Fox Point

by MaveriKat

Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it but so are those who cannot let the past go. With the rise of the Mammal Inclusion Initiative, one vixen is going to be uprooted from what she knew to live and breath the tenants of the ZPD: Trust, Integrity, and Bravery. Even if the city doesn't believe she can. Rated M for Violence, Adult Language, and Adult Situations.

4. Is Paved in Good Intentions

Disclaimer: "Zootopia" is owned by the Magical World of Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios. The "Sly Cooper" videogame series is owned by Sony, Sucker-Punch Productions, and Sanzaru Games. There are also aspects that will be borrowed from or directly inspired from Zootopia's pre-production works and concepts from Nicolaswilde's "Zistopia" Tumblr blog. Said story itself is a fan-based non-profit work of fiction written strictly for entertainment purposes only. Please support the official releases. Thank you.

Fox Point

By MaveriKat & Nanya
Beta Read By Innortal

Chapter 4: ...Is Paved in Good Intentions

Despite its considerable size, a '71 Ford Lobos Edition Econoline van was quickly revving its way along the Route 13 highway that ran alongside a distance of the Zootopia Monorail System's Inner-Loop track thanks to its V8 engine and powertrain line. However, even if its performance was top-notch, the vehicle was definitely showing its age, what with one of its many pistons audibly misfiring, rust putting a jagged hole in the left underside of the back steel bumper, barely functioning exhaust port and muffler spewing out black smoke, a crack in the port window of the left side, duct tape around the middle of the broken radio antenna, and the driver's side door that was a completely unpainted and unsealed piece of bodywork that had twin trails of rust–one originating from the door handle and the other where the side mirror connected to said door–but it was still a thing of beauty. One of the previous owners at some point had gotten one of the sweetest paintjobs on the vehicle that had ever been! A lovely gold-flaked orange for the van frame's overall basecoat with the inclusion of imagery that invoked tribal themes, primal strength, and predator pride plastered over both sides of the body.

The design was that of giant golden disk of South American origin, particularly the Aztecs if the detailing that covered the drawn spherical tablet was accurate. A gray-furred coyote stood prominently before the symbol of power and wealth, the fur adorned in brightly colored, prestigious clothing. Gold pendants, feathers, furs, and other forms of decoration were used to show his station as a chief. In his arms, he held an arctic vixen, the lithe and luscious female form in a swooning position worthy of the 1940's pinups models, while clad in a sheer, blue silk dress while adorning her lithe and lovely frame was all kinds of jewelry such as necklaces, turquoise earrings, and bracelets and anklets of solid gold. It was a paintjob that screamed the wild and free spirit of the late 60's and the driver within.

And all of that artistry was placed atop a heavy-duty chassis with a twin I-beam styled front truck suspension; the latter needing new shock absorbers. It was a good thing that it was a vehicle designed not only for paved roads but rougher terrain if need be because the exit the van took as it exited off of Route 13 was the Hill Street Exit...

Or as the locals came to know it... Hell Street. As one went further from the highway, the scenery became something like that out of a post-apocalyptic horror film. The van–particularly with its own wear and tear–wouldn't have been out of place among the metallic building fixtures and abandoned vehicles that littered the landscape, left to rust and gather dust and vines. The concrete sidewalks and asphalt road were also showing age, the paved ground giving way to greenery; the only other vibrant splashes of color in the area were that of the graffiti left behind by the disrespectful and spiteful. Not a soul was to be seen on the main drag as the van passed by closed business and former homes that were boarded up with the occasional broken window and spray-painted specist slur decorating the deteriorating structures.

As the vehicle went further in, the neighborhood became more of a momentous expanse of urban decay; everything in this forsaken area having fallen into disrepair and decrepitude. While it would have been so easy to merely blame it on the city council's neglect and rampant vandalism, it was the area's close proximity to the Rainforest District that was ringing the death knell. There was a continuous encroachment of plant-life seeping in from the heavy vegetation and with no active services or interest in urban renewal in the section of the city that was Zootopia's dirty little secret, the growth went unheeded. So even as the tangible remains of buildings and landmarks still stood prevalent, nature was winning the battle in reclaiming the nearly deserted area of the Downtown that its former residents once knew as the Happytown District.

However, as if to defy the battle Mother Nature was putting up, there was one area in the seemingly abandoned part of Zootopia that appeared to be thriving... for the most part, anyway. At the Northernmost section of the district was a cobblestone bridge, the pathway built in an arch as to reach over a brook and into to a considerable plot of land that bordered on the Rainforest District. Despite being so close to the source of the vegetation that threatened to hide the misdeeds of Zootopia's past with time, the land was properly landscaped and cleaned of the refuse that littered the decaying neighborhood ruins. Settled on overall cleanly homestead was a trio of structures. A steel, and slightly rusty water tower, a barn that was covered in a rather faded coat of red paint that was beginning to peel, and a single-story home of simple, utilitarian design that was popularized in the late 40's and early 1950's, with returning servicemen starting new families. While the ranch house looked as though it had seen better days, it was still sturdy and habitable.

Slowing down as it went over the stone bridge, the '71 Ford van eventually came to a complete stop near the barn. After a moment more, the driver's side door to the vehicle opened and the small frame of a male vulpine jumped out. It was a bit of a fall for him due to his tiny size, but he landed perfectly and with that surprising amount of grace foxes were known for, even fennecs such as him. Yet even as he stood as tall as his petite frame would allow for, his short stature was still something that would make most animals assume many things about him.

But the moment those sunglasses came off and one's eyes met his, orbs which burned with the coloration of an amber corona of sunset and held nothing but utter contempt for everyone and everything, those assumptions disappeared.

It wasn't just the smooth style of clothing he wore–the button-up black shirt with red stripe that made it resemble a bowling shirt more than an office one, the pure white t-shirt under it, or the green shorts. Oh no. It was his eyes and the way he walked, the very presence he projected. He was a mammal who had seen much–probably done more. He was someone who anyone would just know was dangerous and would protect what he saw as important.

But the eyes conveyed one more thing, the darker fur around them hinting that even now, he was looking around, trying to discern if there was any ass–the buttocks, not the insensitive specist slur for donkeys–he could take a moment to kick first before he could feel good about being roped into helping the smarmy prick just exiting the passenger's side of his precious van. "I swear to God, Nick..." the fennec called out in a deep, booming baritone that would have been more appropriate on an animal ten-times his size. "You owe me for hauling your shit out of the Rainforest District. Place is damp as shit and the mold gives me such a fucking a sinus headache." He snarled. "Not to mention all that water just ruins my van."

"Please," the taller vulpine scoffed as he closed the passenger's side door. Coming around to the back, the red fox fiddled with the handle on one of the two back doors that made up the entrance into the rear portion of the vehicle. "I thought you'd be more upset about returning to the old neighborhood." He pulled open the metal door, being careful not to make it come off the hinge as he then reached over to open the next one. "Now get your fluffy little tail over here and help me get the ramp down. The sooner we unload my stuff into Honey's barn, the sooner we can get back to work and you get your extra five-percent cut!"

His eyes narrowing, the short-statured canid moved towards the back of his Ford Lobos where his came upon his fellow hustler was standing in the back, kneeling down to try and get the semi-rusted joints of the ramp's track to function. "You mean ten-percent, don't you, Wilde?" He growled menacingly... also a noise that should have been coming from a rather nasty predator at least ten-times the size of the fennec; not counting the male fox's impressive ears.

Rolling his eyes at the show of aggression from his partner-in-cri—law bending, the crimson-furred pred in Hawaiian shirt replied, "Fine, fine. It'll be an extra ten-percent cute of today's profits, Finnick." He then stood up and motioned to the rusted sliding track of the ramp. "Now, do you mind giving me a hand with this?" He idly kicked at it with his right foot in frustration. "I can't get it slide out of place."

A smile soon spread across the short desert fox's muzzle. "Good, because I got plans to take my sweet Cherry out on a date with that extra cash," the small mammal replied before be climbed up onto the rusted back bumper of his van and stepped into the back. "You just don't have the touch, so please! Step out of my way and watch the master at work, Wilde!" Pushing the other vulpine away from where he needed to be, the small animal reached out with his left hand and clenched his fingers into a fist. He then rapped on the wall of the van with his knuckles once, twice, thrice...

...And the ramp suddenly sprang into action. Coming free, the metal plate unfolded and slid out quickly, slamming so hard onto the ground that the edge of it practically embedded itself in the grass and dirt. Now firmly settled into place from the metal extension's weight, the platform would make unloading the back of Finnick's vehicle easier for the two of them.

Turning about in place, the fennec couldn't help but smirk condescendingly at the red fox. "See? Easy as pie. Handling a classic like this is no different from handling a fine woman..." his smirk widened. "But then, you haven't really ever been all that good with women, have you, Wilde?" He chuckled, feeling pride in getting one over on the supposed master hustler. "Not like me and Cherry, that's for damn certain."

The male vulpine twitched at the mention of the arctic vixen. "Yeah, yeah... whatever!" He grumbled irritably as he reached out for the steel hand-truck that was kept in the back of the Ford. He then turned about, attempting to get the bottom lip underneath his desk. "You can spend your money however you want but I find that women are more trouble than they're worth..." he murmured sadly as he tilted the hand-truck back, lifting his main piece of furniture off the floor of the van.

