Chapter 1 Introductions: Meet the Hopps'
Edited by BeecroftA
"That was an excellent movie!" Judy was bouncing up and down as she and Nick ambled down the sidewalk. "Why didn't we see Beauty and the Wildebeest earlier?"
Nick chuckled. "It might be because some-bunny decided to clock in some overtime at work regarding the Hoofson case, hmm?"
Judy gave him a bashful grin, playfully hip-bumping him as she jumped ahead of him, walking backwards to gaze up into his eyes. "So, what do you have planned for us now?" she asked. It had been their weekly date night, a tradition the young couple vowed to keep at all costs. It was advice that Stu and Bonnie adhered to, and considering that they could still keep it up even while taking care of over 300 children, Judy believed Nick and her had no excuse not to do the same.
"You think there is something else planned?" the fox asked, grinning cheekily as he noted the huff from his mate. They had already gone to dinner, a fancy Italian place where they ate by candlelight while serenaded by a wolf, followed by a nice romantic movie to set the mood for the evening. It was their three month anniversary of being married, and Nick had made sure that it would be one to remember. "I don't know about you, Fluff, but I think I'm ready to head home for the night and get to bed." He shot her a wink as he emphasized the last word, causing a wave of red to creep up Judy's ears.
"Niiiiiick," Judy huffed. "It's only 9pm on a Friday night and tomorrow starts our three days off." Nick had to stop himself as Judy halted in front of him, her paws on her hips. "We have three days to lay in bed all we want, but I want to make something of the rest of tonight."
"Three days in bed?" Nick stated with the beginnings of a smile.
Judy's eyes narrowed as a smirk appeared on her muzzle. "What, do you have a problem with that? Think you can last three days in bed with me?"
Knowing a double edged question when he was asked one, Nick chuckled politely before offering a playful grin. "Alright, Carrots, I do have something else planned for tonight." Grateful for the change in conversation working, he offered her his paw. "Since the evening has been such a lovely, romantic time thanks to a certain handsome tod..."
Judy laughed. Nick ignored it.
"...I decided that we should try out Litwick's again and have a special anniversary-themed experience."
"Really?" Judy was bubbling with excitement. Leaping towards Nick, she grasped him around his stomach in a massive bunny glomp before leaning up and peppering his cheek with kisses.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she repeated over and over again as Nick laughed.
"Alright, alright," Nick finally got out as he pushed Judy off him, momentarily messing with the fur between her ears. Judy let out a chirr, leaning into his paw before he moved it to her lower back.
"Now come on, Fluff. We have a date to get to..." It only took fifteen minutes to get to the arcade before they were headed on a trip back in time.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Carrots?"
"Should you meet the parents of the bunny you want to marry before you propose? Yes, yes you should."
Judy grinned at him, eyes flickering to Nick's uneasy posture before she refocused on the road ahead. It had been a long four hour drive to get to Bunnyburrow, but it would be worth it. The pair had just finished a grueling, two week case involving dozens of hours of overtime and several sleepovers at the precinct. They had finally caught their bank robber, a mole named Funder Miner, as he drilled his way into the Furst National Bank on Fifth and Broadneigh. Bogo had promised to give them three days off for the overtime they had put in once they had finished their paperwork.
They had finished within three hours after Nick called in nearly every favor he had with the officers in the precinct and were on the road an hour after that.
Nick fidgeted with his seatbelt. Could I survive if I jumped out of the car right now? Wait, no...better question. Could I outrun Judy if I jumped out right now and make it back to Zootopia before she catches me? Not possible...she chased down Fursain Bolt a month ago. Maybe if I feign having calicivirus...
"We've all gotten our shots for that, so that won't work."
Nick flinched, turning oh so slowly towards Judy who was grinning while watching the road. "Did I..."
"Say that out loud?" Judy finished for him then nodded with a giggle. Nick groaned and fell back into his seat.
"Carrots, you know they are going to skin me alive right? I mean, have you even told them you're dating a fox yet?"
A bit of pink toned Judy's cheek. "Uhhh, I may have...left that...bit out?"
