Zootopia is owned by Disney.
Rated M for foul language, graphic violence, and other adult themes.
Dawn Bellwether glared from behind her glasses at the other inmates-mostly preds she was unsurprised to note-as she was lead down a long hallway toward solitary confinement. She had only been locked up for a few days, but the warden felt it necessary to isolate her for her own safety. At least, that was the excuse he gave. In reality, the warden was a dirty pred who wanted to make her suffer for the Nighthowler incident.
Now she was being forced to debase herself with a walk of shame to solitary, the inmates in their cells on either side of her path hooting and hollering at her as she passed.
"Come on, give 'er to me. She'd make a fine chew toy." One growled.
"No, bring her here! I need some extra padding for my bed." Another sneered.
Dawn bared her teeth at a particularly handsy weasel that lunged its arm through the bars of its cell in a vain attempt to grab her. With a metal clang, the bull officer that was escorting her smacked his baton against the bars, causing the weasel to scurry away.
"Alright, alright. Shut up, the lot of ya." He bellowed, quieting the unruly prisoners.
The hallway was grimy, dirt and detritus covering almost every spare inch of the walls, a bit of cosmic irony that Dawn was too arrogant to appreciate. It had been her decision to reduce the city's prison budget, and now it was coming back to haunt her. They passed through a locked door at the end of the hallway that the bull opened, which separated the solitary confinement cells from general lockup. Passing another cell, the bull guided her to the door of a cell on her right and opened it for her.
The door creaked open, and the officer removed the cuffs that bound Dawn's paws. Massaging her wrists for a moment, the ewe didn't have a chance to take stock of the cell she would be living in for the foreseeable future before she was roughly shoved inside. Just as quick as she crossed the threshold into the cell, the bull officer slammed the door shut behind her, plunging her into darkness save for a shaft of light flowing in from a slit in the door the bull was using to look in.
"Now, be a good little ewe and stay here." Laughing at the snarl said ewe gave him, the bull slid the opening shut, cutting off the only bit of light coming into the cell. With a yell, she slammed her fists against the door, the sound of the impact echoing throughout the cell and into her ears.
As the cell started to fall silent, she planted her forehead against the door with a light thud, and her paws fell limply to her side. Turning around and pressing her back against the door, she slid down to the ground, hugging her knees against her chest and burying her face into them.
Things had gone so wrong. She wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be running this city, ushering it into a new age of prey supremacy. How could it have gone so wrong so fast?
She let out a shuddering breath as she thought about the humiliation she had suffered in the past few days, anger bubbling up inside her. With the conspiracy revealed, Dawn had quickly been sent to jail, paraded around the city like a common criminal. When she could, she kept up to date with the news, only to find her image plastered everywhere, her visage marred by the unflattering orange jumpsuit all inmates were forced to wear. Absentmindedly, she scratched her leg as said uncomfortable jumpsuit caused another itch. Now here she was, locked in a cell like some kind of…animal.
Suddenly, a voice called out of the darkness, tsking at her as if a parent to a disappointing child.
"Oh, how the mighty have fallen."
Dawn started at the sudden intrusion to her isolation, her eyes frantically searching the darkness before her. She had terrible night vision and couldn't make out anything in the dark.
"Wh-Who's there?" She asked into the void.
"Silence, little lamb. I have questions." The voice replied. It was smooth, with a cold confidence, but Dawn sensed something else laced into the voice, an iciness that chilled her to her core.
"Show yourself!" She demanded, trying for all the world to hide her fear. She failed miserably, as her voice trembled as she spoke.
The voice merely tsked at her again.
"You're in no position to make demands."
All at once Dawn heard the rustling of fabric, and in a flash she was grabbed from the door and pulled to the center of her cell. She felt something wrap around her neck, and her glasses went flying from her face. Frantically, she pawed at whatever it was that had caught her, her feet kicking out wildly as she tried to fight her way out of her assaulter's grasp.
Whatever was wrapped around her neck had tightened, constricting her air flow. For the moment she could still breath, but it was starting to get difficult.
The voice shushed her as she struggled. "Calm down, or I'll snap your neck."
The threat was calm, almost casual, and her blood ran cold. Dawn stopped her thrashing, but her paws still gripped at the fabric wrapped around her throat.
"Better." The voice said.
"Who are you?" Dawn squeaked out, barely able to get enough air to form words. The voice chuckled lightly, but to Dawn it sounded like a wheeze.
"Let's just say, you and I have a mutual friend. He sent me here to…ascertain your loyalty."