Stepping aside so that his semi-friend could start rolling the furniture out of his van/home, the small vulpine picked the other fox's suitcase and followed after him. "Oh, don't be that way. You only think that about women because they don't put up with your bullshit, Nick," the sandy-furred canid said in all seriousness, remembering exactly how Wilde's relationship with Gwen ended–the gearhead vixen turning lesbian. "And speaking of women, you sure Honey said it was okay for you to use her barn to store your stuff?" Despite his rather gruff, no-nonsense attitude towards life, the old woman still had a place in even his heart of stone.

"Positive," the experienced conman replied as he wheeled the desk across the badger's property, being careful not to tip over the work-space that doubled as his bed. "I called her earlier. She said to bring my stuff on over and to come back and share dinner with her." He smiled sadly. "I don't mind though. Been a month since I was able to make my way out here to spend time with, 'Ma'..." he trailed off as he set the desk down a few feet from the entrance of the barn. Walking up to the pair of wooden doors, he grasped the wooden plank that was hanging on a peg on either door and attempted to remove it. "Hey, would you give me a hand with this?"

Snorting in annoyance, the smaller fennec set down Nick's suitcase and walked over to where he was standing. "Fine. Just hand it over to me. I'll help you put it aside," he told his fellow hustler as he went to stand beside him.

"Grazie," he thanked the desert fox in Italian... as to be a cultured showoff before he let one end of the wooden plank drop into the small vulpine's hands. Nick then went around to the other door and lifted the wooden board off, freeing the door of the makeshift restraint that was used to keep the entrance closed. "Now come on, this way little buddy!"

Finnick's eyes seemed to blaze for a moment. "Stop calling me little!" he snapped at the taller fox, but nonetheless moved with him to get the plank out of the way. Once they had, he went back over to retrieve the other vulpine male's suitcase while Nick himself pulled open the set of wooden barriers that acted as the doors for Honey's barn.

As the entrance was opened, the two could see what lay inside the old barn. It was dim and dusky, the darkness within pierced by thin shafts of light that managed to shine through the roughly hewn cracks in the building's wooden framework. The slivers of illumination caused the spider-webs that were placed along the ceiling rafters to shimmer and shine with an almost haunting beauty. Random bits of straw were strewn about the dust and dirt of the ground beneath the feet of the two vulpine men as they started to head within, making their way towards a series of old but sturdy wooden pallets that were placed further inside the old structure.

"There they are," Nick chirruped as he motioned towards the wooden structures. "Those are where Honey wanted me to drop off my stuff."

Looking over towards the pallets, the short-stack fennec turned his head to look up at his fellow vulpine. "It's surprisingly roomy in here..." he murmured with surprise. "I mean, I didn't expect it to be so barren. Considering what her bunker's like, I thought this place would've been filled with all sorts of assorted crap so one could make it through the end of the world."

Shrugging his shoulders, the red fox turned and made his way back outside. As his somewhat-friend followed him, he explained, "It was Harold that wanted to retire to a farm after his idea took off and it was his time. Honey just wanted to be a housewife..." he sighed wistfully. "She doesn't have much use for the barn but she's not going to get rid of it as it reminds her of him."

Nodding his head in understanding, the fennec could only sigh. "I hear that..." he murmured as he headed over to grab his friend's suitcase. "You know, she really does think kindly of you, Nick. You should take her up on the offer to use her house… or at least the friggin' barn to sleep in!" He raised his left hand and thumbed over his shoulder towards the structure. "I could see you setting up in there and continuing with business as usual."

"Maybe," Nick agreed. "Except for two reasons," he was quick to add as he tilted the slightly rusted hand-truck back to get the desk raised onto the wheels once more. "First things first, I'll tell you what I told Honey... mom visits here. I'm not going to risk running into her." The finality to his voice meant he wanted no argument on that matter. He'd heard enough from both the shorter fox and the honey badger over the years. No matter how much they fretted over it, he needed to get them to realize he wasn't running from his past on this matter. Far from it!

He wanted to protect one of the most precious things he had left from it.

Frowning in annoyance, the short fox hefted the suitcase and made his way in after his pal. Seeing the man stepping onto the pallet and fighting to pull the hand-truck with him up onto it, the small mammal queried, "And the other reason?"

Taking a deep breath, the red fox put all his strength into tugging forward. Fortunately though, he had just enough power in his upper body to get the wheels turning and up onto the wooden frame with him. Exhaling deeply, Nick set it down. "And the second reason..." he gasped for breath as he reached into his pocket and retrieved a handkerchief. Wiping the sweat from his brow with the cloth monogramed with the initials NPW, the male vulpine replied, "Honey thinks I'm too good for it. Says I wasn't raised in a barn, so I shouldn't live in one."

Finnick couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Oh? Too good, are you?" Releasing his hold of the suitcase, the smaller fox raised his hands out and motioned around him with his arms. "She thinks this place is bad? You were living in a boiler room before this for cryin' out loud! Does she really believe a barn is gonna be torture for you or something?"

Shaking his head, Nick told his good acquaintance, "Nah... I think it's because she knows what I've been through... and feels she'd just be making my situation worse if she had me hiding out in a barn when there's a nice house to use." Not that he could blame the woman for her protectiveness but the vulpine hustler had gotten used to a certain truth a long time ago.

In Zootopia, being a fox was a living hell.

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"Señorita!" The shout managed to pierce through the cloudy haze that filled the vixen's skull and muddled her thoughts. "Señorita Fox! You okay?" Carmelita winced as she felt her body jostled. It took her a moment to realize the panther was shaking her by the shoulder as the ability to process cognizant thought began to speed up once more as the pain from the electric shock receded. Her eyes blinked once, twice, thrice... before her mouth was finally able to catch up with what her brain was telling it to convey to the feline fretting over her.

"...Qué mierda me golpeó?" Carmelita queried in a non-too-polite way in her native tongue.

The ebony-furred jaguar blinked his emerald eyes as he realized the woman was starting to come out of it. "What hit you? Loco bunny with a Taser! That is what hit you!" He cried out as he rolled the vixen onto her back. He brought up his right hand before her field of vision before querying, "Tell me: how many fingers am I holding up, Señorita Fox?"

The woman crossed her eyes for a moment as she tried to focus on his hand. As her chocolate orbs began to settle and the blurriness in her vision cleared, the woman took a breath to steady her voice. "...Two..." she finally replied calmly.

Releasing a breath he didn't realize he was holding, Renato nodded his head in relief. "Good. You seem a bit with it. How you feeling, Señorita Fox? Need help sitting up?" Even as he said that, he was already offering the woman his paw.

Staring at Mr. Mancha's ebony-furred hand, Carmelita nodded her head and reached out with her own. Taking hold, she allowed him to help pull her back up to her feet. "Now I know how all those mosquitoes felt when my family would put the bug zapper out in the summertime," she muttered as she staggered slightly. "Good thing I wasn't wet." She didn't even bother looking for the pie, knowing that was ruined–unless someone magically slipped in and grabbed the confectionary before it hit the ground that is.

The panther nodded his head. "No kidding. That would have made it even worse for everyone." Being a local of the Rainforest District, the Hispanic jaguar knew how problematic it was when an overzealous police officer pulled out an electrical device in the pouring rain. No one was a happy camper when it happened.

"Hey now," another familiar male voice spoke up from outside of the vixen's field of vision. "Is Carmelita gonna be all right? She took a mighty bad fall there." There was the sound of someone clucking their tongue. "Mr. H done Tasered her but good."

Turning her head towards the source, the woman managed to smile as she realized it was her fellow vulpine, the redheaded male looking on nervously. "I... I'm going to be all right. Don't you worry, Gideon. I've had worse." Admittedly though, she had never been on the receiving end of an electronic weapon's discharge. Sure, criminals fired back at her constantly, but this had been the first time she'd actually gotten hit. The only other time someone got the drop on her was when Neyla and the Contessa had managed to frame her as an accomplice to the Cooper Gang... not even she could face off against a contingent of crooked cops all by herself.

However, in this case... something was very off about the situation. While it was true that the bunny's speed in acting had been the main factor, the Hispanic vixen hadn't reacted in time not because it was a strange variation of Taser that she was unfamiliar with but by what was written on it. "Did... I mean... was that thing actually called, Fox Away?"

The black-furred jaguar suddenly looked very uncomfortable. He looked over to Gideon, who merely nodded his head. Taking a deep breath, the Latino feline sighed sadly. "Sí," Renato finally replied. "A lot of foxes are... shall we say, blamed... rightfully or not... for a lot of problems around here. And, well..." he looked back and forth, even though he knew it was no use trying to be discreet. With all these rabbits' enhanced hearing, he might as well say it. "Bunnies aren't known for being able to stand up for themselves. They are normally timid and easily startled. A few other things get mixed together in all this and..."

The vixen brought her hand up before him, halting the jaguar's stilted explanation. "I get the picture," Carmelita muttered softly. She was disappointed to find that even outside of the city proper, the mindset of, 'us versus them' had firmly taken root. "I'm just going to guess that such sentiment got to the point where it's big business?"

Nodding his head, the panther once more replied, "Sí. The Pred Away Co. is big business in Downtown District. They made all kinds of things to level the field: Maces, Air-Horns, Tasers..." he shuddered, memories of his own experiences with such products coming to the forefront of his mind. "All of it designed for maximum effect towards specific breeds of predators. As you experienced first-hand, that includes a line of equipment specifically geared towards self-defense against foxes."

The Hispanic vixen twitched. "You people do realize that anywhere else in the world, that would be a Hate Crime, right?"

Both the Hispanic jaguar and the rotund red fox looked at each other, the mammal locals unsure of how to answer that.

