Author's Note:
Well, we already learned from Bonnie not to screw with Judy's mother. It seems to extend to both of them! I hope Judy tries hard not to disappoint either of them! They have high expectations of their bunny daughter, after all!
If you are just joining Guardian Blue for the first timeyou will want to check out Season 1 first, and I would highly recommend Thanks for the Fox before that as well so everything makes sense. ^^
I've been hitting the writing pretty hard this week, like I wish Zootopia would the second movie already, c'mon guys. Get in here and break my damned head-canon!
Also! A HUGE shout-out to J. N. Squire for assisting with editing for Season 2! I live to make another mistake another day!
Guardian Blue: Season Two
Episode 22: Greed
Judy stared, transfixed at Vivienne as Nick darted down the hill and collected the huge spear. Her vulpine mother remained, unmoving, with her eyes narrow and her paw not even trembling as she held back that arrow. She was ready to release it if her target dared to interfere with her son. With what that sheep had said in reference to killing the officers, Judy felt like he would still be willing to try to hurt Nick anyway, even if it meant his death. He was absolutely barbaric. However, he did remain still. The lady pig continued to cry. She was saying things, making promises, it sounded like, but she was almost unintelligible.
As the fox took the spear away, the sheep did not move, only speaking. "I'll eventually be released, and I will find you," he growled.
"His mouth is moving. Something moved. I'm gonna shoot him," Vivienne said in a tone positively dripping with hate. Judy felt like she was listening to a different fox. The ram actually tensed up noticeably, fearful that she would. Judy was about to ask Viv not to do that, but there was shuffling of leaves from a mammal approaching through the woods. There was the sound of something hitting wind chimes hard and that was followed by swearing in a recognizable voice. It was Agent Bay.
"Who put these out here?" asked a female voice in reply to the swearing. It was his snow leopard partner.
"Agent Bay!" Judy called, wanting him to get there before Nick's mom closed part of the case herself.
"Are we sure he's on our side?" Viv asked, teeth bared, still keeping the arrow pointed at the sheep. The wolf crested the hill, gun drawn, and just stopped, looking dumbfounded at the scene.
"What?" he deadpanned.
"Move!" called his partner behind him. The swift feline passed by him and threw herself upon the sheep, flipping him over to his side and cuffing him. She could not put him on his belly because of the arrow jutting out of his shoulder. The ram growled furiously at the agonizing addition anyway.
"Orson, who are you working for? Why would you do this?!" Bay finally shouted at him, starting down the hill. The wolf holstered his firearm as Rosette got the sheep cuffed. Vivienne finally lowered the bow and moved briskly over to her son. Nick threw his arms around his mother. Judy wasn't able to hear what he was saying, but she was sure it was somewhere between gratitude and anger that she'd come right back to them.
The bunny wanted to talk to Vivienne too. She had so many questions.
Judy moved down the hill as well, alongside Bay, and then began working to try to untie the pig. The cords were too tight, so she eventually just picked up the spear and cut the cords with that. The pig stopped crying the moment Judy came into her field of view.
Pinned on her back on the leafy ground with the sheep waving a huge weapon over her, she had no idea who had come to rescue her until then. She looked like she was seeing her own ghost.
"Officer… Hopps?" she asked.
"And fox!" Nick chimed, his happy face coming into view beside Judy's. The pig, released from her stakes, sat up, rubbing her wrists. They were still cord-bound. They could get that off later.
"Th… thank you." She glanced fearfully at the sheep with the arrow in his shoulder, and then to Vivienne who was giving her bow and remaining four arrows to Agent Rosette. "Is it… over?" she asked fearfully.
Nick smiled at the pig. "Well… the part where you are going to be skewered in the forest by a psychotic sheep is over, yes. But! The part where you are stuck in a town that's 90 percent foxes has just begun." The last part was delivered with the fox's smug turned up to eleven. The pig just swayed slightly side to side. Nick folded his ears back, smug dropping away. "Yeahhh, she's going into shock. Agent Bay!" Nick went to get the wolf. Judy smiled back to Vivienne who was approaching.
"I can't believe I just did that. Is she okay?" Viv said, pulling at her hoody a bit to pump air through it to cool herself.
