AN:/ Here's the next chapter! I wanted to take a... Break, to work on it... Not.. Really a break.. So... AH WELL! I hope you enjoy this one!~ This is over 13,000 words! :D I tried to find a breaking point, but anywhere suitable was just too awful a cliffhanger...
There will be fluff in this chapter as well. A reviewer asked for more, so.. I gave as much more as I could. x3
Did you forget my feel-train? You still have your tickets. Don't kill me.
ENJOY!(?)
The sun beamed down on anything not lurking in the shadows that breathed, moved, or was set there. Lack of trees in a half a mile radius caused extreme heat to build and bend the air around nearly every mammal that hadn't cooled off in the last 5 minutes.
"It wasn't disgusting."
I was gurgling water, with a large toothbrush I got from a strange dude selling toiletries in an alleyway. The more I thought about it, the slower I brushed and scraped my tongue with the bristles on the pink stick of plastic. At the time, it was nearly the best thing in the world next to mouthwash to me in that moment.
"No, that was vile." I stood up, spitting out a glop of spit and liquefied blue paste. "You owe me big." I grumble, pointing the crowbar sized cleaning utensil in the direction of the clearly frustrated red fox, 10 feet away. He scoffed. "You liked it, and that's everything I need to know to make you putty in my paws." He said, looking over his claws, now leaning against the tree, 6 feet away.
I glared, comically frowning, it was a mixture of scowl and grimace, squeezing the tube of toothpaste in my mouth again, then continue to brush my teeth feverishly under a weeping willow, the legit, only source of protection from the sun, and Satan incarnate. I figured out he can't climb trees.
"Hah. In your dreams, Wilde. And quit moving, stay there." I looked down at the toothpaste label. "FelineFancy: Sparkle n' Shine, Taste Refined." I squinted my eyes. Sounds like a label for a can of cat food and a My Little Pony logo. Turning it around, I stare at the silver-like back, that showed my reflection. I felt my face grow hot at my ruffled fur and bitten ears. I felt them lower in embarrassment.
He slid over, now about 3 feet away, watching down at the flustered vixen. The smirk growing on his face by the second.
"Besides, that wild kiss was once in a lifetime." I say, lifting my head up, then turn to look up at the sneaking predator right behind me. He froze, and looked to me, then to the toothpaste bottle. I shook it, his reflection glinting off of the cover. I smiled.
"Seriously, Nick. Don't ever kiss me again." I glared at him, point the brush at him again. He sighed, and shook his head. "You know I can't do that, Peaches." He shrugged, and put his hands in his pockets. I raised a brow. "Well. If that's the way it's going to be, then I'll just have to evade all of your attempts." I say, brushing off some of the dirt from my white jeans.
I had changed at the ZPD, Judy brought me clothes while I was temporarily contained inside of a cell. Now I wore white jeans, with a black belt with a light yellow tank top tucked in, -I hate having it over my jeans- With a pale jacket that went down to the middle of my waist.
She said they were from Mr. Big, that Fru Fru had forgotten to give them back from the last time I came over to before the wedding to plan cake designs. Well, at least I had something to wear. It was comfortable, and seemed to suit my 'colors'. Nick seemed to like it too, since he commented on it while I tried to escape a third time after his little surprise.
Nick now rose a brow. "Ah, I see. You try, to escape me," He walked away from the willow tree, and closer towards me. I stepped back, cautious. "And that worked out so well for you last time?" He asked, leaning down, smirking. I pouted, glaring up at him. "Careful, Peach. Don't look at me like that, it may.. Start something you wouldn't like." He said, vague, rubbing one of my ragged ears in between his fingers.
I froze at the contact, and looked at his green eyes. So pretty... Like emeralds... He chuckled, as he dragged his paw down the side of my face, cupping it. I blinked slowly, owlishly up at him. "See?" He whispered. "You're frozen. You can hardly even breathe..." He mumbled, smiling now. "Let alone.. Run away..." He leaned down, closer now. He wanted to finish what he started.
She had run away last time, after he had waited patiently for a time to come that wouldn't be interrupted. A time like then, and a time like now.
"How long until she come's crying back to us?"
"Oh, about 1 or 2 hours..."
Enough time to prove his point, to get through that thick head of hers that he wasn't teasing, that this wasn't just that dumb game they started ever since she wormed her way into his heart. How she did it, he'll never know until a long time to come.
But of course she has to be oblivious even to his most straight-forward actions. She made this beyond difficult. She always had to run away, and forget. "Well, I can do this.." She yelled, shaking her head and breaking the trance he had on her, pushing him away, and running down the small hill, and towards the bridge. Judy was supposed to get here soon.
There was no time for things like that, he was only teasing her. Messing with her.
Well she wouldn't let him win this game, or get away with cheating. No way.
"Hahaha! You'll never win, Wilde! Good try though!" I yelled over to him, from his place sprawled out on the hill, to my current spot on top of the bridge. Nick sighed, a defeated look on his face, as a stray leaf from the weeping willow flew down, and he blew a puff of air and shot it away. He smiled crookedly. Oh, this is going to be harder than I thought..
"More bad news in a city gripped by fear." A video of a caribou being carried away on a gurney is broadcasted on the news report, then footage of police officers holding back a muzzled polar bear in a red jogging suit. "A caribou is in critical condition, the victim of a mauling by a savage polar bear. This, the 27th such attack, comes just one week after ZPD officer Judy Hopps connected the violence to traditionally predatory animals."
"Meanwhile, a peace rally organized by pop star Gazelle was marred by protest." Footage of Gazelle is shown in front of a peace rally. Soon Judy, a pig, and a cheetah are seen in the video.
"Go back to the forest, predator!"
"I'm from the Savannah!"
Judy tries to calm the two arguing mammals, as Gazelle is interviewed.
"Zootopia is a unique place. It's a crazy, beautiful diverse city where we celebrate our differences. This is not the Zootopia I know. The Zootopia I know is better than this."
Judy stares out, as a tiger gets on the train, and casually sits down across from a mother bunny and her child. Judy looks on, as the mother pulls her daughter closer, and away from the mammal sitting next to her. "We don't just blindly assign blame." Judy looks down, and away. A saddened look on her face. "We don't know why these attacks keep happening, but it is irresponsible to label all predators as savages."
Now in the asylum, Mrs. Otterton sees her husband through the window of his room, chained to a pole nailed into the floor, as he walks in circles around it, snarling. Judy walks up to her, and seen in the reflection, puts a paw on her shoulder.
"That's not my Emmitt." Mrs. Otterton looks down, frowning. Judy looks to her, then back to Mr. Otterton inside the room.
"We cannot let fear divide us. Please, give me back the Zootopia I love."
Chief Bogo walks over to Judy at her desk, before rapping his hoof against the back wall of her cubicle. "Come on, Hopps. The new mayor wants to see us." Judy looks away from her computer screen and ceases typing. "The mayor? Why" She asks, looking up to her superior.
"It would seem you've arrived"
Judy then gets up, and follows Chief Bogo, and as she passes through the ZPD's lobby, she sees the reception desk, and Clawhauser, packing his belongings into a cardboard box. She pauses, and walks over to him, ears lowering. "Clawhauser? What are you doing?"
He doesn't turn to her, only stares down at the floor to her right, a sad look in his eyes. "Um... They thought it would be better if a predator, such as myself, wasn't the first face that you see when you walk into the ZPD." He explained, finishing his packing.
"What?" Her eyes widen in disbelief. "They're gonna move me to records. It's downstairs. It's by the boiler." He picks up the box, and walks off, tail almost dragging as he passed a few other officers.
"Hopps!" Chief Bogo calls Judy, now waiting by the front doors of the ZPD. Judy looks away from the empty, and lifeless desk in front of her, and walks to Bogo, feet skidding the floor in no hurried manner.
