Author's Note: Finally, it is here: a new chapter. I apologize for taking so long to get this out, but hopefully you will enjoy it. Some more fluff in this chapter, which is always good. As always, I apologize for any errors, and please review.
Considering the size of the area's population, the auditorium where the talent show was held was quite small in Nick's opinion. It was really no bigger than the average school theater anywhere else. As a result, it was even more crowded than the fair outside as families and friends all came to watch the various acts. Nick and Judy were only just able to snag a seat before the space rapidly filled up behind them. Returning to the theater triggered many memories for Judy, remembering her own fateful performance all those years ago. That had been the day she had first announced her dream, and had first fought for it. She didn't back down from her parents or from the bullies. On the other paw, that was a double edged sword, as it led to her own prejudice against foxes, she thought with a sense of bittersweetness.
In the meantime, the preparations for the talent show went ahead. Backstage, bunny kits and various other species were all getting ready for their various acts. Some were memorizing songs, others were stretching to do gymnastics, and still others were getting into costumes for skits. One such group was composed of Rebecca, still in her police costume, and several of her friends. There was Jeremy, the red fox who had agreed to be Nick, and was currently dressed in the infamous "green pawaiin shirt", Patricia, a white-wooled ewe who would be Bellwether, Sam, an otter to be Mr. Otterton, and finally Justin, a jaguar cub who would be Mr. Manchas. After getting into their costumes and readying their props, they were reviewing their lines and cues. Rebecca would also be the first narrator, introducing the skit, and then they would take turns explaining the events as they happened.
Back in the audience, the lights were turned down, and the talking hushed as an adult rabbit came out onstage, a microphone in their paw and a single spotlight illuminating them.
"Hello, and welcome to the annual Carrot Days talent show. Remember, a good audience is a kind audience, so show these youngsters some support for the acts that they have put together. First up, we have Amy Tufts, and her poem "What is a carrot?".
And so things went for a while. Nick and Judy applauded each act appropriately, mostly being amused by the adorable antics of the kits before Rebecca's act came up. The kits were undeniably sweet as they sang songs and forgot some of the words, yet kept doing their best. Wobbly somersaults were vastly improved by the silly grins that the performers couldn't help as they tumbled around, pleased at what they could achieve. And soon, when Judy looked at the program paper, she saw her sister's skit next.
"Give them a big paw folks," the announcer said, leading the clapping as the current group finished their performance and headed backstage.
"And now, doing a skit titled 'The life of Judy Hopps', please welcome Rebecca Hopps." As the announcer stepped off the stage, Rebecca and her friends came out, several of them bringing cardboard cut-outs of buildings, which various props were hid behind.
Leading the way in her police costume, Rebecca felt a moment of nervousness as all the eyes in the audience trained on them. In bunny families, with hundreds of siblings, being the absolute center of attention was unheard of. However, as she scanned the crowd, she found Judy and Nick smiling and waving her on. Rebecca smiled, knowing this was for them, and began the skit.
"Before we begin, I would like to give a shout out to the doe who is the inspiration for our skit tonight, my big sister Judy. Come on Judy, stand up." she said, making a gesture to that effect.
As others began to recognize the presence of the celebrity among them, Judy knew she had no choice and quickly stood up and gave a shy sort of wave, not wanting to be the center of attention for too long. The audience gave a quick applause, although, as usual, there were the few who instead decided to heckle the interspecies couple instead. Once Judy sat back down, the focus returned to Rebecca onstage.
"Years ago, she knew that she had one goal in life, one dream: to become a police officer and make the world a better place. Everyone told her she couldn't, that bunnies could only be farmers." She smiled knowingly at the crowd.
"But she kept on chasing her goal, and let no one stop her."
On cue, Patricia came forward with the fake plastic badge in paw.
"Eventually, she succeeded and became the first ever bunny police officer." Patricia pinned the badge on Rebecca's uniform, representing the narration. Rebecca responded with a salute. Patricia then retreated behind the curtains until she would be needed again.
"However," Rebecca continued, "there were still challenges in her way. She was still stereotyped because of her species, and continually was assigned meter maid duty."
Out in the audience, Judy reminisced of the ridiculous outfit and "joke mobile" she had been given. Although she and Nick were occasionally given parking duty on a slow day, Bogo had long since realized their potential and tended to give them more serious assignments.
"Needing a way to prove herself, she made a tough deal with the chief. She had to find the missing mammal Emmitt Otterton in two days, or she would be forced to resign."