"Aggie's fine, she's just gonna need a minute," Judy answered, "Where did you even get that?" Judy asked, indicating the bow and arrows laying by the confiscated spear.
"When I was trying to find my way out of the house, I found a weird room with a bunch of stuff like that," Viv replied. Judy perked her ears up a little. She remembered the badger trying to get Bay to play with swords that morning as she headed out.
Still, Judy furrowed her brow, "And… you just what… grabbed your weapon of choice?" the bunny asked, hoping that she didn't seem unappreciative. It wasn't that. She just could not get over the vixen's surely unintended homage to the hero memorialized at the center of town out of her head. It was completely insane.
"It's New Reynard, Judy," Vivienne chuckled. "Every fox here has fired at least one arrow into one target. It's kind of a thing here." She smiled. The bunny dropped her ears back. That… Kind of made sense? The skill of Nick's mother was still a surprise.
"You meant to hit him in the shoulder, right?" Judy asked.
"No, I tried to kill him." Viv said bluntly.
"Uh…" Judy tried to figure out if the fox was joking, but got distracted.
Bay spoke as he came up behind the bunny. "I have an ambulance coming to check on Miss Porcintia. I have her sitting down for the moment so she doesn't just… fall. Was there anyone else? Just the two who relieved us?" he asked. Vivienne moved over and took off her green hoodie and wrapped it around the pig. Aggie, startled, looked fearfully at Viv at first, and then just started sobbing. The fox hugged her. Judy had to rip her attention away from that just to answer the wolf.
"I think so, yes." Judy stated. "Is everyone inside okay?"
"Yeah, Honey's talking with her dad. He's got the other agent in custody. Sheep was running down the road with his hooves cuffed behind his back. Like that wasn't gonna stand out. I uh… I mean… Great work, you two." Bay cupped his whole face in his paws. "This is a complete clusterf-…" he sighed.
"Well, obviously you didn't know because you haven't killed us." Judy chuckled.
"I've worked with Orson for five years. He was a rising star," the black wolf growled.
"I always hated that creep," spat Rosette. More leaves shuffling announced the approach of more mammals. Bay went to meet the arriving badgers. Honey stood with a uniformed older badger that Judy assumed to be her dad. The doe glanced aabout at the scene, finding that it was quickly completely under control. She moved over to a large root ball that was pushed out of the ground and sat down on it. Nick immediately sat down beside her. Judy looked back over to the fox's mom, who he'd been talking to a moment before. She was still attempting to comfort Aggie.
"I'm sorry, Carrots," Nick said in a sympathetic tone. Judy gazed back to her partner curiously.
"What for?"
"You didn't get to knock any of them out." he deadpanned, hugging his knees. "I was saving the last one for you, but Mom doesn't know the rules yet." Judy rolled her eyes and thumped the fox on the shoulder.
"Thank you for coming with me," the bunny stated genuinely.
"We're still partners. That's never gonna change. Some stuff might be different, but not that. I still… hated that you had to come out here injured like that. That was… not what I would have liked." Judy reached over and stroked Nick's ears. He leaned into it gratefully. A very large dark shape moved between Judy and her fox, tragically ending the petting. The bunny glanced up and saw Honey sitting hip-to-hip with both the smaller mammals. She gazed up at the mostly cloudy sky through the trees with a grin on her muzzle as she simply draped her thick, powerful arms over both the officers' backs.
It was quiet for a moment before the badger dreamily spoke. "I'm having a really nice time, you guys." Judy gritted her teeth at that, glancing to Nick, who just looked a little concerned, ears laid back.
"I'm… glad?" Nick offered cautiously.
"I was watching on video." Honey said wistfully.
"I figured." Judy stated.
"I recorded it. We should all watch it tonight." She still sounded lazy and happy, like they were not merely sitting beside her, but waking up next to her. It was just a teensy bit unnerving.
"I think the ZBI will be taking the video," Nick explained.
"Your mom used my favorite bow. I'm putting that right in a glass case, I promise," Honey murmured slowly.
Judy responded, "Uh, they are definitely taking that as evidence."
"I feel so happy now," the badger practically purred. Nick attempted to pull away from her slowly and grunted as she snagged him and pulled him closer. Judy didn't even try to escape. All the fox and bunny wanted was to rest, but at least their hostess was having a good day.
