Hey all, DLW here. A huge thank you to all the readers, follows, fav's and reviews (helps me think more so thank you all)! Disclaimer: Zootopia and its characters are copyright Disney. (I own none of the characters in the story aside from the O/C's.)
A note to all my readers out there. I wanted to try something different with this story and found that... the long story type can be a little intimidating. With some chapters being about... 12-17k words in length, I wanted to try shortening them by a bit. With that being said, the first... 6 chapters are going to be reuploaded pieces of the first two chapters. So starting at chapter 7 is all new content. So I apologize to anyone of my readers that see the first few chapters and are confused as to why I've re-uploaded it with some tweaks. TLDR; slightly shorter chapters to make reading easier, fun, and dramatic.
The Dystopian Society
Chapter One: Predator and Prey
'Chains and Stripes'
"When we had first met again, tell me what did you see?"
[February 4, 'Savannah Central Prison' 11:21 AM]
"Name?"
The grunted voice of a boar echoed throughout the concrete corridor, focused on the only other mammal present behind the caged window.
"Lieutenant Judy Hopps." She answered, brandishing her badge under the dim fluorescent lighting that the room had to offer.
She had recently arrived at Zootopia's largest prison, not wasting her time in traffic or making any stops. She had gotten there early to make sure she was ready to meet this hunter, she wanted no mistakes.
The boar leaned forward for his inspection, glancing every now and then to the small rabbit that clutched it fiercely.
With her added office as lieutenant, she made it a point to never show weakness. To some, she looked intimidating just by wearing her overcoat.
Nodding in satisfaction, and understanding the reputation of the name, he reached to his side and pressed a large red and white button.
A loud buzz sounded; firstly perking up Judy's ears slightly and lastly unlatching a door by the side of the guard-post.
"Proceed." He said gruffly, returning to whatever busy work a lone guard could with nothing to do.
Nodding in affirmation, Judy walked towards the unlocked door and pulled it open. It was far heavier than it seemed, but it was fashioned that way to keep inmates in and others out.
Grunting as she felt the massive door give way to a long set of corridors, Judy made her way inside.
As she released the door from the inside, it slammed shut and echoed dozens of times before dissipating just past barely lit hallways.
She could hear the faint sounds that the prison had to offer at this point: the buzz of light fixtures, the eerie sound of cells being opened or closed, and the constant sound of riotous prisoners.
Huffing and adjusting the paperwork clutched in her hand, she briskly walked the corridor.
Row upon row of doors sat on either side of her, each as gloomy as the next. Dreary walls, ungraciously flaked with remnants of paint long past its glory days.
The most constant companion she had was the clicking of her toes on the hardened ground. Is resonance alone broke the mundane silence she acclimated herself to so far.
Near halfway down the hall, however, a different sound bound its way towards her ears. The steady clop of a mammal far larger than her belittled and bested even the heaviest taps that her feet could offer.
Just further ahead, she could see a massive figure. Nearly half the width of the hallway and seemingly thrice as menacing as she herself, a lone buffalo strode towards her and stopped by one of the many heavy metal doors.
A smile worked its way across her face as she stood at attention so salute.
"Good afternoon, Chief." Judy exclaimed.
In almost similar fashion, her superior raised his arm as well. Though his voice was arguably much louder than hers. "You as well, Hopps."
Having stood there for a moment, Bogo waived Judy forward. Immediately she raced towards her commanding officer, nearly dropping her files as she did so.
Having reached his side and seeing a smirk on Bogo's face, Judy asked. "So, what does this hunter want?"
A long worn scar ran down his right eye, his grey pupil focusing intently on her.
Having her there, Bogo turned to open the door and answered. "He specifically wanted to meet you."
Now confused about the purpose of them being there, Judy pondered the situation. On one hand, she desperately waned to meet this hunter. But on the other, she asked why would anyone meet theme in jail.
She had to know. "Why at the prison?" She asked, walking through the door and being met with a fairly large and well laid out room.
It seemed out of place in the prison as it was relatively well decorated with a fresh coat of deep green paint and hardwood floors. The overhead lighting seemed new, and several chairs sat facing different directions around an ornate table.
Closing the door after they both entered, Bogo closed the door and sat down in one of the chairs at the edge of the table.
"He has a proposition for you," He replied, hearing the creak of his chair and pointing for Judy to sit in the seat opposite of him. "And a lead for us here."
The word 'proposition' rang through Judy's head. Her nose nervously twitched a little, faintly catching whiffs of strong coffee with each breath.
She walked over to the chair that Bogo requested her to sit in and jumped into it. After
"Okay," She started hesitantly, she had only ever seen hunters in the news, never in person. "So who is he?"
