-Chapter I-

(7 Months ago, Zootopia Police Academy.)

Animals of different species were sitting on the grass while the sky was a little grey, indicating that it might rain soon. Not only that, the wind was also blowing making it a little windy which would indicate that some leaves from the trees were blowing away. Gary was sitting at the far back as he listened to the polar bear.

''Now Listen up, very closely cadets! Zootopia has twelve unique continents! To name a few, Tundra Town, Sahara Square, Rainforest District…''

As the polar bear instructor listed the continents that the lupine will have to go through, not only do those sound hectic to go through, but also provide a challenge for Gary. The white wolf did go through a few strangles. But to be honest, with the list she is going through, he can pass this with ease. He learned some tricks from friends when once worked as a guard that can help him through the course. Of course, overconfidence will kick him in the butt soon…

'Don't think that! Just stay cautious…'The wolf told himself, he didn't want to seem too cocky. After all, as the instructor continued to speak, Gary was listening intently. He was also taking some mental notes in his head, as the polar bear was giving out some small advice for some continents. But ears can hear some gossip about the 'Savage Mammal Case.'.

A quick reference in his mind is when the savage mammals turn savage when shot by a night howler pellet causing them to go feral. This case was long solved, and the police thought that he was involved in it, but was later released when he had no connections at all. But some media like tikpaw had other ideas...

He could have sworn, He saw a tiger and a rhino pointing their claws at him, he frowned at the thought.'So even here, others will judge me.'He sighed, shook the thought out of his head, and continued to listen to what their instructor had to say.

After the whole speech was given to them, they were instructed to get ready for the tundra town course. Gary had to mentally prepare himself and shake off any uneasiness he had. Before anything else was done, Gary could hear some paw steps behind him. Being a guard, and past experience as a child, he always taught himself to stay on guard for any sort of attack.

With his nose, he was able to identify that two mammals were approaching. One was a tiger, while the other was a rhino. It was the same mammals that were pointing at him. He gulped, not only those heavy paw steps were making his heart beat faster than any piston, but it also invited for not a friendly gesture…

''Hey, wolf.''That voice…He could feel the voice was breathing down his neck. He took a deep breath and turned toward the two large mammals. He greeted them back but with some nervousness on his face and his voice.

''Y-yeah? How can I help you?''The lupine asked. The way these two were staring at him was now making his skin crawl!

''Aren't you associated with the 'Savage Mammal Case'? I could have sworn; I saw you on TV somewhere.''The rhino asked. The lupine muttered, how new travels so godly fast!

''I-I don't know…What you're talking about!''The wolf turned to leave but was stopped as he could feel a large paw on his shoulder. These two were not about to let him go…

''Oh, I remember now…You were in the latest news on ZNN! Where the Mayor hid about the savage mammal in the asylum! You were one of the guards!''The tiger exclaimed.

'Why…? Why here? and why now?!'The wolf wanted to curse so badly, this was not the situation he wanted to be in, perhaps never!

''If that's the case, then why don't you tell us? Were you really involved with the case?''These two…They are forcing him into a corner! He wanted to get away from this news about him.

The wolf felt uneasy about this. He wanted to take a deep breath, but he was forcefully turned around, facing the two giants. Gary's body tensed, and the way they were looking at him sent a shiver down his spine, especially those facial expressions showing some anger and those body language being intimidating!

It also reminded him of something that happened to him so long ago…''Answer the question!''They demanded. Gary felt himself hyperventilate, this scenario…It was all too familiar to him…It was back then when he was a small pup.

''P-please...Stop...I-I haven't d-d-done anything!''

''Answer the question, you stupid pup!''

''Such a waste of space!''

''You are my property boy!''

'He was just a small pup, his legs were shaking so hard...and he was getting hurt for something he did not do...He was scared for his life.'

''D-Dad, I-I did not do anythi-''

''SHUT UP!''

'He saw a paw coming right at him! He was knocked down and he felt like crying.'

With a sudden flashback of words coming back to him when he was a small pup, he was hurt so many times, that fear was slowly forming in his eyes, and he was beginning to fear for his life. His sweat was starting to form along with his paws plus his body was starting to shake.

Even with the huge size difference, Gary managed to get the heavy paw off his shoulder. He slowly started to back away, while shaking, feeling anxiety kicking up within him…He grasped his head, shaking off the words that were getting to him. He could feel the anxiety rising, his vision was getting blurry. He whimpered as he muttered to himself…

''I-I didn't do anything…I promise, I-I am g-good boy…p-please…d-don't hurt me…''

The two large mammals were staring at him oddly. Before anything else was said, they were interrupted by the instructor. ''What on earth is going on here?!''The two-mammal turned to the polar bear, they faced her ignoring the lupine.