"I don't understand..." Judy said, looking over the magazine with her picture on the cover, grinning. This didn't represent herself, at least, not now.
"Our city is 90% prey, Judy, and right now, they're just really scared. You're a hero to them. They trust you. And so that's why Chief Bogo and I want you to be the public face of the ZPD." Mayor Bellwether explains, smiling. Judy looked down, and softly shook her head. Really?
"I'm not... I'm not a hero. I came here to make the world a better place," Judy starts, eyes wide but almost lacking emotion. Everything draining, except awe. Depressed, sad, awe. Awe in realization. "But I think I broke it."
Chief Bogo shakes his head, and looks down to the rabbit officer. "Don't give yourself so much credit, Hopps." Judy looks up to him, ears still low. "The world has always been broken, that's why we need good cops. Like you."
"With all due respect, sir, a good cop is supposed to serve and protect," She looks away, and clenches her paw. "Help the city, not tear it apart." She reaches over, and takes off her badge, and sets it onto the desk in front of her. Chief Bogo stares down at her in surprise.
"Hopps...?"
Bellwether furrows her brows over at Judy in concern, "Judy, you've worked so hard to get here. It's what you've wanted since you were a kid. You can't quit." She says, folding her hooves over one another.
"Thank you for the opportunity."
She slides out of the chair, and walks out of the room, head down. Chief Bogo and Bellwether frown, sadly watching her leave.
"What the heck is this?" I mutter, shaking a random small tub in the back of Finnick's van. Don't ask why I was there, in a van, alone.
Well, not alone. Finnick was in the front seat. Nick was still back at where ever he was. Near "Wilde Times" the building that was in the original movie plot. I gasped, both at my new light bulb and the door slamming open. I turn to see Finnick, and he hopped in, keeping the door open as he grabbed the tub and set it down. "So, you decided on running off, eh? He's gonna get you eventually." He scoffed, and sat on the green box. I raise a brow.
"Get me?" I air quotation, as he raised a brow, crossing his arms. "Well, yeah. When Nick wants something, he gets it." I roll my eyes. "Usually."
I raise my other brow at him, then. "Oh? So he doesn't always get what he wants? The poor baby." I grumble, leaning back against the inside wall of the red van. Finnick was a cool dude. His deep voice always made me giggle because of his small stature.
"I wouldn't exactly be saying that, if I were you." He shrugs, leaning back as well. "You are his priority right now. It isn't some game to him." I roll my eyes. "Yeah, I don't doubt the first part," I stick out my tongue in mock death. "What I do doubt is the genuine part of what you just said there." I prop my face with my paw, lazily looking around the interior of the vehicle. It was messy, but not too bad. "It is a game to him. Why wouldn't it be?" Finnick face-pawed.
"So, I asked you once, I'll ask again since clearly you didn't answer me the first time." He prodded, toying with his shades. I chuckled in embarrassment. I forgot why I was there, and totally spaced out. Luckily he had a soft spot for me, ever since I helped hustle Nick with Judy.
"What are you doing here?" He pointed his sunglasses in my direction, before putting them on.
I sighed, then sat up, stretching out my fingers, and bunching my shoulders, before looking up and out of the window.
"Just waiting for a friend." I answered. He laughed. "Here? In a place like this? Girl, the only friend you got is yourself, and maybe me if you're lucky." I smirked at this, and tapped the door. Oh, she'll be here.
"You'd be surprised at the charm I possess."
"A dozen carrots. Have a nice day." Judy sighs, staring ahead at the acres of planted and growing crop and dirt roads lining her left and right. "Thanks." She then guides her daughter away from the stand. "Come on."
Judy sighs again. A couple older bunnies walk up to her behind the stand. "Hey there, Jude... Jude the Dude. Remember that one?" He grins, gripping the straps of his overalls, glancing over to his concerned wife, and he frowned, now turning back to his clearly troubled daughter. "How're we doing?"
"I'm fine." She replied, his a low voice. Holding her head with her paw, she continued staring out. The fields were turning grey.
"You are not fine, your ears are droopy." Her mother argued, hands clasped in front of her lap as she looked at Judy.
"Why did I think I could make a difference?" She finally asks aloud, showing her parents what was troubling her, as well as seeking answers for herself.
"Because you're a trier, that why." Her father nods. "You've always been a trier." Her Mother adds smiling gently. "Oh, I tried. And I made life so much worse for so many innocent predators." Her mind flashed with memories of Nick and Suzanne, Mr. Otterton, Manchas, to the tiger she saw on the train earlier that day.
None of them deserved this treatment. No predator did. She figured out the case, and all it did was create chaos, and pain. And fear. Fear spreads like fire in a wheat field. There is only so much that can be spared after so long. You need to put it out before it gets too rough.
The lost wheat will not help things in the future, and be a constant reminder, but even if it creates distrust and anger, it will also create ease, and understanding. It will linger in minds, to know to not let it last longer than necessary, to let it get to what it can get to, but not what it could. Escape it, and take it away.
Even if it leaves scars, and bad memories. It always makes the farmer stronger, by knowing what was right, and what was wrong. Knowing when to take action, and when to look over what was missed. Knowing that even if it was their mistake, they now know better. They know that they can try again, and be prepared when the time comes.
She was slightly jarred out of her thoughts by the sound of a horn. She looks up just as a van pulls up, andd parks."Oh! Not all of them, though. Speak of the devil, right on time." Judy hears her Dads words as she reads the side of the van. "Gideon Grey's Real Good Baked Stuff with Fresh Produce from Hopps' Family Farm"
Gideon Grey himself steps out of his van. "Is that Gideon Grey?" Judy asks, now standing up, glancing between her parents. "Yep! Sure it is. We work with him now." Her Dad says, looking over to Gideon as he open the back of his van. "He's our partner, and we never would have considered it had you not opened our minds." Her Mom now spoke, smiling softly, nodding over to Gideon.
"That's right, I mean Gid's turned into one of the top pastry chefs in the Tri-Burrows."
Judy's eyes widened, and stood there amazed. "That's... That's really cool you guys." Judy walks over to Gideon, as he begins to take out some pies, when he hears Judy. "Gideon Grey. I'll be darned." She smiled kindly up at him, her hat shielding her from the suns rays.
"Hey, Judy. I'd just like to say, I'm sorry for the way I behaved in my youth." Judy looks up in mild surprise. "I had a lot of self-doubt and it manifested itself in the form of unchecked rage and aggression. I was a major jerk." His ears lower, and Judy shrugs, smiling a little. "Well, I know a thing or two about being a jerk."
Gideon slides out a tray of pies. "Anyhow, I brought you all these pies." He says, as Stu and Bonnie come over. "Hey kids! Don't you run through that Midnicampum holicithias!" Judy's Father yelled over, as the three bunnies stop from almost trampling over the one row of purple flowers, and turn to run elsewhere.
"Well, now there's a four-dollar word, Mr. H, my family always just called them Night Howlers." Gideon says, standing beside Judy, as she now stood their stunned. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" She moves her head towards the fox, eyes still glued to the ground below her. Night Howlers?... no.. There's no possible way..
"Oh, Gid's talking about those flowers, Judy." Her Dad explained for her. "I use 'em to keep the bugs off the produce, but I don't like the little ones going near 'em on account of what happened to your Uncle Terry." He went on to answer her, nodding grimly at the recall.
"Yeah, Terry ate one whole when we were kids and went completely nuts." Her Mother shrugged, looking over to her husband, before staring off towards her kids. "He bit the dickens out of your mother."
Judy's eyes widened, realization sweeping over her. "A bunny can go savage." She mumbled. "Savage? Well, that's a strong word, but it did hurt like the devil." Her mother admitted. "Well sure it did. There's a sizeable divot in your arm. I'd call that savage!"