This is another reason as to why she wanted to be there early, she needed as much detailed information as possible. And being prompt was always a plus in her book.
Bogo chuckled at her question, he pointed to the chair facing away from them at the end of the table and answered. "See for yourself."
Judy's eyes followed suit to Bogo's direction. Curious as to why he would point to an empty chair, she raised a brow.
Not but a moment later, she could hear the familiar sound that one would make when sipping.
"You're running a little bit late." An unfamiliar voice called, startling Judy as she had no idea someone else was in the room with them.
"Late?" Judy shouted, never in her life had she been accused of being late for anything more than her own birthday party.
Seeing her reaction, Bogo began to laugh. He shook his head at the comment, knowing full well his lieutenants habit of being prompt.
Feeling out of the loop, Judy began to ask. "Who are-"
"Yep, I had time to stop and pick up some paperwork," The voice interrupted, only this time the chair slowly turned slowly to face them. A rabbit sat with a gleeful smile, cautiously rocking a cup of coffee in his hand. "And my second prescription for the day."
At the sight, Judy stared on starstruck.
He was slightly taller than Judy and bore the same fur color. While he didn't have a police uniform, he was suited instead with a black vest and striped tie that ran up to meet his white folded collar.
His amber colored eyes shown with experience and skill. The black lines that raced across his ears matched with the unmistakable black tiger stripe markings that embellished his cheek fur.
"You're-" Judy whispered, bringing her paws up to silence herself. She nearly felt herself jump out of her seat.
Noting her reaction, the rabbit placed his coffee down grinned. He had been always been one for style.
"Jack Savage," He exclaimed with a wink while adjusting his tie. "On duty from FERAL."
Judy's face froze with excitement, she... didn't know what to do.
Reading the room, Jack turned to Bogo with a mini salute of his own.
"Chief."
The buffalo only grunted in return. And all Jack could do was sigh, Bogo didn't have as much of a charismatic attitude as he did.
He then turned to his other acquaintance.
"And you must be... Judy... Hopps, right?" He asked, rolling his wrist to draw out the drama of his actions.
Hearing her name, her ears stood at attention. She thought of what she could say, but the only thing she could immediately do was salute.
Eyeing her questionably, Jack began to smirk.
"Relax, Hopps." He replied, reaching again for his coffee. "I don't do formal."
He paused for a moment to think, sipping his drink occasionally as he did so. "Aside from the suit, mostly."
Upon his word, Judy lowered her hands and shyly scratched her hair.
Bogo, having witnessed the two for long enough, pushed his chair away and began walking towards the door. Having his Lieutenant still in awe, he huffed. "Are you finished having your fun, Jack?"
Jack shifted his eyes in Bogo's direction, now watching as the buffalo pointed to his wrist repeatedly. With a sigh, he turned and hopped from his chair.
"Yeah, yeah." He answered, taking his coffee with him and a revealing small envelope that he was now holding.
As he made his way towards the Chief, he noticed something was still amiss. With a wave of his hand, he asked. "You following Hopps?"
He didn't even need to turn around as he could hear the sounds of a chair being abandoned and the scurry of toes clacking against the hardwood.
In an instant, Judy appeared next to him with an oddly placed set of facial features. It was somewhere between a grin, a smile, and what one would say would be overjoyed excitement.
Jack shook his head and walked out the door, Judy following suit.
As they left, and back into the hallway, Bogo lead them to their next spot. Their walk was nowhere near quiet, though Bogo's footsteps were the heaviest of them, Judy's hopps of excitement were now almost as loud.
There were so many questions that Judy had, and she was going to ask them all.
"Chief, you know Jack Savage?!" She shouted out of sheer excitement, never taking her eye off her role-model.
"Nope, he doesn't." Jack would answer, never letting Bogo give his insight.
Taken aback at the response, Judy lowered her giddiness just enough to ask. "Huh?"
Jack had been focusing forward the whole time until now, seeing this unique opportunity arise, he couldn't help himself.
"I said he doesn't know Jack." He answered with laugh, netting him a questionable look from Judy and a huff from Bogo.
The group stopped walking as soon as his joke was spoken. Now somewhat dismayed that nobody even laughed a little, Jack shrugged his shoulders.
"Savage..." Bogo stated, turning around and pointing his thumb at a door just behind him. "He's in there for you."
The door itself wasn't as heavyset as the others. It was still made of metal, but had a much lighter feel and varying latches for different sized mammals.
Breathing deeply that he wasn't about to be jailed about the joke, Jack walked forward and turned to meet the Chief eye to calve and above.
Waving 'goodbye', he put on a more serious tone. "Thanks Chief, I'll take it from here."
