(A/N: Alright, here we go, time to see the aftermath of what happened. Well, not aftermath exactly, but now that Nick and Judy have... reconciled, I guess. Well, they didn't really fight, but... You know what I mean, they're back together. Now it's time to see where things go from here with their relationship, not to mention what's going to happen with their jobs, and what Miles is planning. So let's get to it.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, this is just a novelization of a fan-film. All credit for the story and its original characters belongs to Mauricio Velazco/Browntable.

Chapter 10: A New Development

"Dad, is that badger ok?" a young Miles asked as he and his father walked along.

Beside him, his father glanced at the raggedy-looking animal sitting on the ground with what seemed to be everything he owned in a plastic garbage bag next to him, and his face twisted with disgust.

"Oh, don't even look at him," he said coldly. "He's homeless. He's a sad sack that's not worth wasting time over. All of them as useless as you are right now. That's why I want you to man up and get things done, because you don't want to end up like that, do you? All of 'em asking for money for doing nothing. If it was up to me," a malicious laugh escaped him, "I'd get rid of them all."

Those words had stayed with Miles all his life. No, he hadn't wanted to end up like that badger, homeless, worthless, a waste of space with nowhere to go and nothing to do, left to the mercy of others, begging for scraps from those who worked hard and made something of themselves.

That's why he had done all he could to make sure he rose up in society. And his hard work had paid off. He now ran the whole city as mayor, holding more power than anyone else in it. He'd shown his father that he wasn't useless, that he was making a difference, that he would continue making a difference. And unlike his father, he would take care of the homeless problem and make Zootopia an even better place.

Looking out his window at the streets below, he considered all the things he had done to get to where he was. He didn't regret it, he didn't regret any of the things he had done. He'd done what was necessary to get to where he was, even if that meant eliminating the competition.

But he wasn't done yet. There was still more work to be done, a lot more work. But soon all of his plans would begin to bear fruit, and he would lift this city out of the cesspool it had sunk into. But even then, that would only be the beginning. For those like him, it would never end. There would always be work that needed to be done. And he would do whatever was required to see it through. Because that's what those who had worth did.

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"Well, this shirt doesn't look too bad," Nick noted as he examined himself in the mirror to see how the new blue top looked on him since Karen's little stunt with the wine last night had ruined his best shirt. "Could have been a lot worse."

A yawn drew his attention, and he glanced over at the bed as Judy stretched and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. A smile spread across his face at the sight of his bunny first thing in the morning. And yes, she was his bunny, there was no doubt about that.

After getting back together last night, they'd gone back to her place to reaffirm their love for each other, and show just how much they missed the other. It was strange how the night had started out so disastrously, only to end so wonderfully.

As Judy blinked away the last remnants of sleep, she seemed to notice that Nick was absent from her bed and looked around, smiling when her eyes found him. He returned the smile as he made his way over to her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you up," he told her. "I went out to, uh, to get a new shirt. Um, the other one was," he wobbled his head, "well, compromised."

She gave him a loving look as she reached up and tapped the tip of his nose. "You know, I'm supposed to be the one that gets up early."

Which was true. Usually, she was the morning person up at the crack of dawn while he was the one who had to drag himself out of bed after setting his alarm on the other side of the room so he wouldn't keep hitting the Snooze button. In fact, he was actually surprised just how early he had woken up after how late into the night their 'activities' had gone on for, but he supposed having Judy back in his arms again had energized him.

"Oh, wow," he joked, "I can't go one day without verbal abuse, can I?"

Judy giggled as he cupped the back of her head and drew her in for a lingering kiss. He glanced at the clock as they came apart. It was later than what he knew she usually set her alarm for, but seeing as they were only going to end up going in to work just to be fired, there wasn't any real reason to be punctual.

"Look, it's still early," he told her. "You can go back to sleep. Work starts at 7:00, you know."

"What time is it?" she grumbled, sounding borderline miserable.

"5:25."

Her eyes widened, suddenly alert. "That's the time!? Oh, shoot!"

She suddenly darted out of bed and rushed to her closet, going through her different clothes. Nick blinked at her sudden change in demeanor. "What?"

"We have to eat breakfast with my parents," she replied without even looking at him.

He blinked in surprise as the shirt she had slept in last night flew past his head in her haste to get ready. She hadn't said anything about breakfast with her parents. "When did this happen?"

