Mezzo park was both garish and gorgeous as it sported lights and decorations in bright colors of all sorts. The park was busy and bustling as, for the first time, the traditional bunny holiday Serendipiday had come to Zootopia.
The din prevailing over the park was quite loud, as cheers and general conversation filled the park. Rides, games, and food were all in bountiful supply as many mammals enjoyed the trappings of the fair for their first time.
"I don't like this, not a bit," Officer Fangmeyer muttered. The stately tigress was wearing a neon yellow ensemble, tinged with a hint of lime green. She was walking with Officer Wolfard, who was similarly undercover as a casual fair-goer. The wolf wore a bright pink and yellow tie-dye shirt, with aqua pants.
"For what it's worth, I think you look nice in that outfit," Wolfard said cheerfully.
"Not that, you idiot," Fangmeyer hissed, "the fair. I seem to see the targets everywhere I look." Sweeping her head left and right, she mentally counted at least ten serious-looking Anihonese hares interspersed in the crowd.
"Well, there are a lot of bunnies in the world," Wolfard said, sipping from a drink decorated with glowing cubes.
"Not to mention our own is around here somewhere," the tigress muttered, pretending to be interested by a game of chance. "She shouldn't have gotten involved..."
"I dunno, Fangs," Wolfard shook his head, "Hippity Hopps has been waiting to do something important for quite awhile..."
"Tch," Fangmeyer sighed.
"Relax, Fangie," Wolfard smiled, patting her on the arm, "we're everywhere. Everything should be a-okay."
"That's inviting trouble," Fangmeyer muttered. She looked down at herself. "And I don't know what I was thinking when I bought this outfit. What's the point of getting something you're probably only going to wear once?"
"Hm," Wolfard noisily slurped from the last bit of his drink, making Fangmeyer cringe. "Why don't you ask the bridal industry?"
"Fair point, pup," Fangmeyer smirked.
FWOOOMBRRRRRRRRRM!
A large explosion rocked the center of the park, combined with the faint sound of shattering glass. Screams erupted from every angle as mammals began to run in panic.
"What happened!?" Fangmeyer shouted, as she and her partner tensed up in alarm. "Wolfard, let's go!"
"Right!" Wolfard rushed ahead of her towards the site of the explosion, tossing his cup into a trash can on the way.
"Finally, I'm among my own kind," Nick smirked to himself. His normal style of clothing slipped in seamlessly with the bright-colored affronts to fashion every mammal seemed to be wearing to the celebration. "Bunnies sure do know how to throw a party."
The fox grit his teeth and his tail drooped as he saw his parents having fun playing a dice-rolling game. His mother and father looked quite enthralled with the game, and his mother was even clutching a little white-and-blue Serendipity plushie she must have won at some other game. He swiveled his head to the side, looking for another activity he might occupy himself with; it'd be so easy to just walk away...
"The lucky number's 13 this time, folks!" A spunky black-and-white rabbit said as he shook the dice. "Thirteen! Can't go higher."
"Phooey, I rolled a twenty," Mary Wilde said, nudging her husband in the side. "Your turn, John!"
"Seventeen!?" John laughed. "Aww, c'mon!"
"And the foxes are out!" The rabbit gave an adventurous smirk. "Who's next? The mouse family over there!"
"This seems to be the kind of thing that could be habit-forming," Nick said blankly, folding his arms as he approached his parents.
"Nick...!" Mary gasped.
All three foxes fell into silence as they looked at each other awkwardly.
"So... how are you doing, son?" John tried an introductory smile.
"I uh..." Nick breathed out slowly, placing his hands in his pockets. "You tell mom? ...All that stuff I told you?"
Mary's mouth twisted in discomfort. "Nick, I can't say I approve of what you've been doing, but I'm glad you haven't gotten into any real trouble."
Nick shrugged his shoulders with his pockets still occupied by his paws. "Yeah, guess so."
"So, Nick, you want to try any of the fair food?" John smiled uneasily. "Maybe we could play a game or two?"
"Sure, sounds... sounds good," Nick nodded.
The foxes walked quietly toward some of the clusters of attractions.
"Uh, by the way..." Nick lowered his head. "I'm going straight. I got offered a job."
"Oh, that's wonderful, sweetheart!" Mary clapped her paws, twice.
"Really?" John grinned. "Great! You can always work for me, though, if you need-"
"Oh God, no," Nick chuckled loudly. "I'd be bored to tears at a tailor. I'll be working as-"
FWOOOMBRRRRRRRRRM!
The foxes gasped as an explosion that scattered firework stars shook the park just north of them.
"Good heavens, what was that!?" Mary recoiled.
"Firework malfunction!?" John continued.
Nick's ear twitched as he thought he heard a scream coming from that direction, if faintly. Though he didn't know why, and he had backed up several steps, his nerves suddenly steeled and he found himself rushing forward, toward the explosion.
"Nick, where do you think you're going!?" Mary shouted.
"Not sure!" Nick yelled back. "Hopefully not into some real trouble!"
It would have been easy to walk away. Too easy, Nick decided.