Bogo merely nodded in confirmation and walked away. His pace wasn't hurried, but definitely not slow. In a few seconds he was out of sight, and in a few more the opening and shutting metal left the two rabbits alone.
Judy, having watched the Chief leave, now turned to Jack. Being just them, she had even more questions now. She had to start somewhere, and one question still burned in her mind.
Gathering her wits about her, she asked. "W-why did you request me?"
"Simple." Jack said flatly. Not a feature of him moved in response.
Awkwardly the two stood there, though one had hoped for more of an answer. She was too nervous, she straightened her stance and tried again.
"Okay, what?" Judy requested, shrugging her shoulders in near frustration.
Now intrigued, Jack brought his free hand under his chin and spoke "Our agency, 'More so my boss, now that I think of it' has seen your potential."
Judy's eyes went wide at the realization of what he could be asking. This could be a change for her career.
"And," Jack continued, now waiving the envelope just before him. "We wanted to know if you could help us-"
"Solve the case!" Judy exclaimed, far louder than she thought she could. Her voice rang through the corridor loud enough to alert any danger to them.
"Yes that," Jack spoke, scratching his ear, feeling a ringing slowly subside. "And maybe become a hunter."
Judy could feel her heart racing. 'A Hunter' Her mind spoke over and over again. Her hard work would have paid itself in full, challenges in all.
She held her breath, stared Jack dead in the eye and answered. "Okay, I'll do it."
A warm smile shone from Jack, he sipped his coffee and turned to the door.
"Good, then you'll be temporarily assisting me."
He reached for the door handle; finding one his size and removing the latch, he stopped just before prying the door open.
He turned around to find Judy standing stalwart with her eyes affixed to the door. He had a few more things to settle.
"And don't worry about the Chief." Jack advised, he let go of the door for a moment, hearing a light slam from it and the latches lock in place. "He's already given the okay for you to answer to us for the time being."
Forgetting that she was still under the command of the ZPD, Judy was relieved. As she would be instated temporarily, she could do more for the citizens potentially.
That being settled, Judy had a few more pressing questions. "So, who's your lead?"
Jack, having just taken a sip of his coffee, nearly choked when he heard the question.
He tried to clear his throat several times and regain his stance before Judy walked over with a concerned look about her.
"Well..." He coughed, taking a step back and waving his hand for her to pause.
Having successfully gotten the sting of coffee out of lungs, Jack turned to the door again. He knew this was coming.
"He's uh- someone you should be..." Jack stammered, unlatching the door again and pulling it open. "Acquainted with?"
Curiosity peaked, Judy ran thousands of possibilities in her head. She had hundreds of arrests, each with unique qualities. But she wondered none the less, who it was.
With the door now out of their way, Judy could see the interior of the room.
It stark contrast, the room wasn't ornate like the other. It had concrete flooring with the ceiling to match. Whitewashed walls dimmed with the flashing of a single fluorescent light. Though one wall was fit with a small reflective glass window.
The center of the room set with a simple metal table of their size, and three matching chairs surrounding it. One of the chairs, however, to Judy's dismay was occupied.
Upon realizing who this mystery 'lead' was, grunted in anger.
"'Sweet cheese and crackers,' Not him again!" Judy shouted, her voice echoed in and out of the small interrogation room and caught more than one pair of ears.
Sitting just there in his red jumpsuit: muzzle set, collar green, and handcuffed to the table, Nick nonchalantly eyed them back.
Judy wasn't expecting this, she didn't see the need for them to meet the fox again.
She grabbed Jack by the shoulder with one hand and pointed with the other; yelling "What do we need him for?!"
Somewhat expecting retaliation, Jack reached for Judy's paw. He needed her help, but knew it wouldn't be easy.
With a calming tone and displacing demeanor, he spoke "We have reason to believe that he's somehow connected to the recent string of disappearances."
Feeling Judy's grip lessen, Jack followed through. "So, we'll need him for a little info."
Upon hearing this, Judy let Jack go, feeling her arms heavily fall to her side. She wanted this over quickly, being in the same room as the fox worried her to no end.
"Have a seat." Jack's voice startled her for a moment. She darted her eyes over to where he was, now motioning for her to sit in the empty chair opposite of the chained and smiling fox.
Enraged beyond reason she now felt slightly sickened. She clutched her hands, held her breath, folded her arms, and walked over. This to her was a nightmare.
She didn't feel as though she could be there for so long, dozens of things could happen to her around the fox. She was strong even without her gear, but Jack would be her only ally if things got out of hand.
"Good afternoon." Jack's voice, though subtle and peaceful, startled Judy.
She didn't remember sitting in the chair or even handing her papers over. Her eyes landed everywhere, focusing on anything but the fox.