"Night howlers aren't wolves, they're flowers. The flowers are making the predators go savage. That's it!" Judy jumped up, understanding. "That's what I've been missing!" She then runs over to her family's pickup truck, before skidding to a halt, after opening the door, to turn and wave her paws. "Oh, keys, keys keys keys, hurry come on!" Stu fumbles, almost dropping them, before throwing the keys to Judy. She catches them, and quickly gets in the truck, "Thank you! I love you, bye!" She turns on the truck, and drives off and onto the dirt road, towards Zootopia.
I know! I know what I have to do, now.
Judy drives into Zootopia, and through Sahara Square, looking for that red van. Where is it, where is it, where is it? She spots it, and parks, hopping out and closing the door, running over to the back of the van. She knocks on the door, and it opens, Finnick emerges with a baseball bat. "Who is it?!" He looks down, and sees Judy. "I need to find Nick, please!"
"What kind of town were you raised in, Finnick. Using a bat as a form of greeting?" Finnick rolls his eyes. Judy gaped, looking between Finnick and the darkness beside him, before edging closer, peeking around him. "...Uh... Excuse me? Is there... Anyone else, inside?" Judy asks, pointing.
Finnick shrugs, setting the bat down. "Not sure. I'll ask." He turns his head, to shout into the van. "HEY, VIV! THAT FRIEND OF YOURS YOU TALKED ABOUT IS HERE! And I thought you were lying." He moved out of the way, and Judy looked around. "..What? I thought.." She squinted her eyes, until the fur on the back of her neck stood on end.
"BOOGIE BOO!"
"WAH!" Judy yelped, falling back, now able to see the fox on top of the vehicle, her tail swishing in obvious contempt. "Hey, Fluffles How's it goin'?" She said, paw holding her head up, a sly smirk plastered on her face. Judy groaned, rolling her eyes. "Hello, Suzanne."
"So.. It's all good." Judy asked, walking beside me. "Yup." I answer, staring straight ahead, knowing almost exactly where to go. "We're good, we're fine, nothing wrong, all cleared up?" Judy asked, again, ears down. "Yes."
I thought that was enough. "You sure?"
I slapped a paw to my forehead. "Carrots. Yes. Positive." I glance down to see her still conflicted. I shook my head.
"Look, if you realize what you said to me and Nick was awful, and you feel guilty and horrible yourself for saying something like that, then that's enough." I say, putting my arms behind my back, the familiar bridge coming into view. "When people who bear no regrets nor shame for what they have said or done to someone else, or change and ask those who they hurt to accept their apologies, that is of their own fault. But when they know what they did, and see that it was them who caused it, and ask for forgiveness, then that in of itself is answer enough," I pat her head, and she pushing my paw away. "It is alright to trust in them again, and forgive them."
Judy nods, then raises a brow. "I understand. Now, how many fortune cookies did it take for you to gain all that wisdom?" I gasped, and put a hand to my heart, smiling down at her. We went across the bridge.
"Why, I'd never say such repeated words, in an important conversation like this!" I chuckle, now sliding down the rest of the way, seeing as Nick got a new drink. I still had his sunglasses. I whisper in Judy's ear, and she smacks my arm, frowning at me. I shrug, and she sighs, nodding reluctantly, as I laugh manically, though silently.
As Judy goes down and starts up her part with Nick,
"Oh, Nick! Night Howlers aren't wolves, they're toxic flowers! I think someone is targeting predators on purpose and making them go savage." She says, sighing in relief at finding him.
I run to back to the bridge, and lean over the edge where Nick would walk out under. I then see my shadow, and duck for the time being, seeing as I'll still be able to hear their conversation.
"Wow. Isn't that interesting?" I grin evilly. Time for some emotional payback. "Wait... Wait, listen... I-I know you'll never forgive me, and I don't blame you. I wouldn't forgive me either." I peek over, and see Nick. I try not to giggle like a schoolgirl at the adorable scene unfolding before me. Judy and Nick are so cute together!
"I was ignorant and irresponsible and small-minded. But predators shouldn't suffer because of my mistakes. I have to fix this. But I can't do it without you." I cover my mouth with my paw. Oh, Judy. Poor thing. "And after we're done, you can hate me," I could hear her start to cry. "And... and that'll be fine, because I was a horrible friend, and I hurt you, and you... and you can walk away knowing that you were right all along - I really am just a dumb bunny." I held myself from looking down to Judy and Nick.
There is a silence, except for Judy's soft crying. Then the familiar sound of the carrot pen rewinding is heard. I grinned. "I really am just a dumb bunny." Nick holds up the carrot pen, and presses the button again. "I really am just a dumb bunny."
"Don't worry, Carrots. I'll let you erase it... in 48 hours." I hear Nick, and then Judy sniffles a bit, as I recall her joyful face. I bit my thumb, trying not to squeal at the cuteness. I kick my feet, and roll over, shaking my head, remembering the rest of the scene. "All right, get in here." I hear Judy walk over. "Okay, oh, you bunnies, you're so emotional. There we go, deep breath. Are you, are you just trying to steal the pen? Is that what this is?" Judy laughs. "You are standing on my tail, though... Off, off-off-off!"
"Oh, I'm sorry."
I growl in frustration at the directors for making the scene end like that. "So.. Have you seen Peach by any chance?" Nick asks, and I cross my fingers, praying Judy will go with my idea.
"Oh, no. But she called." I clapped as softly as I could. Yes! She's going with it! "Really?" "Yeah, she was in a hurry. Turns out, her Mother was in one of the 27th attacks, and was secretly being hospitalized. The reason she didn't leave any earlier, is because she was visiting her Uncle while it was being broadcasted." I nod at her excuse making skills. Almost as good as me.
"Ah, well. When you think she'll be back?" I hear Nick continue to prob, his voice plain and casual. I could hear the dirt and pebbles crunch, and I peek back over the bridge. Nick and Judy were walking under the bridge, to the other side. "Nick.. She's not coming back." Judy tried to explain, looking up at the fox. "We made up on the phone. She was... Very forgiving. It doesn't surprise me though."
He continued to walk on, as if this news didn't affect him. He did pause though at the end. "Her mother was in critical condition, and she told me that they were planning on leaving Zootopia anyways. Her traveling with us on the case was just a minor setback." Judy still saw no emotion on his face. "She called on the train, Nick. She had just left from seeing her Mom. She's somewhere in the Rainforest District, a relative is keeping her in because her Dad died three years ago. The reason for her being in a hurry was her luggage was misplaced."
I had scooted over to the other side of the bridge, then tried sliding down the side of the bridge, to peek around the beginning, crouching just inches before the stone met grass. Judy chuckled. "I feel sorry for her. She hates the climate there." Judy sighed.
"Carrots. Can you go on ahead for a bit? I forgot something I need to get." I squinted my eyes, and saw Judy's confused face, then she went on. Nick shook his head, before walking back under the bridge. I expected to see him walk out of the other side, but after a few minutes, he didn't. I raised a brow.
Daring on moving, I crawled over to the made-hole in the middle, and listened for anything. I heard a crunch of dirt, and something moving. Before a loud thud made my fur prickle. I peeked around the edge, and see that Nick had fell down to the ground, clear he had tried to keep himself from falling. My ears lowered.
No way did he take what Judy said as true.. She did sound pretty convincing though. I see him raise himself up, and he moves so that he is sitting with his left paw over his face. I looked to the side, guilty. This really phased him, huh?
I hesitantly move closer, his back was to me. I froze. He was shaking. Oh, no! Oh no, oh no, ooh no! What?! Why is he crying? Nick does not cry! Why is he- GAH!
I shook my head, glaring. He must be.. Acting. Yeah, acting!
It got worse.
