[i]"Reality is something fickle.[/i]



  [i]We all want to believe that reality is something firm and solid. Immutable. Something eternal, in which we can rely on to be constant. To be something that would never change, so we will have an anchor to our own existences.[/i]



  [i]But reality is not like that.[/i]



  [i]Reality changes. The world changes with each revolution, and no matter how much we want it to remain the same, the world will never stop spinning for a moment, and no mammal in the world is able to force it to remain, not even with all of their power and influence, for the nature of reality is to change. The nature of the world is to change. At one moment, what we see as fact, might prove itself to be wrong, and at this moment, all of our values and perceptions will be put to the test, as the new reality will make us question what we think to be the truth, and challenge us to adapt or abandon our truth.[/i]



  [i]We might not like to accept change, but once it happens, we must, because otherwise, we will be left out by the changes, and we will invariably be crushed by the weight of the changed reality.[/i]



  [i]For reality, as much as it is fickle, it is absolute. We must always accept reality, no matter how strange it might seem. As we, mere mammals, can hardly force reality to adapt to our ideas, and as so, we have to adapt our ideas to reality, like all mammals who live in this world…"[/i]


"NICK!"

The fox nearly jumped out of his own uniform and fur as he heard the voice of the bunny screaming on his ear after she had pulled the phone that was on it as he heard the speech of a character of a short movie on his cell phone at EweTube. A sci-fi thing regarding alien contact.

"Have you listened to what I have just said?" Judy asked him, looking straight at his face as the fox said nothing, and he merely removed the phone from his other ear, rolled the phones up, and deposited both it and his phone back on his pocket.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" He said, trying to look smug, and Judy only sighed, and she turned her attention back to the road as she continued to drive.

"As I was saying…" Judy spoke, as she drove them across the road. "Chief Bogo said that we will be in charge of investigating that new ring of illegal fighting that is going on in Downtown. I was saying that it would be nice if we could talk to one of your contacts on the matter, ask them if they have heard anything over the subject."

Nick listened and nodded.

"Well, we could actually try, but I do not assure that any of them would be willing to talk to the cops." The fox said, matter-of-factly. Ever since Nick had changed his profession, exactly one year ago, on that very same day, most of his old "associates" had moved away from him. Of course, as he had moved from a simple street hustler to Zootopia's first fox cop, the kind of people he used to hang out with didn't quite felt like being around him anymore.

"Well, it is still worth a shot." Judy said as her amethyst eyes continued to look forward into the road ahead of her. "We can try Finnick first. You two were always very close, and he knows his way around the city as well as you do."

"Yeah, still, I feel like the little guy and I have been drifting apart ever since I started wearing blue." Nick said to her, "For instance, he used to tell me about all of his girlfriends, even though I didn't ask him, and just last month when I asked him about his 'special lady friend', he looked like he was ready to bite my nose off." He said, remembering the event, "I think the badge was the only thing that actually held him back."

Judy chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "Okay, Officer Wilde, enough talking." She said as she continued to drive across the road, taking a turn and now heading Downtown. "We have work to do."

Yes, they did had work to do.

This was his work now.

If two years ago, someone had come to Nick Wilde and told him that he was going to change professions, he was going to raise his eyebrow and ask them what kind of job he was going to be offered.

If they had answered to him that he was going to become a cop, Nick would have laughed very hard about it, because it could only be a joke. Foxes were not trustworthy even to have decent jobs, even less to have badges. This was something that was just out of reach for him. He had accepted that a long time ago, just the day following the unfortunate incident with the Ranger Scouts.

Nick flinched internally on remembering that event, as it still had effects on him, even after so long.

However, there he was, wearing proudly his police uniform and his badge, which was put on his chest exactly one year ago by that same bunny girl who was currently driving their cruiser. This was his life now, working with the law, upholding the very same oath that he had once made within the Ranger Scouts.

Oh, how he would love to meet the same kids from years ago and show himself to them on his police uniform. To see the look in their faces when they saw that the same fox they didn't let join their troop had made it to the ZPD.

That was still the type of satisfaction that Nick was still going to have, meanwhile, he was happy to know that each day on the job was a day that he was doing something meaningful with his life.

Of course, he was not busting drug cartels or chasing after serial killers every day, as they showed on ZSI, or in Paw & Order. Most days it was calm, usually investigating some disturbances, maybe apprehending some minor scammer, or even chasing a speeding car. Still, there were days in which they had some big case to investigate.

Just like the assignment they were given that day about an illegal fighting ring that had come to the attention of the ZPD. It was one of these places where two mammals would step inside a cage and a lot of drunken and bloodthirsty dudes would get around to cheer and to bet on how was going to come out victorious. It was kind of like MMA, but way more brutal, if their intel was to be believed.

Mammals were allowed to use anything that they wanted, including knives and bats. Predators were allowed to bite and claw. Rhinos were allowed to gore the enemy with their horns. Zebras were allowed to stomp fallen enemies with their hooves until their bones broke. It was the kind of event that mammals with a weak heart or stomach should not watch.

It seemed like the kind of case that two of the top officers of the ZPD should bust.