Agent Bay stepped in front of them. "Your dad needs you, Honey."
"Sure thing, sweetie," the badger replied, making the wolf actually wince. She practically floated away to where her father was standing, addressing another wolf who had arrived in a uniform that suggested he was a deputy. He was so skinny and small, however, that it was easy to mistake him as a fox. He was jittery and really spun up. Judy figured that this kind of thing didn't happen all the time in a town like New Reynard.
"Your boss called me the second he got off the phone with Officer Wilde," Bay explained. "I got back here as fast as I could. I am… really sorry this happened. If that badger wasn't so nuts about … everything…" he looked after her a bit, "… I don't even want to imagine. There were two stun batons, a canister of knock out gas, a gas mask, and about ten gallons of kerosene in the trunk of their car. You don't have to be real creative to paint a picture of how this was supposed to play out."
Nick looked back at Agent Bay with huge eyes. Judy actually felt a bit ill. If that had gone differently, just a little bit… she might never have even known it had happen. The sound of hissing, feeling sleepy, leaning in close to her mate, and then all of it… gone. She put her head down and Nick stroked her back.
"Thank you for… that colorful grocery list there, Richter," Nick said softly.
"Gonna throw up…" Judy whispered softly.
"Deep breaths," Nick said.
"I'm sorry, I know you guys have already been through so much," the agent said, obviously regretting filling them in on that so soon.
"Why, Nick? We already gave the information, what was there to gain?" Judy slowly became aware that what she thought had been fear was merely bile-inducing rage. She suddenly felt the need to hug Vivienne for shooting the monster, even if it wasn't as effective as Judy's bunny-boot-to-the-buck had been. She hated Orson in that moment and hated herself for feeling that level of malice.
"It's alright, Carrots. He's gonna be brought to justice." Nick narrowed his eyes at the wolf. "They all will be, right?" he asked.
"You can count on it." Bay stated coldly. "This blemish on my department will be the very definition of setting a historical example," he growled.
"I imagine things are not real fun at your headquarters right now," Nick caressed his bunny slowly. It was helping. Something about her sweet fox always curbed her temper.
Bay sighed. "No. I suspect Rosette and I will be just… living here with you until Bogo calls you guys back. He is also sending two of his own officers to assist so that we have time to sleep. He wants guard around the clock, but unfortunately, this incident proved his choice to be correct. Your lack of accessibility here likely made this a harder thing to accomplish. He didn't even know about the camera security or the fact that there are secret hallways and stuff. It pretty much dooms us to stay right here." The conversation was interrupted as Nick's phone rang.
He pulled it out and answered it immediately. "Chief, you really do care!" Nick said warmly. Bay snuck away, perhaps not wanting to have to answer to the Chief while he was still cleaning up the mess left by his own department. The response from the buffalo was loud enough that Judy could hear it just fine.
"Stow it, Wilde! Is everybody okay? I've been given a message that the scene is clear but no one's elaborated about what that exactly means!"
Nick answered dryly, "I subdued one of the ZBI agents, and my mother shot the other." Judy laid her ears back. Oh yeah. Nick didn't want to come to New Reynard because his mother might be endangered. This further distracted her from her own anger. Nick was hiding it so well but she could see his fur bristling harder than she could ever remember seeing it. Judy extended the petting she had been receiving back to her partner. His fur began to smooth back down.
"Your m-…" Bogo began and went silent. Nick grinned slowly. Judy covered her face with her paws. No, don't fight it with humor, not now…
"It's perfectly fine though. How else would I have ever known that my mom was so handy with a long bow if you hadn't sent us here to attract psychopathic killers for her to put arrows into?" Nick inquired.
"Arrows?!" Bogo yelled.
"Stop messing with him!" Judy hissed.
Nick grinned at his partner and nodded. "You'll get the full report soon, but to answer your question, I'm fine, Officer Hopps is fine, everybody's fine. Please send more arrows."
"I… You… Put Hopps on the line!" shouted Bogo. Nick passed the phone to Judy.
"Yes, Sir?" she asked professionally.
"Hit Wilde," ordered her boss. The thump was probably audible on his end. "Thank you. You and Wilde are off duty. Stop. Working. And did his mother really get involved?" asked Bogo.