NICK DOESN'T CRY! I WAS SUPPOSED TO POP OUT WHEN HE WALKED TO THE TRUCK! I SHOULD'VE JUST DONE THAT BEFORE HE SENT JUDY AWAY! I sighed, and smacked my forehead. I guess I have no choice.
I crawled closer, so that if I wanted to, I could lay my head on his back. Silent as I could, I move to his side, and I see him tense in surprise, thinking I was Judy. "Carrots, I'm fine. Tripped on something."
"It doesn't look like you just tripped. These pebbles are only so big, Nick." I say, smiling, sitting on my legs. His ears flicked as soon as I spoke, and he sat up straight. He turned to look at me, and I tried not to wince at his broken look, or the way his ears had been so low they looked like there were none earlier. "Hi." I say, chuckling nervously. He only looked at me.
Gulping, I scratch the back of my neck, grimacing. "Yeah... This was.. A prank? To.. Uh, revenge. Yup." I set my paws in my lap, looking down. Boy, did I feel ashamed. He really cared? Really? "I got Judy to make an excuse, and was going to pop out and scare you.."
"I really believed her..." He mumbled to himself, before turning to me. "Even if it was just a prank, don't ever do that again, you hear?" He scolded, and I pouted. "Oh, did it actually hurt your feelings? That I was leaving, and never coming back?"I ask, in mockingly surprised voice. His ears lowered again, and he glared. "That I didn't say goodbye, and just up and left you? That I didn't tell you I was going to "leave"?" I raise a brow, continuing. His eyes narrowed even further. "I don't bel- "
"Yes." I stopped, and turned to him, frowning. "What?" "YES! Yes, it would hurt me, YES, it did hurt me! Why cant you just understand that this isn't just about the game!" He said, now standing up, as I slowly rose myself, ears lowered.
"Why do you care?! If its not just some game, tell me! Show me! Wait, how can you? I can never truly read you! You're always giving me and Judy some fake smug sly crap!" I yell, pointing at him, as his eyes widened. I leaned forward, glaring at him. "There's no telling with you, if you're genuine, or just teasing. I hate it." I say, crossing my arms. Nick only stared, before shaking his head. "No, no, no! Listen!" I sighed. "Let's go. Come on, Judy's waiting." I turn and start walking from under the bridge. "Would you just wait and listen to me for once, Peach?" Nick yelled, and I groaned, looking back, only for my remark to be muffled by a green Hawaiian shirt.
"Just.. Listen. This is not just some game we started back when we were on the case. Okay, maybe it was then.. But now, its not." My eyes widened, subconsciously feeling the way he buried his nose into the side of my neck. "And the thing is, I don't want you to think that that was all it was going to be..." What?! So it ISN'T a game to him?! I continued to scream in my head, as the one half of my brain not flipping out notices how his arms that were wrapped around me tightened, and his paws gripped the back of my shirt."I don't want you to think that this is fake."
I sighed, and my brain let myself relax in his arms, and for once, let my arms wrap around his waist, setting the side of my head against his chest.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think you would.. React this way. If I would've known it would hurt you this bad, I wouldn't have done it." I sigh, apologizing for my joke, and blink in surprise at the harsh thrumming echoing in my ears. His heart? "Hey, Peaches. It's alright." His voice was normal, and as he gently pushed me away, I remember the rapid pounding in my ears. I looked up at him, and focused on the sound. It wasn't like before, but as I stared into his green eyes, I noticed it speed up again. I blinked once, then twice. No.. Please, no.. I thought... Oh, no...
"Nick, you have really pretty eyes." I remarked, grinning. I have always loved figuring out what color someones eyes were. There were all kinds. He smirked down at me, sadly the shadows hiding his eyes. How bright green are they? I reached up, and pulled him down by the sides of his face again. Little known to me, Nick felt a wave of deja vu. "Wow, Peaches. Didn't know you were that kinda girl." I scowled at his comment, and pulled on one of his ears. He grimaced, and I chuckled. "Yeah. Didn't peg you the type to be swayed by a mere stare." I then looked him straight in the eyes. "I thought you were stronger than that, Nick." I smirk at his longing gaze, and backed up out of range when I felt his paws on my hips.
Anything else he was going to say was cut short, as a loud horn sounded, making me jump out of my skin, turning just in time to see Judy hopping from above the bridge, and walked over, grabbed my wrist, then pulled me away. I looked to Nick, grinning. I blinked in surprise at something I've never see before. A really angry Nick. There's.. I.. Isn't it- I.. How could I have-.. Forgotten... Finnick, he.. Oh great.
"He's gonna get you eventually."
I sit in the middle of Nick and Judy, holding a few boxes of blueberries. He took a few. "Ooh, I thought you guys only grew carrots!" Nick grabbed some more. "Seriously? How can they make a living just on growing carrots?" I ask, and Judy chuckled as Nick shrugged.
I haven't had a blueberry before. "Mm! What's your plan?" He asks, as I grab one from his paw, and sniff it. "We are gonna follow the night howlers." He nodded, and I popped the berry in my mouth. "Okay. How?" He puts more blueberries in a red handkerchief. "Basically anything that has 'berry' at the end of it's name, tastes like a grape." I munched on some more, mumbling to myself. Nick rose a brow at me.
"Know this guy?" Judy asks, handing me her phone to show Nick while she drives. "Uh-huh. I told you, I know everybody!" I snort, and turn the phones screen to give Nick a better look. "Didn't know me, Wilde. But I knew you. I smirked at his shocked look.
Yeah, when we first met, he didn't know me. And due to this other 'half' named Vivian, I assumed she lived in Zootopia. So what he claimed was false.
"Duke Weaselton. Some last name." I handed Judy back her phone, preparing myself for the next scene.
I casually walk up to a stand, where the weasel himself was selling DVDs. I peer over and read over some of the titles."All your favorite movies! I've got movies that haven't even been released yet!" He stated, as an elderly armadillo declined and walked away. "Hey, 15% off. 20! Make me an offer" Come on!" He then sighed, and turned to me. "You, you want so- Wait a second. If it isn't Vivian. How's it goin'? Last time you came around here, you had somethin' for me to do." He squinted his eyes, but regarded me in some sense of familiarity. Just like I thought.
"So.. How'd the directors end the last scene, you know? Did he get away with it?" I asked, and pointed at a DVD, looking as if I was discussing something to him about it. "Oh, that one. Yeah, it's a good set, but if you ask me, I'd say it goes over pretty well." He said aloud, and I nodded. I put my hands behind my back. "Well, sorry, but I really must be going." I say, and turn and tread down the sidewalk, overhearing the weasel try to bargain someone else walking by.
I sidestepped into an alley, and dashed over to Nick and Judy who were waiting at the pickup truck. "So, what he say?" Judy asked, as Nick huffed. I crossed my arms, and sighed. "Well, he actually addressed me as Vivian, like I thought. Also when I talked to him discreetly, of course, about his transporting of other goods laced with the Night Howler flower, he answered with a yes." Judy excitedly nodded, and hopping out of the car, punched me in the bicep. "Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about! Now, let's go interrogate that weasel!"
I wince, and rub my arm. "Jeez, ow." Nick smirked at this, and patted my head. "Aw, it's okay honey, how about you leave the talking to the big boys?" I glared at him. "You're just angry because Judy let me proof-read the greedy weasel instead of you." I say, slapping his chest with my paw. He snatched it and pulled it to his lips, kissing my knuckles. I hissed, and yanked my paw away, and as he walked over to Judy, I see him turn around and blow a kiss.
I make a overly-dramatic reach for it, and 'grab' it, before opening my paw, blowing it away beside me. I turned to smirk at him, but he was already turned around. Crap, did he really think I-?
My face heated up in extreme embarrassment. He thought I actually meant to catch it.. He didn't see.. - Seriously?!
I fell back into the trucks seats, luckily missing the boxes of vegetables and fruits, closing my eyes as Nick and Judy talked with Duke Weaselton.