Their first stop was Finnick, and as Nick expected, the fennec fox was not exactly willing to help them. While he was not openly hostile to them, he was cordial, he heard what they had to say and to ask, and he was clear on his answer.

"Yeah, maybe I heard something about that." The little mammal said as he removed his shades from his face, looking at the two cops as he leaned over the open window of his van. "Something about mammals getting in cages and beating the snot out of each other until one of them could no longer stand. I heard that last guy who was in there was so beaten that he could barely open his eyes, and don't even ask me about the one who lost the fight."

This was the kind of thing that made mammals shiver, and Nick was pretty sure that Judy had also felt one running down the fur of her back.

"I don't get involved with these guys." Finnick said categorically. "They are too violent for my tastes. Anyways, I'm trying to move away from that type of scene for good. I even got a job in a nice place."

"Oh, is my little buddy going legit?" Nick said, lowering his own shades as he looked at the small mammal, who glared back at him. "Is it my influence on you? Or would that be the lady friend of yours?"

Finnick looked at him as if he wanted to bore holes on Nick's skull just with his gaze.

"I'm going to hurt you." Finnick said, glaring at the bigger fox, "Badge or no badge, I'm going to hurt you pretty bad, Wilde."

Nick chuckled, and Judy was quick to get in the way before things could escalate.

"These kinds of things are too dangerous." Judy said, "With this level of violence in the matches it is only a matter of time before someone ends up leaving in a body bag." She spoke with a deadly serious expression on her face. "We need to put them down, and any help is welcome."

Finnick looked at the bunny girl, and after a few moments, he sighed.

"I going to ask around a friend or two." He said as he fixed his shades back on his face. "Maybe one of them knows when the next match is going to happen, but don't hold your hopes up."

"Thank you." Judy said, and the fennec just closed his window and started to drive away.

"You make me proud, little guy!" Nick said, and the van drove away, leaving the two mammals behind as they looked at each other. "This went better than expected. I was pretty sure he was going to have his bat on his paw… So, what now?"

"We continue our investigation, of course!" Judy said, with that determined look that Nick knew all too well.

[center] ******************* [/center]

 

Their investigation consisted more into going around Downtown, asking around the streets to some mammals that were either informants or old contacts from Nick.

His change of profession had made Nick less popular, but he still got some mammals who still talked to him, and they were at least willing to hear them out before they told them both to beat it.

Some of them were most civic than others.

Of course, it seemed that they all either didn't know about the specific subject or didn't want to talk about it with the cops. The one or two that actually said anything didn't say anything that the two cops didn't already know or heard about.

This investigation was proving to be quite a difficult one.

"Sir, we really would like some information." Judy said to the hyena dressed all in black, as the guy only looked down on her.

"Information, huh?" The hyena dude said, as he looked her up and down. "Okay, what about this…" He leaned over, gesturing Judy to come closer. She leaned over, and the hyena whispered in her ear.

"I'm normally not into bunnies. But you got some nice pair of hips." He whispered to her, "Maybe I can get some information on these rings you are talking about and maybe, as a thank you, you could come visit me at my place, candle lights. What do you say?"

Nick felt tension as his eyes adopted a glare behind his shades, he could feel his lips curling as if they were getting him to ready to snarl. Meanwhile, Judy moved back and stared daggers at the hyena with an annoyed expression, before turning around and marching off.

"The offer will be up, sweet bun." The hyena said to the angry bunny as she continued to stomp away. "Just come looking for 'Laughing Joe' if you change your mind! You are pretty small, but I'm sure that we can make it work!" The hyena guy finished with a cackling laugh, which his species was so famous for.

The fox glared at the hyena for a few more seconds, before turning around and walking after Judy, who stomped the ground in anger as she walked back to their cruiser.

Once they reached, she slammed the door, and Nick walked in right after her, closing his own door. The bunny looked as if she was ready to punch someone in the face. Nick looked at her, and after a second, the bunny let out a frustrated and angry grunt as she slammed her head in the steering wheel.

"I told you that we should not talk to him." Nick said as he had warned her about this "Laughing Joe". He was famous for being the kind that had information on the area, but he was the kind who always wanted [i]something[/i] in return.

"Can you believe the way he talked to me?!" Judy asked her partner. "As if it was normal to make these kinds of proposals! Sweet cheese and crackers! I should have arrested him for that! Talking to a law officer like that!"

"Yeah, old Laughing Joe does not have a lot of respect for police authority… or any authority, for that matter." Nick said, "Well, we already know that we can't count on him, anyway."

"We don't have a lead!" Judy said in frustration. "We have been going through Downtown all morning, and we don't have a single solid lead!"

"Well, we knew that this case was not going to be easy." Nick said to her. "It is not like we could go around, ask a few questions, and figure it out in no time at all, like we did with the case of that car dismantling squad last week, right?"

Judy kept her head in the steering wheel for a while, and she sighed, and Nick knew that he had made a score.

"I know, Nick. I know." The bunny admitted in defeat. "Is just that… It is so frustrating not having at least one lead! It is nearly 1:00 PM and we don't have a single significant lead."