Catching onto the uncomfortable air between the pair with what happened, Carmelita let off a depressed sigh. "I get it. A Hate Crime everywhere but here..." she grumbled irritably. Letting off a depressed sight, the vulpine beauty shook her head in disgust, making her navy blue tresses flutter about. Finally, she looked over to Gideon and queried, "Hey, Mr. Grey?"

The portly pie-man perked up at hearing the woman address him directly. "Yes? What kin I do ya fer, Miss Fox?" He replied politely, his Southern drawl ever-apparent. He gave her a small, sad smile. "Iffin' it's about yer pie... I kin give ya one of the others. It's jess that was my only chocolate I had on hand."

Shaking her head, the woman replied, "No, that's all right but thank you for offering. Besides, this isn't about the pie. Just tell me..." she took a deep breath to calm herself. The female red fox still managed to speak in a whisper so hopefully only the two predators near her would have been able to hear... and boy, did they hear a growl in the woman's tone. "Who was the guy that just Tasered a police officer?"

Both men straightened up in surprise at that proclamation, staring at the woman in complete and utter shock. It was Mr. Manchas who managed to voice their bewilderment as he responded, "Es la mujer policía?" The tone of his voice and full Spanish dialect was enough to convey how surprised he was to learn that.

The vixen nodded her head in response to her fellow Hispanic mammal. She then turned her chocolate gaze towards the portly male fox. "So please, tell me. Do you know?"

Gulping nervously, Gideon couldn't help but ask, "Uh... Miss... I mean Off—"

The woman held up her hand towards the other fox now, halting him. "Miss Fox or Carmelita is fine. Honestly, this is why I didn't want to bring it up. I want to see how people would treat me beforehand, when they think I'm just another person like every other mammal." As she lowered her hand, she frowned more. "At the very least, I do want to talk to that rabbit about jumping to conclusions... why assuming makes an ass out of him."

A nearby donkey snorted in annoyance. He may not have been listening to the conversation, but he always had a floppy ear out for specist slurs towards him. "Bitch..." he muttered under his breath before turning his attention back to the stand selling hand-knitted quilts and blankets.

The baker let off a small sigh. He could already tell this wasn't going to end well but he could at least try to mitigate some of the damage if he could get her to understand. "That was Mr. H—that is, Stu Hopps," the vulpine extrapolated. "He's the current patriarch of the Hopps family and head of the Hopps Family Farm. He's rather protective of all two-hundred and seventy-six children of his, so it shouldn't be a surprise that they're a big part of this community... heck, some say their family even founded it." He shrugged. "So iffin' yer gonna say somethin' do be all polite and all to 'em, okay? I don't want'cha to suffer from more trouble."

Bringing her right hand up to her face, the female red fox rubbed her forehead in an effort to avert an oncoming headache. Just great, she mentally groaned. Even in rural communities, politics are still at place. Lowering her hand, she turned to Gideon and told him, "Don't worry, I understand, thank you." The worst she was going to do was just tell the jerk to show a little restraint in the future. She wasn't some hot-headed fool.

Really!

...

...Okay, maybe a couple years ago, sure, she would have busted out the badge and cuffs and arrested him for what he did–which was still a tempting option–but she knew there were other ways to handle these situations.

Tact, diplomacy, and keeping a cool head were all required for this.

And if all of that failed, she could still issue a warrant for his arrest for Tasering an officer... or rather, threaten him with arrest. She may have still been an Inspector of Interpol and a soon-to-be-police officer of Zootopia but she had no contact with either department at the moment, particularly the ZPD which would have been the one to handle it. So at the moment, a stern warning or lecture would do as well.

So taking a deep breath, the vixen made sure to get the strap of her satchel over her right shoulder and took hold of her suitcase with her left hand again before making her way into the farmers' market a bit more. The Latina woman was careful as she gazed about, being certain to get a good look at the faces around as there were numerous rabbits manning nearly every stall and booth on the fair grounds. She came across stands with signs for fresh fruit, homemade jellies, carrot cakes, carrots-on-a-stick, even an entrance to a corn maze...

But then she saw it. On the outskirt of it all was one very prominent stand. While most of the families working the grounds had transportable collapsible tarp and aluminum structures for easy disassembly and reassembly, this booth was a solidly built structure. Wood, nails, paint, and a hand-carved sign all came together to proclaim it as the market spot for the Hopps Family Farm. Dang! Gideon wasn't been kidding when he said they were a prominent family in Bunnyburrow, Carmelita thought as she got closer. Carefully, the vixen schooled her features into a pleasant smile as she made her way towards the front of the Hopps' stand. Catching sight of a slightly chubby adult female rabbit with gray pelt and lovely violet eyes dressed in a pink shirt and denim skirt fretting over one of the numerous kids, the vulpine policewoman called out, "Hola! Is Mr. Hopps here?"

Finishing bandaging the skinned elbow of one of her youngest sons, the woman called out, "Not at the moment." Giving her child one more check over and seeing her little boy was okay, the older woman gently scooted him off to play with his siblings before turning to face the source of the female voice. "Stu headed out to find where one of our youngest got... to..." she trailed off as she saw the tall female fox standing there with a few bags. "Oh... uh... hello?" She greeted nervously, bring a hand up and waving at her in greeting. "What can I do for you today?"

"Oh, nothing much... I just wanted to talk." Carmelita answered as she tried to keep her voice at an even tone. She really didn't want to get this bunny upset either. Best way to play diplomat was to make sure that everyone was as relaxed as possible, even if the situation didn't call for it.

An angry fox around dozens of nervous rabbits was not the way to go. Besides, she didn't want to risk the possibility of dealing with a bunch of Tasers all at once!

"Is... is that so?" The motherly lapin asked quietly, seeing if she could glean anything from the female vulpine. So, turning on a little charm, the female rabbit offered the other woman a smile, both to ease her children that were looking on with wide eyes as well at the possibly dangerous predator. "But dear me, where are my manners? I'm Bonnie Hopps, co-proprietor of Hopps Family Farms." Despite how dangerous it felt, she ignored her screaming instincts and still held out her hand in greeting. It was only proper. "And you, ma'am?"

Offering the obvious mother a much gentler and natural smile, the Hispanic vixen reached out and took the hand, courteously returning the offer to shake. "Carmelita Montoya Fox. Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Hopps." She carefully withdrew her hand, pleased that she was off to a much better foot with the matriarch of the Hopps family. "And don't worry, it's nothing bad. I just—"

"Hey! What the heck is going on here!?" A male voice shouted out, interrupting the two. The pair turned to see the patriarch of the rabbit clan, and boy, he was hopping mad! "So! Trying to sweeten up my child wasn't enough for you, huh? What are you planning to do with my wife?" Stu Hopps demanded to know. The same fox that tried to attack him and his child earlier was now messing with his wife as an obvious way to get back at him and he wasn't going to stand for it one bit! Oh yes, she was obviously a troublemaker, just like all foxes and worse, a vengeful one. After all, he had Tasered the fox earlier!

Although, now that he thought about it, the rabbit realized he should have told those other two preds that were with her to have the fox stay away so it wouldn't happen again. He supposed another abject lesson would be in order to get the point across.

Rolling her eyes, the vixen inhaled deeply and counted backwards from ten. She wouldn't blow up. She could be more responsible and adult than some backwards, backwater hick. "Look, Mr. Hopps." The female red fox began as she turned to the source of the heated voice. She looked down and saw the small brown rabbit standing there, glaring up at her angrily as his hand firmly held onto that of the little girl she'd met earlier at Gideon's stand earlier. "I wanted you to know that I understand things are tense around here... but you can't just go Tasering someone for offering your daughter a slice of pie!"

"Taser?" Bonnie chimed out in surprise. She looked over to her husband with an expression of bewilderment. "Stu, did you shock someone with that Fox Away of... yours... oh dear..." she whispered, her words trailing off as the realization of what was going on hit her like a sack of bricks. A fox coming out of nowhere wanting to speak to her husband specifically and she brings up him pulling that fool thing of his out and worse, using it? "Stewart Benjamin Hopps! Did you shock this poor woman!?"

"But Bon-Bon, she was trying to give our daughter some pie!" He explained to his wife as he motioned towards the taller vulpine with his free hand. "At the very least, strangers shouldn't be offering sweet little children they don't know sugary treats! That can only lead to unmarked white vans and Chris Hamsen on a To Catch a Predator special on ZBC!"

Carmelita took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Yes, I can see that side of things but don't you think sometimes people can be nice for the sake of it?"

"Please! Don't think me so naïve," Stu scoffed at her. "Being nice for the sake of being nice? Someone's always looking to find something to get ahead in life. And even if you were just trying to be nice, how was I supposed to know? You could have been some scummy kidnapper who wanted money and was using that pie to kidnap my child!"

The vixen twitched at the accusation flung at her. "Oh right! Like I'm some big bad kidnapper! Oh yes, so daring and evil! Yep, that's me, willing to kidnap little bunnies in broad daylight in front of hundreds of witness!" She huffed back at the man. "Give me a break, Mr. Hopps!" She snapped irritably, quite a bit harsher than she meant to but he was trying her patience. "Your first response was to pull a darned Taser on me because I dared to talk back at you for talking smack to my face! I mean, what kind of mammal simply throws civilized discussion to the wayside and immediately attacks!?"

"Well, one can't be too careful with a Chomper!" The male rabbit was quick to retort. "You can ask anyone and they'd agree with me on that! It's a biological quirk with your predators! Who knows when you might revert to instincts that have been ingrained in you for thousands of years and try to eat a poor, innocent rabbit?"