Everything was going to plan, and Judy couldn't help but be a little smug.
Every Anihonese hare that inquired about her seemed to swallow her backstory, and she enlisted into helping move fireworks into Mezzo Park proper.
Even the packaging of the boxes she moved told her that the fireworks were over the legal yield. There were other undercover cops working the field, and the whole place was surrounded by police for the event. One wrong move and the police would strike, foiling the plot that Judy was just starting to piece together.
Judy and a couple of other hares moved to the center of the park, where there was a rather adorable large golden figure of the Celestial Serendipity, encased in a glass container. Judy smiled faintly at the rhino police officer set to guard it.
"Have you ever been to Serendipiday before, Ryusei?" Judy asked the hare to her right.
"I cannot say that I have, Nami," the hare folded his arms, barely looking at her. "You?"
"It's one of the first things I remember doing after my parents emigrated to Bunnyburrow," Judy grinned, folding her arms. "Such a fun time."
After a small while of standing around, gazing at the statue, a third hare moved up to the hare to Judy's left, beginning to speak in Anihonese. Judy's ear twitched; though she didn't know the language, she picked up some of the words.
Shirousagi, the "white rabbit". The name of a notorious gang of hares in Anihon.
Keikaku... that meant "plan".
Judy felt unease spreading through her as one by one the hares started to move back a little.
But no, that wasn't what the Shirousagi were planning. They weren't planning for anything here.. they wouldn't be so stupid as to-
"Eh?" Judy's ear twitched and she looked over her shoulder. Behind a tree, she saw a hare leveling a medium-sized firework mortar on his shoulder.
She barely had enough time to scream and wave her arms. "EVERYBODY! MOVE BACK!"
FWOOOMBRRRRRRRRRM!
Judy leaped backwards as time seemed to stretch into slow motion.
She saw the shell streak into the case containing the statue. She heard the deafening explosion, and felt the shockwave add momentum to her backwards jump.
"NhhhHAAAAGHHH...!" Judy screamed as she felt a sharp pain, and hit the ground on her back.
Looking around, she saw mammals on the ground.
No... no!
Even the rhino was on his haunches, glass cuts and little burns from firework stars dotting him.
Trying to move, Judy felt a paralyzing pain in her side. Looking down, she saw that a glass shard must have sliced her on its way by, and a serious-looking wound had opened.
"Trrghhnn...!" Judy clenched her teeth and eyes tightly. She desperately pressed at the transparent device in her ear. "Officers hit! Middle of Mezzo Park! Firework explosion...!"
As able-bodied mammals streamed away from the site of the explosion, Judy rest her head back, mumbling in pain. She saw a figure coming toward her.
"Hey, are you okay!?" It was Nick's voice. He kneeled beside her, looking panicky. "Oh jeez, oh God..."
Nick's stomach turned at seeing the injury on the brown bunny.
"Hh-hheh, get out of here, you idiot," Judy grimaced, her hand on her wound.
"You're bleeding!" Nick shouted the obvious, causing Judy to squint in pain. Nick took off his tie and wrapped it around Judy's midsection, tying it with blinding speed and holding it firm.
"Ghah-hah...!" Judy twitched in pain.
"Just hang in there, bunny," Nick nearly shouted. Footsteps were audible as several mammals rushed to the scene.
"Hey, step away from her!" Wolfard growled, advancing on Nick with Fangmeyer. The two leveled tranq pistols at him and showed their badges. "ZPD!"
"Whoa, hey!" Nick yelled back at them, holding one paw up, but keeping the other firm on his tie. "Can't you see she's hurt? Where's the medical staff!?"
"Inbound!" Fangmeyer hissed, looking at the downed bunny. "And I swear to Fervor, if you had anything to do with that..."
"He's trying to help me, you dumb cat," Judy breathed out. "Ghh..."
"C'mon, bunny, just keep breathing, okay?" Nick held the tie firm to her side in desperation. Throughout all of his shady history, he'd never actually seen someone die before, and he didn't want to start today.
"Th-thanks Nick," Judy smiled weakly, breathing through her teeth.
The tone of her voice struck through him like an arrow.
"Judy!?" Nick's eyes flew open.
"Long story..." Judy released a sigh. "Hngh, maybe I can tell you about it sometime..."
Medical personnel and EMT first responders began to flood the area.
"Yh-you better..." Nick almost whined as a commotion of medical mammals got Judy onto a gurney and started to wheel her away.
"C'mon, Wolfard!" Fangmeyer growled, pushing at her ear. "They're trying to set off more fireworks!"
"Got it, Fangmeyer," Wolfard shot a last look to Nick, and left.
Nick was left by himself, on his knees, in the middle of the field. He stared around, the heat uncomfortable as little bits of grass burned, and he saw several mammals moaning in pain, all shuttled off to safety.
Incongruously, the Serendipity statue itself hadn't been tarnished much at all, and posed proud with its playful wink and open-mouthed smile.
"It'd be really lucky if everyone got out of this okay," Nick growled at the statue. "Do you hear me, Serendipity!? Really lucky!"