"1:00 PM, really?" Nick asked, checking his phone to confirm the time, and indeed, he saw that there were just a few minutes short of the one of the afternoon. "Man, time really does fly! We almost lost lunch!"

The fox looked up from his phone and looked around, and he sighted a small place that offered food nearby, and he suddenly decided that it was time for a quick bite.

As he opened his door, the bunny turned her head to him, and she asked:

"Where do you think you are going?"

"To grab some grub." Nick said, "Armies cannot march with empty stomachs, and neither can foxes."

"Nick, we have a serious case in our paws. You cannot be seriously thinking about food at a time like that, can you?" She asked, and Nick was about to answer when a grumbling sound answered first.

It was a stomach, but Nick was sure that was not his own.

Judy's face and ears became pinkish with a blush as her own stomach betrayed her, and Nick only gave her a knowing smile as he looked at the bunny.

"Any requests?"

Judy looked at him with an annoyed expression, and she sighed in defeat. "See if they have anything with carrots."

Nick nodded, and stepped out of the cruiser.

"Be back in five minutes tops, depending on the size of the line."

[center] ******************* [/center]

A little over five minutes was the time that Nick had taken into the line.

The eating place was more for predators, so they had a nice collection of fishes and birds, but they also had some good options for herbivores. Nick picked for himself some fried chicken that smelled just divine, and he chose some special steamed rice loaded with mushroom and veggies. They also had options for desserts, and so, Nick picked a blueberry muffin and a slice of carrot cake.

After paying, Nick was walking out of the place and back to the cruiser with the bag with the food for himself and his partner on his paw, and he walked calmly and quite happily, looking forward to sinking his teeth into that fried chicken…

"… so, on the next match, it will be a lion against a bison. They're promising that this time there will actually be blood spilled."

Nick's ear twitched as it moved in the direction to the place where the voice was coming from.

Nick gave a few steps back and leaned back as he looked inside of the alley that he had just passed. It was dark and dirty, the stereotypical dark alley where criminal types would meet in order to discuss important their illegal dealings and subjects.

In it, Nick could see two mammals. One of them was a coyote, and he was dressed into common clothing, with brown fur and golden eyes. In front of him was standing a tiger who was dressed in black and tore clothing. The tiger was looking down on the coyote, while this looked back at him with an excited expression.

"They say that the bison is an ex-fighter who was kicked out of the professional circles for being overly violent, and the lion is addicted to catnip! These two guys are both crazy, and this battle can actually escalate! We got to go see it! We might actually see someone lose a limb!"

Nick raised an eyebrow at what he was hearing. [i]"Well, what are the chances?"[/i] the fox thought to himself, and he continued to hear.

"We have other plans this week, and you know it." The tiger said.

"Oh, come on! It might be the best one yet!"

"Forget it. We already have a thing to do." The tiger said firmly, "Besides, I don't think that the boss would allow after what you did in the last one."

"Oh, you mean [i]that[/i]?" The coyote said. "Okay, so maybe I hypnotized the two fighters to fight a little better, what is the problem? No one noticed…"

Nick's eyebrow raised at this. Had he really heard "hypnotize"? Like the stage magicians?

"You were reckless." The tiger said, "We cannot go doing this with just anyone, people will notice. Why do you even wanna go see that, anyway? Two Mundanes attacking each other like savages until one of them drops. Big deal. We can see that anywhere in the street around this neighborhood."

"It is exciting!" The coyote said, looking up at the tiger. "Two mammals into a confined space, forced to fight for supremacy and survival! Just like in ancient times! Don't tell me that it does not make you even a little bit thrilled."

"It doesn't." The tiger said, and the coyote looked deflated.

"Okay, so I'm gonna go alone…" The coyote said, pouting a little bit, almost like a child. "I just need you to give me some money for the tickets."

"Forget it." The tiger said firmly, like a parent to a child who was insisting for a toy. "We don't have time for this, not this week. The boss needs both of us for the ritual, and we need to do it quickly before one of the clans notices that we are symphony energy from a Ley Line."

"Oh, come on! These guys don't even know we exist!"

"They have eyes and ears everywhere in this city." The tiger said in a hushed tone. "They are the Second Owners of this whole place, and they will not be happy with someone using the Ley Lines without their permission. So, we are going to make this ritual and go back to the shadows before any of them gets the wiser. The last thing we need is the clans contacting the Association and sending the Enforcers on us, or worse yet, coming after us themselves."

Nick had been listening for a less than a minute, and he was already sure that these guys were up to something.

Not only were they talking to each other in secret, but they also were using many terms that the fox was sure that could only be some kind of secret code.

Rituals. Ley lines. Mundanes.

Yep, surely a code and the only people who talked in this code were the ones who wanted to hide something. Be you a criminal plotting something with your felons, to a team of law officers coordinating a busting into a criminal organization, and even to spies doing their spy things.

Now, who were these guys, and why were they talking in code?

Well, there was a simply way to find out.

"Hey, there!" Nick said as he walked into the alley, startling the two mammals as they turned to look at the fox who just walked in. They both looked at him surprised when the fox on police uniform walked ahead with a smug smirk on his face, and he greeted both.

"Nice evening to gather into a dark and ominous alley, ain't it?"