"Last night."

He blinked again. Did this mean that she was taking him to meet her parents? Talk about throwing him a curveball. He didn't know if he was ready for this, not with everything else that was going on; it was too sudden.

And yet Judy made it perfectly clear that he was not getting out of this. And that's how the two of them ended up stuck in traffic on the way to the restaurant with Nick currently giving her the silent treatment for blind-siding him with this sudden unexpected arrangement; she could have at least given him a heads-up last night.

But then, to be fair, they had both been pretty preoccupied with each other last night.

Eventually though, he broke his silent streak when he asked, "What do you think of Bogo?"

She took a few seconds to think about it before letting out a sigh. "Bogo… Bogo's an idiot."

He raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by her response. The chief may have been a jerk about it when he said that they were being let go, and he may have been pressured by Miles, but he and Judy had broken a lot of rules with their unorthodox methods of getting things done.

"You don't think we've had this coming?" he asked seriously.

She gave him a blank look. "I think he's a bit of a hypocrite."

Nick shrugged. "Eh, well, we could be hypocrites too."

"I mean," she began slowly, as if carefully considering her words as she shifted closer to him, "he only gets on someone's side when there's something that benefits him. If not, he's always against you. Always…"

She'd put extra emphasis on the "you", making him wonder if she was referring to other animals as a whole or to him in general. He appreciated her answer regardless as he wrapped an arm around her, holding her close since, with the traffic, it didn't look like they would be moving any time soon.

They sat there in silence for a few moments before she spoke again. "This city's hypocritical too."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "The city?"

"The city," she said with more certainty.

He glanced out the window. "If you're talking about how animals look at us, then it's not actually everyone."

He was both trying to lighten the mood while also trying to reassure her. He hoped this newfound perception of hers was less cynical and merely more of her no longer being ignorant to the flaws of the world.

A sad smile was present on her face as she leaned into him. "When you help someone, they smile and they say 'thank you'… and then they stab you in the back."

He studied her for a few moments. No, he didn't think it was cynicism. Based on the resigned look in her eyes, it was really more like she was now aware of how things really were and was reluctantly accepting it. Ultimately, he supposed that was a good thing. Ignorance might be bliss, but when reality hit you, if you weren't ready for it, it could be damaging.

That had been what happened when Miles exposed them. But now that they really knew what they were in for, having seen it first hand, but coming out even stronger, or so he felt, they would truly be ready for whatever the world threw at them. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, as the saying went.

He gave her a smile as he playfully nudged her. "Well, on the bright side, you don't have to worry about having to help animals in need anymore. We're on our way to being fired."

Despite the depressing comment, an amused smile crept up her face. "All aboard the firing train!" she said enthusiastically.

They shared a laugh as they snuggled into each other, waiting, and still the traffic went nowhere. Nick wondered if there was a problem up ahead. Maybe the ZPD would send a traffic cop down to move things along, because they were barely moving. But as he had told her, soon it wouldn't be their problem anymore.

Which suddenly gave him an idea. "I think we should quit."

Still smiling, she looked up at him in interest. "Yeah?"

He nodded. "Yeah, let's not give them the pleasure of firing us. I've always wanted to quit something, but in style."

She lifted off him and gave him a strange yet still amused look. "What does 'in style' mean?"

He waved his hand around, trying to find the right words to explain what he meant. "Quitting in style is… uh, well, I mean, you quit, but you remain friends with everyone because of how confident you looked quitting." He smirked at her. "And I mean friends with everyone except the boss."

She laughed at that. "I've been wondering if this happened for a reason."

He glanced at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

She looked out the window, almost longingly. "I mean, my priorities in life are… different now. I was a cop, and I loved it, but…"

She trailed off, as if she wasn't sure how to put what she wanted to say into words, but Nick knew what she was getting at. "I understand."

After all, ever since he met her, his priorities in life had changed a lot too. And he couldn't be happier because of it.

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As far as meeting the parents went, things could be worse. Judy's parents were all smiles, genuinely so, but they kept staring. It was making both Nick and Judy feel rather self-conscious as they attempting to eat their breakfast while her mother and father had barely touched their food.

"This isn't awkward at all," Nick muttered to Judy. She snorted into her milkshake, and threw a mock glare at him. She was smiling though, and Nick gave her a somewhat apologetic look. "Was that too far?"