Staring down at him in shock, the Latina vulpine proclaimed, "Chomper? CHOMPER!?" She shouted. "Are you really so ass-backwards—"

A nearby mule raised her head and gave the vixen a dirty look.

"—in your outlook that you can only see things in an, 'us and them' mentality!? That sort of thinking went the way of the Dodo back in the Seventies for a reason! GOD!" She cried out in frustration. "I can't believe you would look at me and only see me for a predator!"

Just as the vulpine woman finished saying that that, her whole world was suddenly engulfed in pain; the side of her head throbbing as stars exploded across her vision before she was encompassed by the sensation of flying through the air–everything spinning around her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Her bright violet eyes wide with excitement and hope, a young rabbit with a lithe build and covered in a pelt of gray fur with a lighter shade on her underbelly that reached up to her muzzle and covered her hands like a pair of gloves walked about the grounds of the farmers' market, her gaze drawn to the document gripped tightly in her paws. Both her pink nose twitching and long black-tipped ears pointing up and standing tall were signs of how ecstatic she was about the paperwork in her grasp. Ever since she was a child, the female bunny had wanted to make something of her life instead of being another stereotypical carrot farmer. More than anything else, she wanted to go to Zootopia and become a police officer!

Sure, her parents always told her to settle, that things would work themselves out. Little did she realize that her folks had indeed been correct when they gave her that advice. Just not in the way they intended, the female bunny thought with glee, her smile widening as she continued to gaze down upon the papers. An application form for the Zootopia Police Academy... one that was already stamped with the seal of Zootopia City Hall. It had been pre-approved for her as part of the upcoming Mammal Inclusion Initiative. All the lapin lady had to do was fill in her personal information in the blank spaces and mail it out to receive her acceptance letter to begin the life she always dreamed off: Zootopia's first rabbit police officer.

Really, of all the times she had to work the farmers' market, who knew that one day it would hold the key to the future she deserved? Sure, the booth that had been set up was rather chintzy but the nicely-dressed sheep behind the counter had been very kind and so insightful; more than willing to answer all her questions! The positive attitude the woman had was simply infectious and it just drew her in. While the bunny could admit to being initially worried that she was being scammed, it was when she found out that the woman was the Assistant Major the rabbit knew the booth was legitimate... and more than that, this was her chance to prove that bunnies weren't just cute and timid little creatures to the rest of the world!

And yes, she could say, 'cute'. Bunny privileges and all that...

"I can't wait to tell my folks," she whispered with barely restrained happiness. She took a moment to fold the paper into four parts before sliding it into her pocket before taking off to talk with her parents about this. Sure, they were likely going to be upset when she told them but they were also very supportive. Once they realized that she had an in with the police academy, they would get behind her one hundred-percent of the way!

And besides, making Zootopia a better place was always a noble goal. She couldn't wait to do her part to make things right! Maybe there would be a big drug bust right after she got on the job, a robbery, her father being harassed by a fox, a high speed car chase, a—

The little lapin lady paused in her tracks at one of the scenarios that passed through her head sent the woman's train of thought violently careening off the mental rails. "...Wait a minute! Father being harassed by a fox?" She muttered aloud as she looked on ahead and saw yes, there was a vixen who looked like she was arguing with her father. "What the heck?" The bunny whispered under her breath as her ears were turned towards the group. The female rabbit's eyes widened in fear as the beast openly admitted, 'I'm some big bad kidnapper'! Her gaze turning towards her father, the girl's heart leapt in her chest as she saw that the older rabbit was all that stood between the vicious fox and little Melanie!

The rabbit immediately began running across the market grounds at top speed. Her violet eyes were focused on the tall vixen who seemed to be trying to bully her father into surrendering her youngest sister. Well, she'd show that bitch! She'd show her what happened when someone so brazenly tried to hurt her family out in the open like this! No one would escape the righteous justice of the best future ZPD officer: Judy Hopps!

With the velocity of her sprint reaching its apex, the small lapin waited until she was at the proper distance before throwing herself into in air while tucking her body up into a ball. The result was a gray-furred bunny flying like a speeding projectile of justice! Her knees pulled tight to her chest as she spun forward, she waited before lashing out with a harsh kick with both feet at the last moment; the combined force of the action and the speed of the flight having a synergetic effect to pack one hell of a wallop!

Judy smiled gleefully in victory as she felt the firm impact against the soles of her feet and the sound of a solid smack reached her ears. She flipped in mid-air before landing on the ground with her feet and right hand in a three-point stance, watching as the dangerous fox went sailing across the farmers' market. The rabbit felt so proud at the tableau of silence that followed, eyes drawn to the vile vulpine that went spinning as she continued to go flying before the insidious vixen finally came violently crashing into one of the stands further way. Mental note, the lapin thought to herself. Apologize to the Murkles for the damage done to their stand.

However, the pride she felt at a job well done was soon replaced by confusion. "Oh no!" Judy heard her mother cry in shock and despair. "This is going to get very bad!"

"No it won't!" Her father retorted and pushed Melanie towards the stall to get to the safety of the family. "Judy, thank you for your help but why did you suddenly do that?" He queried as he turned towards his eldest daughter. "You could have gotten hurt! I mean, what if that fox had helpers nearby? They might have decided to... I don't know... avenge her or something!"

The energetic rabbit turned to face her frantic father. "But dad," the younger female tried to argue. "She was getting all up in your face and she said she was a big bad kidnapper and she—"

"Happens to be getting up," Judy's mom firmly pointed out, interrupting whatever excuse her daughter was trying to come up with. Bonnie sighed as she shook her head in disapproval. "And things were going so well too..." she said in a disappointed tone.

Carmelita groaned as she lay in the ruins of one of the stalls, a bunch of bunnies remained standing around her, all in various states of shell-shock. The female red fox's hand reached about before pushing a large plank of wood off of her. Okay, the Taser before had sucked but that was just plain brutal. Forcing herself into a sitting position, the Hispanic woman brought her right hand to the side of her face... and hissed as a dull hum of pain became an unbearable sting. "Shit..." she cursed through gritted teeth, feeling a throb of agony pulsate in her jaw. She was going to be lucky if a nasty bruise was all she had to deal with from that hit.

Slowly, the vixen got back to her feet rather unsteadily... her eyes fluttered open and closed for a moment before they came to focus on a female rabbit was coming towards her. Amidst the blue hairs of her bangs, she caught sight of a grey-pelted thing decked out in an outfit that consisted of a teal short-sleeved shirt with lavender on the lower sleeves and hem as well as a pair of black pants. She was surprised for a moment as the bunny took up a brawler's stance, obviously ready to fight. "Had enough or are you thirsty for more?" She said in an almost cocky fashion.

Blinking her chocolate eyes at the noise, the Latina vixen used her hand to push some of her navy blue tresses out of her line of sight so she could get a better look. Yes, it was indeed a young female bunny that was obviously the one who got the drop on her. Carmelita was about to open her mouth and demand to know what the hell was going on when there was a loud rip; the strap of her satchel breaking as the strain of the impact was too much. As it slammed into the ground one of the top leather flap's buckles popped open and a number of her personal items came falling out or went rolling away.

"... Mierda mi vida..." the canid woman cursed as she knelt down to grab her possessions, such as her phone, many pictures be they personal or work-related, the manila folder that Bentley had put together for her...

And yet, Judy's eyes were drawn to the golden item that fell out and came to a stop near her foot. She idly kicked it over, revealing it to be the gold shield of a police badge adorned with a star that held a central emblem of the world within a wreath and a sword behind it. Her violet eyes went wide with shock as she read the inscriptions engraved upon it. "Criminal Investigation? Department of Interpol? Special Agent!?"

Carmelita groaned and tenderly rubbed the side of her face in exasperation. Well, looked like the cat was out of the bag, wasn't it? "Yes. I was trying to keep a low profile to see how things were around here..." the Hispanic vulpine answered as she twitched in irritation. Her head may have been pulsing in pain but she felt a small sense of satisfaction as she saw the utter horror dawning on both the rabbit that was in front of her and the one who Tasered her. "After all, people tend to act differently around cops." Unless they were smooth or really capable–or both like Sly had been–but very few mammals had those qualities. "I'll give you credit, though. I haven't taken a hit that hard since my days back in training."

"I... I..." Judy gulped nervously, trying to steel her nerves as the vixen seemingly ignored her in favor of gathering her things. "I didn't know..." she finally managed to whisper out. She kneeled down and took hold of the badge. She held it in her hand, feeling the weight of it, both that of the physical metal and the authority it represented. "I'm sorry... I saw you arguing with my father and then I managed to overhear you say you were a kidnapper and..." she cringed. "I'm sorry!" She apologized again as she held the badge out to the vulpine.

Raising her head, Carmelita stared at the nervous bunny for a moment. She stared long and hard before finally speaking. "Assault and battery of a police officer, at best, brings the penalty of a hundred and fifty dollar fine and approximately a six month stint in jail. At worst it can result in a ten year prison sentence."

Judy cringed as the canid cop dropped that proverbial bomb on her. How was she supposed to know this woman was an international police officer? "But... but..." she sputtered out, trying to and unable to find a way to excuse herself for what happened. Darn it! She couldn't let her dream of being an officer of the ZPD die here!

"Then there's the fact that I'm pretty sure I was treated the way I was because I'm a fox." The Interpol policewoman gave a sharp look, not at Judy, but at her father Stu. The older rabbit at least had the decency to look ashamed. "I have almost no reason not to bust you and that man and take you both down to the nearest station for what you've done."