The two mammals looked at him; the tiger was the one who spoke:

"And who are you?"

"Oh, I'm just your everyday fox cop walking into the dark alleys of Downtown." Nick said, "You know, going with my partner on our cruiser, buying is some grub." He said, showing the bag he had on with him, "Hearing two suspicious mammals talking about an even more suspicious subject…"

This got the attention of the two bigger predators, as they looked at the fox.

"Say that again?"

"What, about the grub?" Nick asked, feigning ignorance, "Oh, right! About the suspicious subject! Well, I'm not exactly the kind of fox who lurks around to see if he can listen for something someone else is saying, but I was just walking across the street when I heard something that piqued my interest, and I could not avoid hearing what you two spoke."

The two mammals looked at the fox, the tiger glaring at him, as he stepped forward.

"What exactly did you heard, fox?" He asked in a slow and serious tune, and Nick could not help but feel a shiver going down his spine, but he hid it well.

"Well, it started with some talk about what could be an illegal fighting ring around the area." He spoke calmly, "Then it escalated to some talk about 'rituals' and 'clans', or something of the like." He said as the two mammals continued to look at him. "So, what is this, some kind of code, or are those new slangs I'm not familiar with?"

The tiger glared daggers at the fox, and the coyote held him by the arm.

"Calm down, dude." He said to the tiger, "We cannot call attention, remember?"

"He heard us!" The tiger whispered back to the coyote.

"He has no idea what we just said." The coyote answered back, and Nick looked at the two, as they talked as if they had forgotten that Nick was still right there.

"Still, we cannot just let him walk away after he heard us!" The tiger said, and this made Nick's ears perk.

The two mammals looked at him, as the fox looked back at them.

"I got this." The coyote said and walked forward. Nick immediately took a step back, and his free hand went to the dart gun that was on his holster, holding the butt of the weapon as the coyote walked in his direction.

"Ow, ow. Hold on." The fox said, but the coyote raised his paws.

"Just relax, Mr. 'Police Officer'." The coyote said as he started to make some gestures with his paws. "It will only take a few moments."

Nick looked at the coyote, as he started to make some gestures in the air. Most of it was consisted of the coyote spinning his claws in the air and making some strange positions with his paws. Nick looked at it, as the gestures were starting to get repetitive, forming a pattern.

It was… somewhat mesmerizing. Nick felt his vision blurring slightly, and for a moment, he could swear that he saw the paws of the coyote glowing.

Nick looked at it, and then he blinked, this was enough to clear his mind, as he blinked again, and he looked at the coyote.

What the heck was that?

"What are you doing?" The fox asked, his hand was still holding the butt of his dart gun, and the coyote looked at him surprised, before looking at his own paws.

"This don't usually fail…" The coyote said to himself, and he looked back at the fox. "Okay, let's try again." He said as he raised his paws once more.

"Okay, okay, I don't know what you are doing, but you better stop." Nick said, holding his gun a little tighter.

"Okay, you just need to relax dude." The coyote said as he started to repeat the gestures. "Soon you won't remember you met us, and you will have time to go to your party. By the way, this police officer costume you are wearing is very convincing."

"Well, thank you." Nick said to him, "They gave me when I joined the ZPD. By the way, it is not a costume."

"Yeah, right…" The coyote said with a smile of who knows it.

"No, seriously." Nick said, as his other hand let go of the bags and pulled out his badge to show them. "You are talking to no other than Officer Nicholas P. Wilde."

Right after Nick said these words, the smile on the coyote's face disappeared, his hands stopping in midair as he looked at the fox as if he had just seen a ghost.

"W-w-what?" The coyote said as the color drained away from his features. "Y-you are…"

"Zootopia's first fox cop." Nick said with a twinge of pride, and he looked at the coyote. "What, you hadn't noticed?" He asked. "I mean, I'm pretty sure that I am a famous guy." He said casually as he put his badge back on his belt, seeing the coyote clearly lose his nerve was boosting Nick's own confidence enough to him have his smugness back.

The coyote gave a step back, now looking genuinely scared.

"I-I was… I mean. W-we were just… I-I was not really trying to… We… We will be leaving now, sorry for bothering you!" The coyote said, and he started to walk away.

"Hey, hey! Wait!" Nick said, and the coyote stopped on his tracks, his tail tucked between his legs. Nick had a raised eyebrow as the coyote looked over his shoulder to the fox, and Nick could see the fear on his eyes.

All of that just because he now knew that Nick was a cop?

"Before you go, I want to ask a few questions." Nick said, and the coyote looked over at him.

"S-sure… whatever you say, sir." The coyote said, turning around and standing for the fox, fear clear on his body language. Nick had a raised eyebrow at this, but he decided to ignore it for now and focus on the thing that was important.

"Okay, about what I heard you two saying…"

The coyote became even paler.

"O-oh… about the Ley Lines?" The coyote said, and Nick could sense the panic surging in his voice. "We w-were going to a-ask for permission, but, this ritual we have to do is kind of urgent so… W-we just wanted to avoid bureaucracy, but we are willing to pay a fee if you want. T-there is no need to involve the Association, right?" he asked with the biggest fake smile that Nick had seen in the past years. The fox only looked at him for a few moments, before saying:

"Oookay? Well, anyway, I was going to ask about that illegal fight you were talking."