"Yes, Sir. She shot a sheep with an arrow, Sir. She's fine." Judy wanted to be professional about that. It really was very serious.
There was a long pause on the other end, and Judy could swear she heard the lid being unscrewed from a bottle. Bogo finally responded, "In one hour, you all need to be watching the news conference. A whole lot of this is going to make sense finally, and we are going to get to put some of this mess behind us. You and your partner will be coming home soon, but certainly not tonight. Probably not tomorrow either. This is not even because I feel Zootopia is dangerous. It is because if you show up right now, I will have to put you right back to work, and I can't handle dealing with another crisis right now! Stay. Put." Judy smirked at that a little.
"Yes, Sir," she promised. "So, we know what's going on finally? Have arrests been made?" the bunny inquired.
"Yes, and you will know all about it in an hour. And Hopps," Judy listened, "… Tell Wilde's mother that my wife found her suggestion of… a new location for my desk to be amusing." The chief hung up without saying goodbye, as was his way. Judy cringed as she considered the last sentence. At least he didn't seem angry about that. Vivienne must have really gotten into it with their boss.
Paramedics arrived a short time later and looked after Aggie. She ended up being taken to the hospital because at some point she'd been struck in the head. There was no visible injury, but as she had been in shock, they wanted to be sure. Nick and Judy did what they were ordered and stopped working. They just sat and watched as the Sheriff and the ZBI agents tended to the situation professionally. Vivienne eventually had to leave with Rosette to give her statement and Honey left with her dad to take the injured sheep to the hospital to get fixed up before being transferred to jail. The paramedics on scene had administered a sedative to make him more compliant and to mercifully help with the pain.
The bunny finally broke the silence between her and her partner. "I am glad… that Bogo says a lot of this is about to be put behind us." Nick smiled down at her caringly.
"It's been a lot," he agreed.
"It started out as just… bringing poor Ukweli home. Will there be justice for him in all of this, I wonder?" Nick considered that a moment and then took a deeper breath, eyes widening.
"We caught his killer at least," the fox said, a little distantly.
"How can we even be sure who the killer is?" Judy asked. "Those jerks in Interior Affairs didn't even do an autopsy!" She growled at that, taking the injustice a little personally.
"You and I saw the wound," her partner reminded her.
"Yeah, and it was absolutely terrible." Judy crossed her arms over her middle, remembering the size of the hole through that poor lycaon.
"Have we seen a weapon recently that would have made that kind of injury?" Nick asked. Judy's eyes immediately snapped to the huge spear lying on the ground by the bow. She looked back at Nick, muzzle parted in revelation.
"Nick, that sheep… He…" Judy trembled a little.
"Maybe they can't prove it, but I know. I'm sure," he said. "I would bet my career on it." Judy lowered her ears and just leaned into Nick. It was probably exactly as he said. She could not help but feel a little emotional about that. Perhaps, in time, Ukweli's family would understand that the ZPD really did all they could, and those poor hyenas could have peace of mind.
Eventually, the two officers were finally obligated to get up and head back to the bed and breakfast since everyone else had cleared the scene. It was actually a pretty painful walk for Judy. She didn't think she had popped a stitch or anything, but running had pulled on them. She was definitely going to need something for the pain when they got back. Nick noticed her careful motions immediately and became concerned. He tucked in close against the bunny, even coiling his tail around her a little in a way that made her feel very cared for.
Nearly everyone was in the living room when the fox and bunny got into the house. The lionesses had claimed their opposing arm chairs. Motti's parents were sitting on the couch beside Jack and Skye who both appeared to be splitting a bottle of lime soda. Kijvu and Motti were on either side of the punching bag, playing with it. One would hit the wool-lined bag and the other would hit it back. Judy flattened her ears again at that. She could hear Vivienne talking with Agent Rosette in the other room. She was just talking about her intention to move to Zootopia. The conversation sounded happy.
Upon Nick and Judy's arrival, cheers erupted in the room, and Skye was on Judy in an instant with a warm hug. Nick moved to the side to allow that, and then held his arms out at Jack with an excited fox face. Jack glowered at him, then smugly approached and hugged Nick. Bunnies hugged. That's just how it was. Nick seemed surprised at first, but squeezed the other rabbit warmly, patting his shoulders.