The lapin woman felt incredibly small as the vixen stood up... smaller than she had when she got into her first fight with Gideon Grey at the Annual Carrot Festival so many years ago. Whereas before it was just a bully abusing his physical superiority, this was a woman who had the proper authority to pursue justice as she saw fit... and honestly, the rabbit couldn't blame her if she did.

Judy's dream was over just as it finally begun.

Seeing the tears start to well up in the smaller woman's eye, the vixen let off a very tired sigh. "Look, in your case I understand a little..." she said as she took her badge back from the rabbit. She then turned away from the trembling bunny and knelt down to stuff it back into her satchel. The Latina woman frowned as she saw the metal anchor which was used to hook an end of the strap to the bag itself had completely torn free from the container. Sighing, the canid woman shook her head before sliding the strap back in through the tear that was sized to the anchor's base and brought it on up and out through the top, doing her best to try and knot it together with the rest of the strap for some stability and functionality. "You thought someone was attacking and you went to defend your family..." she frowned as she began tying. "However, that was based on an assumption... one that revolved around the fact that I'm a fox."

"No it didn't!" A bewildered Judy tried to argue. Seeing the woman she had socked as hard as she could with her feet glaring at her, the petite bunny attempted to explain, "I know there are bad people... and there can be some bad people who happen to be foxes... but I know more than anyone that not all foxes are bad. I'm the most progressive person in my family!"

"...I find that people who defend themselves by saying what they're like politically or socially can sometimes be the worst offenders of what they're trying to distance themselves from." Carmelita replied as she slid the knotted strap over her shoulder. It kept the bag closer to her body but she was pleased to find that it was stable again. The vixen turned her head towards the smaller rabbit once more and asked, "Do you know what the worst part about all of this is?"

The lapin lady blinked her bright violet eyes once, twice. "Um..."

Seeing the girl wasn't going to give her a good answer, the female red fox continued. "I just got off the bus after taking a long flight from France and I was just trying to share some pie with a cute child that looked like she was hungry." The Latina vulpine shook her head and made her way over to her luggage, making certain that everything was in order.

"Please forgive them!" Judy's mother came running up from behind the booth and got on her knees before the vixen, grasping into the hem of the taller woman's shirt to try and stop the policewoman in her tracks. "I'm truly sorry for what my family did! You need to understand, we've had some real bad experiences with foxes before. You can't blame them for being nervous around someone like you!"

While she was surprised by the motherly rabbit's actions, it was her words that hit home... and not in a good way. "...Someone like... me..." Carmelita repeated slowly. Letting off a depressed sight, the woman shook her head, feeling nothing but depression set in. "Listen, I'm not here on official business. I'm willing to overlook what happened... this time." Seeing all the rabbits relax, she started to walk past them. Without turning back, she told the Hopps family, "Piece of advice: in the future, don't just assume things. It just makes an ass out of you and me."

Setting down a large squash he'd been looking at back on the stand, a donkey turned his head to look towards the vulpine woman. "Friggin' Conservative views and their verbal insensitivity. This is why I'm a Liberal..." he grumbled irritably as he walked away, stomping his hooves angrily as he went.

The Latina vixen chose to ignore the huffy equidae and continuing to walk past the booths and in the direction she hoped would lead her to the train station. After all the woman went through, she wanted nothing more than to just get settled into the promised condo awaiting her so she could crash down in bed and catch some sleep. Even with the pain that was throbbing through the side of her face, it was the mental exhaustion that was truly wearing her down.

However, as she got a distance, a voice soon spoke up, the familiar tone of the jaguar she had ridden the shuttle bus with. "Oi! Señorita Fox!" He called out as he came up beside the vulpine on her right. "Gracia divina! Are you okay?" He queried as he began to slow down in his pace to stay in step with her. "Gideon and I watched what happened with the Hopps family. That was... I mean, YIKES! You took one hell of a hit! How're you even standing!?"

"Simple..." she growled out. "Thanks to my job, I've taken a lot worse hits than that."

That answer–and the woman's growl–made the feline chauffer cringe in response. "La maldición..." he murmured as he shook his head in disbelief. "I must admit, when we first meet, I had no idea you were a policewoman. But you is part of Interpol too? You must see some crazy shit, chica..."

Despite the pain she felt throbbing through her face, Carmelita couldn't help but grin at him. "Want to hear about the time I got turned into a giant monster?"

The panther blinked his bright green eyes in confusion once, twice, thrice. "...Que?"

The vixen chuckled at the male jaguar's expression before she shook her head good-naturedly. "It's true, Renato. I believe there are still some photos circling the internet if you search. Just look up, 'Mask of Dark Earth' and 'Giant Fox'... apparently I could be seen for miles and there was a lot of amateur footage taken."

Mr. Manchas just stared at the woman with obvious surprise. "...You're kidding me. Right?"

Despite the pain she felt jolt through her face, the woman laughed at the perplexed expression on the ebony-furred feline's face. "Don't believe me, do you? Well, just check the internet and find out for yourself. Some people swear it's hoaxed and in all honesty? That's what I prefer. Believe me though, it was all too real."

Renato just stared at her. She didn't seem like the sort to make things up but that statement was just so... out there! "I... I'll take your word for it," he finally replied. Deciding to get off the topic, he was quick to inquire, "You sure you're going to be okay? You may have gotten a concussion from how hard that little bunny hit you." He had seen people with some serious head trauma before... usually when the fancy parties he was driving people back and forth from got out of hand. It didn't happen too often but he knew what to look for.

He still didn't know how one of those, 'sexy parties' ended up with five people suffering a synchronized set of concussions and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out either.

Considering that for a moment, Carmelita nodded her head, causing her locks of navy blue hair to bounce with the motion. She didn't feel that bad, but it was a possibility. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to be careful."

"Indeed," Mr. Manchas heartily agreed. "Anyway, if you want to get out of this place, you need to head there!" He raised his arm out and pointed in a direction. "There's the Bunnyburrow train station! We can catch the Zootopia Express there!"

The vixen turned her head towards where the ebony-furred jaguar was pointing... and gawked at what lay there. The train station looked more like some sort of mockery of a barn mixed with an Easter basket than a boarding platform. Bright yellow walls and deep cranberry roof tiles were the primary components. However, what stood out was the liberal amount of white wood molding that not only gave the immense structures an oval shape akin to that of an egg but was also designed with bunny faces and ear extensions as well to really drive home the 'rabbit' theme. "...They really take the whole, 'Bunny' pun to the extreme, don't they?"

The panther let off a hearty laugh before managing to nod his head in response. "Sí! But that does have a charm to it as well. Don't you think?"

She managed to give the feline a small smirk in return. "Personally, I think I've had enough of rabbits to last me a long while if not a lifetime," the vulpine woman said as she made her way towards the train station. Being careful not to cause her satchel to come apart, the canid woman hustled to catch the monorail in time while the suitcase she held in her other hand bounced as it rolled behind her on its wheels.

Renato chuckled as he quickly followed after her. "Really? Awww... you're going to make Gideon sad if you don't show up this weekend," he told her teasingly.

"He'll live. I just want to give those crazy rabbits some time to hopefully forget about me," the policewoman said in all seriousness. "Last thing I need is to have them hanging on me in apology every time I come over."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Zootopia Central Station, for all intents and purposes was a living embodiment of the phrase, 'make a good first impression' as the Zootopia Express was how the vast majority of visitors entered the city. The vast monorail station was a grand work of functional art designed to both impress the masses as well as address the transit needs of busy mammals on the go. Numerous European and African architectural sensibilities came together within the monumental space to create meticulously crafted and intricately detailed terminal to induce awe and wonder. The station served a quartet of monorail tracks ran through the building which included, the Bunnyburrow Line that ran to outside the City-State and back, as well as the important Inner Loop, the Zootopia Loop, and the Animalia Line tracks to make it easier for mammals to get around the city. The monorails themselves were surrounded by a quintet of platforms on either side of each set of track pathways for the increased efficiency of passenger loading and unloading while offering seating arrangements for those who had to wait or merely needed to take a load off their feet for a moment.

As had happened many times before and would again for some time to come, the Bunnyburrow line made its way towards the station along its track; a train consisting almost entirely of passenger carrying coaches, all of which were powered on a multiple unit system for uniform speed. The monorail had given quite a show that was both for entertainment and purpose. To its riders it was an amazing tour of the City-Sate, speeding non-stop throughout the primary districts. But in doing so, the train was sizzled in the heat of Sahara Square before being frozen in Tundratown to kill any outside bacteria before it would get cleaned off in a downpour in the Rainforest District, before finally coming to Savanna Central to dry off and be presentable for the passengers it was to pick up at the station.

One by one, the numerous linked segments of service-cars–tri-toned gold with silver-colored roof and base–capped off with operator control carts at either end were slowing down as they entered the Zootopia Central Station; the hydraulics decreasing the train's speed as to not cause any distress to either its riders or the people waiting to board in the station. In mere moments, it finally came to a complete stop and three sets of doors situated on each passenger car opened; a main door for the large mammals that made up the majority of the population, a smaller door that went as high as the lower silver portion of the train for the mid-sized animals, and finally an even smaller bottom door that opened up onto the bottom trim on the car, allowing the tiniest of rodent species to get off safely.

