Crisis in Zootopia

Zootopia is owned by Disney. The characters you know in this story belong to Disney, the others are based on Disney concepts. The plot is mine, but I of course make nothing other than the enjoyment of creation. This disclaimer is of course for the entire story, so no need to repeat it.

The background of Judy's littermate sister and her life in Zootopia, set within the main story 'Crisis in Zootopia.'

Chapter IV – Judy's sister

A few days earlier than Judy's meeting with Colbert:

Judy settled down on the sofa in what she considered, after only a few weeks, not just her new apartment but her home. Life was good. She was taking control of the area where she had her foot patrol, Nick was doing well at the Academy, her family was doing well, and she was going to meet one of her Academic heroes later this week. She checked the time, and saw her parents were a few minutes late for their usual weekday check-in.

She picked up her phone and called them instead.

"Hi, Mom!"

"Judy!" her mother exclaimed. "Oh, it is that time, isn't it?"

Judy frowned, as she could hear her father either muttering near her mother or more likely shouting in the far distance. "What's wrong with Dad?"

Bonnie frowned. "It's your sister."

Judy was glad that this was an audio-only call, as she rolled her eyes. "Mom, I have a hundred and sixty-four sisters; you'll have to be a bit more specific than that."

Bonnie sighed. "Carol . . . Carol Ann, I mean."

Judy frowned. Carol was her littermate, and of all her siblings close to her age, the one she was in some ways closest to. "What's wrong with Carol?"

"Nothing, actually. . . ."

"Ha!" Stu yelled in the distance.

"She's accepted a job."

"And what's wrong with that? She's been looking since she graduated in June."

"She apparently has been applying to jobs at different publishers, and she was offered a job as the sub-editor at one . . . in Zootopia."

"Well, Carol is a writer and most of the publishing houses are here in some way," Judy pointed out. Even if they weren't headquartered in the largest city in the world, any publishing house with any pretentions at least had an office there.

"Yes, dear. You know how much the city worries your father, and I must admit, I'm a bit worried for Carol there as well."

"Mom. . . ."

"I know; you've had your heart set on Zootopia since you were at least nine, but Carol isn't you."

"True, but I'm here now. It isn't like Carol is going to be totally alone in the city without family," Judy stated. She knew that had been one of the many worries her family had for her.

"I know; it will take your father a bit longer to adjust. Now, how is the apartment? It's so much nicer than the room you started out in." From there, the conversation took a more typical course.

When it was over, however, Judy paused in thought. Consulting the long list of phone numbers in her family sub-directory, Judy called her sister.

"Hi, Judy," Carol answered. "I guess you talked to Mom and Dad?"

"Well, Mom anyway."

"Dad's still upset?"

"Yeah. Shocking, isn't it?"

"I suppose."

"So, tell me about the new job!"

Even by the standards of Bunnyburrow, the Hopps' were a large family. Judy's litter of herself and five sisters had been numbers 115 through 120 out of the eventual 330 (1); Judy the first of the litter, Carol the last. On the whole, bunnies, especially Judy's species of Eastern Rabbits, were not noted for being ambitious outside their families, or for being brave, curious, or adventurous. Still, that would be the 'average' Rabbit. There are always outliers, and Judy and Carol had been so, not just for their litter or even family, but for their species, albeit in very different ways.

Judy had always been the curious, adventuresome one, far more so than any other Eastern Rabbit she would ever meet. Carol was the most intellectually-oriented of the extended family. Granted, their generation of the Hopps family mostly seemed (on the whole) a bit smarter and even harder-working than the majority of their kind, but these two sisters stood out in their family, especially compared to their older siblings.

The two had posed different problems to their parents than any of their other children. Some of the bucks were a bit wild at times – some were musicians in their spare time, a few were slightly aggressive (at least for bunnies) but most wanted to make careers in things like farming or at least the business end of agriculture (working in food processing, storage facilities, or as Ag Agents for some of the surrounding counties), mechanics, or at least the rural building trade. The few exceptions who were already out in the world were bank clerks, store clerks, and an insurance agent, although one of Judy's older brothers worked for the family part time and was trying to make a living as a painter of rural scenes. A number of the younger ones were hoping for careers as soil scientists with various agencies, botanists, and similar jobs, or were just starting such jobs. However, so far all the does except for these two wanted more domestic lives than Judy or Carol did, although none of the children wanted anything like the number of kits their parents had had.

Of Judy's litter, now well into their twenty-fourth year, Judy was now of course back as a police officer. She had attended the local Tri-County Community College, which a number of her near-siblings had been doing (and were still doing) over the years, including three of her litter-sisters. Two of her sisters had majored in areas where they could be more effective in helping their future spousces, so that when they married their fiancés they would be able to help out on the business side of their small holdings, while most of her brothers were studying various aspects of Agri-business. Of her litter sisters, Joyce, like Judy, had majored in Paralegal studies, the difference being that Judy saw it as a stepping stone towards her police career, while Joyce was dating, and would later marry, a Rabbit who was studying to become a lawyer, so that she could help him out in a law office. Joy had studied Accounting, while Betty Ann had studied Home Economy. The fifth litter-sister had married right out of High School.