Jack noticed this minor detail, but had to continue for all their sakes. He turned his attention to Nick for now.
"Sorry to drag you here and away from your cage, but we have a bit of a dilemma." He began, getting a strange look from Nick, but never turning away.
Folding his hands together, he questioned. "Do you know why you're here with us today?"
Nick eyed him carefully, still unsure as to why anyone had need of him. He could only shake his head in response.
Expecting this answer, Jack opened his envelope and took several papers out. He laid them out neatly before them and singled out one.
Taking a moment to ensure that it was correct, he began to review the file.
Jack read from the dossier sheet.
"Name: Nicholas Piberius Wilde, Age: 32, Weight: 80lbs, Height: 4ft, Occupation before arrest: Veterinarian, Reason for arrest: Violation of the Predation Clause [all major sections with minor violations included]."
Taking a pause, Jack looked up to see Nick avert his stare. The slight smile he had when they first walked in had long since faded.
He then continued.
"Family: John Wilde [Father 'Escaped from prison'] and Rose Wilde [Mother 'Unknown'], Friends: Unknown, Current status: imprisoned '10 to life', Infractions: Fighting with other inmates 'added penalties', Medical history: Varying bruise-."
"I didn't get into a fight." Nick interrupted, rattling his cuffs slightly and catching the attention of both rabbits.
Jack sat still calmly, but Judy shuddered anticipating any kind of violent action. They needed to be ready to spring to action at a moments notice.
Jack, looking at the report once more, laid it on the table and slid it over to Nick. Silence swept through their gathering as Nick read it over, clumsily clutching the paper with cuffs around his wrists.
"That's not what the report says." Jack spoke out, having given Nick enough time to understand this issue. "Which is why, I'm guessing, you're still in that muzzle."
Upon hearing this statement, Nick felt his blood boil. He didn't even hear the beep of his collar.
"I NEVER got into a fight!" he yelled, feeling the cold metal of his muzzle and earning him a jolt of familiar pain.
Judy was the first of the pair to react. She leapt out of her seat with speed she didn't even realize. She would be ready to fight, she could only hope Jack would do the same.
Jack, however, remained motionless. His experience lead him to a different solution.
"Is something wrong?" Jack asked with a tone of concern in his voice. Though he was speaking to Nick, Judy would be the first to answer.
"I'm fine." She said, readying a stance just in case.
Jack shook his head and rubbed the back of his head at her antics. He continued to ask. "Are you alright, Nick?"
Having recovered, though coughing slightly from the pain of his predicament, Nick eyed Jack.
He didn't believe that Jack was talking to him, not that it mattered much. He didn't even think to answer, but had no better solution.
With a sigh, he shut his eyes and admitted. "I don't like muzzles, alright."
The room fell silent, neither side getting what they wanted. Only light breaths and the slightest sound of Nick's cuffs could be heard.
Seeing her enemy in a state of weakness, Judy grit her teeth and walked back to her seat. She had a job to do, they needed information.
"Too bad," She stated quickly, her face turning to nothing short of a scowl. "Now talk."
Witnessing the actions of the rabbit, Nick once again regained his grin. Though he was upset about his situation, he tried to make light of it.
"Sure officer, I'd be happy to talk if you took this off." He said, every word seething with sarcasm.
Her rank demeaned and his freedom flaunted, Judy clutched her hands and cautioned him. "That's lieutenant to you fox, and you'll keep that thing on so long as we're here!"
She wanted him to know that they were in charge, that her position wouldn't be tarnished at the likes of him. Deep down, she wanted him to keep the muzzle for life.
Jack, watching the two fight like children, decided it was time for him to act. He stood up and casually strode over to Nick.
Being mere inches away from what would be a terrifying predator, he asked. "Let's say you didn't have a muzzle, would you help us then?"
To gesture, Nick knew that the rabbit was just trying to gain ground on their case by promising him something impossible. But not passing up the opportunity to have fun, Nick smiled and nodded.
He bore his teeth, full view for either of them to see. He was a dangerous predator after all, and no sane rabbit would want to be near him.
'Liar.' Judy said under her breath, now wary of the danger Nick's teeth posed. But she knew that Jack wouldn't very well attempt to remove the safety measure.
"Very well" Jack clarified, moving just behind Nick and out of view. "Hold still."
The clank of metal was all that was needed to elicit a gasp from Judy and Nick alike. They couldn't believe what was happening.
Judy felt her voice grow weak as she cried out. "Jack wait, don't-"
She reached her hand forward only to see Jack moving around to Nick's side, pulling the straps over his ears and bringing the metallic cage with it. Neither expected this, Nick was free of his muzzle.