Dawn furrowed her brow for a moment, confused by what he meant. Then her eyes shot open as she realized there was only one mammal the voice could be talking about. As if it could sense her understanding, the voice hummed at her.
"Yes, you remember. Have you been disloyal?"
Dawn tried nodding against her captor, but her movement was restricted. Trying to relieve some pressure on her throat, she said, "No! I haven't said anything, I swear." Her voice was hoarse, and it took serious effort to even get that much out.
"Are you sure?" The voice asked doubtfully, playfully.
"Yes! Yes, I swear. Please, let me go." Tears started flowing out of her eyes, her mouth gaping open every now and then desperately trying to get more air.
For a moment Dawn just waited, the only sound in the cell being her labored attempts at breathing. Her mind swam with thoughts of her benefactor, the one who financed her campaign. She thought of their mutual hatred of predators, and how theirs was a natural alliance. She also thought back to some rumors she had heard, rumors that said he was ruthless, and that he wasn't afraid to make someone disappear if he ever saw reason to.
She also remembered another rumor, that he had a special mammal he would call if he needed someone taken out. A psychopath of a mammal that never let anyone live. The thought flashed through her mind all too late, as the voice said, "Good. Your loyalty shall be rewarded."
The fabric wrapped around her neck tightened, and Dawn resumed her thrashing, desperately trying to wrench herself free. It was all for naught, though, as she could feel her head getting lighter. Her pulse thumped in her ears, a steadily quickening drumbeat that set the tempo to her demise.
For a brief moment she caught the scent of grass, causing her nose to twitch sporadically. In the final moments of her life, as her body began to go limp and the fight left her forever, the last thought that went through Dawn Bellwether's mind was, I always hated grass.
"Come on, Slick! Let's go make the world a better place!"
Judy Hopps, first rabbit officer of the ZPD, bounded her way through the lobby of precinct one towards the front desk. In moments she launched herself through the air and , after a successful front flip, landed on the desk, startling the portly cheetah sitting behind it. Jumping in his seat, his reaction caused a cascade of powdered sugar from the doughnut he was about to eat to fall all over him.
"Judy, look what you made me do." Clawhauser whined, gesturing down at his now powdered uniform. After a moment of studying his uniform in annoyance, he shrugged and ate the doughnut in one bite. "Oh well, more for later." He said while chewing.
Judy brought a paw to her mouth as she giggled at the sight. "Sorry, buddy. I'm just a little excited."
Quirking an eyebrow at the bunny, Clawhauser asked, "Even for you this seems a bit much. What's got you in such a tizzy?"
Judy opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by her partner who had finally managed to catch up with her.
"Didn't ya hear? There was an accident involving a delivery truck carrying carrots! We've gotta save them all before they go bad!"
Judy crossed her arms and fixed Nick with a glare as the fox climbed up onto Clawhausers desk. Grunting with effort, Nick lifted himself up all while still holding on to his cup of coffee. Now standing next to his partner on top of Clawhauser's desk, he smoothed out his uniform and smirked at the rabbit.
Judy glared at Nick, though there was a twinkle in her eye that revealed her amusement. "Well, I heard it was actually transporting blueberries, I just didn't want to say anything."
Nick's eyes bugged out of his head, and he gripped his chest like he was having a heart attack. "Don't say such things, you'll speak it into existence. My poor heart couldn't take it."
Judy huffed at her partner, then turned back to Clawhauser. Her smile returned to her face as she bounced in place and said, "Actually, today's the one-year anniversary since Nick and I met! I've got something real nice planned for after we get off today."
Clawhauser smiled back at Judy and hit her with a pointed gaze. "Sounds almost like…a date."
Now it was the cheetah's turn to receive one of Judy's glares. "Clawhauser…"
The cheetah merely snickered to himself, then leaned over to nudge Nick with an elbow. "Uh-oh, she called me by my last name. I'm in trouble now."
Nick chuckled in response, though the smile he gave the cheetah didn't reach his eyes. In any case, Nick kept his mouth shut.
"I mean," Clawhauser continued, oblivious to the fact that Nick hadn't joined in his merriment, "you guys already live together. Everyone knows it's just a matter of time before-"
"Alright, Benji, we get it." Nick cut him off, noticing Judy's ears starting to turn pink in an oncoming blush. Giving her a wink he said, "I'd rather we talk about a certain cheetah, one that works at City Central Library…?"
Clawhauser jolted at that. Then, with a nervous laugh, he all but shoved the duo off his desk. "Oh, I don't know, I've taken up too much of your time already. You guys better get going before the Chief sees you lollygagging. Have fun on patrol. Bye!"