"Oh, [i]that[/i]?" The coyote asked, seeming actually relieved. "S-sure, what about it?"

"Wait a minute!" The tiger said, stepping forward and glaring at the fox. "Are you really who you say you are?"

Nick looked at him. "Man, I really thought that I was a famous guy. I mean, I was in the newspaper and everything. Of course, it was a year ago. Anyway, you can do a little research online, Nicholas Wilde. Wilde writes W-I-L…"

"I know how to write it!" The tiger snapped at him, and Nick actually got a bit startled by this. "But how can we know you really are who you claim to be?"

"Want to see my badge again?"

"Dude, what are you doing?" The coyote whispered. The tiger ignored him and continued to glare at the fox.

"Show me your mark!" The big feline demanded.

"Say what now?" Nick asked, confused.

"You say you are a Wilde, right? Show me the mark, so we know that you are with the clan." The tiger nearly demanded, glaring daggers at the fox.

Mark? Clan?

"Dude, stop it!" The coyote said, "We don't need a problem with the clans, you said it yourself!"

"Why would one of them be with the ZPD?" The tiger asked him, "They wouldn't bother joining the mundane police unless they were plotting something."

"He got to be one of them! You saw how he resisted my hypnosis? No mundane could do that!"

"It doesn't mean he is of the clan!" The tiger said, and he turned back at the fox. "So, if you really are a Wilde, and not some two-bit spellcaster using the clan's name, show me some proof!"

Spellcaster? What were these two talking about!?

Nick looked at them as he tried to make sense of what they were saying, the coyote, however, seemed to interpret it as a sign that the fox was getting mad, and he hurried.

"Okay, it was nice talking to you, Mr. Wilde. We are leaving, and hope you are okay." He said, forcing his big tiger partner and they were already walking out when the fox stopped him a second time.

"Wait! The fight!" Nick said, and the coyote turned to him.

"Oh, yeah, it will be a lion against a bison, in two or three days, in old storage near the docks. You should look for Slimy Tusks, he is the one who handles the propaganda and the tickets." The coyote said in a hurry, sounding like he just wanted to get that over with and leave.

Nick was about to question him on something else when his attention was diverted by a buzzing coming from his waist followed by the familiar voice of a certain bunny.

"[i]Nick![/i]" Judy's voice buzzed from the radio that Nick carried. "[i]Nick, it has been more than five minutes! Where are you?[/i]"

This caused Nick to have his full attention deviated to the radio for just about a few seconds, and when he looked back at the two mammals, they were no longer there.

Nick was alone in the street, with no tiger or coyote in sight.

"What the…" Nick said as he wondered just how two mammals could disappear like that...

"[i]Nick! Are you listening?[/i]" Judy's voice chimed in again by the radio. "[i]What, are you in the restroom, or something? ... wait, you are not in the restroom, are you?[/i]"

Nick took a few moments, but he reached for his radio, and he finally picked it up to answer. "Y-yeah? No, I'm okay. It's just… the line was a little long." He looked over the empty alley one more time, before picking up the bags with the food and walking out of it.

"[i]Well, you certainly were taking your time. I'm starved.[/i]"

"Yeah, don't worry, Carrots, I've got the food." Nick said as he walked to the cruiser. "I also got some lead on the case."

[center] ******************* [/center]

Nick described what had happened to Judy while they ate, and the bunny almost forgot her food as she listened to Nick's account of the facts.

She was a bit scared at the fact that her partner was facing against two bigger and stronger predators all by himself, and quite angry with him for not having called her for backup.

On the other paw, she was quite glad that they had actually gotten what seemed to be a solid lead.

Matter of fact, Nick knew "Slimy Tusks", it was a dirty hog who walked around that neighborhood and who was said to have his stinky hooves on many things that were dubious. Nick actually felt like kicking himself for not thinking of going to him for information sooner.

The thing was, ever since Nick went blue, Slimy Tusks was one of the mammals who totally cut ties with him. He remembered the last conversation that he had with the greasy boar, as he told Nick that he better not ever show his snout in front of him again and that he better not start snitching, otherwise he would regret it dearly.

Now, Slimy Tusks was not violent, but he could talk loud if he wanted. Anyway, Nick was not snitching on him, for he had taken a position of not turning in anyone from his past for what was in the past. Even because, there were few things that Nick could tell the ZPD that wouldn't put [i]him [/i]in trouble as well.

Anyway, it was a lead, and it was something that they both could pursue. However, Nick knew that Slimy Tusks would never talk with them or anyone else if he smelled cops, so they would need to be a little subtle if they wanted to get the needed information they wanted from the boar.

The rest of the information was useful too. Now they knew an approximate place and date.

"We can tell the others and they will be able to organize an apprehension." Judy said, "Maybe Bogo will even let us participate since we were the ones who found this out."

"I'm sorry, [i]we[/i]?" Nick said, his trademark smirk on his face, and Judy only looked at him quite annoyed.

