Judy looked around the large base that was made up of three giant trees with two rope bridges that were attached between them. The mess hall where the rebels ate was crowded and loud. It seemed that even under the rule of a tyrant mouse, mammals would still have fun and be merry.

She commented on that as she sat next to Nick and Finnick, "It's good to see that the mammals of this kingdom haven't lost their spirits during this dark time."

Nick replied, "It's important to boost morale or else we lose the fight."

Judy asked the foxes, "So, have you two known each other since the start of the rebellion?"

Finnick said, "It goes longer than that."

Nick pointed, "He was a friend of my parents. He actually saved my father's life at one point. It made my father so grateful that he offered Fin to live in the palace with him."

Fin responded, "I refused."

Judy questioned, "But why? Living in the palace would have made life simpler for you."

"I just wasn't the type to live in a big fancy place with the rest of those stuffy aristocrats with the exception of Nick and his parents."

"Fin taught me a lot of the outside world while growing up behind palace walls."

Judy said, "The only way I learned about the world was from books."

"Those can be misleading," stated Nick. "Every author who has ever written a book will have their own opinion and are able to influence the reader."

Finnick added, "That's why experience is better."

Judy merely nodded, "I'll keep that in mind."

A voice suddenly shouted, "Soup's on!"

Judy turned to see a chubby fox in chef attire pushing a large pot on a cart. Mammals started lining up, including Nick and Finnick.

Once it was their turn, Fin inquired, "Bug stew again, Gideon?"

The fox chef replied loud enough for the whole room to hear, "Well, I did make a blueberry pie for dessert."

There were cheers around the hall.

"Make sure you save a piece for me, Gid." said Nick.

"I'll try, but you know my pies always go so quickly." He noticed Judy behind the foxes, "Who's this?"

"I'm Judy Hopps," she extended her paw.

"Gideon Grey," he shook it. "I'm the base's head cook."

"From what I smell, you're excellent at your job."

"That's mighty kind of you to say, Miss Judy." he smiled.

She returned the smile.

Nick didn't like the friendly exchange that was happening between the two, so he quickly said, "Judy here is going to be in training starting tomorrow, so I'm afraid you won't be able to see her until meal time."

"That's too bad. But I sure wish you the best luck with the training."

Finnick muttered, "She's going to need it."

Judy told the foxes, "I'm sure I'll be able to handle it."

"I hope you can, Carrots, because that was the only way I was able to convince Buffalo Butt to take you seriously."

"I almost forgot to thank you for that, by the way. I was sure he would have forced me to leave had you not jump in like that."

Nick merely shrugged, "Well, it was about time someone reminded him who was really in charge here."

Finnick said, "No kidding. He's always bossing us around whenever the king is out."

Gideon motioned, "I must agree. The Captain may be second-in-command, but he should realize that he tends to abuse his position."

"But he's still better than the Mouse king." said Nick.

Fin pointed, "Sad but true."

Eventually, they ate and managed to get a piece of pie afterwards. Once they were done, Judy said good-night to Gideon before leaving to follow Finnick to show her and Nick around.

They crossed one of the rope bridges as he said, "Those are the barracks where we all sleep and over there is the training area. Next to it is the infirmary, then Buffalo Butt's office and strategy room, and you know where the mess hall is."

"That's it?" Judy questioned.

"When you're in a rebellion, Carrots, you have to remain in hiding, so the less, the better."

"There are just so many mammals here. How can there be enough room?"

Finnick crossed his arms, "There isn't."

Nick explained, "That's why there are shifts. Mammals who are nocturnal can sleep during the day, but can take over at night so the mammals that were up in daylight can rest at night. Make sense?"

Judy nodded, "Yes. Yes, it does."

Finnick gave a yawn, "And right now, it's my turn for sleep." He went toward the barracks.

Nick spoke in baby-talk, "Does Finny need a good-night kiss?"

The fennec glared back at the taller fox, "You kiss me, I bite your face off!" With that, he stomped inside.

"I'll never understand why you like annoying people." the bunny confessed.

He shrugged, "It's just my nature." Then something caught his eye and he uttered, "Uh-oh. Um, Carrots, you might want to look away."

"Why?" She turned to where he was looking and wished immediately she hadn't. A group of mammals came out of the barracks wearing nothing. Their leader was a Yak with flies buzzing around his face. She did a yelp before covering her eyes and turned away. She asked, "Are they gone?"

Nick replied, "Yup."

"Are you sure?" she skeptically asked.

He sighed, "Yes, Carrots."

She carefully looked back and to her relief, no naked mammal was around. Then, she demanded, "What the heck was that?! Mammals running around without clothes on! It's… it's…" She shuddered.

Nick rolled his eyes, "You're overanalyzing the situation. Our ancestors didn't have clothes either, you know."

"Just why were those animals like that?!"