As they proceeded to leave the lobby and head towards where their cruiser was parked, Judy gave Nick an appreciative smile. Then, raising an eyebrow, asked, "What's this about a cheetah working at the library?"
Nick shrugged his shoulders and flicked the sunglasses he had resting on his forehead down over his eyes. "Let's just say you and him aren't the only gossips in the station."
"Look, I'm sorry kid, but I can't afford to keep ya on anymore. Business just ain't so good no more."
Clementine looked down at her mongoose boss, the young vixen wringing her paws together and doing her best not to focus on his lazy eye.
"But, Mr. Carr, I really need this job. I'm already late on my rent."
The mongoose gave her a sympathetic frown and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I gotta let someone go, and Terry's been here longer." Rubbing a paw down his snout with a sigh, he said, "I can pay ya for the rest of today, but that's the best I can do."
Clementine thought for a moment, furrowing her brow in anger and misery. Eventually she nodded and started untying the apron she was wearing. Mr. Carr accepted it from her and did his best to give her arm a reassuring pat.
"You're a good worker, kid. I'm sure you'll find something else. Call me if ya need a reference, yeah?"
The mongoose handed her a wad of cash as he said that. Eyes downcast, Clementine accepted the money and turned away from the mongoose, heading for the back door. "Yeah…thanks, Mr. Carr."
The young fox sulked into the back alley behind the diner that, up until a minute ago, she worked at. It was a dingy little thing nestled in the center of Happytown, one of the poorer districts in Zootopia. Looking like it would collapse at any moment, she was at least thankful the building never came down on top of her. Clementine never liked working there, but she was never in a position to complain. Especially not now.
Idly kicking some trash away from her, she looked down at her black t-shirt as she put the money in her back pocket, noticing a stain that had somehow got around her apron. She had been washing a stack of dishes right before she was fired, so she had a pretty good idea where it came from. She scratched at it for a second but, when it became clear it was stuck there for the time being, she shrugged and let her paws fall to her side.
Wrinkling her nose as the smell of something rotten wafted by, Clementine walked out of the alley and took one last look at the diner. She hadn't worked there very long, but even she could tell that the diner was on the brink of going out of business. She would miss Mr. Carr; he had been good to her, all things considered. Even if she was a fox.
Clementine thought back to the last thing Mr. Carr had said to her and scoffed. It was hard to find a place willing to hire her. She was still a minor and, more importantly to society at large, she was a fox. For all the talk of Zootopia being a utopia where everyone got along, none knew the truth better than foxes did. She highly doubted she would be calling Mr. Carr anytime soon.
Fishing her iPawd out of one of the many pockets in her black cargo pants, she plugged the headphones into her ears and pressed play. A heavy drumbeat started off the song that began blasting into her ears, and Clementine started the long walk home.
Judy glanced at Nick out of the corner of her eye, keeping her focus on the road. She was behind the wheel of their cruiser, as was normal for the pair. She actually liked driving and-even if he constantly joked about her being bad at it-Nick was happy to let her take the wheel. That was how it was with him and Finn, back in the day. That and it allowed him to lounge in his seat, like he was doing now.
"Carrots, it's hard to take a nap in here with you constantly swerving everywhere. Pick a lane, would ya?" Speaking of jokes about my driving.
Judy rolled her eyes and gave Nick a quick smirk. "Maybe that's the idea? I'm just trying to keep you awake."
"Well, it's working." Nick said dryly.
The pair chuckled together for a moment, then fell into a companionable silence as Judy weaved her way through traffic. They were on patrol in Sahara Square, and Judy had the AC on high. After a year in the city, she was starting to get used to navigating the roads, even allowing her mind to wander from time to time while driving. Judy remembered how out of place she felt in the city when she first arrived a year ago. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, she joined the force ready to make a difference. She knew now she wasn't totally ready for what the city would throw at her. In fact, if it hadn't been for the fox sitting next to her, she would have lost her job within the first two days on the force.
Judy cast a thoughtful glance at Nick, who seemed to be distracted by something out the passenger window. With a smile Judy turned back towards the road. Without him, she would be back in Bunnyburrow, helping on her family farm, her dream lost forever. Now the two of them were hailed as heroes, mammals who saved the city from tearing itself apart.
Of course, Judy wasn't convinced it was over.
Furrowing her brow, she thought back to how the Missing Mammals Case ended. Former Mayor Bellwether had confessed to the whole thing, unknowingly giving her testimony to the recording device Judy had hidden on her when she and Nick had confronted the lamb. Pretty soon after that the ewe had been locked up in prison, awaiting her trial. Unfortunately, it seemed Bellwether had her own idea, and committed suicide shortly after being arrested.