A certain vulpine decided to step off the train through the largest door alongside the taller panther she had boarded with, her satchel held close to her body with her right arm as her left hand pulled her suitcase along on its wheels. "Uno momento, Señorita Fox... this way!" The jaguar began as he stepped off the train's ramp and onto the marble-tiled platform along with other animals who were milling about the train station loading platforms. "Now that we're here, I want to know one thing..." he queried as he motioned her to stick close and follow him to the central area. Coming up to one of the many floral displays, particularly palms trees, he moved to sit down on the seating that was part one display's barrier, getting them out of throngs of mammals that made up the hustle and bustle of Zootopia Central Station. When the red fox sat beside him, he finally asked, "What do you think of the little show they put on for folks on the way here? The train ride, I mean."

The canid woman with navy blue tresses mulled over the question as she looked about the station and the animals moving about around the place. Finally shrugging her shoulders, the Hispanic vixen told her impromptu guide, "It's... different." At the curious look the panther gave her with his upturned eyebrow, the female red fox sighed. "If you really want to know, I can't help but feel as though they're trying too hard to pass themselves off as a theme park with that little tour of the city before letting you off. They could have shaved at least eight minutes off the ride if they made it a straight shot to the central station."

Blinking his green eyes in surprise at that summation, Mr. Manchas couldn't help but let off a little laugh in response to her brutal honesty. "Ah, Señorita... you always so serious?" Seeing her nod his head, the Venezuelan feline scoffed. "Impossible. Someone as pretty as you can't possibly be angry all the time... you're likely just cranky from el loco bunnies."

Rolling her eyes at Renato's attempt to flirt with her, Carmelita let off a rather tired sigh. "No kidding," she whispered under her breath before shaking her head. Her brown eyes looked up into the ebony-pelted jaguar's emerald orbs. "So what now, Señor Manchas?"

"Now?" The feline considered that. He brought his right hand to his evergreen driver's cap, tilting it up a little, before his hand moved to the side of head, idly scratching the side of his scalp. "Well, for me, I need to catch another one of the monorails; the Zootopia Loop will let me off in Tundratown. I'd prefer to go home first but... you know how work is, right?"

Snorting, the female red fox was quick to reply, "All too well." Watching the jaguar push himself off from the seat to stand up once more, the woman chimed out, "Wait! Mr. Manchas! Before I go, can I ask you a question?"

Offering the woman a smile, the friendly feline replied, "But of course! What can I do for you, Señorita Fox?"

"How well do you know Zootopia?" She asked honestly. "And I don't mean the political or species situations, I mean the streets. You said you were a limo driver and..." she blushed. "Not going to lie. I have no clue where the hell I'm going outside of an address." She would have thought there might be someone here with a sign or something but with everyone that had filled the station, it would have made finding such–if anyone at all were tasked to do so for her–nearly impossible.

That made the panther smile. "An address, Señorita?" He chuckled to himself. "Well, you're in luck. I know this city like the back of my palm; been driving it for better part of six years. So tell me, Carmelita... where do you need to go?"

"I need to get to 6946 Herd Street," the female vulpine replied. "My boss told me that ZPD set up a modest condo for me at a placed called the, 'Flamingle Flats'."

Renato's eyes widened in recognition. "Ah, I know that place. Pretty swinging place to be too from what I understand. It's a pretty new and swanky place in Northern part of Savanna Central, bordering on Downtown," he explained in all seriousness. He brought his hands together, tapping his index fingers against each other as he thought about it. "Okay. Señorita Fox, when you head out, you're going to want to head East until you hit the Viridian River, then you take a left. You want to follow along it. Now heads up, it's gonna zigzag a little but that's okay, just follow it in a Northern direction until it intersects with Aardvark Avenue. From there, you just head East again until you cross the intersection with Migration Drive and it becomes Herd Street. You can't miss the place; is flashiest building on the block!"

The woman smiled gratefully at the panther. "Gracias, Señor Manchas. Muchos gracias," she praised in her native tongue, making her fellow Latino blush a bit at the praise to the point where it managed to show up through the ebony fur on his face. "I still got your gusiness card and I'll do my best to keep in touch. I have a feeling it would be nice to have a friend out here."

The panther was grinning from ear-to-ear. "And it will be a pleasure to be friends with a lady as beautiful as yourself." He then brought his right hand up to the side of his head and gave her a two fingered salute. "As for me, I need to head out. But if you need anything or just feel like talking, don't be afraid to call!" And with that, he turned about and headed off into the throngs of would-be-passengers and other animals shuffling about the station, disappearing into the crowd as he made his way towards his desired monorail line.

Watching as the man left, Carmelita did a mental check of the instructions he had given her. Feeling confident, the woman got up and took a moment to make sure her satchel was still stable. She then stepped out and into the oppressively cavernous main concourse of the train station, before being swept up within the waves of bustling mammals. It was a tad difficult to get a good look at everything thanks to the vast array of taller species, but she could make out that the interior had various fast food outlets among a number of familiar chain stores including a Snarlbucks, a Cinnabone, a Mice-Aid Pharmacy, and even a Carrot store with an advertisement for pre-ordering the upcoming Zoogle glasses.

It seemed that despite being a sovereign nation, external commerce was alive and well in Zootopia... and she hadn't even left the train station! Although I can't stand around gawking. I need to get to Flamingle Flats! So with that thought in mind, the vixen pulled her luggage behind her as she walked about, being careful not to get pushed around by the much larger mammals that were also doing their best to either make it to a monorail, reach a business, or simply exit the place just as she was trying to do.

Walking towards what she hoped was the exit, a series of colorful plastic tubes caught the woman's eye. Taking a good look at them, the female red fox couldn't help but smile as she realized what they were. For a place that was supposed to have been taken over by the mindset of, 'survival of the fittest' she had to admit it was rather progressive on the city's part to set up pneumatic tube transport for the much smaller animals to make it easier for them to get around a busy transportation plaza like this one. Such made it incredibly safer for them to get around too... even if all the unnecessary vertical loops and hot neon colors could have been considered demeaning for the poor rodent population but perhaps that helped them navigate their way around the area as well. Different colors for different entry and exit points.

Finally, after fifteen minutes of trying to exit the massive place, the vixen was successful in stepping out of the Zootopia Central Station. In doing so, Carmelita was surprised to find herself smack-dab in the middle of a major commercial intersection, the likes of which could have rivaled New York's Times Square! There were just so many illuminated billboards and jumbotron screens that plastered the sides of buildings and towered over all the mammals. Lots of cars, a trolley system, and pedestrian traffic filled the city streets while the sidewalks were crowded with food carts, street performances, and all sorts of things to entice animals to spend their hard-earned cash on. Besides the towering advertisements, this section of the city had everything. In the center of it all was natural oasis turned water fountain, a monument to the past and a bright future which numerous major amenities were built around: city hall, the police station, a major library, a grand hotel and restaurant, and the grandiose train station she exited from just to name a few.

However, what caught Carmelita's attention the most was not the immense buildings or important municipal offices but that the city was noticeably filled with mammals from all walks of life. Whether it was the smallest gerbil, the tallest giraffe, the widest elephant, the skinniest ferret, and everything in between! Every sort of mammal was almost immediately represented, be they businessmen, junior ranger scout troops, exercise enthusiasts, school children, retail employees, or whatever life could possibly hold! Any species of mammal the female red fox could think of was immediately within her gaze with the mere turn of her head!

It was almost hilarious how being in a crowded city with all kinds of animals did more to impress the vulpine policewoman than all the glitz and glamour of the monorail ride into Zootopia had done. Seeing a truly balanced modern ecosystem was almost enough to give her hope that perhaps this place had moved further beyond the specism than Bentley's intelligence gathering had let on. "And I could be a part of making it even better," she whispered, feeling pride and even a bit of excitement once again, something having to deal with all those bunny hicks back in the Burrows had stripped from her.

Carmelita was then surprised as–almost as if on cue–the imagery on one of the Jumbotron screens changed, switching from a Cub Soda advertisement to showing a larger than life recording of the Colombian transplant, the famed superstar musician Gazelle. The picturesque representation of the tall and slender gazelle smiled as she looked towards the camera, her wavy blonde hair bouncing with the motion as she fluttered those long and feminine eyelashes, highlighting the gleam of her light brown eyes. Finally, amidst a speaker system, the recording of the famous singer greeted, "Welcome to Zootopia!"

"Welcome indeed, Miss Loco for her Tigré..." the female red fox murmured back before letting off a small giggle, the feminine sound coming out rather pretty and melodious. So with that thought in mind, the Hispanic vixen repositioned the knotted strap of her satchel on her shoulder and gripped her suitcase tighter before making her way in an Eastward direction like Mr. Manchas had told her to. Walking out into Savanna Central, the woman was surprised at how she felt at ease. It was loud, busy, crowded, lots of traffic... yet it was a city that was practically screaming with energy and culture thanks to the diversity in both its population and architecture. It was enough to reenergize the woman, enough to where even the pain the side of her face didn't seem as prominent anymore.

"Just need to keep moving. Don't want to get caught under any of these larger mammals," the vulpine woman muttered to herself. She couldn't help but wonder for a moment if she should just call a cab, before shrugging it off. It was a nice day and walking had a nice benefit of committing places to one's spatial memory. Plus it would help her get a chance to see how the average person lived around Zootopia.

Although she REALLY hoped there was no, 'Bubba-Gump' kind of mammals around here. The last thing she wanted to see was a shirtless, greasy, obese animal in a lawn chair in front of an RV trailer trying to hit on her again.