"That was just… certifiably insane." Cassie said. Her sister shot her a look. "Great work out there," she added. Charisse smiled.
Skye spoke excitedly. "Oh my God! You two have to see the video of Nick's mom shooting that guy. It's so crazy!"
Jack nodded slowly. "I no longer question the validity of that particular quasi-historical figure," he said with sincerity. "I'm being serious when I say Motti had to actually hold Honey up because she damn near had an aneurism over it," he laughed.
"Badgers can get really animated!" Skye laughed.
"They tranq'ed the other guy, I think. I bet he wouldn't stop running," Charisse said softly. "He was still asleep in the car when they took him for booking."
"Are those guys really ZBI agents?" asked Skye.
"Yeah," Nick said somewhat darkly. "The one with the spear's been with them over five years, apparently. Real… piece of work that one. I have never met a mammal that… personally violent." Judy nodded at Nick's assessment. That was a sheep that would never need to be out among the normal population again.
Kijvu spoke up. "Honey say this was all part of her cud-spiracy," He punched the bag harder. "Wouldn't quiet about it. I not really believing all that, but I not unhappy about how she was ready. Is really good, being ready." Judy nodded at that slowly.
"You certainly don't mind punching that bag, though." Cassie observed.
"Is for fun," he bunched the bag again as his sister sent it back at them. Judy understood. They were all pumped up and the younger hyenas were venting their energy from the fear that likely caused.
"Sit, sit!" requested Motti's mother. "We honored to have you back, Shetani." Judy grinned and moved toward her. Nick grasped the back of her shirt.
"We will be back in a little bit. I'm gonna make sure this bunny is fit for sitting," her fox said.
"Thank you," Judy offered politely to the nodding older lady hyena. She smiled brightly back at the bunny. The mirror fox-bunny couple sat by them instead. They resumed talking to Cassie about concerts, which had apparently been their topic of conversation before the other fox and bunny got there.
Nick led Judy upstairs and into the large bathroom. The bunny sighed as her partner closed, and then locked the door. He moved over to his bunny as she sat down at the edge of a very large claw-footed tub. She smiled at her fox as he looked at her with serious eyes. Nick brought his paw up to her ears, smoothing them back, drawing them down her back with a gentle petting motion. He then pushed his muzzle to hers, tongue flicking past her lips, around her larger front teeth.
Judy was a little surprised by the kiss, but eagerly accepted it. It went from that and melted into the more desired push of his maw over her neck and shoulder. The embrace of his teeth was a bit tighter than she usually got. She was sure it left a few red marks on the pale flesh beneath her soft fur. The bunny squeaked from it, not in pain but in delight. It made it clear how much he wanted her. The bunny slipped her little paws down over Nick's tummy, snaring his beltline.
The fox chuckled tenderly, "You're injured, bunny. This can wait," he rumbled.
"It's been forever," the bunny whimpered.
"It's not even been a week," her fox replied, stroking her ears again.
"I'm gonna start acting weird again," she threatened.
"What, you're gonna start acting like a bunny?" Nick teased.
"Do I act like a fox?" Judy asked in a serious tone. She had wondered that a few times.
"If any fox I knew acted like you, I'd already have been vowed up before you met me, Fluff," he laughed. "Let's get your shirt off." He indicated the lime green mini-T that the bunny was still wearing.
"Okay, now we're talking," Judy purred teasingly.
"You quit that. Oh no, not those eyes. I'll look away," Nick threatened.
"Don't you dare," the doe said. She put her small paws on Nick's cheek to keep him looking into her eyes. Her expression softened, and she leaned in a bit, ignoring the sharp burning pain of her injury as she pressed her chin to the top of her lover's muzzle.
He murmured softly, "I want to check your injury, Carrots, and I can't if you don't let go of my face." Judy kept her paws where they were, planting little bunny kisses along the top of Nick's muzzle.
"Sorry, Slick… Never letting go," she whispered. Her ears shot up as she heard the unmistakable sound of rending fabric. Judy leaned back, looking down at her now exposed front. Nick smiled at her and bared his teeth with a sweet growl as a reminder that he was a big, scary fox.
"You were saying?" he rumbled. Judy looked down, eyes a bit wide. Yeah, Nick never hid the fact that he hated that shirt.