Judy internally scoffed at that. A lamb her size, hanging herself in her cell? It didn't make sense. If it had been up to her, the ZPD would have investigated her death as a murder. Unfortunately, the interim mayor at the time wanted the whole ordeal over with and saw the lamb's suicide as an easy solution. Judy had privately gone to the Chief with her concerns and, though he didn't say as much, she got the feeling that he agreed with her. Still, there was nothing they could do without evidence, so that was that.
Of course, if Bellwether didn't kill herself, that begged the question. Who did, and what were they trying to hide?
Feeling eyes on her, Judy turned her head to find Nick smirking at her. "What?" she asked with a quirk of her brow.
Nick shrugged. "You're kinda adorable when you're deep in thought."
Feeling a blush coming on, Judy swatted his arm playfully. "Shut up."
Nick adopted his trademarked smug grin with half-lidded eyes. "I'm sorry. Would you rather I say you're cu- ow!"
Judy cut him off with a punch to where she had previously swatted. The fox grinned at her as he rubbed the sore spot. "Guess not." He said.
Interrupting the moment, the radio squawked with Clawhauser's voice.
"All units, Dispatch, we've reports of a 10-62 over at an apartment on the corner of 5th and Spotted St in Sahara Square."
Perking her ears up, Judy grabbed the transmitter for the radio. "Dispatch, Car 55. We're close by, we'll check it out."
"Roger, Car 55. Dispatch out." Came Clawhauser's reply. Nick idly tapped a claw on his armrest. "B and E, huh? Could be interesting. Hopefully it's not another false alarm."
Judy sighed at that all too likely possibility and turned on the sirens. "Yeah, fingers crossed."
Clementine had her head down and was humming along to her music as she neared her apartment building. The 30-minute walk had given her plenty of time to listen to some tunes, and that had always worked to calm her down. Things weren't looking great for her right now, but she could figure something out.
Punching in the code to get into the lobby, Clementine headed for the stairs. The elevator had been out since she moved into the building a few months ago, and she hadn't seen any sign that her landlady planned to get it fixed any time soon. Clementine traced a claw over the floral design of the wallpaper as she ascended the stairs, causing new tears as she did. The wallpaper was already ripped up and falling off in several places, so she was confident no one would notice.
Retrieving her keys as she got to her floor, she brought her head up to find her landlady tapping a paper to her door. She couldn't read most of it from here, but she could make out a couple of words written in bold, red letters. Eviction Notice. So much for figuring things out.
Yanking her headphones out of her ears, she practically sprinted up to her door.
"Mrs. Longpaw, please- "
"Oh good, you're here." Her landlady interrupted her, snatching the eviction notice off the door and handing it to Clementine. Mrs. Longpaw was a hare, dressed in a blue cardigan and purple skirt, with a white Louis Furtton bag draped across her shoulder. Her light-brown fur was immaculately kept and almost seemed to glow to Clementine. She carried herself like a high society aristocat, and took great pains to look like one, too. Clementine had often wondered what she was doing in Happytown, a predominantly predator district that wasn't exactly known for its class.
The hare glared down her nose at the fox before her, looking her up and down, seemingly insulted by what she saw. "The long and short of it is, with how late you are on rent, and after repeated warnings, I need you out of here by the end of the day."
The matter-of-fact way in which she said that gave Clementine pause. Grimacing, she grabbed the notice out of the hare's paws and skimmed it. Seeing nothing about how to fight it, she looked back up at the hare and pleaded with her.
"Please, Mrs. Longpaw, I just need a little more time." A lightbulb flashed in her mind as she remembered the money Mr. Carr had given her. Grabbing the cash out of her pocket, she waved it at the hare. "Look, see? I've got some here, I just need more time to get the rest."
Mrs. Longpaw took the cash from Clementine and counted it. Shrugging, she deposited the money into her purse and scowled at the fox. "This covers of some of your debt, but not nearly enough."
Clementine gaped at the hare incredulously. What, is she mugging me now?
Huffing, she stuck out her paw. "Well, can I have that back, then? I kinda need it."
Mrs. Longpaw's scowl deepened and she batted the fox's paw away. "Listen here, missy. You're lucky I'm not siccing the cops on you. I took a chance on renting to you and all I got for it was a lesson in why you can't trust a fox. Get your things and leave so I can rent this unit out to somebody who'll actually pay for the privilege of living here. Now!" She barked, viciously shoving a finger into Clementine's chest.