Placing the contraption atop the table and dusting off his hands, Jack had to ask. "Better?"
Nick stared at him dumbfounded. He was going to make a joke of Jack's attempt to trick him, but that trick never came.
His eyes focused on Jack who simply smiled back at him. He had but one thing to say.
"And the handcuffs?" He said, grinning and flashing his teeth even more than a moment ago.
Jack could only shrug and walk back to his seat.
"Sorry Slick Nick," He answered, reaching for his files and a sip of his coffee. "I'm not allowed to do that."
Nick rolled his eyes, now slightly more comfortable and sighed. "Eh, worth a try."
Coffee cup down, and having rummaged through the organized papers, Jack pulled out a select few that he began to review. Each one being slid behind the others while he took care to find anything out of order.
Satisfied, Jack pushed the small stack of photos over to Nick and asked him. "First off, have you ever seen anything like this?"
Taking the photos in his paws, Nick began his review of them as well. Though after the first picture, he slammed the stack on the table and turned away in disgust.
"Ugh." He gagged, nearly dry heaving and earning a strange look from Judy.
Surprised at Nick's reaction, and watching as he slid the photos back, Judy was curious.
"What?" She asked, reaching for the photos. Their contents had been no different from the ones she had seen at the precinct earlier.
Still clearing his mind of the image, Nick grimaced. "Never liked the sight of blood."
Unable to rationalize his behavior, Judy called him out on it. "B-but you're a predator!"
Though she got a strange and disgusted stare from Nick, Jack had other questions in mind. He leaned back in his seat, lightly tapping his paw against the table.
"Weren't you a vet?" He asked in an indifferent manner, getting a look of bewilderment from Nick.
The feeling of nausea leaving him, Nick took a deep breath and spoke. "I am both, but neither of those mean that I like seeing blood."
Correcting both of them, Nick felt slightly more relaxed. He had as many questions as they did, but didn't know why they chose him.
Leaning back in his chair and turning his head aside, he wondered. "Why do you want me to help?"
Without much of an expression, Jack pointed down to a few papers sitting in front of him. "Because we believe your theme park may have had something to do with the killings."
"How?!" Nick shot back, quicker than he usually did now that he could be involved in murder.
A well-timed buzz and flicker of the lighting helped set the dreary tone of Jack's voice. "We've received calls about missing predators, many of which we've found have been near you."
It took a few seconds for the realization to set in.
"Nearly every pred visited my theme park." Nick faced down, staring at his cuffs for a moment, he had to prove himself. "I'd have no clue if someone was targeting them."
Jack lifted his hands away from the paper. Finally feeling as though they were getting somewhere, he placed his coffee back on the table "We want to ensure that we've covered all bases. So, do you know of any information that could help us solve this?"
Looking up, Nick thought of the very first thing that came to mind. "Any pred that came through there had their collar taken off temporarily."
As he was sure they were familiar with his process, there wasn't anything that he could truly hide from them that wasn't already common knowledge. "Owned and operated underground, you know, the usual way to make ends meet for a pred."
Nick smiled at the last bit. He was genuinely proud of the work he was able to accomplish in the past few years.
Jack, meanwhile, folded his hands and nodded. "Mhm, we already know how you were charged under the predation clause for conspiracy."
He shrugged his shoulders and elaborated. "Is there anything that we've overlooked from the last search?"
Not the least bit surprised that more info was sought, Nick tilted his head towards Judy. "Nothing that you didn't already take in your raid."
Meeting the fox eye to eye made Judy's blood boil. She was doing her job when they raided the illegal compound, and given the chance she'd do it all over again.
Clearing his throat, Jack had another question to ask. "Are there any records that we can use that weren't given to us, such as your medical files?"
Nick felt himself chuckle a little at this.
"Well, the medical files would be useless." He began, bringing his paws up to scratch the side of his neck. "That's only for my actual patients."
"And these weren't?" Jack asked, perplexed that something like that could have gone amiss.
Nick shrugged his shoulders. "They were guests, they would be written in the guest book."
He shifted his eyes to either rabbit, patiently waiting for some kind of response.
Judy, in this case, would be the first to speak. "We searched that place from top to bottom and didn't find anything like that."
She remembered their raid. The panic in the predators eyes and the flash of their fangs. Her goal was to arrest Nick while her team swept the area. The search team gave her a rundown of everything confiscated, a 'guestbook' wasn't in the inventory.
"That's because it was hidden." Nick admitted, knowing full well now what they were truly asking of him. He felt as though he shouldn't reveal more, but maybe this would help him.
Jack, taking a mental note of this, leaned forward. He was determined to know. "Can you show us?"