While the majority of Judy's siblings who had already graduated High School went on to take at least a few courses at TCCC, Carol had been Judy's only sibling who had gone straight to University. Judy had worked hard in High School; Carol had worked harder and had been the Valedictorian of their class, while Judy had been second. Judy had casually dated in High School and Community College, and had even had her first lover at the latter. Carol had sometimes gone on group dates in High School, but nothing beyond that.

Judy had earned her tuition money by working at extra jobs on the family farm every summer and vacation – this physical work had paid for college and helped ensure her endurance when she entered the Police Academy, although she had had to train a different set of muscles when she was there. Carol had instead worked campus jobs year round, juggling work at the library and even the campus computer labs the first year, before exchanging the latter for working as an RA and as a tutor and other small jobs. She only returned home over the winter break, where she would earn some spending money working in the accounts room, as well as on the family's computer system both at home and on-line from the University.

When Judy had transferred to Harford to major in Justice Studies, determined to either make the ZPD or at least work in the Parole Office or a similar job in the City, she had been admitted as a junior. By taking summer classes, Carol was starting her senior year early.

That was when Judy and Carol had again become much closer, as they had drifted apart over the previous two years. Whereas the Community College had been geared for mammals between small Squirrel-sizes to Beaver, Harford had mammals ranging from Elephants all the way down to Pigmy Shrews and Bumblebee Bats. The dorm floor Carol was the RA for that year was made for mammals slightly larger than Rabbits, and so Judy was allowed to share the room with her.

Despite being outweighed by all the residents by at least 50 percent (with some being 3 to 4 times her size), Carol was able to control them by sheer (if quiet) intellectual force of personality. When Judy took control of her patrol area, she had quickly realized that she was often using the tricks her sister had used to defuse situations at Harford. Judy was much more open and friendly by nature, and so she had emulated parts of her sister's professional personality on the beat.

Judy had found that the Harford students came in a much wider range of the TCCC students had. While some of the Community College students were older mammals looking for retraining or retirees just taking classes for 'enrichment,' most were young mammals looking for what amounted to technical training. Most of those who took the regular academic classes seriously, like Judy, did so more out of thoroughness than any love for abstract learning. Nearly all the students took at least most of their education seriously of course – none came from families who could afford to send their children off for a few more years of learning so they could 'find themselves'. They had to make a living, either to help their families or to be on their own.

Judy had been surprised at how many of the students at the much more expensive and exclusive Harford used their classes as an excuse to be in a place where they could be out from under parental supervision and generally concentrate on their social lives. Faculty put up with them and the true slackers only because the number of bodies enrolled supported a larger faculty. No, the faculty wanted students like Judy – hard working and with a goal in mind, but they adored the few students like Carol – fascinated by learning itself, and eager to wage intellectual combat, not just express opinions.

Judy worked hard, and earned her BA in two years and an MA in a year and a half, and then went on to the ZPD Academy. Carol finished her BA in Literature as well as an MA, and was mostly through a second Master's Degree, an MFA in Creative Writing before Judy had left. She didn't especially want to be a college professor – in theory faculty jobs were equally open to all, but in reality, it was an open secret that size mattered. At most of the large universities, very few of the smaller mammals were likely to be hired unless they were the best of the best. (Harford was an exception, having been first built to serve roughly Rabbit to Wolf-sized mammals). That was slowly changing due to changes in technology, but a Mouse, or even a Rabbit, couldn't really write on a chalk board in a classroom built for Elephants. Likewise, Harford had only opened up to the largest and smallest mammals when slide walks had been built for the smallest, allowing them to get across campus and through buildings in a reasonable amount of time, while the money had also been found to build a number of dorms and classrooms the largest could fit into, with video screens to project the smaller professors' lectures to the class. Harford had not had the pred/prey split much of society had, but it had driven home to the sisters at the enormous number of compromises that had to be made in the world outside of Rabbit-sized Bunnyburrow.

Carol was worried. She shouldn't have to be worried; just a short time before life had finally seemed to working fully in her favor. She had just graduated from Harford University – one of the top ten universities in the world – with a BA and MA in Literature and an MFA in Creative Writing. Granted, Harford, while it was one of the world's top ten universities, wasn't Zootopia University, but no three universities combined had ZU's student population, and no four could match its depth of faculty, resources, or endowment, but it was still an achievement. She had two small books of poetry in print, as well as two short stories with another recently accepted. She had had three plays produced, (albeit in student productions), but one was being made into an indie film, and she had had her first novel accepted just weeks before. Of course, the combined income of all that so far would basically pay for the deposit and three month's rent on a decent one bedroom apartment at Zootopian prices, but she was on her way. Even better, she had secured a decent paying job at Harbor Seal & Roebuck, one of the world's largest publishing houses. Her starting pay would be about a third better than Judy's.

