Judy stood proud. She looked down at her pressed uniform, badge gleaming on her chest. All around her, faces of mammals beamed with smiles and hope. She stood on a stage, having just had her badge pinned on her by the mayor of Zootopia.
"Our first rabbit officer, Judy Hopps!"
Flashbulbs from cameras went off light lightning bolts in front of her. Reporters from every newspaper and station wanted to get a picture of her.
"Miss Hopps!" shouted several of them. "How does it feel, being the first bunny officer?"
"It feels great!" she said with a giant toothy smile. She was so proud, she had done it. When everyone said it was impossible, she had done it.
The crowd around her began cheering. Looking out at the crowd, she saw her siblings and her mother, all smiling and waving. Her mother was crying tears of joy. But where was her father? He should have been there too.
Suddenly, a loud roar of laughter erupted from behind the crowd. Judy couldn't hear the cheers or applause anymore, only the laughing. She looked to the mayor, who had been standing next to her. He had vanished. Shocked, she looked back to the crowd. The reporters and her family had also vanished, replaced by a solitary young fox sitting in the only seat remaining.
"Haha, bunny cop? That is the stupidest thing I ever heard." Gideon howled.
Judy stepped off the stage. "I'll show you stupid, Gideon! You're under arrest!"
Gideon stood up from his seat, and suddenly Judy realized he was no longer laughing, but glaring. He stood over her, growing and growing until she felt tiny. He was easily the size of an elephant.
"You want to arrest me?"
Judy reached for a pair of handcuffs, looking up at the massive fox. "I'll arrest you for clawing me, and for setting a fire on our farm!"
The giant fox looked down to her. "You don't know when to quit, do you?" He raised his massive paw and swung it down towards the tiny Judy.
Terror flooded Judy's entire body. She managed to regain herself just enough to hop out of the way of the giant paw as it smashed into the ground next to her. The giant fox, now leaned over, opened his giant muzzle, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth.
A voice came from everywhere. "Predators used to eat prey. And foxes have always hated bunnies."
The giant muzzle moved towards Judy, the teeth beginning to move as if a part of a giant machine. Fear was replaced by instinct, and Judy ran.
She ran past the stage towards a forest. Running with as much speed as her legs would carry her, she whizzed between trees and bushes. The forest seemed to go on forever, and before long she knew she was likely lost. Her ears shot up and moved around, trying to hear if any giant foxes were coming for her. She heard nothing, stopping and leaning on a tree to catch her breath.
A smell hit Judy rather harshly. The smell was undeniably smoke. She looked towards the direction it was strongest, and through the low light of the forest could see a light flickering in the distance. She ran towards the fire, compelled to see if what was wrong. As she got closer, she saw an overturned wheelbarrow with a gas can next to it.
Coming up on the fire, she could see that it was overtaking a row of corn that had somehow managed to grow in a clearing in the woods. She could just make out a figure at the edge of the blaze. It was her father.
"Daddy!" she screamed as she ran to him. She reached him, seeing that he was staring off into the fire. "Daddy, we have to put the fire out!"
He looked to her. "And what makes you think you could make a difference?"
Judy pulled back, confused. "Daddy...what?"
"You can't make any difference, Judy. Foxes always hated us." He pointed to the fire. In the middle of the blaze was another figure, standing much taller than her father. He stood in the middle of the fire, but looked completely unharmed.
"But daddy…"
"No buts, Judith. You can't help. You're just a doe." He reached down to her, grabbing her by the front of her uniform. He pulled her close, undoing the badge on her shirt.
"You think you're a cop?" he said as he threw the badge into the fire. "You're a Hopps. Hopps are farmers. You won't need this costume anymore." Her father pulled at her uniform, somehow pulling it completely off of her. It too went into the fires that were now around them. The uniform began to burn up as the figure inside the fire moved towards it.
Judy was weeping now. She was angry. Angry at her dad, angry at Gideon...angry at herself. She looked to her father, who was staring again at the fire.
"I have to do something! I have to try!"
A voice emanated from the fire around her.
"I want you to remember this…"
"No...no!"
"Just a stupid carrot farming dumb bunny…"
"I'm not a dumb bunny!" she screamed as she bolted up in her bed, panting. The scream had alarmed some of her sisters who shared her room, who all turned to her.