''Nothing! We were just going to leave!''The tiger explained. The instructor turned her attention to the wolf, and she could see that he was shaken up. The fact that he was breathing heavily, and trying to calm himself down, tells a different story. He was shaking, breathing heavily...He was having a panic attack.

''Well, if that is the case, I suggest you get your tails moving! You still have to finish the course on Tundra Course!''Both mammals nodded, and they left in a hurry. After she made sure they left, she approached the wolf.''You okay, wolfyboy?''She asked. She could see that the wolf was still taking a breather, so she decided to give her cadet a few seconds or so to calm down.

After taking a couple of deep breaths, knowing that those two were gone. He managed to calm himself. He answered her with a shakey voice.''Y-yes, ma'am…I-I'm okay…I'll head to the course…''He passed her as he began walking to the course…With the sudden words coming to him, he may look fine, but he really isn't.

With the thing that just happened, he would rather keep this to himself if he can. Gary reached the course as he waited for the polar bear, but he did hear some mammals whispering about him, why wouldn't they? He just had a breakdown...He just made a fool of himself...

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. and the signal was given for them to start moving.

''C'mon, Gary…Deep Breath…'He could hear his own breathing overtaking his senses…'Show the world…what I can do, do not back down!' and the signal was given for them to start moving. The wolf opened his eyes now, showing determination as he rushed forward starting the course.

(Present time, Central District 11:21 AM.)

As Gary was driving, he noticed a commotion. Suddenly, he had to get out of his vehicle to intervene in a dispute between two animals. One of them was clearly the predator and the other was the prey. The situation was getting heated, and Gary had to step in to prevent any harm. Then this is how it went with the interaction and how the canine pictured it.

'Officer! This predator was harassing me! You must arrest him!'

'I didn't do anything, Lady!'

And whenever the lupine asked what happened, he would get a hostile response from the prey.

'Aren't you supposed to do your job! I can easily get you fired!'

Of course, Gary himself had a witty response which caused her to shut up, which he thanked the sky for. He didn't want to hear any more complaints! Luckily some of the crowd decided to help and explain to the officer, in which turn was confirmed by the two arguing mammals. But the prey mammal was looking sour…He decided to leave the two with a warning as this sort of commotion was not acceptable.

Gary finally entered his vehicle as soon as he sat down, he slammed his head onto the steering wheel, not only did that commotion cause some major headaches, but it also made him tired for some reason his expression says it all as he wore a tired expression.

Resting his head on the headrest. He so badly wanted to take a slight nap, but he still had a job to do. He started the engine and stepped on the accelerator.

Gary was patrolling the area, keeping an eye out for any potential troublemakers. It was a slow day, so he had to stay alert in case any of his fellow officers needed assistance. As he drove along, a speeding vehicle suddenly passed him, leaving him in shock. Quickly regaining his focus, Gary switched on his sirens and began to pursue the vehicle, hoping to catch up to it. Just then, he heard his radio go off.

''This is Delgato! We have a speeding vehicle that is driving recklessly! We lost sight of it! Keep a look out for a white vehicle with the number '8' on the back!''

The way that his collage described the vehicle matched exactly what he was chasing! He responded immediately.

''Albus here! I have my eyes locked on the vehicle; they are heading straight to the central area!''

The white wolf stepped on the accelerator as hard as he could to make the vehicle go fast. Luckily some of the mammals had some sense to move out of the way. The vehicle made a hard left turn, and Gary followed suit trying to drift. The canine made sure that his seatbelt was fastened, so he didn't fly off.

The canine focused on the road trying his best to not run over anyone. He also noticed that the vehicle was doing some damage to the environment, like running into a fire hydrant. Not only they were speeding, but they were also causing some damage to the environment…The paperwork…He didn't want to imagine those. Gary was starting to speed up to the vehicle.

The white vehicle in front of him, then another sharp turn going to the left, when the lupine followed, straight ahead, his ears went down, and eyes widened. He could the traffic light turned red, and cars were driving across…The white car continued to drive fast, hoping for the best that he didn't crash. But their dreams did not come true as a car crashed into the white vehicle.

Gary stopped his vehicle before he could suffer the same fate. Some of the vehicles stopped to see the commotion as the driver who crashed into the white vehicle got out of their car, ready to cause some riot. Gary could see that the driver, who was speeding had gotten out of the burning vehicle, seemingly fine.''Hey!''The lupine yelled as he ran at the criminal getting his cuffs ready.

As the reckless driver, an antelope, spotted the approaching officer, he gasped in fear. He quickly fled the scene and ran into an alley to escape the predator. However, the lupine officer pursued him and yelled, "Stop!" before taking out a tranquilizer and aiming it at the prey. With precision, he fired the dart.

