked full of new concepts and ideas to explore. I personally cannot wait to reveal them when the time comes, though for now, I'd simply adore knowing what you think of this chapter!
Yes, do feel free to leave a nice review detailing your thoughts, and if you haven't already, of course, new followers and favorites are always appreciated!
Speaking of which, we're nearing yet another new milestone with this story of ours, and I have none to thank for it but you! To everyone who so much as even clicks on this work, I thank you for the support and consideration. We couldn't have gotten nearly this far without you guys, that's for sure. Thank you.
Next up, I'd just quickly like to take the time to apologize for how long it took this chapter to arrive. My motivation has been dwindling, but I'm working on it, and have no intentions on quitting anytime soon, I promise. This particular chapter may have been a bit short, since I wanted to get it to you guys sooner rather than later, but I have reason to believe that the coming ones will more than make up for it! Be sure to stick around for what's to come, near and far!
I reckon that you lot might enjoy what I have cookin' up here at HQ.
That being said, I do have a few more announcements here and there before I sign off. For starters, I'd like to make mention of the fact that I have just recently made myself a devientart account! There, you can find all sorts of various fan-arts and other gifts from various readers that I've collected over the many months, and you can even get notices and other small posts about the progress of different chapters in development and ideas being worked on, too!
The name of the account is lettup. No, not upplet, as usual. Lettup. Big difference. Feel free to check that out, if you'd like. :P
Lastly, my personal Tumblr account also underwent a revamp, and has some new fan-art to see there as well. Just thought that I'd let you all know.
Anyways, that's pretty much all that I got to say for now, really. Thanks for reading, and do stay tuned for the next chapter, comin' your way soon! :)
'Till next time...
Peace!