Author's Note: Hey there, readers! I'm back with another AU that has actually been sitting in my mind for some time. Partially inspired by some things that I read in the past about belief in guardian angels and the like, I started to come up with this concept.
Anyway, hope y'all like this little story I came up with. As always, your thoughts, good and bad, are always appreciated.
Enjoy! :)
For the first time in quite some time, Judy Hopps bowed her head, folded her paws, and prayed for guidance. She had always grown up in a family that held strong religious beliefs, and even though she would often end the night by giving thanks for everything she had, she never really was one to ask for help. However, with a need for something to change in a positive manner, she needed to do exactly that.
The rabbit, prior to this moment, had been standing on the lookout of one of Zootopia's botanical gardens. With admission being free to the public, this hidden gem, a decent drive outside of the hustle and bustle, made for a great spot to relax or ponder on things whilst enjoying the beautiful flowers. The surroundings were undoubtedly soothing, and she started to think about things as she looked out at the water in the reservoir.
It was in that instant that she started to say the prayer quietly out loud. She first wasn't sure what to say at first, but she just started to speak as if she was telling her troubles to a close friend.
"I come before you today to ask for you to help me," she continued to say. "I feel in my heart that my purpose is to make this world a better place, and I ask you to help guide me and make this dream come true." She opened up her eyes and looked up to the bright blue sky above her. "That way everyone, predator and prey, can all live in harmony and be kind to one another."
After she had finished this prayer, the doe walked back the way she came before heading to another portion of the gardens that she hadn't looked at yet. She stopped for a moment then to sit on the unoccupied bench that was nearby, hoping that she would be given some sort of sign that the dream she had since her youth would come true. That she really would help to make the world a better place.
It was after a moment of stillness that the silence was broken by a loud and mighty splash. It sounded as if something had landed straight into the water, the noise sounding like it was coming from the left. Whatever made such a splash was definitely not a fish, so just what could it have been?
She wasn't sure why, but Judy, in that moment, felt the sudden urge to run over there and see for herself. She hopped off the bench and bolted in the direction that the sound came from. Surely enough, after heading that way, she started to see exactly what caused the sound a moment ago.
A red fox was in the reservoir of water, over where she had prayed a couple minutes earlier. He appeared to be paddling vigorously in the water, presumably to keep himself afloat as he tried to get over to where it was more shallow.
Judy got down and over towards some large rocks that were nearby, ready to help the fox as he swam a bit closer to where she was standing.
"Grab my paw," she said to him as she outstretched her arm helpfully.
The vulpine reached forward and grabbed hold of it, eventually pulling himself from out of the water.
"Are you okay, sir?" Judy asked the fox.
He nodded his head in response to her inquiry, still soaking wet from the water he had been in a moment earlier. "I'm fine," he replied. "Just… in a little bit of shock. Didn't expect to take such a dive."
As he caught his breath, Judy looked back at him and noticed the clothing he was wearing looked a bit strange. He appeared to be wearing a long woolen tunic that was bright white, which reminded her of the attire that she once learned was worn by mammals in ancient civilization. Mammals didn't just go around in clothing of that sort, so it was bit puzzling.
"Are you on your way to the Zootopia Renaissance Festival?" the rabbit asked.
The tod gave her a confused look, seeming unsure about what she was talking about. "The what?"
"It's just… your outfit is a bit different than what mammals around here usually wear. Like something from a different time period."
The fox shrugged his shoulders. "It's the outfit I've donned since I've held my title. As a matter of fact, that's actually why I've been sent to this…"—he looked around at the nature surrounding him—"this splendid display of creation."
"I'm not sure I understand."
"I was sent to bring you a much-needed answer, Judy," explained the vulpine matter-of-factly.
When she heard her name being said by the stranger, Judy's eyes widened in a state of surprise. The next question that arose in her mind was the one that anybody might have inquired had this particular scenario happened to them. "How do you know my name?"
"Because," the fox answered, "I'm your guardian angel."
Judy remained silent for a moment, internally assessing what she was being told. "My what?" she breathed a few seconds later.
"I was sent here to help respond to your prayer. The one that you just sent to the Mammal in Charge." As he outstretched his arm, a small piece of paper suddenly appeared in his paw. "You said that you felt that it was your purpose to make the world a better place, and that you needed a way to help make this dream of yours come true."
"I can't believe this is real," Judy said to herself. Any inkling of doubt suddenly vanished with the mentioning of said prayer. These circumstances would have seemed unbelievable to a majority of other mammals, but Judy was a bunny that was openminded regarding her beliefs. "Guess my grandmother was right about everyone having their own guardian angel."