Nick did a double-take as he saw a limping gray bunny head into the Wet Wolf Whistle. His cleaning of the bar surface halted, and his paw squeezed around the cloth in it.
"Gh-hah..." she slid into a booth, getting a seat to herself, sighing and laughing to herself.
"Jacob- Jake!" Nick made a dash into the break room. "Kh-can you cut your break early and take the bar?"
"You've got some nerve, Wilde," Jacob frowned. "I already paid my debt to you by getting you a job here."
"Fine, you can have my break today, jh-just c'mon out," Nick shook his paws desperately, as if he didn't go back to the bunny she would disappear, like a hallucination.
"Okay, holding you to that," Jacob gestured at Nick and got back to the bar.
Nick left the bar hurriedly and barely managed to compose himself before sliding into the other side of the booth.
"Is this seat taken, bunny?" Nick asked, though excitement crept into his voice as he tried to be suave.
"Not until just now," Judy grinned.
"Gotta say, gray looks better on you," Nick pursued with a grin. Judy returned the fond look.
"What are you doing, Wilde?" A caracal waitress planted a hand on her hip. "This is my table."
"Just get a house beer for the bunny lady, Helen," Nick said. "On me."
"Fine, fine," Helen rolled her eyes and walked off.
"Fancy seeing you here," Judy smiled. "Jacob told me you didn't actually work here the last time I was in."
"Well, things change," Nick bobbed his head this way and that. "Are you sure you should be up and about already?"
"Ugh," Judy rolled her eyes, "you sound like my dad. I'm fine."
"You didn't look fine laying in the field," Nick frowned, gripping the table edge with his paws.
"Yeah," Judy chuckled, grabbing at her side as it distressed her side. "Oof. Well, the doctor said that there was a good chance you saved me there."
"Hahh... thank God for that," the fox breathed out as Helen put a beer down firmly next to Judy.
"Don't let him use his charm on you," Helen eyed Nick suspiciously. "He's a scoundrel."
"I'll be careful," Judy grinned, looking at him mischievously.
"So what the heck was that all about?" Nick blinked. "Or can you say?"
Judy took a slurp of beer and let out a satisfied "ahh".
"A notorious Anihonese group had not only sent in a shipment of powerful fireworks, too powerful for our standards," Judy explained. "But they also had made their timers defective, and its likely that had someone not stopped them, Mezzo Park would've become an inferno."
"Whoa," Nick placed his hand on his chest. "So you stopped them?"
"I doubt it was just me," Judy winced, laughing guardedly as to not upset her stitches. "I think I made them skittish, though. Changed their plans. Bunnies, heh. Buncha cowards."
"Not this bunny," Nick gestured at her.
"Whew, it feels gooood," Judy grinned. "Both the painkillers, and knowing you had a part of doing something great. Bringing justice to the world, or something corny like that." She took another sip. "Even if I'll probably have to do desk work for the next long while- oh, did you know they actually hired another bunny at the ZPD?"
"Finally seeing their worth, huh?" Nick chuckled.
"Well, this one's a tech expert," Judy rolled her eyes. "I'll probably be like her assistant or something while I'm on the mend. I think she's an arctic hare. Not very friendly. Officer Skippy or something like that."
"Shoo..." Nick looked at the table. "Can't believe I might be the reason you're still on this Earth. I've never done something worthwhile in my whole life."
"Feels good, right?" Judy smiled brightly. "Saving a life. Well, if Karma's a thing, I'd say that means you're next in line to have your fluffy tail saved."
"Might just be working on that myself, Carrots," Nick smirked.
"'Carrots'?" Judy huffed. "Mm-mm, not going by that."
"Fair enough, Carrots," the fox laughed. A playful smile crept onto Judy's face as she rolled her eyes.
"So..." Nick drummed his fingers on the table. "Think they'll do Serendipiday again?"
"Hope so... it's really fun when foreigners aren't planning to sabotage it," Judy looked wistful. "Hey, so with you working here... that means you'll be around more often, right?"
"That is what that means," Nick read the interested expression on Judy's face with some wariness. He pointed sternly at her. "But hey. Listen here, you adrenaline junkie. Just because I might have saved your life by ruining one of my dad's ties doesn't mean you have to hang out with me or anything. Especially when your judgement might be impaired by painkillers."
"I think I'll be the judge of that," Judy cooed, propping her cheek up on her paw with a hazy smile. A sudden amusing thought jarred her out of her reverie. "Wow, I'd never seen Assistant Mayor Bellwether so angry when she visited me in the hospital. 'Those dirty Anihonese ruined my big event!' Not like she invented Serendipiday or anything. Though Mayor Lionheart cringing at her was kind of funny to see."
"Dirty Anihonese?" Nick echoed. "Kind of racist, huh?"
"Yeah, guess she's not a perfectly kind little lamb after all," Judy seemed amused at the thought.
"Is anyone a perfect mammal?" Nick huffed.
"Dunno...!" Judy eyed Nick over. "Guess we'll have to find out."