"I didn't know you were in on this, Vivian! You helped set me up!" Duke said, glaring at me from my place to Mr. Big's right, Nick and Judy at his left. "Ice him!" The weasel flails, screaming and staring down at the freezing water below.
"You dirty rat! Why are you helping her?" He looks to Judy. "She's a cop!"
"And the godmother to my future granddaughter." I look behind me, and see Fru Fru. She smiles. "I'm gonna name her Judy!" I smile as Judy 'Aww's', and Fru Fru sets a tiny paw to my arm. I was leaning against the desk. "Her middle will be Vivi!" I nod. Mr. Big chuckles, smiling at Fru Fru, then turns to the polar bears. "Ice this weasel."
"Ahh! All right, please, I'll talk, I'll talk! I stole those Night Howlers so I could sell 'em. They offered me what I couldn't refuse - money." Judy glares at him. "And to whom did you sell them?"
Duke scrunched himself up, still being held above the water. "A ram named Doug. We got a drop spot underground. Just watch it; Doug is the opposite of friendly. He's unfriendly."
(Gosh, the skips.)
I looked around. It seemed like the abandoned type of place you only found in bleak British movie scenes. "This place looks... Untamed." I mutter, as we enter the old subway, which was closed off.
We enter through a hole in the gate, and I squint. A train passes in front of us, illuminating the rusted old train car. "Come on." Judy pulls me, and I nod, sneaking to the back of it. Nick was beside Judy as she climbs up, pushing the window as far as it would go with how old it was.
She crawls in, followed by Nick who later turned and pulled me in as well. "I could've done it-" I grumble, before gaping at the flowers. "So pretty." I walk towards a bed of them, and reach out to touch a petal, and Nick gasps, pulling my paw away from the purple killer. "Hey, hey, hey! Careful! Don't touch!" I step away from the flower bed, and turn to look around some more. "The weasel wasn't lying." Judy said, eyes wide at the secret lab. "Yeah, it looks like old Doug's cornered the market on Night Howlers." Nick added, as Judy walked further into the train car.
I then yelp, remembering Doug comes in here. "Hide, hide!" I whisper-yell, grabbing Judy, and gesturing for Nick to follow under the table. He looks down at me confused, until he hears the ram enter the room, and dives under the table as well. Judy pats my arm, nodding in approval. I grin. Didn't really hear a thing until now, but thanks anyway.
Which surprised me. Didn't I have keen hearing back at the Asylum?... My thoughts were stirred when the supposed trash can was lifted from in front of us, and Doug empties its contents into a mega-ultra-large canister, before sitting down across from it, to tinker with dials and tubing, as the Night Howler mix swirls through the vials, and ends up eventually as a small paint-ball like pellet.
But what I found odd, and slightly jarring was that he made two instead of one. I narrowed my eyes. Why would he make two? We hear a loud ring, and I follow Nick and Judy scurry under another table as Doug answers his phone. My mind flashes to Wikipedia, the movie, and what I myself saw at Bellwether's office.
The note, the yellow note! It was attached to her phone! It had Doug on it, and a number! I tapped Judy, and she looked at me, and I put a finger to my lips, and her eyes squinted. "You got Doug here. What's the mark? Cheetah in Sahara Square, got it." I tried to explain to her what I figured out, what I remember, what could change something. "You serious? Yeah, I know they're fast, I can hit him. Listen, I hit a tiny little otter through the open window of a moving car." Judy's ears pricked, and she turned back to Doug waving her hands, telling me to hush.
I froze, realizing what I could've just done. "And a fox? Same place? Alright." I felt a tug at my arm, and see Nick nodding to the map. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts, but to no avail. I can't change a thing! Not now, not ever. I'm not supposed to! I've already done enough with Nick liking me, but if I tell Judy about Bellwether before she figures out on her own that she isn't on their side, who knows what could happen. I can't chance anything.
I turn to scan over the map. Before the ram's words echoed in my head. A fox? What does he mean a- Beside a cheetah, and Mr. Otterton, there's a picture of a pale orange fox, brown eye's, walking along a sidewalk. Judy looks at me, and I glance down at her. She furrows her brows. Why am I up there? Bellwether orders Doug to shoot certain predators, and surely she knows I'm not there. So why is she asking him to turn me savage in a place I'm not at?
Judy looks back to Doug.
"Yeah, I'll buzz you when it's done." We see him take apart the gun, and set it into a black case. "Or you'll see it on the news, you know, whichever comes first." My ears flick at sound of a knock at the door up front. "Hey, Doug, open up! We've got your latte!" I raise a brow at the latte part.
"Alright, Wootler and Jesse are back so I'm leaving now. Out." He hangs up, and goes over to the door.
Judy crawls from her hiding spot, and Nick frowns. "Where are you going?" He whispers, and I shrug, following her. Nick tried to grab my tail and pull me back. "Get back here! What are you doing, he's gonna see!" Judy leans forward, glancing through the door to the train car's controls. She looks to me, and I follow her gaze. "What are you two looking at? Hey! Whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it! Carrots! Peach!"
Judy runs over to the back door, where Doug is. "Better have the extra foam this time-" I hear a grunt, and a door slam. I grab Nick's wrist, and drag him from his spot halfway under the table. "C'mon!" Judy locked the door, and had run over to us. "Hey! Open up!" I deadpan. "Why do people like them always ask that? If we're going to shut, and lock the door, clearly we are not going to just open it back up again." I facepalm, and Nick begins to freak out.
"What are you doing? You literally just trapped us in here!" He points to the door, the banging increasing. "We need to get this evidence to the ZPD." Judy explains, and Nick grabs the case on the desk beside him. "Okay, great, here it is. Got it." He looked panicked. No duh.
I sighed, and walked past him, towards the front controls. "No. All of it!" "Wait, what?"
Judy runs past me, as I lean on the controls next to her. She knocks a few controls, and it lightens up, but turns off after a few seconds. She smacks it again, and it starts up. "Hey, I didn't know this was the Millennium Falcon." I remark, looking around in interest. Judy gives me a fed up look, and I sigh. "No one gets a good reference here." I mutter sadly.
"Great, you're a conductor now, huh? Hey, listen, it would take a miracle to get this rust bucket going." I almost fall over at the sudden jerk the train gave, and I grasped onto the window beside me when it started moving. "Well, Hallelujah!" Nick said, with a shocked look.
"Honestly, I think shes lying to us.. -I don't think she's a conductor." I say to Nick, as he sets down the case, and puts a hand to his chin. "Really? What gave it away?" Judy laughs, turning to look at me briefly. "How many times have you driven a train car before?" I ask Judy with a fearful look. "Oh, calm down." She chuckles, as the train began to pick up speed. "Yeah, tell me that then speed up. Good idea, Carrots."
Judy kept her eyes on the tracks. "You're starting to sound like Nick with all the nicknames." I choke on air. "Is that supposed to be a pun?" I stifle a chuckle. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I think this mission is accomplished. Would it premature for me to do a little victory toot toot?" Nick asks, walking up to beside Judy, as I hesitantly move towards the door, as Nick grabs onto the rope that lets out the whistle. "All right. One toot toot." Judy approved, smiling.
Nick let go of the rope, and wiped his hands. "Well I can cross that off the bucket list."
I start to hear bangs and echos down the train car. "Oh yeah, just alert the buffed up rams that were at the front of the car. Totally worth it." I comment dryly, and Nick looks over confused. Before a loud thud comes from the top of the train.
Judy looks behind as well, soon enough to see one of the goat-ram dudes break through the back door. Nick comes up beside me, as I stick my tongue out at the ram, as he charges at us. Nick pulls the door shut, and I move away from it, as a loud 'ding' is heard when the dudes head connects with the door.