The question made Nick more than a little nervous, though he could help them, he didn't really want to get involved.
He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, thinking of the best way to approach the question. If he was going to help them, then he needed something in return.
Nervously, he began to ask. "What would I get out of it?"
The question fell upon Jack who, for all intents and purposes, wasn't the least bit surprised.
Nearly expressionless, he waved his hand as if to offer something.
"In exchange for your help, name what would you like." He bartered, gaining a cold expression from Judy.
Nick hadn't expected this, but he didn't truly want to get his hopes up. He thought for what seemed to be minutes, not a word was spoken as he mumbled and shifted his eyes in every direction.
'Now or never.' He told himself, finally contemplating his exchange.
With a deep breath and somber look in his eyes, he lifted his hands still bearing his cuffs. "Freedom," His voice weak and monotone, still clung onto some shred of hope. "The chance to prove I'm innocent."
For a brief few seconds, the only noise heard from any of them was the rattle and shake of the chain as Nick placed his hands back to the table.
Soon, however, Jack could be heard clapping his hands together.
"Great, we can give you that." He said, reaching into his vest and pulling out a pen he had hidden in his sleeve's pocket.
It gleamed amber and black, somehow matching to Jack's appearance.
He picked through the papers and found a single sheet, separating it from the others, he placed the pen down upon it.
He then looked Nick dead in the eye, for he had one thing to say.
"However, you'd need to be-" He began, grimacing at something he had left in their deal.
Nick awaited what Jack was trying to say, he was going to be granted freedom, but knew that there would be some catch.
"Yes?" He asked, preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.
Jack, unable to keep his focus, felt his ears drop as he turned away from both Nick and Judy.
Feeling himself loose a heavy sigh, he finally explained. "Fitted with... a red-band."
Without notice, the table began to shake slightly, alerting the attention of both rabbits. The source of the phenomenon was quite clear to them as Nick visibly shook in terror.
"W-what?!" He said meekly, blinking rapidly and feeling overheated. He never even heard the beep of his collar changing color.
Before Jack could speak another word, Judy cut in.
"A kill collar, fox." She informed, never once moving a muscle as she knew what that meant for him.
His fear quickly turning to anger, Nick shouted. "I know what a red-band is carrots!"
Upon doing so, Nick's collar turned red once more. Not a mammal in the room missed hearing him bark in writhe in momentary pain.
His experience only lasted a second, but he received a horrifying look from Jack and a stern stare from Judy.
"What did you call me?" Judy asked, ignoring the fact that her enemy managed to shock himself again.
Nick panted heavily, this was an everyday part of his life. But he wasn't prepared to hear the words 'Kill Collar' and him in the same sentence.
Regaining his composure, looking between the two contrasting rabbits he mumbled. "Forget it, I-i'm not wearing that deathtrap."
Jack, in a need pacify the situation, calmly spoke. "It's for safety issues I assur-."
"Whose safety," Nick cried out, pointing to himself and hearing a faint beep. "mine?"
From the tone, he felt that he was on the verge of another harsh lesson. So he breathed in deeply and closed his eyes to try and lessen his stress levels. Several seconds later, and another beep without violent spasms, Nick leaned back in his seat and looked towards the door.
"Look, that's my life on the line." He spoke in a gloomy tone, breathing deeply and reminiscing about his life over and over again. "I've risked that to help other mammals before, but this- I can't wear it."
Jack couldn't let this go, he got out of his seat with his paper in hand and walked next to Nick. He wasn't going to risk having his only lead turn this deal down.
"It'll be alright, Nick." He spoke, placing his hand on Nick's shoulder to reassure him. "It's a standard precaution."
With a cheerful smile, and hoping to get Nick back on track with them, he waved his free hand toward Judy.
"Besides, our lieutenant here will have the key," He continued, now gaining the attention of the wide-eyed bunny. "So your life would be in good hands."
With that he pat Nick on the back and saw the fox weakly smile.
"Oh joy," Nick said sarcastically. "My life in the capable hands of carrots."
Judy's eye twitched, she hated the nickname that he had so easily given her.
Having nearly exhausted his options, Jack sighed. "Look Nick, I know you don't like it."
Before he could say more, he heard Nick mock. "Yeah, easy to say for some fluffy little bunny that never had to wear one of these."
Nick tilted his head to the side, showing his collar off to the both of them. The trademark of any predator in the city, and a constant reminder to them of their laws.
Jack, taking his hand and readjusting his tie, sat the paper and pen in front of Nick.
Grinning as he had one last ditch effort, he made his offer. "If it makes you feel any better, take a look at this agreement."
Jack tilted his head toward the aforementioned parchment and Nick slowly drew his attention to it as well.