His comment did seem to put an end to the awkward moment, which, it had indeed been, and an actual conversation finally broke out.

"This is some of the best breakfast I've ever eaten," her mother stated. "Thanks for taking us here, Nick."

"No problem at all," he replied, not entirely sure if he should call her Bonnie or Mrs. Hopps. "It's actually my pleasure."

Her father gave his wife a pointed look. "This is not as good as your peach pie though."

"Peach pie?" Nick repeated, his interest piqued.

Judy's face lit up. "My mother makes an amazing peach pie."

"To die for!" her father added.

Her mother bashfully waved off the praise. "Oh, please, dear, it's not that good."

"I personally think it's very good," Judy argued.

Her mother smiled appreciatively. "Next time we visit the city I'll bring one."

"Great," Nick exclaimed eagerly, his mouth already watering. "Well, that'd be fantastic."

Judy nodded in agreement. "It sure would be."

A true genuine smile spread across her father's face as he looked at the two of them. "You know, I'm glad the two of you found love in each other, I have to say."

"Yes, it's adorable," her mother agreed.

Judy rubbed the back of her head, suddenly looking very embarrassed. "Hmm, thank you, guys."

"Though I'm guessing the next time we come to visit we'll be visiting the apartment you two share, right?" her father stated matter-of-factly.

"Stu!" her mother exclaimed as Nick and Judy both blushed to the roots of their fur. Looking embarrassed for them, she slapped a hand to her forehead. "You can't just make them talk about living together the day after they actually got together."

He gave her a look as if he didn't see what the problem was. "Just because they finally got together, darling, doesn't mean they haven't done anything yet."

"Oh!" her mother groaned.

"In all seriousness, if I didn't have–"

But they never got to hear the end of what her father was saying as an arctic fox suddenly came running up to their table in a panic. "Officer Hopps! Officer Wilde! I-I need your help, please!"

Both Nick and Judy stared at the unexpected visitor. They both recognized him instantly, but it took a second or two to fully process that the fact that one of the animals that had tried to kill them, twice in Nick's case, was suddenly coming up to them, begging for help.

Nick moved first, and the arctic fox seemed to realize that he had made a mistake in his approach a moment before he was tackled to the ground and pinned down in a police hold.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing here!?" Nick snarled down at him.

The arctic fox turned his face up to him as much as he could in his position. "I said I need your help."

Judy had gotten up at this point too and had moved in front of her parents protectively. "Mom, Dad, get outside." As her parents quickly did as they were told, she stepped up to the arctic fox, her fury evident. "Help? You tried to kill us on that train."

The arctic fox looked up at her, and the fear in his eyes gave her pause. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I-I-I'll help you take down Miles Walker. I'll tell you everything. Please."

Both Nick and Judy paused, surprised by his offer, and glanced at each other uncertainly, both thinking the same thing. What did Miles Walker have to do with anything? The guy was a total jerk, but he hadn't done anything criminal… As far as they were aware.

It was ultimately the fear in his voice that convinced them to hear the arctic fox out. Deciding it was best to take this away from the public eye, they dragged him outside behind the restaurant. Judy took over from there, slamming him against the brick wall and raised her fist as if to strike him, demanding that he start talking.

And he did, without hesitation. "May-Mayor Walker, that's the animal you want?"

"What about Walker?" Judy demanded impatiently.

The arctic fox took a deep breath. "Listen, I was just trying to not get killed. Th-They killed my friend. I couldn't let that happen to me. I–"

"What about Walker?" she repeated, gripping his shirt even tighter.

He held up his hands. "R-Relax. My partner and I were hired by a sheep named Mike. H-H-He's some prey fanatic who wants to get Bellwether out of jail, and he's in cahoots with Miles Walker. And you know that armadillo that was hospitalized? She found out the two were working together, so the two of them sent someone to… you know…"

Nick crossed his arms as he considered all this. If what this arctic fox was saying was true, then all of this was connected, and things were much more serious than he and Judy had anticipated.

"What part do you play?" he demanded.

The arctic fox glanced at him. "I was hired to make sure no one interfered with Mike and Walker's plans. We burst a pipe at the Country Club; we had to make sure you two were out of commission so that you wouldn't interfere." He smirked and let out an arrogant laugh. "But I guess they didn't count on me interfering."