Nick locks it, and who I'm naming Ramsey, tried to open it. Nick looks through the glass and up at him, smirking. Ramsey head butts the glass.
"Oh, why don't you just paint a target on your chest while you're at it?" I say, shrugging in exasperation. Nick looks towards me apologetically. "I may have to resend that victory toot toot." I pull his ear. "What, you gonna smirk at him when he strangles you too?" He rolls his eyes, and I let go.
I wince at another thud, now right over our heads. "Maybe that's just hail?" I groan, gripping onto pure air in annoyance. "Hail? In a TUNNEL? What type of movie logic in that? Maybe Pixar, but not Disney!" I say, glaring at him. He gives me another confused look. "What?" Uh oh. Man, I am seriously turning into Brent here.
I frown, eyes wide. "Uh, nothing. Forget that." Nick only furrows his eyebrows.
I turn and run up to Judy, trying to get her attention. "Judy, listen, you might want to.. I don't know, take about 3 steps to the right." I suggest, to the left of her. She looks at me. "Why?" She asks, doing as I said, just as Ramsey #2 bursts through the window, and reaches for Judy, but instead finds me.
"Oh, no reas- AH!" I screech, and flail, when he pulls me over, wrapping an arm around my neck, choking me. Nick's fur bristles. I kick out, and try to escape or move a bit to breathe, but he smashes his hoof into the side of my head, and I fall limp, Judy's angered and concerned look all I see before my sight fades. "Peach!"
(POV change)
The ram laughs, as he drops Suzanne to the floor. He then tries to reach for Judy though stuck, and Nick runs up to help Judy. "Back off!" He only gets shoved away, and crashes into the door. He feels an impact dent, and moves away, and looks out of the window, to see the ram from inside the train car had moved to the far back of the car, ready to try a second time and bust through the door. Nick gulps as he charges at full speed.
"Incoming!"
Nick quickly opens the door, and he charges past Nick and right into the front window, ramming into the white eyepatch wearing ram. Judy gets thrown out of the car, though. She manages to hold onto the door-ramming rams horns.
Nick runs up to the window, and looks out at Judy. "Carrots!"
She glares up to him in determination. "Don't stop, keep going!"
"No! No! Please stop!" "Why would he say that? Isn't it obvious we aren't going to stop?" Nick's ears flick. "Do not stop this car! Help Suzanne!" Judy yelled over the sound of the train car. Nick gasped, and looked down to the unconscious fox not 2 feet away.
How could he forget? He turned to look down at her, and winced. Blood was oozing down the side of her head, and he leaned down, trying to watch Judy and help Suzanne. "Help her? How? Wake her up? The ram punched her in the head!" Nick yelled out to Judy, who was soon tossed up by the eyepatch ram, and landed on top of the train car. "Lay her on her back so that it's easier for her to breathe!"
Nick turns to look out in front of him, and sees that the other ram was gone. Huh. "Isn't that for, I don't know, people who pass out?!"
He jumped out of the way, as eyepatch punched through the remaining intact glass. As Judy tries to get up, she notices a freight train coming straight towards them, on the same track. She gasps, and turns her gaze to see a track junction, and a track switch up ahead. Her eyes widen.
She pokes her head through the opened vent. "Speed up, Nick, speed up!" She shouts, as Nick frowns in fear and confusion. "There's another train coming!"
"Trust me. Speed up!"
Nick pushes the gear all the way round, as the train car goes as fast as it was made for.
"Hey! Need some help?" Judy calls down to eyepatch, and he looks up, just as she hops down and bunny kicks him in the jaw, out the window, and slams into the track switch. The junction shifts just in time and the subway car makes a sudden turn away from the freight train. Judy smiles in victory, but the speed of the car and the turn of the tracks make it lean over onto its side.
"Oh no, oh no, no, no, too fast! Too fast, hold on!" Nick yells out, as he falls sideways, landing on the wall of the train car, as Suzanne slides and hits the connection where the wall met the floor.
Sparks begin to fly everywhere, as metal grates on metal. A fire starts in the lab.
Judy hops inside the front with Nick, and tries to help Suzanne up and pull her away, and both Nick and Judy gasp at the sight of the end of the line station, and the wall that they are careening into.
"I think this is our stop!" Nick shouts and helps Judy by picking up Suzanne's limp body, and follows Judy out of the train car, and onto the old abandoned subway platform. They look up, and wince as the car slams into the wall with a crash. "Okay, maybe... Maybe some of the evidence survived." Judy said, out of breath.
The train suddenly explodes, sending pieces of debris all over the station. One of which narrowly misses hitting Judy and Nick as it flies onto the platform behind them, before exploding itself.
Judy looks over to the flaming car. "Everything is gone. We've lost it all." Judy says, stunned. Nick taps Judy's shoulder, and he points down to Suzanne, who blinked her eyes up lazily, groaning. "Except that. "
She sat up, and moved her fingers, and saw that she had a grip on something grey and box like.
She shook it. "Oh, what the heck? Ow.." Groaning, she put a paw to her head. She looked to the side, and see an excited and relief filled Nick and Judy.
(POV change)
"What?" I then look down, and blink in realization. "OH! I like, have the thingy you need! Wait, isn't Nick supposed to have it?" I ask, blinking again at the two of them. Judy stopped, and I furrowed my eyebrows. "What?"
Judy only shook her head, and Nick's ears twitched. She said something weird like that earlier.
"Merry Christmas." I say, handing her the case. She grabs it, and though confused, jumped up and pulled me with her, as I grabbed Nick's wrist so I wasn't the only one being dragged.
"Come on! We gotta get to the ZPD. Cut through the Natural History Museum!" I gasp, and giggle. "Oh wow! I love Museums!" I smile, as we run up some steps. "I've always wanted to see like, a T-Rex and Sacajawea." I say, grinning. Judy pauses slightly, and looks behind her. "What?"
I raise a brow. "Sacajawea?" You've never heard of her? Someone didn't pay attention in History class." Judy then stops, and so does Nick, so close to the exit.
"Woah, woah, wait. There was-.. What are you talking about?" Judy narrows her eyes, and Nick looks down at me, concerned. I cross my arms.
"You know, the Native American woman who saved the two grand explorers, Lewis and Clark on their expedition." I explain, as if it were obvious. Judy stutter, gripping the case. "No, no no, that's.. What? Explorers? What do you mean? Like, mammals who traveled to find other neighboring lands?" Judy tried to help. She did get knocked out by a ram recently.
"No, no. Mammals? What the heck are you talking about? Lewis and Clark were men, wanting to find more land to claim there own. Write about what they found, draw pictures, see amazing things." I sigh, face-palming. Judy dropped the case, and ran up to grab my head.
"Hey! Ow, ow ow! OW! That hurts, Judy!" She froze in her looking, and turned to stare at me. "Suzanne, are you okay?"
I raise a brow at her. "Besides a bit hungry, yeah. Why?" I ask, and she steps back. Looking behind her at Nick, who picks up the case and gives it back to her. "No reason. Just... Just- ."
"Judy! Judy!"
I turn and Judy looks behind me to see Bellwether with two police rams urgently heading their way. "Mayor Bellwether!" She runs past me, and Nick follows, grabbing my wrist and dragging me along. "We found out what's happening. Someone's darting predators with a serum. That's what's making them go savage!"
Bellwether smiles. "I'm so proud of you, Judy, you did just a super job." Judy grinned, "Thank you, ma'am!" She starts to hand over the dart gun case to Bellwether, but freezes in her spot. Suzanne's earlier warning from inside h lab echoed in her mind, and the facts presented to her now.
Judy stops, and looks at Bellwether suspiciously. "How did you know where to find us?"
"I'll go ahead and take that case, now." The sheep insistently reaches over for the case, but Judy holds onto it tighter, backing away. Fear starts to overtake Judy and Nick as they start to slowly walk away from Bellwether. "Uh, you know what, I think Nick and I will just take this to the ZPD."