He drearily scanned it over, line by line he read. Though he didn't admit it, half of the legal banter made less sense than most of what he had come to know. Mostly abut release notes and limited abilities.
Having had his fill, Nick turned to face Jack once more. "Okay, and?"
Jack simply eyed the last few lines of the document and tapped his pen there. "Does the signature at the bottom look familiar to you?"
Once again, Nick fixed his eyes towards the paper. Reading where Jack had pointed again, his eyes grew wide with excitement.
He couldn't believe what he had seen, so he clutched the paper and brought it closer.
"Are you serious, Snowflake signed this?" The excitement that his voice carried was only matched by the furious wag of his tail and low beep of his collar.
Jack smiled, tapping his pen above a signature line. "I don't think she'd like hearing that name."
Getting the clue, Nick carefully grabbed the pen and signed his name. Though the excitement caused him to lightly shock himself and botch his signature, he continued without thought.
Done signing, Nick handed the pen back to a cheerfully expressive bunny.
"Great, and one last signature for now." Jack said, taking the pen and paper and passing them over to Judy. "Please sign here."
In a similar fashion as he had done for Nick, Jack tapped his pen on an empty signature line.
With a horrified expression on her face, Judy stared back up at Jack. Surely he didn't mean what he said, that she would be watching after the fox.
She couldn't do that, she was a lieutenant. She hated the fox, she refused.
"I'm not signing this." Judy shouted, getting up from her seat and walking towards the door with her ears pinned down and arms crossed.
Jack sighed, he felt that this would come. He quickly turned to the reflective window and waved forward. He no longer needed to be there for what was next.
"Okay Nick, we're done here" He advised, walking towards the table to grab his belongings and catching a worried look from the fox. "The guards will be by to give you temp release info."
Hearing about his release, Nick couldn't help but smile. Though he wanted to get out of his seat and walk away, all he could do was hold his head down and whisper. "Thank you."
Nodding in affirmation, Jack walked towards his assistant who had just pushed the door open and walked out towards the hall.
"Judy!" He shouted, running to her with an empty coffee cup in one hand and various documents in the other.
He managed to slip by as the door shut, closing the fox in behind them to a more hopeful fate than what he would have without them.
Again the two rabbits were alone in the hallway, one fuming, and the other calm.
"Okay, Hopps, what's going on?" Jack asked, attempting to take a sip of his coffee only to be reminded that it was now empty. He quickly grew a scowl with his ears pinned down from his dilemma.
Gnashing her teeth, and clenching her fist to the point of nearly harming herself, Judy turned around.
"Maybe you don't understand this, but I can't work with him." She shouted, trembling slightly as Jack watched on unfazed by her outburst this time.
With her ears falling to her side and she pushed back her hair and continued. "You wouldn't understand, I can't stand foxes, I-""
"Judith Laverne Hopps." Jack began, staring her directly in her eyes with a stern and fierce look."
"Age: 28, Weight: 55lbs, Height: 3.3ft , Occupation: Police officer, Rank: Lieutenant."
She couldn't believe what he was saying. She silenced herself as she understood it to be her dossier file. But how much of it could he know, how much was disclosed.
"Family: Stu Hopps [Father 'Farmer'] and Bonnie Hopps [Mother 'Farmer'], Friends: Unknown, Current status: Employed with the ZPD, Infractions: 'None'."
Jack took a brief pause to slow down. He could see Judy begin to tremble.
"Medical history: Bite-mark on right ear," He spoke, seeing obvious fear in her eyes.
"A result of-"
"Enough!" Judy shouted, stopping him before he could recall more and more of her files.
How he managed to get ahold of her most personal information was still beyond her, but what mattered the most was that someone else knew what had happened.
After being interrupted from recalling the document, Jack slowly opened his eyes to see Judy standing there; huffing and having small tears form near the corner of her eyes.
Being left lightheaded from what Jack had said, Judy soon felt a heaviness on her shoulder that made her lift her head slightly.
There before her stood Jack, smiling warmly and trying to console her.
"Judy, you said you wanted to be a hunter," He stated, staring her in her lavender eyes and tilting his head towards the interrogation room door. "This is what it means and that's what it takes."
Feeling her shudder less and less with each passing moment, Jack released her and walked down the hall a few steps. He motioned for her to follow, but still had more to say.
"I get it," He exclaimed, hearing the slow pace of Judy behind him. "But you're not the only one in this city that's lost a lot."
The two continued down the hall, Judy's pace increasing. They passed by several doors and heard one of them open, several boars and sheep soon filed out and went towards the direction they came from.
"I've lost my family before too, my friends," Jack went on, hugging the side of the wall in order to avoid being trampled with Judy behind him. "I almost lost my partner a handful of times."