Slightly pushed off balance by the hare's finger, Clementine stared gaping as Mrs. Longpaw huffed and turned on her heel, muttering about damn foxes under her breath as she left. Rubbing a paw through her fur in defeat, Clementine proceeded to unlock her door and step inside her apartment.
Inside, her apartment was small, even for a studio, but there was very little in the way of furniture, which gave it the illusion that it was bigger than it was. In one corner there was a mini fridge, which came with the apartment, and on the other side was a desk, which housed Clementine's laptop. In the middle of the room was a simple foam mattress lying on the floor.
Home sweet Home Clementine thought ruefully. With a groan she collapsed onto her mattress. She wanted to cry, but the tears never came. Instead, she just felt really…tired. No, angry. Grabbing her pillow and bringing it to her face, she screamed at the top of her lungs. It was muffled by the pillow, as she didn't want to add a noise complaint on top of all her other problems. Screaming until there was no more air in her lungs and her yell turned into a wheeze, Clementine threw the pillow away from her and stared at the ceiling. Now she was tired.
Rolling onto her side she came face to face with a cockroach. She jumped in place slightly, but quickly relaxed. Roaches were fairly common in this place, and she had long since gotten used to seeing them. After a beat the cockroach scampered over the patchy carpet covering her floor and squeezed under her front door.
"Yeah. Guess I better get out of here soon, too." Clementine said in the roach's wake.
She got up and moved to the duffel bag that served as her dresser. Thankfully she didn't have much to pack. Only her clothes, her laptop and some pictures. She hadn't lived here long enough to collect much more than that. She dawned a black beanie, making sure her ears didn't get stuck trying to find the ear holes. Then she put on a long-sleeved red and black flannel shirt but didn't button it up. Satisfied that that would keep her warm enough to start, she checked her bag.
Making sure the rest of her clothes were already packed, Clementine next put away her laptop, then found herself staring at the picture she had framed on her desk. It was of her and her mom, from a few years ago. She was in a soccer jersey, with her mom hugging her from the side.
Gently grabbing it off the desk, Clementine lightly traced a finger over her mother's image. Her red fur had started to grey in a few places, and she had started needing to wear glasses for more than just reading. Clementine hugged the picture to her chest, and let out a shuddering breath.
"I miss you, mom." She croaked out, hugging the picture tight.
After a moment gingerly packed the picture into her bag, taking care to make sure the frame wouldn't get damaged. It was all she had left; the only picture she had managed to save after they lost their house. Taking one last scan around the room, she concluded that it looked just as shitty as when she first started renting it.
Now to figure out where to go. The thought made her remember something. Putting her bag back down, she went to her desk and opened the drawer, spotting a manilla envelope inside. She'd forgotten it was there.
Inside was a secret her mother had kept from her right until she was on her death bed. At the time Clementine had said she didn't care, and was ready to burn the darned thing, but her mother made her promise to keep the envelope. Just in case. Not willing to fight with her mother on the issue, she'd agreed. She hadn't fully read the contents of it until after her mother had passed, but her mother gave her the cliff notes.
Now she thumbed at the envelope, thinking about her options. To wit, she had none, so with a grumble she grabbed the envelope, picked up her bag, and left the apartment. She left the key on the desk, not wanting to bother giving it to Mrs. Longpaw personally. If I never see that witch again, it'll be too soon.
All that was left now was another long walk. This one would be longer, as she couldn't even afford to take a bus.
The reported breaking and entering had, in fact, been a false alarm. It turned out to be nothing more than an overzealous deer calling the cops on her tiger neighbor who had lost his keys. Evidently, the old doe had 'forgotten' that the tiger was her neighbor. Besides, "how could a predator afford to live here?" the doe had asked. Understandably, the tiger was pretty pissed at the whole ordeal, which set off the doe on a long tirade about 'dirty preds' and 'the old days.' When a fox showed up claiming to be with the police, it seemed like the doe was going to have a coronary. Fortunately, Judy was able to calm the situation down. Strangely, the doe didn't have any issue with a bunny cop, so Nick thanked the gods for small mercies.
The sad reality was that calls like that had become increasingly common in the wake of the Nighthowler conspiracy. While the ZPD, and Judy personally, had done their best to make it abundantly clear that there was nothing to worry about regarding predators randomly going savage, many in the city didn't believe them. There was a spattering of openly prey-supremacist groups working to restrict predator rights, and some predator-only groups had formed in response. While Bellwether had failed to seize power and usher in a prey dominated regime, the legacy of her actions lingered on.