I gasp, and back into Nick, when they turn around, and move so that I was at Judy's left. Another ram is blocking their path, and cracks his neck. I gulp. "Ugh. Ew. I didn't even think sheep-dudes could do that." I muttered, as Judy and Nick sprint back into the museum. "Run!"
I overhear Bellwether, "Get them!" and I frown, running a bit faster at the oncoming forces. "Uh, can I be Yoda and say the she has the force?" I yell, and look behind me, yelping at their angry yet derpish faces.
We run through several different exhibit pieces strew about on the floor. Closed off, maybe? I slide to a stop when Judy trips on a tusk display, cutting her leg badly. She falls over, grunting in pain, holding her leg. "Carrots!"Nick goes to Judy, and I crouch beside him. "Here, we've got you. Come here. He quickly carries her over to a nearby wall.
I follow behind them, and duck around the corner, to Judy's left. She winces, and I pat her shoulder. She nods her head. "Okay, just relax." He goes to pull out his red handkerchief, to pat his pockets. "Wait, where did it go?" He looks up to me, and I put my hands up. "I don't like blueberries as much as you, Nick." I whispered, glaring at him for suspecting me. The nerve. I cross my arms, and feel cloth.
Looking down, I see I have a jacket on. Duh.
Judy winces in pain again, as I take off my jacket, and rip off the right sleeve, and hand it to Nick. "Come on, hurry up! She's bleeding here." Nick shakes his head, and grabs the strip of cloth, and begins to wrap up Judy's wound. I turn my gaze to the wall to my left, ears turning and listening to Bellwether's voice.
"Come on out, Judy." I feel like I'm missing something. "Take the case. Get it to Bogo." Judy whispers, handing the case to Nick, then she tugs on my arm. "Tell him everything." I nod, and look down to her concerned. "Yeah, will do. But you'll be with us to back us up." I say. "Remember. Foxes?" I chuckle, before wincing slightly. My head begins to ache, and I suppress a yawn. "And we're not gonna leave you behind, that's not happening." Nick added. Judy looked to him, worried. "I can't walk!"
Nick looks around. "Just... We'll think of something." I point to an exhibit. The two gasp and I hold my breath as Bellwether and her 'security' enter the restricted area. "We're on the same team, Judy! Underestimated, underappreciated... Aren't you sick of it?" I hear a pause, and slow, but spanning out steps. I look at Judy, and I can't shake the feeling like I'm missing something. Something important.
Nick carefully moves to the rabbit exhibit I pointed to earlier, and comes back with a piece of it.
"Predators - they may be strong and loud, but prey outnumber predators ten-to-one." He places it down, looking up at the shadow adoring the wall, in clear view. "Think of it - 90% of the population united against a common enemy. We'll be unstoppable."
I nod, and pick up Judy, as she wraps her left arm around my neck, helping her stand, and turn to Nick, letting him take her weight, as I let go. "Go on, I have an idea." I say, smiling. Judy frowns, and Nick begins to leave as quietly as possible.
Now. Now I can do something. I need to do something.
I turn to the approaching rams, and dive behind a large elephant, and crawl behind it, and climb it, latching onto its forehead, I stand on top of it.
"Why does every antagonist say that?" I ask, putting my hands on my hips. "We'll be unstoppable. Are you serious? That is so over-used, not even under-rated, and more than likely rehearsed." I say, sighing sadly. "And we all know what happens to the villan in a good ol' fashioned family movie, right?" Bellwether looks to me, finding where the voice was coming from. She glares.
"You!" She points. "Me." I gesture to myself, smirking. "That, Fox, Her, Vivian, Suzanne. Now that we've introduced ourselves, I'd like to ask you to not use the dart gun when you corner Judy and Nick in an exhibit." And at that, I hop down. She turns to her henchmen. "Get her!"
"I guess you're not in the mood to change occupations!" I yelp, and run faster, the two rams heading towards me. I look ahead, and see that Judy and Nick hadn't gotten very far. I catch up, and frown at them, running ahead a few feet. "Guys! What happened I thought you we-" I got cut off, because a ram charged at them, slamming into them and sending the two into the exhibit. "No!" I yelled, reaching out for them, only to get tackled by the same ram, and was pushed to the ground, near the edge of the exhibit Judy and Nick crashed in.
I hear the case slide across the floor. The ram puts more pressure on the side of my face, shoving my head even harder into the ground. Bellwether chuckles, and walks up to the display, and next to where I was. The top of my head was close to hanging over the ring. I could see the exit doors from the way the ram had pushed my head to the side.
"Well, you should have just stayed on the carrot farm, huh? It really is too bad, I-I did like you." My mind races. What did I miss, what did I miss. I'm forgetting something, but what.
"What are you gonna do? Kill me?" I hear Judy ask. My heart stops.
The blueberries. Since Nick had nothing to change the serum for, it was still inside! "BELLWETHER!" I yell, trying not to squirm. Don't want them to knock me out again.
She pauses, and turns to me. "Oh, I almost forgot. Your little friend here." I hear her hooves clack on the floor, until they nudge the back of my head. "Yeah. Almost. How could I ever, forget, someone like her?" I felt something cold and metallic press against the side of my neck, then it moves away.
"The fox who always wanted to help, always had a smile on her face!" Bellwether said in an overly cheery voice. I felt the ram grab my ears and yank my head up, and move so he could pull half of my body up as well, but still pinned me and kept me still. I looked around, trying to turn my head, but only winced as the hold on my ears grew stronger.
"The fox who is so kind, and polite towards anybody!" I felt a chill run down my spine at the sound of a click. "Now, what would happen to that poor little fox if all her hard work were to disappear?" I glare at her from her place at my side. I could see the dart gun, now. "What? What do you mean "hard work"?" I hissed out, before grunting as the ram pulled my ears again. "I mean exactly what I said. It's all just an act. It almost had me fooled." My eyes widened. What?
Nick and Judy who were below, glared up at Bellwether. "Fooled? You really are if you think that its all some ploy to her to be kind?" Judy yelled, trying to escape the structure. Bellwether laughed. "What, do you actually believe that she means what she says? When she compliments you, or gives you advice? You trust her?" Judy narrowed her eyes even further. "Yes."
Bellwether rolled her eyes. "Pathetic. Well, I know one thing might change your mind, if what I said didn't." The sheep aims at the captive fox's neck, and fires. "NO!" Judy screams, before the serum shoots from the gun, and lands straight onto the vixens neck.
I freeze, a cold substance hitting me right in the side of the neck, feel it trickle down my collarbone, the dark purple glinting in the yellow light of the exhibit down below. I felt my heart race. She hit me. She hit me with the serum. The serum was in the gun.
She didn't shoot Nick.
"No, no! Suzanne! Are you okay?!" Judy's panicked voice brought my gaze over, and I smiled, nodding. "Yeah, Judy... I-I'm fine.." I heard Bellwether laugh again, before my mind clicked. "I'm... Fine.. It..-" I gasped, then grinned.
"Hey, Mayor Bellwether!" I call, and she turns to me, glaring. "What?" She asked, irritated. "Isn't it.. Oh, I don't know, supposed to be working by now? Kicking in, giving me the urge to maim and maul anything in my path? Cause' I don't feel a thing. Well. I am a bit hungry. But that's only because I haven't eaten a thing for 2 days." Bellwether's eyes widened. "Shut up!"
She walked closer, and eyed me. "It.. It isn't working. Why isn't it working?!" She yelled, and pushed me back down, ordering the ram to pin me back down again.
She aimed the gun right in between my eyebrows. I glared up at her. "If ones not enough, then two will do the trick." She shoots again, and I start to giggle uncontrollably. I could feel it now. I wondered why it didn't work at first. Why it didn't happen. Why it hadn't ended.