Nearing the end of the hallway with their walk relatively silent, the two came to the door Judy had first waled into at the beginning of her time at the prison. With the exit still there and waiting for them to ring a buzzer to leave, Jack turned to the slowly recovering rabbit with a few last minute things to say.
"And as for what I did for Nick, well, you'll have to sweeten the pot to get more help." Jack jested, careful not to further upset Judy.
She only gave him a rather confused stare.
He elaborated, shrugging his shoulders. "You can catch more flies with honey and what not."
Judy could only question his quote. "What?"
"You know, it takes a predator to catch a predator," He followed through, scratching his chin to remember it correctly. "Or was that it takes a perp to catch a perp?"
Biting at his lip as for the life of him he couldn't remember the full quote. Seeing it as an effort in futility, Jack shrugged his shoulders.
"Point is Nick is useful, and you'll need to take him with you for now." He further expressed, reaching for the door buzzer in their size but stopping midway.
He tore his hand away from the buzzer and with a stern voice spoke to Judy "Oh, and one more thing before I forget."
He waited for her ears to perk up and her eyes to meet his as he smiled.
"No riot gear." He stated flatly.
"Wait, what!?" Judy exclaimed.
For what seemed like the hundredth time today, Jack had found some way to endanger her life. She was beginning to wonder how he had become a hunter, and how he was even alive.
Before Judy could further protest, Jack held up his hand to silence her.
Having been successful, he clarified his request. "I say that for several good reasons: one you won't stand out like a cop, two you'll have to be more resourceful, and three because I said so."
With the last note, Judy raised her arms in frustration, she couldn't say much of anything at that point. It wouldn't be easy for her to back out as she was now under Jack's command, but he seemed a bit crazy to her now that she had finally met him.
"Well, that and it's easier to move around, gotta gather before you can hunt." Jack confessed, trying to put out the fire he knew he started. "You can't always rely on armor or weapons to save you Judy."
It didn't help much though as he could see Judy filled with what he could only perceive as unwillingness and fear.
But he assured her. "Don't worry Judy, I'll be close by often."
His assurance helped her less.
"Besides, he won't need a muzzle as he'll be wearing a kill collar." Jack added, tilting his head and curiously wondering. "Have you ever had to be around one of them that went off?"
Not being able to recall any situation that she had to personally escort a pred wearing the collar type, she shook her head.
"Not exactly." She shyly admitted. Aside from knowing what it was and reading about them, she hadn't ever seen the end results save for preds running back and begging to be taken into custody.
Adjusting his stance, Jack explained the matter. "As you know, it's a red shock collar with a timer that has to be reset."
With a nod of agreement from Judy, Jack resumed his story.
"If anyone wearing it becomes overstressed for too long, or doesn't have the timer reset-" He adjusted his tie and clenched his teeth for added effect. "Let's just say, it gets... messy."
Still standing, Jack could remember his encounters with the object.
"Apex really made a monster when they created that thing." He concluded, feeling his hand tremble. "I once saw a polar bear burst into flames from the shock when the timer ran out."
Judy's face turned sour when he said that, she had no idea of how powerful the 'Kill Collars' truly were. Still though, she knew that the device was built for her safety and that of the citizens.
Feeling that his time here was done, Jack reached into his pocket. Pulling out a small card, he walked over and handed it to Judy.
She took the card and found only a single set of numbers. Realizing that this must be his phone number, she looked up to say something, but he vanished out of sight.
"I have to oversee Nick getting his Kill Collar set." Jack called from down the hallway, somehow disappearing fro Judy's vision at remarkable speed. "Wait for him outside and call me when you get to your destination."
She had so many more questions, but not enough time to catch up to him. Now that she had to escort Nick she felt slightly sick to her stomach. Breathing deeply, she pressed the button to alert the guard station of her exiting.
"Welcome to the team, Judy!" She heard as the door buzzed in front of her.
"I saw what wrong with the world. You!"
With the next few chapters (until 7 which will be posted soon) being re-uploads, I'm truly sorry, but I wanted to do this sooner than later to make it a much lighter load to read. I just wanted it to be something you could pick up and read in a few minutes rather than try to squeeze in time to read.
And I hope you get a chance to read this and the other in your leisure. Also, these stories can be found here as well:
fanfiction:
~dancinglunarwolves
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archiveofourown:
users/DancingLunarWolves/works
If you'd like updates, please check the profile page and or P.M. me. I feel as thought I'm writing a lot more these days.
Also, I'm placing my other stories (non zootopia) on hold (just on hold) until I'm done with a good chunk of these. More info on my profile page.
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Till Next Time DLW.