A/N Hello everyone! Here we are with the "first" chapter. I'm so excited to work on this story and share it with you all. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! -Dogastrophic
Two weeks till Nick graduates.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
An alarm clock sitting on a rickety nightstand began to blare loudly as it switched to 5:30 am. A fuzzy grey hand shot out from under the covers of the nearby bed and turned off the alarm before it retreated back into the warmth of the blankets. A few seconds later, a yawn emanated from the bed and the pile of blankets began to rise before falling away to reveal the figure underneath. Judy Hopps let out a small sigh she sat up and stretched in an attempt to fully wake herself up. She blinked her eyes a couple of times to get her vision to focus and got out of bed. After a quick shower, Judy dressed quickly in her uniform, grabbed her phone and keys, and left her apartment. She descended quickly down the two flights of stairs from her apartment and headed toward the subway station.
On her way to precinct one, Judy stopped at a Big Donut. While she waited in line, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out she realized she had received a text from chief Bogo.
"Hopps, I need to speak with you privately in my office before roll call."
Judy sent a quick text back, "Yes sir! is everything alright?"
"Yes Hopps, I just have something important to tell you that I don't want to announce to the whole precinct just yet."
"Yes sir!" Judy responded back. Seeing that there was still a zebra in line before her, Judy decided to check on her Fangbook page. Due to the size of her family, Judy had hundreds of followers and had to keep her notifications turned off. Looking at her events list, she saw that three of her siblings and five of her cousins had birthdays today. Judy sent happy birthday messages to all of them before putting her phone away and stepping up to the counter. She cheerfully greeted the deer behind the counter. "Good morning! I'll take a decaf carrot latte and a blueberry muffin to go please!"
Judy continued to scroll through Fangbook as she waited patiently for the deer to ring her up. Apparently Gazelle was going to be performing another concert in Zootopia soon. I wonder if I could be assigned to be police presence for the event! Judy thought to herself. Judy's ears perked up as the deer called her name and placed her order on the pickup counter. Quickly, Judy put away her phone, snatched her order with a quick thanks to the deer, and rushed out the door. As she made her way to the precinct and sipped her latte, her mind worked over potential reasons Bogo would want to see her before roll call. I guess I'll have to wait and see.
Judy entered the front lobby of precinct one ten minutes before rollcall. The lobby was bustling with activity, Fangmeyer and Delgato were chatting by the watercooler, Clawhauser was talking with a family of possums at the receptionist desk, and a polar bear from the night shift was taking a paw-cuffed timber-wolf to the holding cells. Her coworkers greeted her with good mornings and Clawhauser waved at her when he noticed her arrival.
"Good morning! Ready to make the world a better place?" Judy replied to her coworkers, hopping up to give Fangmeyer a fist bump as she passed on her way to Bogo's office. Once there she knocked on the door quickly three times. "Come in." She heard from the other side of the closed door. Judy promptly opened the door and stepped inside the office quickly to keep her ears from getting caught in the door.
"Morning chief!" she said cheerfully as she entered the room. Bogo let out a sigh. How is she always so chipper in the morning? He shuffled some papers on his desk and took a sip from his coffee in a disposable foam cup. He made a face as he tasted the hot contents. I really need to get a new coffee machine for the break room, this stuff is awful, he thought to himself as he put the cup back down. "Have a seat Hopps" he said gruffly. Judy hopped up onto the seat that was much too big for her and stood so that she could see over Bogo's desk.
"If it's all the same to you sir, I can see you better if I stand!" Judy a slightly mischievous tinge in her voice which elicited another sigh from Bogo.
"Apologies Hopps, force of habit" he replied. Need to get a better chair for her in here, especially since Wilde will be joining us soon as well. "Well, Hopps, I am just going to cut to the chase. The next batch of cadets are set to graduate in two weeks" Bogo noticed that Judy's ears perked up even more than usual. No doubt because Wilde is in that group, he thought to himself. "As I am sure you are aware, the mayor or one of the police chiefs from the different districts usually gives a speech to the graduates. However, Mayor Deerbrooke and I both feel that you should be the one to give the commencement speech in two weeks."
"Me!" exclaimed Judy, her mouth falling open and her ears shooting straight up. She could not believe what Chief Bogo had just said. "But why Sir? I'm the newest recruit here at precinct 1" She asked, hoping her boss had a decent explanation.
"Recently there has been an increase in the diversity of applicants for the police academy. In fact, an otter, a badger, and a bobcat have already been accepted into the upcoming cohort." Bogo paused before continuing, "The Mayor and I both agree that you should be the one to address the new graduates as we believe you are largely the one responsible for this increase." A rare smile broke through Bogo's traditionally stoic features. "Hopps, in your brief time since graduating from the academy you have shown that there is room for many different mammals in the police force. That it is not just the size of the officer that matters, but how an officer uses their unique strengths and talents to do the best job possible" said Bogo. He looked at the bunny officer standing on the chair in front of him, her mouth agape and her ears quivering with excitement. "Careful Hopps, vibrate any faster and you going to phase through the chair." Bogo deadpanned.
Judy's mouth finally caught up with her brain. "Oh, my carrots! But the graduation is so soon! How am I going to figure out what to say before then? I have so many questions! What do they want…"
Bogo raised a hoof to illicit silence from Judy, who was rapidly alternating from excitement at the prospect of the commencement speech and apprehension about saying just the right thing. "Slow down there Hopps. If I have learned anything from watching you work, it is that you will go above and beyond whatever task has been put before you. That is part of what has made you an exceptional officer. And it is the mayor and I's hope that you will be able to inspire the same dedication and zeal in the graduating officers."
"Wow Chief. I'm honored to receive this opportunity!"