When I first freaked out, when I fell asleep. When I was scared of falling to my death. The pain was so real.
"What?!" She screamed, throwing the gun down in anger. "IT DIDN'T WORK!" She stomped her foot. I shook my head tears brimming at the corner of my eyes. "No, you're wrong. It did work..-" Bellwether stopped, and turned to me. She laughed, interrupting me, before pointing down to the pit. " Push her in." She ordered, and the ram shoved me inside, and I crashed to the ground. Judy immediately limped over, and put her paws to my shoulder, frowning.
I knew it was going to happen. There was a part of me, that believed it was real. That wanted it to be real.
"The serum didn't affect you immediately the first time, and now it will definitely work the second." Bellwether crosses her arms. "Really, Suzanne? You don't want to hurt them, yet you told me it worked." I nod. "Yes." Bellwether raises a brow. "Because I didn't want you getting hurt either." I stood up, and brushed off my yellow tank top. Bellwether backed up a bit in shock of my words.
Who was I kidding? When you look in a mirror, you see yourself. Not someone you created.
"Love your enemies."I state, and smile up at her.
"And besides. You didn't let me finish." She frowns. "It did work, but.." I look behind me to Judy and Nick, who looked confused as to how I wasn't writhing in pain. "Just not in the way you wanted it to." I turn back to the sheep, and open my hands, to find them as pale as paper.
Vivian Savage, isn't me... Was.. Never me, and was never her.
"Wha-What.. What's wrong with you?" Bellwether shrieked, grimacing in confusion. I set my arms to my sides. I turned to see Judy, who was right beside me, and was holding onto my arm, as it paled as well. I felt nothing. Her eyes widened, as she looked to Nick, and said something.
I heard nothing.
Her lips moved, I couldn't make out a thing. I turned to them, and smiled.
When you think of something, you get a picture in your head.
The corners of my vision were beginning to fade. Judy looked to me, and gasped.
You create that thought, and you keep it. Sometimes, you even write it down.
I look to Nick, and find him staring at me, soon the sight of Judy left me, my vision blurring.
And sometimes, you get the chance bring it to life.
I know I moved my lips to say, "I'm waking up."
Zootopia was never real, was never my dream, or my thought. It was someone else's.
I could barely make out his surprised, confused face. He narrowed his eyes, and said something. I still didn't hear. So I decided on letting my mind free. Even if I doubted I could even move my mouth.
All I did was create something extraordinary in my eyes. And gave her a place, a time, and a name.
"You're not real. The both of you. You never were, and never will be." What was the point in saying anything? Was it because I didn't want to leave? It felt too real? Nick looked to Judy, and frowned. She sounded so sad.
A back story, a future, a title. A romance and a friendship. A personality, her part in a story I loved.
"I'm only dreaming. And when I wake up, you're not going to exist, and be there. I will barely remember a thing." I look away from Nick, to Judy, and see her staring down at her own paws. I had to focus to see, to make out what was in front of me. It was getting worse.
And that was me.
They were turning white as well. I looked over to Nick, and he froze, looking at his own paws. He looked back up to me, and then to Judy. I felt like everything was falling apart. My vision blurred even worse.
Vivian H. Savage. The light-furred fox, because she's really pale. Like me! Oh, and her eyes will match her fur, and be a golden-ish brown. She'll look like Nick, but of course, be more feminine. Judy will find her on her first day on the force, and end up arresting her for some reason or other.
Nick lowered his paws, and took a step, only for his foot to immediately freeze, as it began to turn white. He tried not to move, and Judy stopped moving too, everything but her head was paper-white. She looked down without moving her head, and saw that her clothes were outlined in black. Like a drawing. Turning to Nick, I resisted the urge to rub my eyes, because they couldn't focus.
Then they'll all go to Mr. Big, but since she's welcomed there, she won't be interrogated with a freezing grave. Vivian, who took her place in the real world personality wise, was well known and accepted with Mr. Big and Fru Fru. After the party, they will head over to Manchas, where they will be attacked. She will end up risking her life to save Judy and Nick's, because she's cuffed to Judy.
"You're crying, Peach." Nick tried to say, but she gave no response. Again. Both he and Judy knew she couldn't hear them. They thought hardly a thing of what was happening to them after they seen her cry. How could they? When their friend was upset, and didn't even notice it. They wanted to help.
Oh! Oh! She'll be muzzled, and it will affect her, because of Vivian's past. Though she herself has never been muzzled, she still feels the pain from Vivian's perspective, because it's her body she's in for the time being. They rescue her, and Nick realizes just how much he cares about her. Though it is vaguely shown. Then, the ZPD will arrest her, because Judy actually intended for her to be put in jail. Though now, she didn't want that, but had thought nothing of it because of her current case, and hadn't given Bogo any type of response of passing for her crimes.
Judy saw her paws begin to fade, as if being blown away into tiny little pieces. Yet she didn't care. She only wanted to help her friend, her partner. Nick beside her, dared to take one more step, now making both legs freeze in place, as all color drained, until only the tips of his ears held color. Yet now he was closer. "Nick. Quit moving." She tried to warn, but he didn't listen.
She'll start to recall things that happened in Vivian's past, that wont be remembered after. Vivian's past is still a work in progress, but I think I got it down pretty well. I might just end it there, though. Since she won't stay long, anyways. She'll more than likely never figure out her past.
Judy was gone. And Nick knew that. He could see most of everything. As she slowly faded away, so did he.
The serum won't work on her, because of her human origin. But she doesn't know that until Bellwether shoots her for the first time. It wasn't her turning savage that scared and saddened her.
As they lost their color, she gained hers back. He looked down, to see his legs weren't there. He looked back up, to see that her beautiful peach colored fur was normal, and her eyes were watery and red, but still that golden brown he loved. He loved her. And she would never know it.
Nick was fine with not existing. He was okay with it. Calm, even. If one thing did hurt him, it was the fact that she still did not believe him. It was fine though.
Because she wasn't going to turn savage. She was going to wake up. She is going to realize, that was her nightmare. Her fear, in this dream. So if it happened, this place her mind built for a few hours, would disintegrate. Go away. She would wake up, because the worst that could happen, did. That's what broke her heart.
As long as she was happy.
The thing is, she wouldn't know it would happen, until it did. She wouldn't realize it, until it was too late. It made her cry.
So he hugged her, and pulled her as close as he could. Until he couldn't feel her warmth, or her heart. Until he fell forward, only to break apart and never meet the floor. To remember nothing, because he was only a fictional character, in a fictional world.
The real pain here, is because it truly was a dream. It would never happen, not really. It will all be a fantasy. A fantasy that was real enough to give someone an experience to remember. A trip of a lifetime, something you'd think you'd remember. The closest she would ever get to talking with Judy, or teasing Nick, is with her memories. Well, even those, eventually, will fade away.
As long as she was happy.
Even if she forgot.
Just like he did, and her too. Just like everybody. They all faded.
Even if things changed.
No matter how real things seemed, it wasn't in the end.
Even if this didn't matter.
It never was. Not even from the very beginning. She just didn't look hard enough.
Even if it was all just a dream.
Dreams can give you pain, and happiness. They can make you fear something, they can help you recall. They come and go, and always give you something to think about.
In my case, they gave me a reason to write.
To when I woke up, to the smell of pine, and bug spray. To the sun shining in my eyes, making me squint as I rose myself up from my bed, rubbing my crusted eyes.
To the DVD player sprawled out beside me on my makeshift bed, hanging over the campsite we rented for 2 weeks. And the Menu for Zootopia looped once more, as I yawned.
To the idea that sprung in my head, at 8:45 AM, on a Monday morning.
Why not make a story for Zootopia? How about an OC?
That sounds fun.