Nick groaned even louder, placing a paw over his eyes as he reclined the seat. "I'm dead. I'm dead, you're dead. We'll both be dead." Judy smacked his arm with her paw, rolling her eyes at the fox's theatrics.
"You'll be fine, Slick. My folks loved talking with you last week over the phone and they were excited when I called them earlier and said we were coming to visit."
"Talking is different than meeting your girlfriend's parents, Fluff," Nick replied. "And if I recall, half the conversation was listening in on your father trying to find his shotgun and fox taser."
Judy winced. It wasn't the most pleasant of memories from the conversation. To be honest, she was slightly worried about what might happen, as her family may or may not have raised her with pre-supposed thoughts on the a certain canine species.
It will be okay. They will love him. The Kerfluffle won't smother him. Dad won't tase him. Mom-
"Wait, 'Kerfluffle'?"
Judy shot Nick a look, seeing him peeking out from between his fingers. "Is that some sort of secretive rabbit torture device for foxes?"
Judy stifled a groan. "You'll see."
As the car drove past a large bunny-shaped sign signaling their entrance into Judy's hometown, the fox and rabbit were oblivious to the brown rabbit wearing camouflage with a pair of binoculars in one paw and a radio in the other.
"Judy has been spotted," the young buck repeated into the radio. "And she's bringing her boyfriend."
The radio crackled to life as an elderly voice issued from the device. "Great Harold, what's he like?"
The young buck's nose twitched as he slowly brought the walkie-talkie to his muzzle.
"He's a fox, Dad. I repeat...Judy's bringing home a fox."
The door to the warren's living room burst open and a livid Stu Hopps stormed into the chambers, gathering the attention of all in attendance.
"Why that no good, shifty, carrot plucking, cabbage mauling-"
Several of the younger kits gasped in shock at the language, while the older ones near them covered the younger rabbits' ears.
"-shittake mushroom eating, carp-faced little-"
"STUART HOPPS!"
The yell from the door to the kitchen stopped the buck in his middle of his tirade. Bonnie stormed towards him, the spoon in her paw already waggling at him. "Now don't you go using that kind of language!"
"I can't help it Bon," the buck replied, storming into a seat in front of the fireplace. "We'll be disgraced...publicly humiliated. Why, it's more than I can bear!"
Bonnie rolled her eyes before walking over to the now miserable-looking rabbit. "Now, now Stuart, I'm sure whatever it is that you're mad about isn't really that big of a deal. I'm sure-"
"Judy's dating a fox!"
It may have come out as a murmur, but every rabbit ear in the entire room heard it. Several dishes were heard crashing to the floor while hushed gasps and whispers crisscrossed the living area.
"A...a fox?" Bonnie stuttered, a paw covering her mouth. "Are you sure?"
Stu nodded. "Harold confirmed it just now."
Sensing her husband's distress, Bonnie placed a paw on his shoulder. "Want some carrot juice, hun?"
"What for?" Stu cried, waving his paws in the air before slumping back into his seat. "Nothing will help. We'll be disgraced."
Bonnie sighed. "You? Never. Stuart, you need to pull yourself together!" Turning the chair to face her, Bonnie clasped her husband's cheek. "Gosh, it disturbs me to see you, Stuart, looking so down in the dumps. Every buck in town wants to be you, Stuart. Even when taking your lumps."
"Yeah, dad," one of the older rabbits piped up. "There's no buck in town as admired as you. You're everyone's favorite rabbit."
"Everyone's awed and inspired by you," another sibling, a younger daughter said. "And it's not very hard to see why." Several more kids stood up and approached their miserable-looking father.
"No one farms like you, Stu."
"No one's nice as you, Stu."
His eldest son chuckled. "No one farms carrots right quite as quickly as you."
Jade, one of the daughters in Judy's litter: "There is no buck in town half the farmer. You're perfect, a rabbit paragon."
John, one of the rabbits from the seventh litter piped up. "I've asked my friends Tom, Dick and Stanley. And they've told me which farm they prefer to work on."
A door crashing open at the opposite end of the room halted the ego-boosting compliments to the patriarch of the Hopps' home. A frantic-looking Jessica stood in the open doorway, a phone held up in her paw and a single image on it:
"Alex just got a picture of them kissing at the gas station!"