Not that she expected to see such in a city... but considering how much open space Zootopia seemed to allow some of these districts, she couldn't be too certain.

So with that thought in mind, the Latina vulpine looked up at the sky, taking in the view and allowing the sunlight to shin down on her face, taking strength and comfort from it. Then without further ado, the canid cop continued heading in an Eastern direction, doing her best to follow crosswalks as she made her way across street intersections and stuck to the sidewalks. It really could have been New York if the Big Apple had been given brighter splashes of color and had a few more curvier buildings. The city on the East Coast was known for bright neon lights but Zootopia had all kinds of unique and naturally brightly-colored architecture!

Even as she took in the sights and sounds of the city, the woman's intuition was on high; the Interpol officer was very attentive of where she walked, taking in the name of street signs as she passed them until finally, Carmelita came up to bridge passing over the Viridian River. Mr. Manchas told her to head North along until she hit Aardvark Avenue and the sign by this section of the water crossing was certainly NOT where he told her to go. So turning to her left, the female red fox started walking once more as she began heading towards the direction of Downtown.

As she got further North from Savanna Central, the female red fox couldn't help but notice that the pretty colors started to die down. Even if the architecture maintained rather ethnic designs, they were more in tune with their surroundings. To the vulpine, this part of the city started to feel more, 'real' for lack of better terms. "Huh... I guess they keep the central area bright and happy for tourists and PR crap." While a depressing thought, it did make far too much sense.

Despite the problems she had getting here and the actual enjoyment she got out of the arrival area Carmelita had to admit, this was nice to see too. She always had a fondness for large buildings and the designs were pretty neat as well. Like one of the conical spiral designs that appeared where one would expect an apartment building...

Blinking her brown eyes once, twice, it took a moment but realization soon his the Latina vulpine like a sack of bricks. "Oh wait... that is an apartment building." She laughed softly to herself. There was another structure in the next block that looked like a shoe and one that looked like some sort of hydrant and bone mix. "Interesting architecture..."

"Hey, cat! I wanna go play!"

"Gah! No, I need to do my–DA~AANG IT!"

Pausing in her tracks, the Latian vixen blinked her chocolate eyes in shock as she watched a dog go sailing past her. "...Did I just see a cat and dog conjoined at the waist run off just now?" Shaking her head to clear it, the woman blinked her eyes as the building shaped like a fire hydrant took on a form more akin to a fire-red brick building... and the cat-dog thing now appeared as two children running alongside each other hand-in-hand. "...Maybe Manchas was right and that hit to the head was a bit worse than I thought..." the policewoman murmured as she shook her head once more for good measure and continued to make her way North, looking to her right occasionally at the river where she would catch sight of some sort of boat on it every so often. Each bridge she passed denoted a new street but not the one she was searching for.

When she passed another half dozen city blocks though, that was when things started to change. Carmelita frowned as she noticed the colors were now very... blunt. More dark earth tones were at play, making it seem like more a traditional city than the fantastical thing that made up the central aspect that was all bright and welcoming. It now felt that she was in the real Zootopia...

...A real Zootopia that almost killed her.

"Jesús Cristo!" The Latina beauty cried out as she had to jump back; a Ewe-Haul truck was, as its brand name would suggest, hauling ass over the bridge even as she had the crosswalk lights in her favor, the woman stumbling back a number of steps to avoid being turned into street pizza. It was only thanks to her grip on her luggage that she kept from falling down in the street.

"Watch where you're going, you dumb fox!" She heard the driver shout towards her direction as he continued to take off down the road at a speedy clip. True, she never got a good look at the driver but the voice was definitely masculine.

After a moment, the visibly shaken woman was about to shrug off the paranoia such an event instilled. Truck drivers were notorious for having terribly short tempers; mostly due to the fact that they had to get stuff done quickly. The whole, 'dumb fox' quip probably had no meaning at all. "Likely no different than being called a, 'dumb broad' or something..." Carmelita surmised as she began to walk across the street once more while she still had the crosswalk light in her favor. Yet now, as she did the vulpine's ears were perked up... and boy, she wasn't liking what she could hear in hushed tones.

"Mommy! Look! A tiny chomper!"

"Shhh! Don't say that out loud or she might bite you, baby."

"EEEK!"

Biting her lower lip to keep from snapping out, the canid woman's eye twitched in irritation. Really? What the heck was that for!?

"I thought friggin' foxes didn't skulk around during the day." The vixen heard another mammal say. She didn't bother looking for the person, because she just wanted to get past them already. "Guess they're starting to get bold, huh?" The female red fox heard another judgmental animal say in response to the previous person.

I SO should have called for that cab. All this specist talk is getting pretty damn annoying, Carm thought to herself. Even if they were very... pointed remarks, she could ignore them.

After all, she had been called far worse by the crooks she put behind bars.

So with that thought in mind, the policewoman continued on her way. The female red fox made it another block before she caught sight of a familiar yellow coloration not too far ahead in her field of vision. Blinking her eyes to make sure, the vulpine woman realized that, yes, she did indeed see a taxi cab! The Hispanic vulpine smiled as she started to pick up the pace, weaving about people on the street to reach the public transport, the sound of the wheels on her luggage becoming quite audible as they sped up behind her. Making her way to the passenger's side of the cab, the lovely Latina smiled as she saw a male caribou inside the front seat, the driver checking his meter. "Pardon me! Can I please get a ride to Herd Street?"

The herbivore smiled at the sound of such a lovely female voice. "Sure thing, lady! I'll—" the words died on his lips as he looked up to see the smiling visage of a fox outside his vehicle. His right hand immediately shot down and gripped the gear shaft, the driver taking his vehicle out of park and transitioning it to the drive gear before rocketing off into the traffic lane.

Standing on the edge of the side walk, the vulpine policewoman just stared, her jaw hanging low. And yet as she stood there, she could hear more and more of the spiteful, hateful words from the passersby. Hushed tones as to not immediately draw attention but loud and angry enough to get their point across: Carmelita wasn't welcome unless she lived up to the vixen stereotype.

"Can't believe someone like that would be here."

"Look at her chest! Think they're real?"

"Nah, they gotta be fake. Though I wonder how much she charges per hour."

"Quite a lot of she can afford to stay at Herd Street."

"Yeah, probably couldn't afford her."

"Even if you could, you wouldn't want any of that... would you?"

Her fingers clenching her hands into tight fists, Carmelita twitched angrily at the voices whispering around her, seeing her as nothing more than a whore. "I really should have gotten a ride earlier by the train station." She grumbled in impotent fury. Oh she was going to have FUN when she came back here later in uniform...

The amount of people panicing at a fox police officer would make for a good laugh later on.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves and hopefully ignore the comments as she walked, the woman continued to follow the river. As she got closer to the Downtown District, the amount of mammals mouthing off did minimalize. However, those whose words did reach the woman's hearing, it became obvious that they weren't all that friendly towards her species as triangular-tipped ears stood tall above her navy blue tresses and caught wind of some of the most disgraceful slurs to her species that likely hadn't been in any common language outside of Zootopia for the past fifty years!

"Savage beast."

"Pelt."

And the dreaded, most specist of phrases for foxes: the Y-word.

"Yiffer."

Carmelita had to grit her teeth and actively suppress her rage to avoid jumping the elderly stag. She was certain she'd break the old fart's hip if she did but good God! The Y-word! The fucker actually said the Y-word! How could anyone honestly say that with a straight face!?

"And just like that, the positive energy I got on arrival is gone..." she murmured bitterly as she continued to make her way in a Northern direction until finally... finally... she made it to Aardvark Ave. Turning about, the woman headed over the bridge and continued on her way. Not too far up ahead, she caught sight of the intersection with a street sign labeled as, 'Migration Drive'... which meant that colorful block beyond it had to be the start of Herd Street!

It took a couple of waits at intersections, but after nearly a solid hour of travel on foot, the woman had reached her destination! Her head bobbing as she gazed about and took in the area, it was obvious to the vixen that Herd Street was a recently gentrified section of the city; the areas that were leading up to this city block were too naturally aged to have been recent construction. The architecture here was more what she would expect of a bustling city but the color palette was closer to that she saw in Central Savanna. "Particularly with all the businesses," she murmured in interest. She looked about and could see amenities that would make living here enjoyable. Small eateries, a gas station, a pharmacy, all sorts of street vendors crowding the sidewalks... shoot, this place even had not one but TWO of the largest banks she ever saw! And the Latina policewoman had worked a lot of bank robbery cases in her career!

"Oh, Sly would have loved this," she said wistfully, as a small, sad smile graced her lovely muzzle. Shaking her head to banish any thoughts of her missing partner and love, the vixen continued to transverse past the front of the Lemming Brothers Bank across the street and the line of... well, lemmings... that crowded the sidewalk in a most anxious fashion. Her smile became a bit more natural and upbeat as she caught sight of the reason for the congregation of mammals: a male red fox in green Hawaiian shirt was running a small ice-cream stand. It was a sight that tempted her to have a little bit of hope for this city if a fellow vulpine could somehow make an honest living with no hassle here.

Maybe it was because this was obviously a recently refurbished part of the city that some of the equality Zootopia's government tried to publicly promote managed to actually permeate the area?

"Well, guess there's only one thing to do then..." the woman whispered before she began walking down the street towards her destination where hopefully no more slurs would be directed at her. "I'm going to need a strong drink to forget this nonsense."

Thankfully the rest of the trip through the city block was mostly quiet, save for a couple of mammals shouting cat-calls at her while making no effort to hide the fact they were ogling her–admittedly–curvaceous backside.