"You are gonna get us both injured in here at this rate," Judy whimpered. Her entire body rejoiced at the mere suggestion of Nick's 'big mean fox' side. Still, she leaned back a bit and allowed her partner to slowly unwind the ace bandage and take off her gauze. She was crestfallen to see that there was some blood present on the white padding. Nick sucked a breath through his teeth and got a cotton ball and some antiseptic.
"Oh yeah, you almost popped this one. Tore the skin a little. I think it's okay though." He dabbed at it, which was like fire to Judy. She winced and whimpered her way through it. "Running was a bad idea," Nick added as he tended to her wound. "Does this hurt much?" Nick asked.
"Not much. I really want to take a bath now," the bunny added.
"You can't get this wet for another day at least, and even then, only a quick shower," Nick explained.
"Then you shouldn't have growled at me." Judy chastised. Nick glanced up at her, and then put his ears back, obviously hiding a blush. He then looked at the locked door, and back to Judy.
"Sponge bath?" he offered with a meek grin.
"Please," his lapine lover sighed. Nick glanced back and forth with uncertainty.
"Okay. But just grooming," he clarified. "I don't want to make this worse." Judy grinned brightly at her fox.
When the two officers returned downstairs, Judy was adorned in a bath-robe that was way too large for her. Nick's face and paws were damp, having been freshly washed. Judy felt so much better after a bit of grooming and some maybe slightly coerced personal time with her fox. The mild pain killer she took didn't help nearly as much as her just getting to be with Nick for a while. Her partner sat down in the spot where Skye and Jack had been, with his doe cuddling up against him.
The other fox and bunny were in the kitchen with Vivienne at that moment. Agent Rosette was not around, but Judy assumed she or Bay were likely close by. Kijvu and Motti were sitting on the floor in front of the TV watching some kind of cartoon. It was a little charming, really, but the bunny regretted that their entertainment would have to go away a bit.
"Could someone switch this to a primary station? There's supposed to be an important press conference." Judy stated. Kijvu did as requested. The two didn't seem to mind as they simply remained there in front of the TV. Bay entered the room as they channel surfed to find the right one. They stopped on one where two bunnies were arguing about 'who the father was'. Judy rolled her eyes.
"That's the one." Nick said with a grin.
"No, please turn it! I hate 'All My Kits'," Judy complained. "My mom watched this stuff ad nauseum when I was little. It's terrible! It paints bunnies as out of control disaster-factories." She gestured angrily at the TV. Nick laughed just a little too hard as someone on screen got a flower pot thrown at them.
"Sorry Judy. We've got like... six channels here. That's what it'll be on." Nick chuckled. Honey entered with Rosette, still looking serene.
The badger chimed in sunnily, "No fighting over channels. I've got the video from earlier to watch, and we are so gonna watch that," she grinned as she held up a flash drive.
"Important press conference coming up." Judy informed. As if on cue, the station switched to a live feed. It was a place Judy recognized. They were situated outside the front of the ZPD headquarters. The cameras were all trained on Bogo who was ascending the steps to a podium at the top.
"This should be interesting," Bay mused. He was shushed by every hyena.
"Good morning, mammals of the press and the City of Zootopia," Bogo addressed the audience courteously. He took a moment, seeming to compose himself. "In what has been a very long couple of days, a lot has happened. This investigation started with the murder of a private citizen doing research from The Interior and lead to the violent assassination of council-mammal Swinton, an act we know now was tied to an unbelievably old crime. I will turn the microphone over to someone who will explain some important matters so we may all finally know what all of this is about. Lacey Lupin." Bogo stepped back and a slender lady grey wolf, appearing in her 40s or so, took the podium.
"Oh! That's Roland's daughter!" Jack chimed. More hyena shushing. "Hey! It's relevant," the bunny hissed back.
"Good morning," she said a little nervously, clearly not used to public speaking. Judy felt her pain. "What has transpired here these… these past few weeks, these terrible things which have come to pass, I mean, have all been to cover up a simple truth. The Origin Story we all know is a fabrication." There was heavy gasping from the audience, including from Rosette and Honey. Bogo had to intervene to quiet the press box.
"I knew it! I knew it!" cried the badger.
"Shhhh!" replied Motti.