It was still dark out, but the storm seemed to have passed. Embarrassed, Judy apologized to her sisters and tried to calm herself down.
"You're not dumb, Judy." a small voice whispered next to her. Another bunny climbed into bed with her.
"Thanks, Jess." she said, not even bothering to look at her litter-mate.
"Are you okay? You're still panting." Her sister moved over next to her, placing a paw on her back.
A small sniffle was the only response Judy gave. She wanted to hide her crying, but the dream shook her badly. She let out another sniffle as Jess lay next to her. Jess always had a more nurturing attitude like their mother. She softly moved her paws against Judy's ears as she'd seen her mother do a thousand times to calm down a crying kit.
"I think you're amazing, Judy. I don't know why daddy had to yell at you like that."
Judy, finally calming down, turned to see her sister. "I guess you heard that, huh?"
Jess giggled a little. "Yeah...some of us were hiding around the corner listening. Daddy threw your uniform away, didn't he?"
Judy closed her eyes. "Yeah…" she sniffled again.
"I think if anyone could be a cop, it's you Judy."
"Thanks, Jess." She reached her paw out, hugging her sister lightly before rolling onto her back. The two sisters sat in silence for a moment.
"So, how'd you do it?" Jess asked.
"How'd I do what?"
"How'd you stand up to a fox like that?"
Judy thought for a moment. How had she managed to do that? She had gone to stop Gideon from bothering her friends as if it were the most natural thing for a bunny to do.
"I...guess I just knew someone needed to do something. I don't like seeing people get hurt."
"You're so brave, Judy. I wouldn't have been able to do that. Gideon terrifies me."
Judy looked to the ceiling. Gideon didn't terrify her. Seeing her friends hurt, that terrified her. Knowing someone could be so cruel and hurt others for pleasure, that terrified her.
"Is it true that you kicked him?"
Judy thought back. Bunnies used their legs to run and hop and escape from danger. Judy had used her for the opposite...to kick Gideon. By doing so, she put herself in more danger.
"Yeah, I kicked him. Right in the muzzle." She reached up to the bandage on her face, hiding three still sore marks. "And then he clawed me."
"Wow, you're amazing Judy!" another voice came from the side of the bed. Joanna climbed up with her other two sisters. "Jayce and Jackson said you gave that Gideon a busted lip!"
Judy sat up slightly, smiling at her other litter-mate. "I did. Made him real mad, too."
Jess and Joanna giggled at their sister's remark as the sun began to peek through the window.
Judy sat in the dining hall for breakfast with her litter. They usually rotated breakfasts by litter, the older kits eating last so they could help their mother serve the younger first. There were eight in Judy's litter, five female and three male. Judy, Jessica, Joanna, Julie, Jennifer, Joshua, Jayce, and Jackson. Of the sisters, Judy was really only close with Jess and Joanna, Julie and Jenny stayed to themselves often. The bucks were always usually working in the fields with their dad now to keep them out of trouble.
This was their normal morning routine, and had been for quite some time. This morning, however, Judy's breakfast was interrupted by loud thuds on the front door of their home.
Thud thud thud.
Visitors this early in the morning weren't that common, but it was a Sunday. Sunday in the Hopps home was family day each week, and they tried to stay together and use the time to get the whole fluffle to simmer down in preparation for the next week. The thuds on the door didn't help.
The majority of the younger kits were curious and clustered around the door before Bonnie could get there. She lightly stepped over and around the kits, reaching her paw to open the door. Judy figured it was simply a neighbor or perhaps one of the farmpaws, and went back to eating her breakfast. Her ears did perk up, however, when she heard a familiar voice yelp from the main entrance.
"Whoa...help!"
Judy recognized the voice and got up, moving swiftly to the main entrance. Once she arrived, she saw what was unfortunately quite normal in their home. A large pile of bunnies was climbing on top of their guest, pelting him with paws, questions, and comments.
"Wow, your ears are big!"
"Your badge is shiny!"
"Are these handcuffs?"
"Have you ever arrested someone?"
Bonnie simply laughed as she began pulling kits off of the wolf. Judy stood near her mom and giggled.