"Yes, [i]we[/i]." Judy said, "We are partners, remember?"

"Yeah, but I remember that you were here in the cruiser while I got the information out of the two suspicious mammals. Or am I imagining it, Carrots?"

"Oh, Nick…" Judy said, rolling her eyes. Nick chuckled, and so did Judy, in the end, they knew that it was all in good fun. Still, she got serious for a while.

"Who were these two, anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know." The fox said as he took another bite on his chicken. "Maybe your everyday thugs going around Downtown and doing things that they weren't supposed to be doing."

"Yeah, but for what you said it sounded like they were up to something." Judy said, "Shouldn't we try to look for them?"

"Yeah, maybe, I'd like to ask a thing or two on them…" Nick admitted, there was something about these two that was just nagging at him…

"Did you said that they backed away when they found out your name, right?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, it was as if they just found out that they were picking up a fight with Mr. Big's son-in-law." Nick said, "Actually, I think they were more scared of my name than of my badge. That's gotta be a first."

"What? Is your family powerful or something?" Judy asked, and Nick only shook his head.

"Nah, not at all." The fox said, "It is not like 'Wilde' is the name of a great enterprise or of some lineage of hustlers who took money from kings and emperors. I mean, my mom works as a receptionist, and she was a waitress before that. As for my father… well, I'm pretty sure that the guy was not that important, even though I've never met him."

"Then why were these two afraid of you?" Judy asked.

"Well, maybe they knew that I was partners with a certain long-eared ball of fluff who took down the ex-Mayor Bellwether one-and-a-half year ago, and who some know that has a little friendship with a certain arctic shrew from Tundratown."

Nick smiled at her, but Judy was still not quite letting it go.

"What about these things they were talking about? Rituals and 'ley lines'? What even [i]is[/i] a 'ley line'?"

"Beats me." Nick said, "But the guys in Mystic Springs always say that they need to 'harmonize the ambiance of the place with the ley lines', or some other mumbo jumbo. Maybe is some kind of code for something?"

"And they called you a 'spellcaster'?" She asked, and Nick shrugged.

"Yeah, I didn't get it either."

This got Judy thinking, wondering just what they could possible mean by these words.

"And they were acting as if they expected me to know what they were talking about." Nick said, "I would have asked them what that was all about when I took my eyes of them for one second and they vanished."

Judy nodded. She was beamed at Nick for having lowered his guard against two strange and hostile mammals like that, even if for just a few seconds. She was not sure if she believed that thing of them having "disappeared", but she also had no reasons to doubt Nick's word.

"Did you had a good look at these two?" She asked him, "Would you probably recognize them if you saw them again?"

"A lion and a coyote, they are easy to spot. And you know that I'm a good physiologist." Nick said, "I'm pretty sure I would remember the faces of these two if I met them on the street."

Judy nodded. "Maybe we should take a look at the station, see if we have these two in the records, maybe they have files… I still find it suspicious that they were so keen on your family name."

Nick shrugged. "Yeah, they wanted a proof that I was a Wilde. That I was 'with the clan'. As if I was Irish or something."

Judy made notes on all that Nick said, both regarding their current case and the observations on the run-in that the fox had with these two mammals. She would have to take a look at that later on, because if they truly had gotten a problem with Nick they could come for him later on.

"We should be ready for these two if they come back." Judy said, "Tell me if you see both again, okay?"

"As you wish, Carrots." Nick said, "You had to see that coyote, though. He was actually trying to hypnotize me, waving his hands and everything. He was just missing the watch to swing in front of my muzzle while he said 'you are falling under my power'. Man, I bet he is great at a party."

Judy rolled her eyes, and she put her pen and notebook aside, as she got ready to drive again. "Okay, enough of this, time to go back to work." She said as she started the cruiser, and Nick smiled.

"Good thinking, Officer Carrots." He said, "If we go back to the job now, we can finish it in time for our movie weekend."

[center] ******************* [/center]

A lot changed in Nick's life ever since he became a cop, at precisely one year ago, February 2nd of 2017. For beginners, he started to walk in police cruisers on the front seats, instead of the back, and he was actually the one who was chasing after criminals, instead of running [i]from[/i] the police.

Before his change of careers, his worst fear was of being caught and arrested by a cop who was smarter than your average cop. Now, his personal boogieman was the paperwork that was related to the work of an officer. Way more than Nick ever imagined, it can be added.

Finally, Nick had developed a new tradition for his weekend nights. From spending his night alone and looking for some cheap excuse for entertainment, he changed to meet with his bunny friend at her apartment and have a nice movie on CatFlix and some pizza or another good food.

At that night, they took a particularly long time to end their shift, as Judy was insistent into looking into these two mammals that Nick had run into. It took Nick's insistence and Bogo's promise that he would look into that to make her let go of it.

With this, they ended their shift, trade from their uniform to their casual clothes, and took a metro to Judy's place, upon arriving, they could hear something:

"I told you I was not making dinner tonight! Right before you left!"

"No, you didn't!"

"Yes, I did! It is not my fault that you were in such a hurry that you didn't hear me!"

"I was in a hurry because you didn't woke me up like I asked you, so I got late for work!"