Now they were back at Precinct One, finishing up on their paperwork for the day. After resolving the B and E, the rest of their patrol had gone by without incident, allowing the pair to finish their shift in short order. Typing out the last bit of a report at the desk he and Judy shared, Nick cast a wayward glance at said bunny. He saw her just in time to find her sailing through the air toward him. He had just enough time to move his cup of coffee right before she gracefully landed on the desk. Thankfully, the desk was made for a larger mammal, so it could handle being jumped on.
Nick laughed. "Careful, Fluff. You're gonna get coffee everywhere, and then I won't be able to finish this report." After a beat, he tried handing the cup off to her as he said, "Actually, you're a genius. Quick, take this and I'll cover you."
Judy rolled her eyes at her partner, pushing the cup back towards him. "Sorry, Slick, you're not getting off the hook that easily."
"Mean bunny." Nick pouted.
"Lazy fox."
Nick laughed and drained the last of his coffee. Judy crossed her arms. "Why did you even need that, anyway? I thought you were supposed to be more awake at night?"
Nick smirked at her. "Well, I gotta get ready for my second job: keeping up with you."
Judy rolled her eyes again. "Har Har. You know you love me."
"Do I know that? Yes, yes I do."
Judy huffed. "Hurry up, as soon as you're done, we can get out of here. We've got plans, remember?"
Nick dumped his empty coffee cup in a waste basket near their desk. "No, you've yet to tell me what the plans are." Lightly poking the bunny on her nose, he added, "You know I hate surprises."
Judy scowled as the poke set her nose twitching erratically. "And you know I hate it when you do that." She replied. With a devilish grin, Nick merely shrugged in response and resumed typing out their report.
Adopting what Nick called her 'doe eyes', Judy fixed her eyes upon the fox and started pouting. "Come on, Nick. It's our anniversary, and I've got such a fun night planned."
Not sparing a glance at the rabbit, Nick said, "One, that's not going to work on me. Two, do friends have anniversaries?"
Judy's bottom lip started quivering as she put more effort into the doe eyes. "Best friends do, and you know you're my very best friend, right?"
Finally, Nick looked at his partner. For a moment he did nothing but stare into the deep amethyst pools of her eyes. Judy was really laying it on thick, and…is she starting to tear up? Damn, she's getting good.
With a dramatic sigh, Nick finished up the report and submitted it for review. "Alright, alright. Let's go do your plans."
Immediately dropping the façade, Judy bounced into the air, pumping her fist. "Yes! Not going to work on you, my tail! C'mon, let's get changed." With that, she bounded off toward the locker rooms where they each had a change of clothes. Nick watched his energetic partner go with a stupid grin on his face.
It was true that he hated surprises, but he found he could always make an exception for his bunny. My bunny? C'mon, Wilde. Choosing to forgo examining that train of thought, he hopped down from the chair he'd been standing on and followed after his partner.
The walk to ZPD Precinct One had been a long one, longer than she'd ever had to walk before. So long, in fact, that Clementine was almost getting sick of her music, which had repeated several times over during her trek. A scandalous thought if there ever was one.
Night had fallen by the time she reached her destination, and her feet ached from her journey. She was just grateful that that was as bad as it got, that she hadn't been accosted too much on her way. Thankfully she didn't have to worry about the police station being closed, but she was concerned that she might be too late to find who she was looking for.
Pushing the door ahead of her open, Clementine was greeted by the large open lobby that served as the threshold to the rest of the station. Her eyes roamed around the room as she marveled at the size of the space she had just walked into. Her pace slowed until she was standing in the center of the lobby, spinning around as she took in the view. So much empty space, unutilized except to make some sort of statement. It seemed like such a waste to the teenager who had spent the last few months living out of a shoe box.
"It is quite the sight, isn't it. I'm not really sure what the point of it all is, though."
Clementine started as the cheery voice behind her knocked her from her musings. She turned around to find the largest-or rather widest-cheetah she had ever seen standing behind a sort of reception desk. Her eyes flitted over a stack of empty doughnut boxes, precariously forming a tower on the cheetah's desk. How does he get that uniform on? Clementine thought absentmindedly, noticing that the outfit seemed to be struggling to maintain its form. The officer in question, meanwhile, currently seemed to be packing a bag, likely getting ready to end his shift.
"I'm Officer Clawhauser, what can I help you with?" He asked with an innocent smile. Clementine blinked at him for a moment, then cautiously approached the officer. While she didn't personally have any experience with law enforcement, she had heard all throughout Happytown about how the police were less than kind to preds like her. For the moment, at least, this cheetah seemed cordial enough.
Retrieving the manilla envelope from her duffel bag that was hanging by her side and clutching it to herself, she asked, "Um…I don't mean to bother, but is…Officer Wilde here?"
