Chapter 4 Revelations
Edited by Selaxes (go check out his story Tails of the High Seas) ;)
The early morning sun was just beginning its ascent above the roofs of the village of Zootopia as several figures trudged into town. As they passed through the outskirts of the city, the few residents who were awake at the crack of dawn were shaking their heads and clucking their tongues at the weary looking soldiers, led by their bedraggled looking Capitan Hopps. None of them looked particular happy, some openly glaring at the back of the rabbit leading them. Judy could feel their stares on her, yet she kept to herself, anger and disappointing filling her mind and soul.
Eight hours. EIGHT HOURS...and we couldn't even catch more than a glimpse of that irritating fox!
Judy would have been more frustrated, if the weariness she felt wasn't hitting her like a rhino at full charging speed. Ever the perfectionist though, she tried her best to keep the citizens watching the parade of troops slogging past see nothing less than her best, even if at the moment that was droopy ears and her less than enthusiastic gait. She was barely able to keep her feet from dragging with each step, all the while thinking of all the terrible things she'll do to The Fox when they caught him.
The slow procession made its way through the main square, the cheerfully bubbling fountain and laughter of kits a mocking contrast to her and her squad of soldiers as they marched into the open doors of the fort.
Judy turned to her troops, watching them walk past her through bloodshot eyes as she stood at the gate until all her troops made it past her, lining up in two rows before her. "It looks as though we weren't able to catch our prey tonight," she heard some audible grumbles and sneers, while several of the soldiers glared at her with outright contempt. "However," she continued, trying her best to ignore the disrespect shown her. "We shall persevere, and bring this outlaw, The Fox, to justice. Maybe we couldn't do that this last night, but we will succeed in apprehending this fox."
She was glad her ears were already drooping under her hat at the chuckles her speech received, as the outright disdain towards her that these troops were showing was even worse than what her fellow officers had shown her back in San Furcisco.
"I would like to thank you all for your diligence in the hunt for him throughout the night," she continued, feeling her exhausting hitting her full bore as it took all her mental prowess to simply focus on standing. Cutting her speech short, she raised her paw to her brow in a salute. "You may all proceed to your bunks and rest."
Most of her troops just turned and left, not even bothering to attempt to raise their hooves or paws, leaving Judy to slowly lower her own paw dejectedly as they walked away, several disparaging comments being bantered about between the soldiers at their 'fur-brained rabbit' and how much of a joke it was to let 'some cute little bunny join the army.' Her gaze dropped to the ground, shifting her feet in the dusty earth.
"Don't worry, Capitan Hopps. We will catch him someday under your leadership."
Judy's head shot up, her eyes widening at the sudden compliment. Staring ahead, she saw the tired form of Sergeant Clawhauser, panting heavily, but his paw raised in a salute.
At least I have one mammal who believes in me...Judy thought, a wry smile coming to her face as she walked over to the cheetah, giving him a crisp salute.
"You did well last night, Sergeant," Judy stated, grinning at the cheetah as memories of his exuberance at chasing The Fox all throughout the night had in some small way kept her going as well.
"Thank you...Capitan..." he wheezed, dropping his paw as he let out a wide yawn and his shoulders visibly sagged. "I'm going to go, lay down now for a quick siesta before my afternoon guard duty." He motioned to the barracks with his thumb, before shuffling away, oblivious to the light laughter from his Capitan.
"You deserve it Clawhauser," Judy stated softly, watching him go, grateful for at least one mammal she could call a friend.
The tired cheetah trudged his way towards the barracks, barely managing to get one paw in front of the other before he disappeared from view. Judy sighed heavily, clasping her paws behind her back as she made her office to file a report about the last night's events for Comandante Bogo. He probably wouldn't be happy to hear her first outing to capture The Fox had been a bust, but, duty called, and the paperwork needed to be written.
Though as she walked into her room, pushing the door open slowly, the first bit of furniture to catch her eye was not her desk and chair, but the massive rhino sized bed filling most of the room. Suddenly the thought of sleep felt much more urgent than writing a report her Comandante would probably never even read.
"Maybe I can take a little nap," Judy muttered, smiling slightly while staggering over to the bed, barely managing to hop on top of it, scrambling as she nearly fell off and back onto the floor. Breathing heavily as she crawled across the comforter towards the pillows, she made a mental note of building some stairs for her to use, even if doing so would cause her pride to take a massive hit. Tossing her hat onto the nearby nightstand, she barely managed to undo her sword, laying it next to her before her head hit the pillow, and she was snoring peacefully; the events of the previous night a hidden beyond her closed eyelids.
The door to his room shut quietly, the only sound being the soft swish of his cape and a little bit of laughter as The Fox gracefully traipsed into his bedchambers.
In all honesty, the fox thought as he spied his partner in crime glaring at him from across the room, he had quite a bit to laugh about as the previous night was one of the most enjoyable he had in months.