The silence that permeated the room was terrifying. After several moments, the slight whimpering of several kits could be heard, as well as the slight creaking of the chair from which Stu arose.
"We've got to do something about this fox," he growled. "Or else he'll make off with my children. He'll come after them in the night!" he bellowed as several kits gasped. Bonnie rolled her eyes.
Here we go...again.
"We're not safe until his tail is mounted on my wall! I say we chase this fox away!" Stu stormed over to the back door, grabbing his pitchfork as his children began murmuring around him.
"We're not safe until he's gone," whispered one buck nervously.
"If he stays here, he'll come stalking us at night," the doe he was talking to whimpered back.
One of the Hopps' older children who was trying to shush several crying kits spoke up. "He's going to gobble up our children with his foxy appetite!" she wailed.
Bonnie went around trying to shush the group, but to no avail and eventually reached into her pocket, grabbing the phone within.
Probably should warn Judy that Stu's getting the warren into a furor over another boyfriend being brought home. She slipped out of the room quietly, hearing another of her children speaking up.
"He'll wreck havoc on our warren if we let him wander free-OW!" Bonnie snapped her spoon across the grey buck's paw, glaring at him as she walked past.
It was at this moment that Stu spoke up, jumping onto a table in the middle of the room.
"Oh Stuart, not the coffee table," Bonnie groaned, split between trying to calm down her husband or warn her daughter. Her husband took no notice.
"It's time to take some action, Hopps'! It's time to follow me!"
The crowd of rabbits roared in approval as they followed Stuart out of the warren through the back door towards the barn. Several grabbed the lanterns set next to the door, lighting them as they headed out into the dusk.
"Through the fields, cross the roads. To the Bunnyburrow station, it's a long walk but it's one exciting jaunt! Say a prayer when we're there, stopping that car from advancing, and there's something truly terrible inside."
They reached the barn and Stuart flung open the doors, pointing towards the rows of pitchforks along the far wall. The rabbits swarmed forward, grasping them and marching out in a group while others grabbed various other farm implements.
Stuart encouraged their march from the door. "It's a fox! He's got fangs, razor sharp ones! Massive paws, killer claws for bunnies.
"We'll see him yip, see him roar, but we're not coming home 'til Judy's free. Good and free! Now chase off the fox!"
The group cheered the order as Stu mounted a tractor and turned it on. It rumbled to life as nearly the entire Hopps' clan surrounded him. Standing in the seat, he yelled to the crowd. "Now, who's with me to chase off this fox that no doubt has your sister in his awful clutches!"
"I am!"
"I am!"
"I am!"
Stu grinned as he started the tractor forward. "Then raise your torches and pitchforks and follow right behind me!"
"We're counting on you Pa to lead the way!" Jessica yelled out from the crowd.
"Hey Carrots, do you think they'll meet us at the door or will they let me inside before mounting me above the mantel?"
Judy rolled her eyes, gripping the wheel tighter. "Nick..." she said in a warning voice. "They aren't going to stuff you, beat you, poke you with pitchforks or chase you out of town."
Nick sighed, focusing on the passing countryside as the nervousness inside him swelled to new heights. Unbeknownst to him, Judy felt the same feeling growing within her as well, and both thought the same thing at the same time.
I have a bad feeling about this...
Spotting a car heading down the highway towards them, Stuart yelled for the mob to listen to him. "Down the road, just a mile, where within that old Chevgrowlet, something's lurking that you don't see every day. He's a fox, who's as tall as a cougar."
"We won't rest 'til he's chased out of town," the mob of rabbits roared.
"Sally forth, tally ho. Clutch those pitchforks and your hoes," cried out several bucks.
"To Judy's safety we will go!" shouted Stu. "We'll run off that fox and bring back his tail!"
"Hey Carrots..."
"Hmm?" Judy's ears flickered towards Nick as she spotted a series of flickering lights far ahead on the road.
"Is there supposed to be a welcoming committee for us?" Nick asked, peering ahead and seeing shapes emerging from the darkness.