The fox chuckled, the paper he was holding disappearing in an instant. "She sure was." After a moment of silence, he continued, "Oh, how impolite of me to not even introduce myself in a proper manner. My name, by the way, is Nicolas. Nick, however, is what the other angels that watch over others here call me."
"Judy Hopps," the rabbit replied out of introduction. "Well, I guess I didn't have to introduce myself since you already know me."
"That's quite alright," Nick said back with a smile. "By the way, thanks for pulling me out of the water there a moment ago. When I was given the orders that I'd be coming down to answer your prayer, they forgot to leave out the details about the free-fall I'd be taking."
"What about wings?" Judy asked shortly afterwards. "Most of the paintings I've seen show angels that have these long wings on their back."
The fox robed in white let out a snicker under his breath. "I'm hoping that'll be my case sooner than later."
"What do you mean?" the doe inquired.
"You see, Hopps," explained Nick, "there's kind of a system involving us angels. From the moment we are given someone to guard and watch over, we do exactly that. However, it's only after we've answered a certain number of prayers that we earn our wings."
This started to remind Judy of a certain movie that she and her family used to watch during the holidays. "So will helping me make the world a better place help you get those wings?"
Nick nodded his head in response. "It will. But what's more important is that I assist you in helping others and making sure everyone gets along. Mammals here on earth have been hateful to one another for too long."
"That's," Judy replied, "exactly what I believe."
"Now then, I guess I should tell you how I am here to help you. Before I can go over that, though, I need to quench my thirst. I forgot that when a guardian angel is sent to earth to help somebody, they end up experiencing the thirst or hunger that living mammals do."
Nick sat on the public bench that sat outside of an establishment that supposedly had both prepared food and drink for sale. Snarlbuck's was the name of the place, and there appeared to be more than one of these within this city called Zootopia. The first thing he had come to notice upon his arrival was that everything was extremely noisy, with sounds he had never heard of mashing together and surprising him quite a bit. In addition to this, he also realized that the mammals occupying this place always seemed to be in a hurry, in a rush either to get to where they needed to be or be picked up by the mysterious yellow vehicles that seemed to transport them elsewhere.
"I'm back," Judy said as she stepped out of the shop, holding onto two cups with a brown-colored liquid inside of them. "There wasn't a lot of mammals in there like there normally is, so I didn't have to wait in a long line." She sat down beside the fox that she now knew was her guardian angel, handing him one of the to-go cups. "Have this. This is perfect whenever I'm in need of something."
Nick stared down at the cup that had the unknown beverage and ice cubes inside of it. He held it up to his mouth and carefully took a small sip of it. His response to how it tasted was one of disgust, the drink not being something that was good to him. "What is that?" he asked.
"Snarlbuck's iced coffee," Judy responded. "Served chilled and sweetened to perfection."
The fox set the cup down next to him and looked away from it. "I imagine that it was the dirt on earth here tastes like," he remarked.
"It's not something everybody enjoys," the rabbit responded. Turning her head in his direction, she inquired, "So angels never feel hungry or thirsty like mammals do here?"
Nick shook his head. "Those are all things that are part of having a physical body. The only time we do, like I said, is when we are sent down here to help somebody in this kind of form."
"I'm not sure if this is a question that's meant to be asked," Judy inquired a moment later, "but what does it look like in heaven? I mean, I always saw in illustrations growing up that it was just a bunch of clouds with these tall gates in the front, but is that what it's like up there?"
The tod responded, "That's not what it looks like. You know that spot where we were just at with all of the nature and such? That's what it looks like, only it's much prettier than that. The grass is much greener, the skies are always bright, everybody is happy, and everything is very colorful. Heaven has all of the colors you have here and some others as well."
"Different colors? Wow, that's pretty fascinating," Judy said. That particular idea was something that really struck her imagination. Just what did these other colors that he was talking about look like?
"That's about all I can say about it, though," Nick replied.
"How will you help make my dream come true?" inquired the rabbit, sounding eager but careful not to come off as impatient for a solution.
Her guardian angel smiled back and said, "Everything can come to pass with a little help from a heavenly source. There are tons of mammals around here that need someone with kindness in their heart to help them in their time of need. With every good deed that is done, you'll be one step closer making the world a better place. Kindness spreads quicker than anything." Looking out at the bustling city, he promised, "And I will be there every step of the way, to help let you know when somebody needs assistance."
The reassuring words from him brought much contentment to her mind. She looked out at the great city that stood out before her, smiling wider than she had before. Never would she have expected the answer to her prayers to literally fall from the sky, but sometimes said answers came in ways that were very unexpected.