"My father investigated the rumors for much of his life," Lacey explained seriously, "… and he ultimately died for the secret. But his death was not in vain. A mammal from the interior, Ukweli, was one of those whose purpose it was to guard the secret of their village." A graphic popped up on the stucco wall in the background via projector directly behind Lacey. It was a mural. It was obviously from inside the mine. Images of burning villages and graves and other terrible things were there, as well as a symbol that seemed familiar somehow. It looked like an L overlapping a C.
The badger whispered, "Oh my God. This is it. This is the day."
"Kind of need to hear… And let go." Bay grumbled, trying to pull his paw out of Honey's. She held on. Below the depicted carnage was a picture of a tiger and a gazelle in a tender embrace with a halo of what was probably actual gold around them. Lupin's daughter continued to explain.
"The village kept this secret because other villages with knowledge of the truth had been burned to the ground more than a century ago." There was more excited murmuring. The lady wolf continued, "Thousands of years ago, as the story goes, mammals came together in a time of hardship and agreed to finally trade openly with one another, ignoring the ancient, unspoken laws of the jungles and forests of old." The graphic showed stock images of paintings that depicted the scenes of mammals coming together over a stream, and then images of the original carved stone trade agreements. "We know now that these trade agreements likely never existed at any point in the true Origin Story. They were created later by the three largest companies, sometime at the turn of the 1600's. They were fraudulent, and heavily favored the parent companies, as well as at least a dozen subsidiaries that built their reputation as being part of the 'motion of change'. These companies went on to use that reputation to win the contracts to build the great city we live in now." There was more loud murmuring.
"Are you saying these companies control Zootopia?" came a cry from a leopard reporter.
The wolf replied, "Al-Almost all of these companies, over time, have been divided, bought out, or otherwise washed of involvement except for one. That company was the one so many more of the others had been overtaken by."
"Lanolin Enterprises." Honey stated.
"Lanolin Enterprises," said the wolf on screen. Judy felt a hard chill run through her. No. The badger couldn't be completely right. She then realized why the L-C symbol was familiar. It was that company's logo. They were implicated in the image of destruction. This was suddenly a very real, very terrible conspiracy.
"Woah." Jack huffed.
"I can't even," Cassie growled.
Lacey continued talking, with the offending company logo behind her. "A century ago, while Lanolin was gaining momentum as a shareholder in nearly every major enterprise in Zootopia, huge amounts of money were being funneled into the creation of the DEC to allow us to control the environment for the city population. It was somehow discovered that evidence existed that could prove the trade agreements to be fabrications. Lanolin Enterprises, fearing the loss of their lucrative contracts, sent mammals to any location that they deemed a threat and barbarically wiped those mammals out. It's unknown how many lost their lives, but this crime was covered up with the exception of a record kept underground and secret, so that the truth would never be forgotten."
"It's money. It's always been about money…" Nick whispered, sounding horrified. The mural popped back in place behind the wolf. It showed a close-up of the gazelle and the tiger.
"This was what my father wanted to find. The origin of all of our species coming together, from the mural and from the research notes based on stories passed down from mammals who are descended of those who were actually there… was love, not trade. The son of a tribal leader and a gazelle commoner changed the very course of history to allow them to be together. Missives went out detailing a great conference of mammals to bring peace, and no one could deny the value of that great message in those hard times. But the great conference never happened either. It was only the young prince, with the help of his father, writing a new history for mammals to follow that would lay to rest the barbarism that had existed since the beginning." There was more murmuring and a lot of pictures taken of the mural. Judy felt a lump in her throat. That struck just a tiny bit close to home. She glanced over at Skye who was holding Jack close. Jack was actually crying. Judy understood. This was his friend's life work. He had been right. And now the world knew.
"What does this have to do with the assassination of Swinton?" called someone from the press group.
Lacey answered. "My father, Professor Roland Lupin, set out to find the truth about the Origin of Peace. What he discovered was a terrible crime and an unforgivable cover-up. He was murdered here in the city to make sure that secret was protected. Before he could be killed, however, he had been warned by a friend from The Interior. That friend attempted to reach my father in time, from what we've been able to tell, but he failed. He was able to find my father's notes that had been left in a locker to which Ukweli, his friend, had been given a key. Ukweli knew that the mammals who killed my dad were following him, so he sent the information to the only place he thought they would actually not get covered up. He mailed the documents and notes to Council-mammal Swinton."