A notification went off on Bogo's phone, a reminder that it was time for rollcall. "I believe we have spent more than enough time discussing this topic. And, I have reached my sentimental quota for the month. Hopps, head down to the Bullpen for morning rollcall. I will make sure Clawhauser gets you the pertinent information for the graduation ceremony and have your schedule updated to accommodate this new assignment. Dismissed!"
Judy saluted and hopped down from the chair. "Thanks Chief, this really means a lot to me!" and she bounded out the door on her way to the Bullpen.
Bogo let out a small sigh. I hope Wilde is going to be able to keep up with her.
The rest of the day Judy could not help but go over and over in her head what she was going to say for her commencement speech. I am so thrilled the chief and mayor want me to give the speech! I have to make sure it is perfect for Nick's graduation! Time passed quickly for Judy. After spending a substantial part of her shift on patrol with Wolfard, she spent the final hours filling out some reports for the couple of speeding tickets and other small misdemeanors that she and Wolfard had dealt with during the shift. Wolford took a zebra they had caught shoplifting down to the holding cells then returned to help Judy finish with the reports for the day. After completing her paperwork and clocking out for the day, Judy took the subway back to her new apartment.
Judy had moved out of the Grand Pangolin Arms around the two-month mark following the resolution of the Night Howler case. Nick had come over during a rare free weekend in his busy academy schedule and had been appalled by Judy's living situation. He had offered to help her find a better apartment and had sent her the names of a couple of landlords.
"I told you carrots, I know everyone." Nick had quipped when she had texted him her surprise and excitement about the apartments she had seen from the list of landlords he had sent.
Eventually, Judy was able to settle on a modest one-bedroom apartment with a living room, small kitchen, and her own bathroom. It was a welcome upgrade for her, no longer having to use a communal shower and bathroom. Additionally, the cost of the apartment was very reasonable. Additionally, with the recent pay raise for first responders, she was living much more comfortably than before.
Judy entered her apartment, placed her keys in a small bowl on the countertop in the kitchen. She entered her bedroom, stripped off her uniform and changed into a pair of dark gray sweatpants and navy-blue t-shirt with the letters ZPA monogramed on it. Judy let out a sigh of relief as she reflected back on the events of her shift that day. Then, she tossed herself on her bed and pulled out her phone. I wonder how Nick is doing with the final rounds of exams and physicals at the academy. Judy thought to herself.
Meanwhile, many miles away, in one of the dormitories of the ZPA facility, a certain red fox lay on his bunk, trying to decompress. Nick's day had been grueling, both physically and mentally, with two written examinations in the morning and several hours of physical training and scenarios in the afternoon. Nick lay on his bed, grateful that his day was over when a tone from the phone lying beside him signaled he had received a text message.
"Hey Slick! How was the academy today?"
Nick sat up in his bunk, letting out a small groan as his sore muscles protested the movement. "Oh, you know how it is fluff, just another full day that left my muscles unravelling and my brain melting out of my ears while Polar Ice Cap constantly reminds me 'you're dead!' At a volume that should cause hearing loss. Just another day in paradise."
"har har. You know it's for your own good. Oh, and how does major Friedkin feel about your 'Polar Ice Cap' nickname."
"I think she realized awhile ago that more pushups weren't going to make me stop calling her that. Hasn't stopped her from giving me more to do on principle though."
"Dumb fox"
"I think you mean clever fox."
"Well, 'Mr. Clever fox,' have you heard anything about the graduation ceremony coming up."
"Honestly carrots, I've had enough to focus on with trying to pass the last rounds of written and physical tests to worry about the ceremony. Did you?"
"Maybe, but I'm going to let you figure that out for yourself, wouldn't want to spoil the surprise!"
"Mean bunny."
"Tired fox. Get some rest. I'm looking forward to seeing you at graduation."
"Goodnight carrots."
Nick put down his phone and closed his eyes, a smile slowly spreading along his face. Two more weeks carrots, then we will be making the world a better place together.
Back in her apartment, Judy opened up a notepad app on her phone and began to write out a couple of lines for her upcoming speech, inspiration had struck. When I was a kid, I though Zootopia was this perfect place…
Somewhere in Zootopia, moonbeams filtered through a small, boarded up window set high in the wall of a dark basement. They danced through the air and alighted on a figure crumpled on the concrete floor. The basement was nearly empty except for the figure, and a large chain the ran from their right wrist to a metal support pillar in the middle of the room.
The figure stirred, white portions of their fur glowing silver in the moonlight, the rest of their black pelt in stark contrast. The figure slowly sat up and raised their right paw to their aching head, the chain scraping on the concrete and the noise making them grimace. The figure opened their eyes and surveyed the room, their gaze falling on the restraints. Following the snaking path of the chain, the figure saw deep gashes cut into the concrete around the base of the pillar. The chain also showed signs of wear and damage from claws and teeth.
The figure rose and moved to the pillar, dragging the chain along the ground. They pulled a small key from their pocket and unlocked the chain at their wrist, letting it fall to the ground with a loud clang. The figure knelt down by the pillar and examined the gashes more closely. Reaching out with their hand, they placed their claws into the gashes. They fit perfectly. The figure flexed their claws and could feel a numbness in them that spread up their forearms and they observed concrete dust speckling their fur. The figure filed this information that they had made these marks recently in their mind as a small glint on the ground by the wall caught their attention. The figure walked over and stooped down to pick up a small vial with a hypodermic needle attached to it. A small amount of blood was dried on the needle and the figure gave it a quick sniff. The smell confirmed it was their own. Slowly, a smile began to split the figure's face, revealing a wickedly sharp set of fangs.
I am one step closer…