"Officer Lupus!" Judy exclaimed as she was finally able to see him.
The wolf panted as he stood back up. "I've been attacked by rhinos, bears, and lions, but that was much more terrifying."
Bonnie chuckled. "Welcome to our home, Officer. How can we help you?"
The wolf looked and saw Judy staring at him, and he knelt down. He smiled softly at her, but winced noticing the bandage still on her cheek. "Well I hope I'm not imposing on you, but I heard tell my young Junior Officer got in a little scuffle yesterday and I just had to come by to check on her."
Bonnie nodded. "Word travels fast in this town, so I'm not surprised."
Lupus reached his paw out and examined her bandage. "Are you okay, Judy?"
She looked down at the ground, embarrassed. "I'm okay."
"What happened...if you don't mind my asking, that is." he stammered, looking back up to Bonnie.
"No, officer, it's fine. Judy was simply trying to help her friends yesterday with a bully. She stood her ground instead of running away."
The wolf's eyes widened and he looked back to Judy. "Is that true?"
Judy's face blushed. "Yes, officer...I got into a fight. Gideon started it...he stole my friends' tickets. I told him to give them back and he pushed me. So I kicked him and then he got my face." She looked up at him finally, smiling sheepishly. "But I got the tickets back."
"Well, Judy, it's good that you tried to defend your friends. But it's not good that you put yourself in danger like that. I'm glad you only got a few bumps and scrapes, though."
"Oh my," said Bonnie, "here we are still standing in the drafty doorway. Officer Lupus, would you like to come in for some coffee?"
"I'd love to, Mrs. Hopps. A little coffee would be great before I head back out on patrol."
They moved back to the dining hall as Officer Lupus attempted to sit in a chair meant for a much smaller mammal. Judy and her sisters giggled at the sight of the wolf. The fluffle had made their way back in, but Bonnie shooed them out and told them to get to their chores.
Lupus looked back down to Judy. "Young miss, has this bully given you problems before?"
Judy just nodded, looking down at her unfinished breakfast. "His name is Gideon Grey. He's been bothering us for a long time."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
Bonnie came back from the kitchen with a cup of coffee for the officer. "The Grey family lives down the way from us. Their property attaches to ours. Gideons just a couple years older than Judy's litter, and he's an only child. Their farm grows several varieties of fruit, but it hasn't been doing as well the past few years since Jeremiah Grey, Gideon's father, had his accident."
Judy remembered hearing about the accident, how Gideon's dad got his leg crushed under a beam that fell while building a storehouse on their property.
"That must be hard for them. Your produce seems to be doing well though. I remember seeing Hopps Family Produce in the stores I grew up near back in the city."
"We do alright here. We're blessed."
"I heard there was a fire on your property recently, everything okay?"
Judy cringed at the comment. She feared bringing it up, though, because she still didn't have any proof. I bet...I bet Officer Lupus would know how to get some though…
"Oh, it's fine. Fires happen on farms all the time, especially with a drier season like we've had. The rain last night helped a bunch, though."
"Glad to hear that."
"Officer Lupus?" Judy had moved to stand next to him.
The wolf smiled as he looked down at Judy. "Yes, ma'am?"
"I bet you've caught a lot of criminals, haven't you?"
The wolf chuckled. "Well, yes, I've had to arrest a few in my time. Since I was stationed out here in Bunnyburrow it's been a lot quieter, that's for sure. But back in the city, I was in Precinct One, the heart of Zootopia in Savannah Central. I'm far too old of a wolf for that hectic life now, though."
Judy thought hard, trying to find the right words for her next question. "If you don't see someone do something bad, can you still arrest them?"
"Well, that depends on what's going on. As long as you have evidence that points to them doing it, they can still be charged with it and arrested, yes. Why do you ask?"
Judy looked back down at the ground. "What if you know someone did something wrong, really really wrong, but you don't have any proof that they did it?"
"Judy," Bonnie interjected, "I don't know that these are appropriate questions for our guest, hun."
Lupus laughed again. "No, it's fine Mrs. Hopps. These are great questions for anyone aspiring to work in law enforcement, no matter what capacity." He turned back to Judy. "Well, if you don't have any evidence, it's much harder. You can ask around, see if anyone may have witnessed what happened. Other than that, the only other thing you could do is confront the mammal and get a confession."