Jeremy walked out, put on his best lazy grin, and continued the narration.
"She figured out that the fox named Nick Wilde was the last mammal who had seen Otterton, and convinced him to help."
The real Nick noticed that they left the method of his forced cooperation a secret, given that Judy had never fully explained it to anyone. If she had explained about his tax evasion being blackmail material, he might have gone to jail regardless of the services rendered.
"The two of them formed an unlikely duo, a fox and a rabbit, working together to solve a case. This quickly proved more complicated than either of them had imagined, and they went all over the city on their search for the missing otter." The pair onstage made a show of looking around the cardboard buildings in an over exaggerated depiction of searching, causing the audience to laugh.
Straightening up, Jeremy addressed the audience again. "Eventually, they tracked down Mr. Manchas, a black jaguar who had been driving Mr. Otterton when he disappeared. On cue, Justin appeared.
"It was revealed that Mr. Otterton had gone savage and attacked Manchas before running away."
At those words, Sam, who had been hiding behind one of the props, leaped out at Justin and pretended to attack him. Justin held his eye and scrambled away, trying his best to look frightened. When he paused in his frantic flight, Sam gave one last snarl and ducked away behind the curtains.
"Manchas told them that Otterton had mentioned "Nighthowlers" providing an important clue. Before they could learn more however, he went savage as well and they were forced to flee."
Now it was Justin's turn to attack, getting down on all fours and pursuing Rebecca and Jeremy around the stage. The pair did their best to evade him, weaving around the set pieces, narrowly missing him at times, and just barely staying ahead. Eventually, however, Rebecca used her toy paw cuffs to chain him up and capture the jaguar.
"Although they escaped, the jaguar disappeared when they returned with reinforcements, making them unable to prove their story." Rebecca turned back to the crowd as Justin slunk away.
"Narrowly avoiding the wrath of the chief, the pair once again found themselves searching for clues. Eventually, Nick had the idea to check the traffic cameras, and they found that the savage had been captured by wolves and taken out of town."
Now a new cutout was put on stage, a crude reproduction of the cliffside asylum that the savage mammals had been located in.
"Sneaking in, they located not only Otterton and Manchas, but the other 13 mammals who had gone missing." It was now revealed that Sam and Justin were in cut-out cage fronts, still pretending to act savage.
"They also discovered that Mayor Lionheart had ordered the savages captured in order to keep the story from getting out and causing a panic, especially against predators such as himself." She paused and took out a prop phone.
"The pair managed to escape the security forces and called in reinforcements, capturing Lionheart and bringing his crimes to light. But they weren't done yet."
As she had been saying this, Sam and Justin had slunk off stage, brining the mock cells with them.
"Although the mammals were no longer missing, there was a whole new mystery to solve. They now had to figure out why the mammals had gone savage, and try and put a stop to the violence. In desperation, Judy seized upon an explanation that she thought fit."
Out in the audience, the real Judy knew what was coming and turned away in shame, ears drooping and buried her face in Nick's shoulder. Knowing the guilt she still harbored over the press conference disaster, Nick began stroking her ears while whispering quietly.
"It's okay, it's in the past. You fixed your mistake, you came back, and things are good between us. And you know better than anyone that I'll never leave you again."
Although he couldn't see her face, he could feel her shy smile as she was comforted by his caring words.
Rebecca, on the other paw, was still right on track with her monologue.
"She guessed that since all of the mammals who had gone savage were predators, then there must be some defect in their biology that was causing them to revert to their 'primitive' ways." she said, making quotation gestures with her paws at the word primitive, as that was a direct quote from the press conference.
"However, since there was not yet any scientific proof to support this, it was really a move that demonstrated her prejudices against predators, as well as those of the public, who quickly accepted the explanation." Pausing, she took in a breath after the long speech.
"Nick left in anger, feeling betrayed by his new friend. He had trusted her, and now found that she too had bias against predators, including him."
Jeremy and Rebecca mimed an argument before the former stormed off in mock anger.
"In addition to the loss of her new friend, she had to deal with the consequences of what had been unleashed upon the city. Hatred, fear, and anger divided the city as the savage attacks continued and many blamed the predators. Riots and protests erupted in the streets, causing just as much chaos as the attacks themselves. Blaming herself for the situation, Judy increasingly found herself unable to adequately cope like she used to. Ultimately, guilt ridden at what she felt she had done, she resigned, giving up everything she had worked for, and returned home."
As Rebecca spoke, the city buildings were substituted for a small stall similar to the ones outside. "Hopps" was crudely drawn on the sign atop the stand.