"Why Swinton?" asked Judy.
It was Jack who answered. "Her dad was the judge who tried to break up Lanolin as a monopoly a long time ago. Turned up dead. Not a lot of love for Lanolin."
"You know the cud-spiracy too!" cried Honey.
"Shhh!" went the hyenas again.
Chief Bogo actually took over, as the lady wolf seemed a bit emotional at that moment. Judy folded her ears back. It had been so hard, she knew. The buffalo spoke loudly, "It is thought that when she got this evidence, Swinton tried to flee Zootopia because it was not safe for her, but not before sending a copy of them to an assistant. These documents were intercepted by the ZPD after the murder of Council-mammal Swinton. At the same time that we were intercepting this information, Sergeants Hopps and Wilde with the ZPD were working the case and managed to unravel a conspiracy in the Interior Affairs Department."
"Sergeants?!" Nick and Judy exclaimed at the same time. The doe felt a spike of excitement ripple through her. No wonder Bogo wanted them watching this. It was a rather odd way of telling them, but it was something she instantly cherished.
"Congrats!" Skye cried.
"Not surprised." Vivienne boasted.
Bogo continued, "There were many in that department whose secret work it had been to maintain this dark secret, and they saw to the suppression of any who knew its existence. The information did not come easily, and Hopps and Wilde had to rescue more than half a dozen hostages in a very dangerous operation, which resulted in the death of one of the hostage takers and ultimately twenty-seven additional arrests. Two of the hostages were unfortunately killed with a firearm carried by their kidnapper, but the rest have been moved to an undisclosed location. Sergeant Hopps was also seriously injured during this heroic rescue, but did not need to remain in the hospital," the Chief explained.
"Sergeant." Skye repeated sweetly.
"My mom's gonna kill me," Judy whispered.
"Yes she is." Vivienne whispered. Judy was not sure which mother the fox meant, suddenly, flattening her ears again.
"Information provided by Hopps and Wilde resulted in the arrest of Council-mammals Baluchi and Cotswold, as well as very nearly every mammal in anything higher than a clerical position in the Interior Affairs department." More loud talking came from the frenzied reporters.
"Baluchi and Cotswold are-…" Honey whispered.
"Sheep, yeah, Shh!" hissed Motti's mother who had to have been guessing. She was correct however. Judy rolled her eyes. Honey was going to be impossible after this.
"That's a lot of arrests," Vivienne mused.
"Most are likely not directly linked," Judy stated, more hopefully than anything. "They were likely only arrested on suspicion. It's gonna take a while to sort everything out."
Bogo resumed, "The arrest of the two council-mammals includes charges of conspiracy, but additional charges have been added for both for the attempted murder of the relocated hostages. Two rogue ZBI agents were responsible for the attack which was quickly halted by Hopps and Wilde. Kidnapped Council Assistant Aggie Porcintia was rescued at that time." There was murmuring from the press box again but cheering in the room Judy and Nick were sitting in. She blushed at that. Bogo continued after the din at his location died down. "The CEO of Lanolin has retained a lawyer and has stepped down pending a full investigation, leaving the company in the paws of its board of trustees and the shareholders. And there will be a full investigation." There were more questions fired at the Chief. Honey leaned back, sighing deeply.
"It's all falling apart. It's all coming down. I can't believe it." The badger fanned herself.
Judy spoke cautiously. "You… do know that not every single sheep is involved, right?"
"Of course! I'm not a nut-case!" chirped the badger happily. Judy slowly looked back at the TV.
The Chief took to the mic again as the reporters calmed down. "As a result of the assassination of mayoral candidate Swinton, the election has been cancelled. The Council, having been compromised, has agreed that they cannot reasonably be placed in the position of leadership for the day to day operations of Zootopia. This brings me to the secondary and also very important reason for this press conference." Bogo put his glasses on. Nick held Judy tighter.
"Oh no, what..." he whispered.
Bogo placed his hooves on the podium and spoke in a careful and clear manner. "Until such time as the investigation clears the city council and determines that they can, with confidence, take over the task, I have accepted the role of acting Mayor of Zootopia."