"Oh Finnick, you should have seen this poor new Capitan," The Fox chuckled, removing his mask and gloves, cracking his fingers together before rolling his neck until it gave a pleasurable pop. "That cute little rabbit is in quite over her head." Nick glanced at his paws, frowning at how the black ink he used to cover his red fur while gallivanting as Zorro had already begun to smear and disappear.
The desert fox continued his glare before shaking his head, waving his paw at Nick as if he was swatting a fly.
"Oh come now, don't look at me like that, Finnick. Wouldn't you like to hear me regal you the tales of her frantic all night debacle?"
The smaller fox made an obscene gesture at the taller fox, causing him to laugh all the more as he removed his hat and cape before falling into a nearby chair with a groan, letting himself slide into the comfort of its cushions. With how early it was in the morning, and how draining the all-night chase had been on his body, he was grateful to finally be able to relax for a bit and especially grateful that he'd made sure to sleep before visiting the new Capitan last night.
"I have to say though, she is much more of a firecracker than Capitan Doug," Nick chuckled, grinning madly as he remembered several moments during the chase as she would try and bring some semblance or order to her searching for him. "Still can't manager her troops, though even Comandante Barrister had trouble with this lot."
Nick thought back on the only soldier who had ever given him trouble, or for that fact, nearly caught him in the last eight years he played the role of The Fox. It was the polar bear who had given him the nickname of Zorro after she nearly caught him. He was almost saddened when Bogo had recalled her to deal with the La Cheetaracha gang up north, as she was also the most just out of all the Comandante's who had ever served Zootopia, or crossed swords with him.
Nick crossed his paws behind his head, smiling at the memories of his many escapes over the years, grinning even more at the memories of chasing out one corrupt Capitan after another.
This new rabbit officer, Capitan Hopps, wouldn't last a week.
Nick went over a mental checklist of what he needed to do during the day, despite the tiredness plaguing his body felt, his mind was still as alert as ever. He thanked the late nap he took for that.
"Finnick?"
The desert fox glared at Nick, giving him a common, 'what do you want?' stare that Nick had grown accustomed to.
"Shall we go over what we need to accomplish today my dear friend?"
The desert fox rolled his eyes, grabbing a nearby stack of papers, quill pen and inkpot off a nearby desk for the Don. Nick gratefully accepted the papers with a polite 'thank you' and began perusing them with interest. The first few were just party invitations from other Don's in the area. Next came a list of legal matters he would have to deal with in the future, such as water rights for his villa and matters of purchases and sales regarding his vineyard. The final few pages were mainly upcoming parties he was hosting, as well as business meetings he would have to attend in the near future.
As Nick came to the last page, his eyes widened at the comically drawn picture he saw before him. Glancing up at Finnick, he spotted the fox giving him the 'who, me?' look. Rolling his eyes, Nick looked back down at the picture of him as Zorro and a bunny, which looked remarkably like their new Capitan, trading what appeared to be a rather intimate kiss.
He stared up again at Finnick, wagging his paw at the smaller mammal who was grinning like a cheeky devil. The tan fox made several kissing faces while holding his fingers up behind his head like rabbit ears.
Nick harrumphed, only causing the desert fox's grin to widen, before the red fox slammed the stack of papers down onto the nearby desk.
"Sometimes I'm glad that you can't speak, as your pictures are distasteful enough," Nick drawled, laughing as her saw the small mammal shaking his fist at him.
Nick took the opportunity to leave as he saw Finnick head towards the poker for the fireplace in the room, malicious intent in his eyes. "If you need me, I'll be out washing this black dye out of my fur," Nick stated hurriedly as he walked swiftly towards the bathing room. He narrowly dodged the poker as it was thrown at him, the object imbedding itself into the wall next to his head.
It was the second time in less than a day a mammal had tried to run him through.
"I'm going to have to work on my charm a bit," he mused, his eyes suddenly sparkling as his ears and tail raised. "That's it!"
The sudden yell caused the smaller fox to suddenly grow wary of his friend, giving him a cautious stare as Nick began laughing, slapping his paws together before darting over to his shorter friend. Before Finnick knew it, the larger vulpine had picked him up and giving him a rather tight hug.
"Finnick you are a genius-Oof!"
His reward for his compliment was a swift punch to his gut, causing him to groan as Finnick jumped to the ground, dusting off his shirt before pointing a single finger at the red fox, moving it quickly to his neck before sliding it across.
"Alright, alright, no more hugs for the testy fox," Nick groaned, rubbing his stomach, even though a smirk graced his face. "Though that picture you drew, though crude, gives me an idea on how to deal with our new corrupt Capitan."
Finnick kept up his glare, though his interest was piqued, as shown by his raised ears, as Nick sauntered across the room to his dresser, quickly grabbing his favorite set of clothes for the day, a bright green button-up jacket, white lace up shirt and beige pants.