Which was, in all honestly, quite preferable to what she had been getting.

Finally, in following the building numbers, she came across it. "There it is! Building 6946!" She cried out in relief... only for her relief to turn to horror as she looked up at the condo complex and actually took in the sight of it. The place was decked out in a solid bright neon-pink coloration which had to have had glitter in the paint from how it sparkled in the sunlight; the sign above the entrance reading, 'Flamingle Flats' destroyed all hope that just maybe this actually might not be where she was supposed to stay.

"...Oh crap. It's that chintzy, theme-park kind of gentrification, isn't it?" She murmured in annoyance before shaking her head in defeat. Still, she would gladly take this kind of progressiveness over the close-minded specism that seemed to have permeated about... if she were being generous and rounded down... eighty-percent of the city.

Rolling her shoulders, the woman straightened up. There was no need to whine about it. It had been a rough day and she just wanted to end it already. "Doesn't matter in the long run anyway... I just need to get settled into what will be my home for the next six months or so and I can write this day off," the vixen murmured as she walked up the three steps that lead to the entrance. It was a really expensive mahogany door that looked hand-carved to include the decorations of female flamingos in a more... 'natural' state.

Her eye twitching as she realized her hand had to press atop the structure that was a female flamingo's tit to open the door, the Latina cop couldn't help but growl, "If this is some sort of sex club, I am going to kill Barkley when I get back to Paris." Deciding not to wait any further, the woman pushed against the intricately carved barrier, forcing it open. Needless to say, the vixen was pleasantly surprised to see that it lead directly into the professional-looking foyer; a large, vast room which someone had obviously gone to great lengths to decorate. With all the expensive furniture and finery, it was to give the impression if not convey a message of, 'high society'.

Seeing no one around in the immediate vicinity, the woman looked towards the back and caught sight of what appeared to be a front desk at the rear of the reception area. Stepping inside the building, the female red fox took a moment to close the door behind her before she made her way past the lounge area that was filled with comfortable furniture–such as couches and chairs–as well as a large television set playing some fashion program and coffee table topped with magazines and newspapers. Coming to a stop at the front she saw a small bell on the countertop and pat her hand down atop it a couple of times, eliciting a surprisingly melodious ring from it.

"Coming!" A rather effeminate male voice called out before a door behind the desk opened and out through it entered a lithe ram with finely trimmed coal black wool and perfectly manicured horns. He was dressed in a sharp, impeccably clean white suit, while adorned in flashy accessories such as pure jet-black sunglasses, a bright gold watch, and a neon-pink handkerchief in the jacket's breast pocket. However, the sheep's mirth lessened, the herbivore coming to a pause at the sight of the woman. "Uh... hello? Can I... help you?" He asked, sounding rather confused, as if her very presence was unbelievable.

The female red fox didn't make a fuss about it though. She just wanted to get to her room and crash on the bed. "Yes." She gave him a slightly tired smile. "I'm Carmelita Fox, newcomer to the Zootopia Police Department. I was informed by my contact that I would be staying here for the next few months."

The male bovidae blinked his eyes behind the dark lenses of his glasses a few times as he mentally processed that. "Ah." The sheep tilted his head as he looked at her, still feeling a bit of confusion. "I've not heard anything but let me check the books and make calls if need-be," he said in all seriousness. It wouldn't do to turn away a potential tenant... even if she was a fox.

Nodding her head as the ram began to boot up his computer and pull his cell phone out of his pants pocket, Carmelita headed over to the couch and set herself down on the soft material. As she relaxed and the tension of her muscles eased up, the woman realized just how tired she was. "Okay, game-plan..." she murmured. "Hot shower and bed." This day may have been shot but tomorrow was a new day and a chance to start over. It was a chance to get to know this city before she had to get signed in with the ZPD. Even if she didn't do much to check the city out, at the very least, she needed to stop by the police station and pick up her uniform and gear so she could be ready for her first day on the force when the time came... which was all too soon.

Closing her eyes, the woman exhaled softly, just letting the aches and pains of the day fade away, ignoring the conversation the landlord was having on the phone as she just reveled in the sensations that surrounded her. She had to be honest: this really was nice furniture and the air conditioning kept the place at a comfortable temperature too. If the lobby alone was like this, the female fox couldn't wait to see the condo the police set up for her.

However, her pleasant thoughts were interrupted by a shout of, "Excuse me! Miss? Could you come over here for a moment?"

Opening her eyes, the woman turned her head towards the ram that was standing behind the desk. "Yes? What is it?" She queried.

"While I didn't find a, 'Fox' in the computers, there is indeed a reservation and six month lease paid in advance for a Carmelita Montoya in the system," he said in all seriousness. As the woman smiled, the sheep's muzzle pulled back into a frown. "However, I think she would be rather pissed if I let some damn pelt hustle her way into her home."

Needless to say, that statement caught the vulpine woman by surprise. "Que!?" She cried out in shock at the accusation. Sitting up on the couch, she firmly told him. "But I am her! I am me! Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox!"

The ram snorted. "Please! I'm used to the scams by you damned yiffers by now," he said, ignoring the expression of shock and horror as he called her such to her face. "Obviously you just want in so you can ransack the place and tear all he copper wiring out of the walls." His hands came down on the desk, gently rapping his cloven digits along the surface. "However, I am a nice enough guy. Since you didn't get any further than the lobby, how about you just turn around and leave and in return, I won't call the cops again." Honestly, the gall of this woman! Trying to pass herself off as a Chihuahua!

"Go ahead! Call them!" The vixen huffed as she practically rocketed herself off the couch. "I'm certain that we can clear this up very quickly." Carmelita walked up and slammed her hands on the desk. Leaning forward, the woman glared into the black lenses of the sheep's glasses. "Or perhaps you want me to call the mayor and have him come down personally?"

The ram raised an eyebrow high enough that it actually perked above the rim of his oversized sunglasses... before he burst out laughing. "Oh... oh man! I have to hand it to you shifty foxes! When you bluff, you bluff good!" He chuckled a bit more, shaking his head as the woman standing before him began fuming with impotent rage. "But don't worry, I know how to bluff too!" He smiled and hit the bell on his desk five times in rapid succession...

...And in response, the unmarked door to the right of the lobby opened. Out of it stepped on massive rhinoceros, dressed in a fine black suit and sunglasses as well; the button on his lapel listing him as, 'security'. The luxurious silks were taut atop muscles that held enough strength to bend steel, making it obvious that despite the refinery he wore, this thick-necked brute was anything but refined!

"Oh Franci~iiiiiis," the ebony-fleeced landlord chimed out in sing-song voice. "Would you be a dear and kindly toss this trespassing chomper to the curb? Thank you!"

Carmelita twitched at hearing that before she turned to glare at that herbivore. "I'll see to it that you never work in this town again when this is sorted out." She meant that too. It was one thing to not believe her because of some mistaken identity... but to have likely done so for specist reasoning AND to have so casually called her by all those specist slurs as well!? That black-wool sheep was despicable!

"Ma'am..." Francis spoke–surprising the Latina woman as his voice wasn't as deep as his body suggested it would be–as he put his hand on her shoulder. "We can do this the easy or hard way. Either way is fine with me, although I'd rather not have to get rough with you if I can help it."

The ram laughed, making the ebony wool atop his head bob with the motions. "Oh there's no need to be so polite with her, Francis! She was threatening me just now, even if only with meaningless words." He brought up his left hand and waved them off. "Just get this bitch out of here and give those ratty bags of her the rough treatment she should receive get the point across."

Nodding his head, the large rhino replied, "Whatever. You're the boss, Mr. Fleeceman," he replied as he turned the woman around in the grasp of his right hand and started marching her towards the door, ignoring her angry shouts and cries of indignation. He reached out his with left hand to pull the door open before giving her a bit of a push, causing her to stumble down the stairs. As she turned about to come back in, he firmly slammed the door shut and latched it before returning to the lounge to get her luggage. Both pieces held firmly underneath his left arm, the large herbivore made his way back to the entrance and slid the metal bar out of its latch before opening the door again.

"Hey asshole, give me back my—" Carmelita's eyes went wide as she saw he had both her bags in his grasp and was raising them up high. "Hey! Wait a second now!" She shouted at the large enforcer, trying to get his attention. "Don't you even dare think to—"

The muscular prey animal threw the two pieces of luggage over the vixen's head, causing them to land firmly on the sidewalk; the already broken satchel practically fell apart as it roughly crashed into the curb while the luggage bounced and went right into traffic thanks to its stability and wheels... before being hit by a speeding car, sending the now noticeably dented suitcase spinning wildly about.

Carmelita just gawked at all the damage as the rhinoceros security officer politely replied, "Have a nice day." He then shut the door again, a deadbolt audibly clicking this time.

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Author's Notes: Welcome to Zootopia, Carmelita... where it appears the phrase, 'try everything' is rather different between predators and prey.

Yes, I did make a Cat-Dog reference... because one of my Beta-Readers was adamant about trying to do something light-hearted, considering what I've been putting poor Inspector Fox through. Of course in her case, it may have been a concussion-induced hallucination but you never truly know...

For those who might be curious, the answer is yes. The Cherry mentioned by Finnick near the beginning of this chapter is both a lost aspect of the Zootopia movie and an aspect borrowed from the Zistopia tumblr–with permission! The trio of Arctic vixens known as, "Kozlov's Angels" will make proper appearances in this story eventually...

...As might quite possibly the most badass little lapin lady of them all.

Until next time!