"A confession?" Judy thought for a moment.
"Yup. Sometimes that's the easiest way to prove something." He paused for a moment, looking at Judy. "Judy, do you think someone did something illegal?"
Judy's ears dropped. She was afraid to say anything without proof. "I think...I think I know who started the fire on our farm."
Bonnie's eyes widened as she stepped in. "I-I think that's enough questions for Officer Lupus for one day, bun bun." She laughed nervously as took the officer's empty coffee cup and motioned for Judy and her sisters to clean up their dishes. The wolf looked a little suspiciously at Mrs. Hopps, then back to Judy. Judy lowered her ears and quickly cleaned up the table.
Lupus stood up, grabbing his hat from the table. "Thank you for the coffee, ma'am. I should get back to my patrol now."
Bonnie escorted the officer back to the main entrance. "Thank you for visiting Judy, Officer Lupus."
Lupus stepped out of the doorway, pausing for a moment. "Mrs. Hopps...in all my years on the force I've learned to spot a few things about mammals. Your daughter is special."
Bonnie began to speak, but was stopped by a raised paw.
"Judy is a very determined young doe. She's resourceful, smart, and genuinely wants to help other mammals." He placed his cap on his head. "But she's also naive. If she senses something wrong, she won't let it go until she gets to the bottom of it. I really do think she'd make a great cop one day, but for now she's just a kit. To reach her potential, she'll need guidance."
"Officer Lupus, I have always said I want my kits to be happy and safe." Bonnie's ear dropped. "Her father and I just...don't want her to do anything foolish. Fighting bullies, saving mammals...those aren't bunny things. Bunnies keep to themselves, raise families, farm. We aren't heroes."
"With all due respect, Mrs. Hopps, I think you're limiting yourself as well as your species by adopting that stereotype. Anyone can be anything. All they have to do is try."
"I…" Bonnie didn't know what to say. She wanted Judy to be happy, and always knew she was special. "I just want what's best for my daughter. I don't want her to have dreams that are doomed to be shattered. I don't know if hearing things like this is good for her."
"Well, it may be too late for that. Right Judy?" Officer Lupus turned his gaze towards the open door. A small gasp came from the other side of it, and Judy slowly peeked her head around the side.
"Judith!" her mother exclaimed. "You...heard all of that?"
Judy nodded and walked around the door, keeping her eyes and ears low. The wolf knelt down next to her.
"Judy, I know you want to help. I know what it's like to feel responsible for the actions of others." He placed his much larger paw on her shoulder. "But be careful. The world around you isn't always going to play fair. Other mammals will try to tell you to stop, because they don't want to see you make it where they failed. Never give up, there's always a way around those who stand against you."
Judy looked up and gave a small smile to the wolf, nodding. "I just want to do what's right, and prove that I'm not just a dumb bunny." Her ears perked up and her eyes sparkled with a resolve that reminded Lupus of himself at her age.
The older wolf stood up, tipping his cap to Bonnie and saluting Judy as he began to walk away. Bonnie looked down at her daughter, ears perked and ready to take on the world again.
"Judy…" Her mother reached her paw over, pulling Judy to herself. "Do you really want to be a police officer?"
She looked up into her mother's eyes. "I want to try."
"Even though there's never been a bunny cop before?"
Judy thought for a moment. "You told me to be the mammal I want to see in others. That's why I have to try. I want to make my own paradise, just like you said."
Bonnie's eyes teared up a little bit. She never figured of all the mothers and the thousands of kits in Bunnyburrow...she'd be the one to have a mold-breaker. "Well then, Judy...I guess we'll need to get that uniform of yours out of the trash." She leaned over, planting a small kiss between Judy's ears. "Just don't tell your father yet."
A/N: Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying this. I intend on the next chapter being the last one for this story, and then all my efforts will go into a few chapters for Count the Ways, which you've all made it very clear you're enjoying a lot! Please feel free to drop a review to let me know how I'm doing or let me know if you have any questions!
I'll see you guys soon, and DFTBA, Don't Forget To Be Awesome!