"It appears that our new Capitan has issues with mammals thinking she is not up to her job." Nick stated bluntly, crossing the room to gather up a stiff brush and bar of soap from another drawer in preparation for a bath to remove the ink dying his fur. "Which she isn't up to, in my opinion," Nick added as a afterthought as he walked through a nearby door, depositing his accumulated items onto a polished oak table. "I am of the opinion that if someone, perhaps a kindly Don, could befriend her, then maybe we can see if this new Capitan will be any different from the others, or might be persuaded to be a better role model than what she currently is, hmm? What do you think?"
The shorter fox shrugged, thinking his friend had finally lost it. Shaking his head, he followed Nick into the washroom to help him with removing the final vestiges of his alter-ego. Jumping onto the rim of a four-legged, gold trimmed bathtub, he pulled a lever, the sound of rushing water reaching both their ears as water flowed out of a nearby metal tube and into the tub. Finnick was grateful for the device, and if he could speak again, would have praised his friend for crafting the device so he wouldn't have to carry buckets of water up each time the Don needed a bath to rinse his fur from the black ink he always wore while being The Fox.
Nick moved behind a changing wall, his black shirt and pants quickly hanging over the top of it. Walking out from behind it, dressed in nothing but a towel, Finnick snickered to himself at the sight of his friend. Nick only liked to dye his tail, arms, face, neck and feet black, leaving the rest of his body the a bright russet hue with brown splattering his paws and back while his stomach was a creamy white. Leaning against a nearby wall, Nick began rubbing his chin with his paw, oblivious to his friends silent laughter.
"I think..." he began, his eyes glimmering in mischief, "This latest Capitan might not be as corrupt as the last few...maybe, she might even be someone we could convince of the errors of her ways."
If he hadn't been born mute, Finnick would have been cackling in laughter at the comment. All of the previous Capitans, every last one, had been rotten to the core, with the minor exemption of Barrister, while the latest, Capitan Doug, had been the absolute worst of the lot.
"I know you think I jest, Fin," Nick grinned, shaking his head as the smaller fox hit the lever again to halt the water as the tub was nearly full. "But I think all she needs is a little guidance, and maybe, just maybe, we might have a good Capitan that could look after the good mammals of Zootopia. We both know I can't keep on doing this forever."
Finnick snorted as Nick removed his towel and slid gently into the tub, sighing at the warmth the water greeted him with. Grabbing his brush and soap from earlier, be began to scrape away the stains on his fur. "You laugh," Nick stated flatly, pausing in his brushing as he waved the brush at his friend. "But I think that Zorro would not be able to dissuade this Capitan from her duty. She will not be one to be driven away, as I have never had any of the previous Capitans ever chase me into the night as their protocol states they should. She is driven, motivated by something, frustrated at others looking down upon her, but she is so determined to prove them wrong that the more she meets The Fox, the longer I believe she'd stay here." He began brushing again, his fur slowly becoming his natural color again as the combination of brush strokes and warm water pulled the dye from his fur.
Shaking his head, Nick lowered his paws into the tub before looking at his friend. "Finnick, I never thought I'd say this, but, I think a more gentle touch is required to either rid this town of its new Capitan, or convince her that it would be better for her to leave. I think I need to hang up my mask for this, as this job calls for Don Nicholas P Wilde to greet our new Capitan, and not Zorro."
Nick went back to his scrubbing in earnest, the plot formulating in his mind on just how to get onto the Capitan's good side, if she even had one, to begin with. Who knows, maybe he'd be wrong and she was simply another arrogant soldier, here to force her will upon the poor denizens of Zootopia like all the previous Comandante's.
Then again...he thought wistfully. Maybe there is hope for her, and Zootopia, yet.
Judy awoke to a feeling of grogginess, the sun blaring right into her eyes as they cracked open blearily, only for Judy to hiss in pain and shut them again as the harsh light caused her to groan and roll onto her side, covering her eyes with her ears. Blinking several times, she managed to lazily sit up, allowing herself one loud yawn and stretch before slowly pawing her way across the far too large bed, dropping off the side and to the floor below.
What time is it...she wondered, realizing with a groan that her sword and cap were now above her again. With a half-hearted leap, she hopped back onto the bed, grabbing her sword and cap before jumping back down.
Slowly, her body forced itself awake as she tightened her sword to her belt while placing her bolero upon her head, tightening both into place as she began smoothing out her partially wrinkled uniform she had slept in. She wouldn't know the time until she reached the sundial she had seen in the parade grounds, but the height of the sun coming through the window, she guessed it must have been around noon, meaning the 15 minute power nap she had planned, had turned into wasting away a quarter of the day.