"They are naturalists and there was a whole colony of them until the Mouse King drove them from their home. But like you, some mammals are uncomfortable seeing them like that, so Big asked them to only come out at night so they couldn't be seen in case other mammals weren't asleep."

She uneasily said, "I guess that's good."

"I can tell you'll be going straight to bed after dinner from now on."

"It's a good idea. I don't want a repeat of what happened now."

That made them chuckle and kept on conversing, not realizing a weasel was above them on a tree branch listening to every word they said.

The next morning after breakfast, Clawhauser found Judy and escorted her to the training hall, where a tough-looking female polar bear was barking out orders to mammals that were larger than Judy. Some were fencing swords with each other or to wooden mannequins, while others were doing target practice with bows and arrows, and the rest were in paw-to-paw combat.

Clawhauser addressed the polar bear, "Sergeant, meet your newest recruit."

The polar bear eyed the bunny, "You call this a recruit?"

"Captain's orders." the cheetah said.

She sighed, "Fine. I'll train this fuzzy bunny."

"Great! I'll be checking in from time to time to see how she's doing." He did a wave goodbye to Judy and she returned it.

When he left, the polar bear started shouting, "Listen up! I'm only going to say this once! When you enter the battlefield, you either survive or you end up dead! Now, it's important to stay alive 'cause we need as many soldiers as we can when we take back the kingdom from the Mouse King! If one of you fails, you all fail! Now… begin!"

The training went underway for Judy as she started to fence with the mannequin, but the dummy got the best of her, causing the sergeant to yell out, "You're dead, bunny bumpkin!"

Next, she tried archery, but kept missing the target, making the polar bear shout, "You're dead, carrot face!"

And finally, she tried combat with a rhino, but failed miserably as was she smacked against the wall, making the sergeant shout, "You're dead, fluff butt!"

Judy groaned as she tried sitting down for lunch, but she ached everywhere. Nick shortly joined her and asked, "Rough morning, Carrots?"

She moaned, laying her head on the table, "Yes…"

Finnick sat down, commenting, "This is why I'm glad I never volunteered to fight firsthand."

Clawhauser suddenly sat down across from them, "Oh, it's not so bad. Takes some time to get use to, but you'll make it through."

She gave the cheetah a half-smile, "Thanks. That means a lot."

Finnick pointed, "Yeah, but even after days of training, you still have to prove to the sergeant and Buffalo Butt that you got what it takes to fight."

Clawhauser gave a sad nod, "It's true. I know for a fact that the Captain won't let a cute bunny such as yourself out into battle if you don't prove you're more than that."

Judy frowned at the word 'cute' and said, "Bunnies don't like being called cute by other mammals. It tends to be a little weird."

The cheetah gasped, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to say it like that to you!"

"Oh, it's alright. Just don't do it again."

Nick suddenly said, "Well, what about beautiful? Or gorgeous? Stunning? Lovely? Would any of those work?"

Judy felt herself going warm as she stammered, "Well, um, I guess any of those synonyms could work as long as the mammal actually thought that of the bunny…" She stared straight at Nick and he ended up staring back at her.

They didn't notice Clawhauser mouthing to Finnick while motioning between the red fox and rabbit. The fennec merely nodded, causing the cheetah to hold his paws to his mouth so he didn't squeal out loud.

Judy then went back to business, "So, um, got any ideas of how I can prove myself to the Captain?"

Finnick spoke, "The best way to do that is to be better than the other trainees."

Clawhauser gestured, "Which means you would have to be the best at everything: sword-fighting, archery, and paw-to-paw combat."

Finnick mentioned, "Lucky for you, you know the best swordsmammal around." He nudged at Nick, who glowered back.

Judy gaped while asking the tall fox, "Are you really the best?"

Nick frowned, "It was a long time ago."

Finnick pointed, "I've watched this guy since he first started out and he became the best in the entire kingdom."

Clawhauser smiled, "I can remember when a bunch of bandits were about to rob the royal coach. A few other guards and I were helpless to stop them, but Baron Nicholas thought quickly and drew his sword. He managed to disarm the bandits while embarrassing them at the same time!" He laughed, "It was incredible!"

Judy was becoming more and more impressed with this fox, who had so rudely addressed her when had they first met. But slowly, she was starting to see what her godfather and Lady Otterton had told her. However, he was still holding back and she was determined to find out why.

"Well, then, that settles it. Nick, I would gladly appreciate it if you could teach me how to swordfight."

Nick faced away from her, "Sorry, Carrots, but those days are over for me."

"Oh. I get it. You don't remember so you can't teach me."

He faced her with an undignified look, "I never said I forgot. I simply don't want to teach anybody."

"Don't want to or can't? Because not everyone is a good teacher, so maybe it's a good thing you don't want to because what would have happen if you had? I would have utterly, hopelessly failed."

"Hey! That's like if you fail, then I fail! You know what? I will teach you, Carrots, and you're going to succeed, proving you're the best of the best to Buffalo Butt!"

She smiled while thinking, I knew that would get him.