"Feeling like a failure, it seemed like Judy Hopps' journey might have reached its end. But just when it seemed like it was over, there was a ray of hope and light. She found out what 'Nighthowlers' really were."
As she said this, she pulled out a cloth replication of the purple flower.
"They are actually a deadly toxic plant that causes mammals, both predator and prey, to go 'savage'. Armed with this knowledge, she knew it was time to return to Zootopia. It was time to make wrongs right."
Now, the fake stand was taken away and the cardboard cut out buildings made a reappearance. On the opposite side of the stage from Rebecca sat Jeremy, wearing sunglasses and a disinterested look on his muzzle that Nick couldn't help but chuckle at.
"Judy reconciled with Nick. She admitted to how her prejudice had gotten in the way, and how she had hurt him when she was supposed to have been his friend."
She and Jeremy mimed a conversation, and then embraced to show the positive resolution. Nick noticed some in the audience tensed at the sight of the fox and bunny hugging.
Pulling away from the embrace, Rebecca resumed narrating. Now that they knew what Nighthowlers were, the could track them. Using Nick's underworld experience, they located the place where the plants were going to. It was a secret lab, turning the plants into pellets to shoot predators with and cause the attacks."
Using an old plastic toy car, the type that one would sit in and move with their feet, the children had built a moving replica of Doug's lab. Cardboard had been used to give it the extra bulk and exterior design of a subway car, covered in colorful graffiti.
"They were able to capture the lab and escape with the evidence." At this Jeremy climbed into the vehicle and propelled it around the stage.
"However, during their escape, the lab was destroyed along with most of the evidence." Jeremy stopped the car and took out hidden props. A small box of snap-n-pops in his paw, he threw them down to substitute as an explosion effect. Rebecca, meanwhile, took the confetti popper with red and orange ribbons and shot it off from behind the car to simulate flames.
"They escaped with only the serum and the dart gun." A toy gun with purple foam darts was used. Unseen by the audience, Patricia was on the side of the stage, ready to make her entrance.
"As they ran, attempting to reach the ZPD, they were met by Mayor Bellwether."
At this, Patricia came out onstage.
"At first thinking that she was there to help, they soon realized that the ewe was in fact the mastermind behind the attacks. While on the run from this new enemy, Judy was injured, and Nick refused to leave her behind."
The real Judy smiled, remembering the faith and loyalty Nick had shown then, and nuzzled under his chin in a show of affection.
"Unable to run, they devised a different plan. Cornered by Bellwether and her thugs, they lost the serum and gun." Patricia pretended to steal the prop dart gun away from Jeremy, and he and Rebecca did over-acted pratfalls into a heap, gaining another chuckle from the audience. However, Rebecca quickly stood back up to continue the narration. "Bellwether shot Nick with the gun, hoping to turn him savage and kill Judy, preventing the truth from getting out. Jeremy proceeded to do an impression of "savage Nick" chasing Rebecca all around the stage, but in a manner that was still more fun than scary. Jeremy was having a blast using an over exaggerated savage face and Rebecca was screaming at a high pitch, both in mock terror and the delight at the silliness they felt. The charade ended when Rebecca was cornered by the "savage". Now it was Patricia's turn to take over the narration as the fox and bunny continued their acts.
"Just as all hope seemed lost, they revealed their trick to Bellwether. They had replaced the serum with blueberries, and Nick had only pretended to go savage. Additionally, Judy had recorded Bellwether's confession, and because the latter had faked a call to the police, reinforcements quickly arrived to apprehend the criminals."
Rebecca and Jeremy now stood up, and the former began her final speech to the audience.
"The threat to Zootopia was over. By working together and persisting through the difficulties and challenges, Judy and Nick were able to stop the savage attacks. Not only did they help the city, but they proved something even more important. Anyone, regardless of species, could work together. Despite being a fox and a rabbit, they had become an excellent team capable of making the world a better place."
Jeremy now took over the conclusion. "Not only that, but they were also able to create a bond beyond even friendship. Finding love for each other they continue to show how species shouldn't divide us."
Nick and Judy noticed a few glares headed their way at that.
"We should celebrate our differences and live together in peace, rather than try to divide ourselves and give in to prejudice."
Rebecca finished off by saying "Thank you for your time, and good day."
Now, all of the children came onstage and did a group bow as the audience clapped. Nick and Judy applauded particularly hard, warm smiles on both of their muzzles.
"Not a bad story, eh Carrots?" Nick smirked.