The cheetah gave her a sympathetic look as he looked up from his bag. "Sorry, but Officer Wilde just left for the day. I can take a message for you, or you can come back to see him tomorrow?"
Clementine looked crestfallen at his answer, and her paws nervously wrinkled the envelope in her grasp. She looked at the door over her shoulder, back out onto the dark street beyond. Now what do I do?
Turning back towards the cheetah, she felt a wave of shame crashing upon her. The events over the last few hours settling in as it became clear that she would likely have to spend the night on the street. She always tried to put on a brave face, first for her mother then for the rest of the world, but it felt as if her life was falling apart all over again.
Doing her best to fight back her emotions, she met the cheetah's eyes. "I don't-" her breath hitched in her throat and she felt tears starting to form. Aggressively pawing at her eyes, she struggled to speak. "Can I…wait here?" Her voice came out in an almost growl, desperately trying to hide her feelings from the stranger in front of her. When she looked up at him again, she saw him giving her the most pathetic look she'd ever seen, as if seeing her like this hurt him more than it hurt her.
The cheetah grabbed his cell phone off his desk and moved to stand in front of her, placing a reassuring paw on her shoulder. With a comforting squeeze, and waving his phone over to some benches off to the side of the lobby, he said, "Why don't you go take a seat and I'll make a call, okay?"
Sniffling, Clementine nodded her thanks, and slowly trudged over to the bench the cheetah had indicated.
"I spy with my little eye something…gray."
Judy groaned and placed her head in her paws. "C'mon, Nick. It's boring if you pick me every time."
Nick snickered at the bunny's frustration. "How do you know I'm talking about you. There's plenty of gray things on this train." Judy scowled at him with a look that said really? Nick grinned back at her, then said, "Okay, you got me." Morphing his face into a goofy smile and crossing his eyes, he added, "It's just that I only have eyes for you."
Judy rolled her eyes and gave his arm a playful swat. "Can it, Catanova."
The pair chuckled together then relaxed into each other. They were taking a train through the metro on their way to the rainforest district. Now that he knew where they were going, Nick had a pretty good idea what Judy's plans were. At least, the first part of them. He surmised they were going to take a ride in the gondolas that crisscrossed over the district. It was a special location for the both of them, being where he first opened up to Judy and where their friendship truly began. After that, who knows, but Nick was willing to see what the rabbit had in store.
Speaking of, Nick took a moment to enjoy just how close he and Judy were to each other. He had unconsciously wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she was resting her head on his chest. The train wasn't overly packed, but enough so that he and Judy had to get close in order to make space on the seats. Nobody seemed to notice, which was why Nick had started to prefer traveling by metro. It allowed him to cuddle up with his favorite bunny without anyone saying anything untoward. He also suspected that Judy felt the same.
Nick shook his head at the thought. To be honest, it was clear that the pair had been dancing around their feelings for each other for a while. It seemed neither of them were willing to be the one to broach the subject, lest the resulting fallout sever their friendship. That and they both knew the reality of what such a conversation would mean. Zootopia may seem open-minded, but even this city had yet to shed the vestiges of its backwards thinking. Even a year on from the Nighthowler conspiracy, the city had yet to fully recover from the powder keg it very nearly became.
Outside of Zootopia? Forget about it. If mammals here can't get over themselves, surely nobody outside of the city could. Nick's brow scrunched up at the bitter thought. Things were complicated, that was certain. And the pair had enough on their plate before they were ready to tackle that beast.
Sensing eyes on him, Nick turned his head to look at Judy, and found her amethyst eyes staring up at him. "What?"
"You're kinda adorable when you're deep in thought."
Nick snorted at her. "Oh, Ha Ha."
Before he could level a proper retort, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Squirming his paw between him and Judy, he fished it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID.
"Clawhauser," he groaned, "I'm off duty."
Judy nudged her elbow into his side. "He's a friend. You can't talk to a friend off duty?"
Nick shrugged. Point taken.
"Hey, Benji, what's up?" he answered cheerfully. Convincingly so, even to Judy.
"Hi, Nick, sorry to bother. Ooh, how's your date going?"
Nick rolled his eyes. "It's not a date, Ben, but you'd be interrupting it if it were." His attention was brought down to his side as Judy giggled at his annoyance.
"Right, sorry Nick. Anyway, there's a teenage vixen in here asking for you. Do you know anything about that?"
Furrowing his brow now, Nick shook his head. "No, I'm not expecting anyone like that."
"I figured. Listen, Nick, normally I'd say this could wait until tomorrow, but…well, I think she's homeless, and I don't want to just send her back out on the street."