"I called you! But you told me to leave you alone so you could continue to sleep!"

"You should have tried to call me again!"

"I called you three times!"

"You should have tried a fourth!"

"Oh, shut up! I have more important things to do than watching over your chronograms!"

"Oh, [i]you[/i] shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"I see our dear Oryx-Antlersons are home already." Nick said as he had already had the "pleasure" of meeting Judy's crazy neighbors. Hearing their squabbles had proven to be an interesting experience, and while it made him quite uncomfortable on the first time that he heard it coming from the next door, it proved to be quite the comedy material. Nick could already imagine something like that being part of a sitcom.

"What I'm going to eat? I'm hungry!"

"Oh, stop being so dramatic! Just call get the phone and call for some grub!"

"Why don't [i]you[/i] call some grub?"

"Because I already ate!"

"But I haven't! So you should call some food for me!"

"I'm not your butler!"

"I see that the subject is, once more, dinner." Nick said as Judy unlocked the door and she and Nick walked inside.

"Hey, boys! I'm home!"

"Hey, Hopps!" One of them said, "We were wondering when you were going to come!"

"Is the fox there with you again?"

"Yes, he is!" Nick called out "Thanks for remembering of me, guys!"

"You are in for the movie night again? Would you mind not leaving it too loud this time? Last night it was hard to sleep with the noise of the tv on your side."

"Okay, we'll keep it down!" Judy said, as she picked her laptop, turned both it and the tv on, and plugged both machines together.

"So, what options do we have tonight?" Nick asked, and Judy smiled at him.

"Well, we have Lady Herd, Fast and The Furry, the Star Trunk movies, Rocky Bearboa, and the Jurassic Pork movies."

Nick thought about the options for a while. "Yeah, I'm in for some action. Fast cars and some nice ladies sounds good, so let's go for Fast and Furry."

"Which one?" Judy asked as she finished preparing the movie.

"The last one sounds nice. I haven't watched it yet."

"Good." She said, and walked to the fridge s the tv was ready, the image of CatFlix page showing in it, with the movie just waiting to be played. She walked to the fridge, surely to grab their grub.

"So, we are having re-heated pizza and some old soda, like last time?" Nick asked, getting himself comfy as he took an advantageous position to look at the screen of the television.

"Actually, we have some roasted chicken and carrot and broccoli salad, with some nice blueberry pie for dessert."

Nick's ears perked, as he turned to look at the bunny. "Wait, seriously?"

Judy was looking at him as she removed a plate with a plastic-wrapped chicken and a bowl from the fridge. "Yep, both straight from a nearby grocery store, bought yesterday." She added to him. "And the blueberry pie was courtesy of my parents back from BunnyBurrow."

"Wow…" Nick said, his mouth was already watering. "This surely sounds nice."

"Well, I wanted this night to be a good one." Judy said, unwrapping the chicken and placing it in the microwave. "Afterall, today we celebrate exactly one year since you have joined the ZPD. It is a special night." She smiled warmly at him, and Nick smiled back.

"Ms. Hopps, I really feel touched that you remembered." Nick said, and Judy smiled at him.

"Mr. Wilde, what kind of friend would I be if I forgotten?"

"She has been about it for a few days!" A voice on the other side of the wall said. "She was on the phone a lot of times, insisting to have the blueberry pie today!"

Judy groaned as her ears fell back, and Nick couldn't help but snicker a bit. As funny as it was, he truly did felt touched that Judy had remembered, and that she had actually planned something special to celebrate.

Good movie with a good friend, with chicken and blueberry pie?

Nick already knew that it was going to be a good night.

[center] ******************* [/center]

The movie was good, with a lot of fast-paced action, some romance, a good dosage of comedy, and a very nice ending. All of that accompanied by some very nice food that had been provided by the bunny host.

The night had been nice, and the fox and bunny both could agree with that, as they shared the big chair, sitting so close to each other that they were nearly snuggling to each other. As they saw the ending credits rolling in.

"Best. Movie. Ever." Nick said as he finished his blueberry pie, slouching in the chair as he felt full and satisfied after the awesome night.

"Yeah, it was a good movie." Judy admitted. "I particularly liked when they made the great chase with the switching of cars in the end." She admitted, "It was great."

"Totally!" Nick agreed, "And when they dropped with their cars from the airplane? Wow!" He said, sounding really excited for that. "I wonder if we could pull something like that in real life."

"Nick, why would we need to jump with cars out of a plane?" Judy asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe some special mission?" Nick offered, smiling at her, and Judy could only chuckle at this.

"Hey, can you two tune down your talking?" A voice said from the other side of the wall. "We are kind of trying to watch our tv in here!"

"You two still up?" Judy asked, "It is… a quarter to midnight." Judy said, and the answer came again.

"Yeah, Pronk wanted to stay up to see the Pred-Pride Show! Even though he just complained today that he woke up late and was late for work!"

"Oh, come on! Hyena Gomez and Catty Perry both are going to perform! You know I am a huge fan of them!"

"How late is it going to end, anyway?" Bucky asked, and the two friends shared a look.

"Oh, yeah." Nick said, "It is this week, right?"