But no, she was worried as she sat on the bed in of all places Judy's old room. She had moved into it that Thursday, on a two month lease. She already had wondered many times how Judy had not been driven crazy by it. It wasn't the size – it was a bit larger than what the older Hopps children had back home, and after growing up in the Hopps household and years of dorm life she was well-used to sharing toilet facilities and showers. No, it was the noise, especially from her neighbors. Still, it was only for, at most, two months.

And that she was now in Judy's old flat reminded her of the problem – Judy seemed to be missing. Judy had been excited when the two had last met because she was meeting with James Colbert the evening before, and Carol had wished she had been able to meet the famous scholar as well. However, Judy had promised to call her parents and her friend Nick late the night before, and had missed both calls. Carol had tried to calm them down, saying Judy might have forgotten her phone at the station or even at Colbert's, but Judy had promised to arrive at 9:00 that morning to take her apartment hunting, and it was now 9:15. She had had to tell her parents and Nick, who had both called her just after 9:00.

What to do?

Carol did not consider herself a very good hacker, but she deemed herself fair. She had known a lot of computer geeks at Harford, and they had taught her the basics. She knew computers well, from her work at University and with the Hopps' network. She also knew Judy better than anyone. Making her decision, she opened her laptop and assaulted the carrot-phone network cloud. It took her about five minutes to crack Judy's cloud files, as she had guessed Judy's password on the second try. She scanned through the phone numbers stored there for the ZPD. Did she dare use the number she had found?

Carol had little of the physical courage of her littermate, but was about average for a Rabbit. Intellectual and moral courage, however, was a very different thing, and she had both in abundance, so it was a very short argument.

"Yes?" boomed a deep voice on her phone. "Who is this?"

"Is this Chief Bogo?"

A pause, and then, "Yes, who is this and how did you get this number?"

Carol was not about to answer the second part of that question.

"My name is Carol Hopps, Judy's sister. Did you know that Judy has been missing since last night?"

"That doesn't answer . . . what do you mean, missing?"

"I know she left for an appointment with James Colbert last night around Six. She was supposed to call our parents and her friend Nick when she got back, and didn't. She was also supposed to be at my room this morning at Nine, and she hasn't shown up. I don't know how well you know my sister, but this is totally out of character." Not hearing a response, she went on, "I know my littermate better than anyone, and I can say that something is wrong. How wrong, I don't know, but something isn't right."

After a pause, the deep voice told her, "I understand. I'll be making inquiries. I'll call you back at this number."

"Thank you, sir."

As Carol called her parents to let them know what she had done, Judy had broken free of the closet Colbert had locked her in after drugging her and was crawling towards the toilet in the upstairs of Colbert's house. By the time Judy had called dispatch to report Colbert's murder, Bogo already had the ZPD in Tundratown on their way to check the house out.

Carol was relieved although concerned when Chief Bogo called her back late that morning. Told she could visit Judy that evening, Carol called her parents and promised them a report from the hospital.

Carol was at Judy's hospital room door right as official visiting hours started, but found that Nick was already there. While her only interactions with a Fox had been then-local bully Gideon Grey, she had plenty of interactions with many other types of predator over the years. That Nick was a Fox therefore didn't bother her. She was a bit surprised to find the pair not only holding paws but kissing!

"Excuse me?" she said, rather tentatively.

The pair broke apart, but Judy kept a firm grip on one of Nick's paws. "Come on in," Judy told her sister. Carol could see Judy and Nick were a bit embarrassed from being caught, but only Nick looked concerned.

"Best friend, huh?" Carol managed to tease.

"Yes, and more," Judy agreed.

Carol merely shook her head – if this was any of her other siblings, she would have been shocked, but this was Judy, whom she always half-expected outrageous things from. "I take it Mom and Dad don't know either?" she asked in a mild voice.

"No, and I hope you'll let me break it to them at my own pace."

"Only you, Judy," Carol replied, shaking her head. "They're coming down in a few days, but I won't say anything."

Nick took a good look at Carol. The shapes of her face, ears, and above all eyes were identical to Judy's, although Carol's fur coloring was lighter. While the two had the same height and body type, and were in good shape, he could tell that Judy was in full athletic training, while Carol was softer.

"Are you doing alright? Chief Bogo said you had been drugged?"

"I am now," Judy answered. "I had a headache from the drugs until about an hour ago. Everything still aches a bit, and I seem to have picked up a slight sniffle, but overall I'm okay. They're keeping me overnight for observation, but I should be free to go tomorrow morning."

"I'll let the folks know," Carol told her.

"We can look at apartments tomorrow after lunch," Judy said, and then looked at Nick. "Just to make things official, Nick, this is my sister Carol. Carol, this obviously is Nick. He has a good lead for you."

"Two, actually. The first is in the building next to mine," Nick said, taking the hint. "Above the ground floor, it's all apartments designed for mammals between my size and medium-sized Squirrels and such. The rent for the highest Rabbit-sized storey should just be in your range, and the manager is a Groundhog I know fairly well. Why don't we meet at Judy's apartment for lunch and then we'll take a look at that one first."

Again, while Judy had 276 brothers and sisters when she was 9, there is no reason to believe the Hopps stopped at that number.