His shot missed by an inch! The wolf cursed and continued the chase. He made sure to load a dart in his tranquilizer while he chased the antelope down. The chase led them to a park, the antelope pushed aside the mammal he was running into.''Excuse me! Pardon me! Move!''He pushed some of the mammals to the side, but a little more gently.

The wolf's frustration was increasing as he hesitated to use another dart. He worried about the possibility of missing his target and harming an innocent. Adding to his annoyance, the antelope was proving to be faster than him, despite his own agility.

Leaving the park, they crossed the road. The wolf nearly ended up getting hit by a car in the process, but he disregarded the thought, he would be angry later, but now's not the time. He continued to follow to another alley to which the antelope dropped a barrel to the ground blocking the path as the prey continued to run away.

The wolf shook his head, he was starting to get frustrated, and it was showing when he growled. He ran another way; he entered a restaurant. There were lots of mammals of different species and sizes, having a nice day, enjoying a meal, and having some conversation, while the wolf was sweating heavily.

Even for being fit, and fast…He doesn't have that much stamina. He was getting tired already. The waiter did attempt to lead Gary to a seat because they thought that he was there to dine in. The wolf shook his head waving his paw at the waiter. He conveniently speed-walked to the back door, which led to another alleyway.

'Seriously, another alleyway…?'He thought. He continued to the left, and when he was out in the open, which was less crowded, only a few mammals were roaming the street, he saw the suspect taking a deep breath. He thought he had lost the wolf, he laughed.''Sucker! suck to suck!''

The lupine causally walked to the prey.''Suck to suck, is right.''He replied seriously. He roughly grabbed the shoulder and pinned the prey to the wall. The antelope raised both of his hooves, he knew he couldn't run anymore since he was pinned. The antelope let out a nervous laugh...

''H-Hey...Officer...I didn't know you were here...''The antelope replied nervously. The lupine did not pay any attention to the prey, he just focused in cuffing the suspect.

''You thought you lost me?''The wolf grabbed his cuffs and forced the antelope to face the wall as he cuffed the suspect. He took out his walkie-talkie and radioed the station.

''This is Albus, I caught the mammal who is speeding, I'll bring him i-''Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a strong impact hit his back, and his walkie-talkie flew out of his paw as he hit the ground hard.

''Albus! Albu-''The device was crushed by a stomp. He looked up and saw a big hippo staring down at him. His back really hurt! Did this big guy just kick him?!'This sucks! There's more than one?!'

''Geez, Brad. I didn't know you got caught, luckily, we were close by to save your sorry butt!''

*Clank*

He heard the cuffs fall to the ground. He tried to get up.''Ah!''He yelped in pain, he felt a paw on his pack keeping him pinned! Especially with their weight! They were crushing him!

''Sorry! It was just this guy! who was very persistent! But thanks for the save!''The wolf could feel multiple eyes staring at him, he was starting to get scared…''Let's just get rid of this guy and get out of here! The police are on their way!''

The wolf was cuffed, then he was tossed to the wall. He hit the brick wall real hard as he landed on his butt. He looked up and saw the mammals get into a van and drove off. His back felt sore from how hard he was tossed by the large mammal. He tried to get up, and just in time, he saw that multiple police vehicles were approaching him.

He sighed…

'Well...I'll be hearing an earful...'

(Outside ZPD, 7:12 PM.)

Gary found himself at the precinct late at night, needing to get checked for any broken bones. Fortunately, his examination revealed that his bones were intact, though he still had a sore back. He had to file paperwork regarding the incident but was eager to go home as his shift had already ended.

He took the everyday way to go home, which is the train. When he boarded the train, he noticed that it was quite packed, so he took a seat since there was one spot available. His destination was Tundratown. He waited to reach his destination, where he lives. It may be very cold for some mammals being below -60 degrees and all that. But to him, the cold never bothered him anyway even if he was wearing less than just a blue t-shirt.

The lupine took a deep sigh, what a bad day he was having…It made him feel worse when he couldn't stop the suspects. He also had some of his colleagues giving him some disapproving stares. They were giving him that because of how he let the criminals get away. It wasn't entirely his fault, someone snuck up on him and nearly broke his back.

They didn't even give him the chance to explain what happened. At least he submits the paperwork for the case. But the stares bothered him to no end! At least Clawhauser and Hopps were good to him and supported him!

He was already getting close to his destination, he stood up from his chair as well and multiple mammals stood from their seats, mainly; Polar bears were getting ready and some other different species. As the door opened, he waited for all the mammals to leave, and soon he followed suit.