"So much to do, so little time," Judy grumbled, mad at herself for both sleeping so long, and for the root cause of her tiredness.
The Fox...
That slippery devil had evaded her and her troops all last night and was the reason why her second day in command was turning into a fiasco. Several times they had him cornered, or so she thought, only for him to slip away into the dead of night, his laughter ringing behind him as the chase would renew. And through the entirety of it all, she could almost feel that smug grin on his face after each time he would again evade capture.
It was like he was toying with her, playing with her until he grew bored or apathetic. He was in total control of the situation last night, and that was what angered, and slightly frightened her, the most.
What I wouldn't do to wipe that smirk off his face...
Descending from her room and down the creaking stairwell, a slight grin wiped away her depressing thoughts at the sight of Sergeant Clawhauser standing guard at the bottom of the stairwell. Though by the loud snores coming from him, she doubted he was doing any significant 'guarding' at the moment.
Judy winced as the stair she stepped on made a loud creaking sound, the large feline jolting violently on his chair. The poor stool he had been using as a seat groaned under the sudden pressure, before a loud cracking sound split the air and the cheetah tumbled backwards onto the floor. Judy saw the remains of the chair after its violent demise, two of the four legs broken under the cheetah's girth.
"Are you alright, Sergeant?" Judy asked, rushing to his side, her sleepiness suddenly gone at both the sound of the cracking of wood and her worry over her one friend in the barracks.
"Si Capitan," Clawhauser muttered as he pushed himself up off the floor, brushing off his blue uniform and white belt across his chest of both dust and drool from his nap. "It is only my pride which is wounded."
"I'm glad that it is only your pride and not your body," Judy replied with a smile, one which the cheetah returned. Though the moment lasted only the briefest of seconds before worry displaced his grin.
"Capitan Hopps," he muttered, placing his paws together. "I'm so sorry I fell asleep at my post!" The big cat was suddenly prone on the floor, his paws clasped together above his head. "Please don't use the whip on me for falling asleep. I was trying so hard not to fall into slumber after the events of this morning and-"
"Hold on," Judy interrupted, causing the Sergeant to flinch. "What do you mean, whip?"
Clawhauser shuddered at the mere mention of the word, though he seemed to relax at the hesitation in his superiors voice. "Sir, the past few Capitan's have made it so that whoever was caught asleep at their post, received 30 lashes."
Judy visibly gasped. "30 lashes? she blurted out, causing Clawhauser to wince. The comment from the Sergeant shocked her, as even the army manuals, which she had committed to memory, gave only 10 strokes as the harshest punishment for theft of equipment or desertion.
"Who did that?" Judy questioned.
"Capitan's Doug, Koslov and Bandersnatch, Sir," the cheetah stated bluntly as he raised his head from the floor
No wonder why moral is so low here...she thought, placing her paw to her chin as she thought.
Judy straightened, rolling her shoulders once before staring Clawhauser straight in the eye. "Do not worry Sergeant Clawhauser, I will not be giving you the whip, nor anyone else in this fort. It is not the proper punishment for it, as with proper training and attention, those kind of issues that the previous Capitan's have required the whip for, would become no more under my watch."
The cheetah seemed to melt as his relief rolled off him in waves. "Thank you, Capitan Hopps. My back is still not feeling right since the last few times."
"Few times?" Judy stated cautiously.
The Sergeant nodded. "Si. Capitan Doug enjoyed using it frequently on me, especially shirtless as he said he enjoyed the sound of it against my fur and back."
"Doughy biscuits and gravy," Judy muttered under her breath, horrified at the declaration, noticing that Clawhauser himself seemed at the verge of tears. Placing a paw upon his shoulder, she tenderly looked into his eyes. "Trust me, Sergeant Benjamin Garcia Clawhauser, I will never place the whip against you while I'm here." The cheetah nodded, wiping at his eyes with his paw.
"Thank you Capitan Hopps. You are a much more gentle soul than the others."
Judy smiled, helping the feline to his feet as she walked towards the door. "As you were Sergeant," she stated before walking outside and into the midday sun.
Standing in the bright daylight, a suddenly very morose rabbit quickly became lost in her own thoughts, though one thought stood out above all others.
If that is what the previous Capitan's did to their own soldiers...what else have they been doing to the fort, or to the town for that matter, that I don't know about?
Spying the open gates to the town beyond the fort, Judy made her way towards them, a new purpose to understand more about her new station and city she would learn to call home, driving her to learn all the more about Zootopia and its citizens...
...and why it seems to be such an absolute mess in every way imaginable.
An: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I have a poll up about the Spanglish I have been using in this story. Should I keep it? Add more? Does it detract from the story? What say you?
On that note, please leave a review about your thoughts on the chapter. Why were all the previous Capitan's jerks? What plan does Nick have in store for Judy? What plan does Judy have in store for Zootopia? Let me know what you thought! :)