Judy glanced at Nick to see what he thought about this before turning back to the arctic fox. "Why is Walker doing this?"

He shook his head, looking resigned. "Oh, geez. Walker is mental. He's actually insane." He pushed her hand that was gripping his shirt away. "You don't want to mess with him. Y-You just get me to testify or something."

Nick just glared at him. "You know, that's all fantastic, but you could be making all of this up. You have a story, but no evidence. There's… there's nothing."

A near crazed grin spread across the arctic fox's face. "Well, I know who he really is. Why do you think Miles Walker just randomly showed up in Zootopia?" He let out an excited laugh, as if he had just declared checkmate. "We never hear about his past. Nothing."

"So he's done some shady deals in the past?"

The arctic fox's grin became a smug smirk. "I heard he killed his family."

Whatever Judy had been expecting to hear, it hadn't been that, and a look of horror crossed her face. "What?"

Miles had… killed his family. How? Why? How did nobody ever find out about this? Surely there had to be some kind of trail that had been left behind leading up to Miles. How did he mange to keep such a horrible secret hidden?

"Burned down his family farm when he was younger," the arctic fox told her. His eyes narrowed. "Liam Margarine. That's his name."

"His real name?" she asked, still trying to wrap her head around this revelation.

"Word gets 'round," the arctic fox replied with a shrug. "That's what I've heard."

At that moment, Judy's phone went off. She quickly pulled it out, thinking it was her parents calling to make sure she was ok, but was surprised to see that it was actually Clawhauser, and she immediately answered. "Hello?"

"Judy, I…" the cheetah said, sounding hesitant, like he wasn't sure if he should be talking to her, "I took a call for you. It was Mr. Shell. He said his wife has woken up from her coma."

Judy inhaled. If what the arctic fox said was true, then Mrs. Shell might be able to back up his story. At the very least she could tell them who it was that assaulted her, and they might be able to trace the attack back to Miles if he was really involved. Or Liam Margarine, if that was indeed his real name.

"I'm on my way," she told Clawhauser, and hung up.

She made to leave, expecting Nick to follow, but he held out a hand to stop her, lowering his voice so only she could hear. "Judy, wait a second. Bogo's planning to fire us together if we go back to the ZPD. Even so, that's probably something he's doing out of… respect?" He scoffed. "We're most likely technically already fired and not in the system anymore. We might have these badges, but I think we might not actually be cops anymore. If we're gonna solve this case, we can't go to the ZPD. We have to have evidence, ready to be shown."

She realized he was right. But fortunately for them, they might be able to get ahold of such evidence. "Clawhauser just called me and said that Mrs. Shell woke up from her coma."

"The armadillo, she knows," the arctic fox assured them.

Nick glanced at him, then back at Judy. "If he's telling the truth, then she knows about Walker, or Margerin, Margarine, whatever his name is."

Judy nodded in agreement, glad that they were on the same page. "Let's go."

Nick reached out and grabbed the arctic fox by his collar. "Actually, you go alone. I'm gonna go to public record and see what I can find on our friendly mayor."

Judy frowned, not liking the idea of splitting up, but knew that he was right. "Ok. You want to take the family truck?"

He shook his head. "No, you take it and get a statement from her, ok. I'll go with our friend here and take, uh… public transportation."

Judy couldn't help but crack a smile at that.

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After a subway ride that was as unpleasant as Nick knew it would be, he entered public records, dragging the arctic fox, whom he had learned was named Healy, with him the whole way; he wasn't going to let him out of his sight again. He approached the capybara behind the counter and flashed her a pleasant smile.

"How are you doing, darling," he greeted, as if he hadn't just dragged the arctic fox in here with him. "I was wondering if I could get ahold of any public documents on Miles Walker."

He saw her hesitate, probably on account of the way he was keeping hold of Healy, and he pushed his badge to her to let her know he was qualified to see such things. After that, she gave him no trouble and brought him the documents he requested. Much to his surprise, there really wasn't that much, especially not for a public figure.

"What in the world?" he grumbled as he looked through the documents while the arctic fox stood by looking impatient. "Where is everything before 2007? There's nothing before 2007? Driver's license, 2007. Property, 2007. Website, 2008. What?"