Feeling the cool breeze hit his fur, he took in the air, and let it out. It sure was nice feeling the cold breeze. He walked through the snow, and the train left speeding past Tundratown. The wolf looked around the area, he could see that there were still plenty of mammals still going about their day, kids playing in the snow and building snow animals. He showed a small smile, these kinds of days where he wished he could go back and do these all the time. Being an adult is difficult…

He needed to buy some quick food from a convenience store since he didn't have anything in the fridge at the current moment, which reminded him that he needed to do some quick grocery shopping the next time his at Savanah Central, which would be tomorrow.

When the wolf entered the convenience store, he took the cheapest item he could buy with a fixed income. He handed the cashier the food item which was a pack of strawberries. His budget was so tight that all he could afford until his next paycheck was some pack of strawberries. Life has some sense of humor…If not a dark one…

''Hey, Gary…How was work?''An old acquaintance of his, and a friend. A hyena by the name of: Dave. Greeted him.

The canine once again sighed. Clearly showing that he was tired not caring if Dave so it or not.''I don't want to talk about it, Dave. It's pretty stressful…''Dave could read the expression, and he could see the tired look on his face.

''That bad huh? Think you're suited for this kind of work, Gary?''Dave asked as he scanned the strawberry. He watched the canine pull out his worn-out wallet, and give the cash which, the hyena accepted.''Paper bag?''He asked to which the lupine nodded.

It was silent before Gary decided to humor his old friend.''To be honest…I'm starting to think that I'm not suited for this work, doing this, and getting looks at a daily basis.''He admitted.

This time it was the hyena's turn to humor him.''Don't think that Gary, just because you had one, or multiple bad days doesn't mean you should give up. You must work for it.''The strawberries were in the back, and he handed them over to his customer.''Otherwise, how would you prove them wrong?''

Gary frowned, the more he thought about this, the more he wanted to beat himself up for it. The reason why he ever decided on this job was to prove himself.''I know what you mean, Dave. But is this really all worth it? To have mental health degenerate due to this kind of treatment?''He looked away with a look of self-doubt.

''It doesn't help if you start doubting yourself, you know?''His friend commented. The canine gritted his teeth, Why did he have to make sense? It's just…Too much for him. So, he didn't reply to him, he just wanted to calm himself down.

He heard his friend sigh, and the hyena threw something. He caught it on instinct, and it was some chips, then he threw another one! He was going to protest.''It's on the house, you could use more food. That pack alone won't be enough to satisfy you.''The wolf opened his mouth, but Dace beat him to the punch.''You and I both know that! So don't try to argue!''

The canine shut his mouth at what his friend told him, he had to agree…He sometimes had to eat some fruits to save some cash and that would be enough, but he would lack some energy whenever he had to go to work…''Thanks, Dave.''He thanked Dave, showing a smile. He was really grateful for this one, Dave really is the best. The hyena waved it off.

''Don't mention it. Just take care of yourself, Okay?''The canine nodded. To which Dave gave a thumbs up.''Good! Now get out of here! You have work tomorrow!''The canine laughed in response to what his friend said, but regardless he also gave a thumbs up as he exited the store. With the items at hand and with two extra bags of potato chips, he was all set. The last thing to do was to walk home.

And walk home he did. He managed to arrive back home safely, Gary did some window shopping, and he certainly wished, he had more cash on him because their some things, he really needed…Like a new comb! His old one is about to be torn in half. But he currently couldn't buy one. Better to make do with what he has…

When the canine turned the light on his apartment, he was suddenly depressed with his living space. He has been using this ever since…He had a small rusty bed to the left corner with a single pillow and covers. A small desk in the right corner, a small TV placed on a small table, a chair, a microwave, a small trash can, a radio, a lamp, a mini fridge, and 2 plants. At his current budget, this is the only place he could afford for now…

'Well...Home Sweet Home...''

He entered his apartment and closed the door behind him. He placed his items on the desk. He took the said items out of the bag and then threw the bag at the trash can. He sat down and opened the container along with a bag of chips, he would save the other one for later. One by one he ate the strawberry.

The wolf stopped eating. He looked at the picture, he stared at it for a while before he took the picture on his desk. When he looked at the picture, it honestly made him feel sad and kind of disappointed with himself. It was a picture of him when he was younger, he had two other wolves in the picture: his mother and sister. He really missed them…Putting back the picture from where he took it, he suddenly lost his appetite.

He closed the container to the strawberry and put it in the fridge, but he did finish the potato chip. He cleaned his desk, changed into comfortable clothing, and set his alarm for the morning. He lies down on his bed thinking about what tomorrow will bring, and he is not excited about it. He could feel something big would be coming…

His eyes were getting heavy until finally…He slept comfortably, his face was really peaceful as snored soundly with the covers covering his body from the cold…

He needed the rest…and the night carried on...