Rabbit shapes...lots of them.
"I don't believe so, why?"
A chorus of Judy's siblings broke forth in angry shouts. "We will fight, for our sis, since we just don't understand why she would want to date a fox in the least bit."
The eldest of Stu's sons hopped onto the back of the tractor, waving his lantern high above his head. "We've brought our hoes and pitchforks. We'll save our sister from his lies."
Jessica shouted above the crowd. "We'll save our sister and her life!"
"Run off the fox!"
"...Do you have that many pitchforks on your farm?" Nick asked as the car slowed when they approached what seemed like a massive angry army of rabbits. Nick shrunk into the seat, trying to hide as best he could as the rabbits swarmed the car.
Judy clicked the doors locked as dozens of paws began pulling on the levers. The car began shaking back and forth.
"Run off the fox!" the group roared as one pounded on the back window with the back end of a pitchfork.
Nick whimpered. "Carrrrrotsssss..."
"I'll talk them down," Judy said, anger filling her voice as she undid her seatbelt.
"Run off the fox!" the crowd roared again as the back of the car window cracked, a spiderweb of splinters splayed across it.
"Judy don't-!" the words barely left his mouth before Judy opened the door, only for several sets of paws to pull her fully out of the car.
"JUDY!" Nick roared as the mass of the crowd pushed the door shut again, jamming the locking mechanism shut. Now alone in the car, Nick hugged himself tightly, whimpering as he folded into a ball on the seat as the glass behind him cracked more.
"RUN OFF THE FOX!"
The glass behind him, and the windshield, both shattered as bunnies began flowing into the car.
"RUN OFF THE FOX!"
Nick shot upright, tail bristling as he let out a frightened whine. He yanked the helmet off and tossed it to the ground, panting heavily as he placed a paw over his chest.
"That is not how I remember meeting your parents, Judy!" Nick gasped, panting heavily as his paws trembled while he removed the helmet. Judy was already by his side, the memories of the experience fresh in both their minds. She did her best at soothing her husband, running her paw down his cheek before scratching underneath his muzzle. The tenderness of the touch soothed him and he nearly collapsed into her, holding her tightly as the experience slowly began to fade away from the recesses of his mind.
The curtains flung open and a worried looking looking white tail deer peered inside. "Are you guys alright?"
Judy offered him a hard stare, nearly buckling the poor mammal's knees under her withering glare. "I thought you said this was set for a happy memory?" she said in a furious tone.
The deer gulped, then moved towards the settings module in front of both seats. A few seconds passed before a nervous chuckle escaped his lips.
"Oh, um...it would appear that the settings hadn't changed from the previous users of the PIXAR device."
"Which means?" Nick asked warily.
"It means," the deer gulped. "That it was set to 'nightmare' mode. I can refund your money and since you still have a half hour, I can set it to something much more cheerful."
Judy looked to her mate, who let out a heavy sigh. "Only if you want to," he said distantly. "Though I don't want to end our anniversary on an awful note."
Looking from her mate, to the deer, Judy made up her mind. With narrowed eyes and a forceful tone, she sent her hardest glare at the worker. "It better be the fluffiest setting possible or else..."
The hanging threat had the much-needed effect as both fox and rabbit put their helmets back on, the bunny slowly lowering her visor while pointing at the deer. Frightened, and suddenly much more ecstatic to be off in ten minutes, he quickly changed the settings, cranking the happiness meter up past fifty.
He then parted the curtains and left, wiping his brow and wondering how a bunny could look so savage as the fox and rabbit slipped back off into the dream inspired by the PIXAR machine.
AN: Did I just parody a bit of Beauty and the Beast with a Zootopian flare? Absolutely, 100%. Not ashamed of it either. XD
Also, quick announcement. I will be in Disneyland and at D23 for the next week. Thus, I will sadly not be posting a chapter a day during that time as I will be out and each and every day so I most likely won't have time to post stories here. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up before I head out. I'll post Part II of Introductions (which is the final one for this arc) and then coming up after will be a special, Non-PIXAR machine related story that still falls into this stories overarching timeline written by Bluelighthouse! :D So get excited for next week!