With a roll of his eyes, Healy waltzed up to the capybara and flashed her a friendly smile. "Hi, quick question. Could you give me the public documents of a Liam Margarine?"

A few minutes later, he made his way back over to Nick, handing him the documents the capybara had given him.

"You're welcome," he said with far more sincerity than Nick would have expected.

Nick chose not to respond as he reluctantly admitted that perhaps Healy wasn't as bad as he initially thought, despite having tried to kill him, twice, as he accepted the documents and began going through them, finding very different information than what was in Miles' file.

"Arson," he read. "Geez. Battery when he was ten. Juvie. And after juvie, he disappears."

He stared at the file from the Bunnyborrow Juvenile Detention Center. While the words on the pages didn't actually connect Liam Margarine to Miles Walker, there was no mistaking the similarities from Zootopia's new mayor to the picture of the young boy in the file.

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Judy answered the moment Nick called, setting her phone to speaker as she drove along. She was actually surprised to hear from him so fast, and she hoped he was calling with good news.

"Hey, yeah," he said, "I'm at public records, but I think I'm gonna head to the library."

She gave the phone a curious look. "The library? Why?"

"I need to see what happened to this Liam Margarine. He disappears after 1999 after multiple charges of aggression and arson. The year that the farm Healy said burned down, this guy disappears. And I mean forever. The guy doesn't even have a driver's license. But here's what gets even weirder. Anything on Miles Walker, where he was born, where he was before 2007, doesn't exist."

Which really backed up the claim of the arctic fox, who was apparently named Healy. "So he's a ghost until 2007?" she asked.

"2007, he gets a license. He buys property the same year too, but obviously I don't know where, because that information is confidential, and the year after that, he buys a domain, which is WalkerResortsDotZoo. It's incredibly strange."

Judy contemplated all this as she reached her destination. "I just arrived at the hospital. Let me know if you find anything at the library."

"Will do," he replied, and hung up.

She pulled into the nearest parking spot and hopped out of the car. She began making her way to the hospital, passing by a badger in a cap that was sitting on a bench by the garden. She didn't think anything of him until he called out to her.

"Officer Hopps, sit down."

She paused and glanced back at him suspiciously. Nick had told her about how he had been jumped at the fundraiser event by Healy, only to be saved by a mysterious badger in a cap who had warned them against the dangers of getting any deeper into the case. She wondered if this was the same badger.

If he was involved with everything that was going on, he might have some valuable information, so she took a seat by his side, wondering what this would be about.

"Who are you?" she asked, not entirely sure if he was a friend or a foe, despite him having saved Nick.

The badger never once looked away from the entrance of the hospital. "My name's Blanston. I'm somebody who knows exactly what you want."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And what exactly is it that I want?"

"Answers," he said simply.

She cocked her head to the side. "You're trying to help me?"

He wobbled his head in thought. "More like I'm trying to clean up the mess I've caused. Our interests just seem to coincide."

She didn't have time for games. "Are you going to give me the answers to the questions I want asked?"

He hesitated for a few moments before standing up. "More or less."

He motioned for her to follow, and she did so as he headed inside. They walked through the hospital, coming up to Mrs. Shell's room, where Judy was surprised to see Lopez and Myrthil standing guard, watching over the armadillo.

"Hello, gentlemen," Blanston greeted them with a grateful smile. "You did what I asked. Good."

Lopez raised an eyebrow at him curiously. "Were you the guy that texted me?"

The badger nodded. "Yes, I am the text message guy. It seems you've been watching over Mrs. Shell. Thank you, both of you." He glanced at Judy as the wolf and leopard stepped aside. "Well then, Officer Hopps, now is the time to get your answers."

As Lopez and Myrthil left the two alone to question Mrs. Shell, Myrthil's phone went off, and he answered as soon as he saw that the caller was Bogo.

"Officer Myrthil, this is the chief," Bogo unnecessarily told him. "Since that armadillo you two care about so much is fine now, please head back to the station; there's been a development in the case you two started."

(A/N: Well, things are starting to escalate quickly now. Miles is planning something, and Nick had to go through the stressful event of meeting Judy's parents. He seems to have handled it well, at least until their breakfast was interrupted. Interesting turning events, having one of Miles' men turn against him. What new information will this bring to the case? Stay tuned to find out.)