Nick sighed and looked down at Judy who was looking up at him with a sad, knowing smile. Covering the receiver with a paw, he asked, "You heard all that, right?"
Judy nodded and flicked one of her ears. "Yep. You know what I'm gonna say, right?"
"Yep." The fox nodded. She'd say that they needed to go back and help that teenager. That making the world a better place was a full-time commitment, not just a job. That if there was anything they could do to help them out, it was their obligation to do so. A year ago, he would have laughed at the idea. Now, he saw another way to prove to Judy that she was right about him, and how could he pass that up?
He was a little disappointed that Judy's plans had been derailed like this, but there was always tomorrow.
"Okay, Ben, we're on our way back."
After taking the time to get off their train and get on another one to come back, the pair finally made it back to Precinct One. Entering the lobby, they both waved at Officer Hoofer, who had taken up the duty of the reception desk for the night. The zebra gave them both a lazy wave and focused back on his computer.
The pair's attention was drawn to one of the benches that made up the waiting area in the lobby. There they spotted Clawhauser, still in uniform, sitting next to a teenaged red fox who looked like she would rather be doing anything other than watching what the cheetah was showing her on his phone. From the sounds emanating from it, it seemed to be a video about Gazelle. The Angel with Horns, as Clawhauser called her. Noticing the look of absolute boredom on the teenager's face, Nick internally winced. I know how you feel, kid.
From her outfit, Nick guessed she was more into grunge music.
"Hey, Ben. We're back." Judy called out beside him. Both the mammals on the bench looked up at the newcomers. Where Ben happily waved at them, the young fox's green eyes locked onto Nick's, and she looked like she was about to have a panic attack. The cheetah sitting beside her didn't seem to notice as he greeted his two friends.
"Hi, Judy, Nick. This is Clementine." He said, gesturing towards the fox who still had her gaze fixed on Nick. Clawhauser, now noticing the state of the teenager, fumbled in his introductions momentarily. "Clementine, this…uh, is Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde."
When the teenager made no effort to move, Nick and Judy shared a concerned look before the bunny gave him a pat on the arm. With a nod, she addressed the seemingly catatonic teenager. "You wanted to talk to Nick, right? How about Ben and I give you guys some privacy?" Passing behind Nick, she gestured for the cheetah to follow her. "Is that the most recent Gazelle gossip. Catch me up, would ya?"
Ben gave the teenager's shoulder one last squeeze, which seemed to knock her out of whatever state she was in. Spinning her head to look at the cheetah, she shook her head in embarrassment. "Thank you, O-officer Clawhauser."
"Of course." He replied. Sparing a worried glance at Nick, he grabbed his bag and got up from the bench, walking after Judy. "Well, since you're here, it's rumored that Gazelle has a new boyfriend…"
Nick took a seat next to the teenager as the two gossips gave them some space. "Sorry about him, he's really into Gazelle."
"I noticed." She said dryly. Nick noticed she was picking at a manila envelope she had in her paws. When it became clear she wasn't going to start the conversation herself, Nick broke the silence.
"So, Clementine…Ben told me you wanted to speak to me?"
Silence answered for her. Nick thought that maybe she hadn't heard him, but just when he was about to try again, she took a deep breath and lifted the envelope towards him.
"I hadn't planned on coming to you but…I don't know what else to do." She brought a paw up to her face and began massaging her eyes.
Nick accepted the envelope from her and quirked his head. "Well, whatever you need, my partner and I are happy to help."
Clementine shook her head as she continued to rub her eyes. "I…I don't even know where to begin."
Scrunching up his brow at how cryptic this teenager was being, Nick opened the envelope and took a cursory scan at the contents inside. Then his eyes widened as he realized the first page was a file about him, featuring a picture of him from almost 20 years ago. "What is this?" he asked, snapping his gaze to the teenager beside him.
With a sigh she lifted her head and locked eyes with him again. "You're…my dad." Her eyes darted between his, searching his for a reaction. Unfortunately for her, there was none, as his brain had stopped functioning.
Nick blinked and said the only word his brain could form. "What?"
Clementine rubbed the back of her neck and grimaced. "Technically, anyway…"
Nick blinked again. "What?!"
AN: It's been a while since I've written anything like this. I'll be honest, I kinda wanted to rush this out-make it real, in a sense-and I think it shows. I'm not fully satisfied with how this turned out. Hopefully I've laid the groundwork for something interesting, at least. Also, the length got away from me, so sorry about that. I can't promise that it won't happen again, but thanks for your time if you made it this far. Anyway, let me know what ya'll think.