The Pred-Pride Show was an event that was made a part of the National Predator Pride Week of this year. It was a great show that was going to happen with many artists, taking place on the city of Fangtropolis, a coastal city around 100 miles from Zootopia, nearly as big as it, but not as famous, and with a ratio of a predator-prey population of 8 to 4. Quite appropriate that it was chosen to the Pred-Pride Show.

"I heard it is going to be quite special this year." Nick said, looking thoughtful. He then said to the wall. "Hey, think that they will have Lady Baa Baa performing?"

"Maybe! I'm not sure! I heard that Gazelle is also going to perform!" one of the neighbors said, and Nick looked at the bunny.

"You want to watch it?" Judy asked him. "I mean, it is quite late."

"Well, it is already near midnight, right?" Nick said, "And, you said yourself that this is a special night, right? We don't have work tomorrow, so I guess we can allow ourselves to have a little late night music appreciation, can't we? Besides, it is a good opportunity to give our own support to the National Predator Pride, ain't I right?"

The smug look on Nick's face was enough to make Judy roll her eyes. Still, she could not help but agree with some of what he said. Judy knew that some of her favorite artists were on this show. They truly had a day off tomorrow, so there would be not really a problem if they stayed up till late seeing tv and slept until late in the morning.

Taking the remote, Judy switched the television back to the cable, and soon, they were watching a live feed from a place that was showing the preparations for a great show.

[center] ******************* [/center]

"…And this is proving to be quite a very promising show." Said a wolf reporter as he was wearing black clothing as he stood in front of the camera mammal who was recording him on his live feds. "As you can see behind me, the last preparations for the show are just being made, as the public waits anxiously for the opening of the fifth Pred-Pride Show." He gestured behind himself, where it was possible to see a great crowd of mammals reunited in front of a great stage."

"Among the artists performing in this event are Justin Beaver, Ed Sheepan, and the famous singer Gazelle. For a better view of the event, we are now passing to Henry Dogbert and the rest of our helicopter crew. Henry, do you hear me?"

[center] ******************* [/center]

Up in the air, in a helicopter of Channel 8, was a team formed by a German Shepherd reporter, an antelope camera mammal, and a puma pilot, they were getting ready to get things on air.

The antelope pointed the camera at the German Shepherd, Henry Dogbert, the reporter. As the dog started to talk.

"Yes, Frank. I can hear you clearly." Dogbert said to the camera as the antelope focused on him. "We are here in the helicopter, and from here we have a very good view of the show."

The antelope maneuvered the camera, so it was now pointed at the place where the show was going to happen. The stage was huge, enough for a group of elephants to dance in it with no problems, and the stands were already filled with a lot of mammals who were in there to see the show.

"The show will be starting within minutes, and as we can see, a great number of mammals have already arrived." Dogbert narrated as his camera mammal continued to capture the images of the crowd. "Some of the securities have accounted already over sixty thousand guests in the audience, maybe the bigger one yet compared to the previous Pred-Pride Shows."

The antelope moved the camera as to pick a better angle of the audience, allowing to see just how massive it was.

"We see a lot of mammals down there. Most of them are predators, inhabitants of the city of Fangtropolis, with around 10 million inhabitants, being around 87% of the predators of varied species. Now, how many of the members of the audience are citizens of Fangtropolis, and how many are mammals who traveled all the way here to watch the show." Dogbert continued to narrate, as he looked down at the gaggle of mammals of all kinds down there, admired at how many mammals had been in there already. "Yes, we can surely say that this edition of the Pred-Pride Show is going to be the biggest yet."

[center] ******************* [/center]

"Oww, that sounds so great!" Judy said as she looked at how many mammals were gathered in there through the television. If the number of mammals that went to watch were of any indication on how good an event was, then this was surely going to be great, as it gathered thousands of mammals to watch it.

"I bet it is great. I wish we could be in there."

"Oh, yeah." Nick said as he popped open another can of soda. "Being up in the middle of the night, among a crowd of mammals way bigger than us that would be dancing and walking around, nearly stomping on us, while they would be throwing their trash around for some of it fall on us. Sure, Carrots, it sounds great."

"Oh, come on Nick. It would be nice. It would be like the Concert on the Animalia Arena on the week that you graduated. You loved that show, didn't you?" Judy said as she remembered how cool it was being in that show, and how Nick himself seemed to really enjoy the show if the smile on his face was any indication. But again, Nick had that smile on most of the time.

"Yeah, I did like that." Nick said, "But I still don't quite like crowds, especially when they are moving too much. I remember how I had to watch my tail so no one would step on it back in that concert."

"I agree with the fox!" A voice came from the other side of the wall. "It looks that there are so many mammals in there that it must be hard to move! I would never be comfortable in there!"

"Because you are way too expansive!" the other voice said, "Seriously, we can hardly sit too close together!"

"Oh, don't be dramatic! Besides, we sleep on the same bed! I never quite heard you complain!"

Judy rolled her eyes, and Nick chuckled. That was one of the times when he wished to pull out his cellphone and put it to record what he was hearing. It was the "Bucky and Pronk's Show"! On a wall very near you!

But instead, he and Judy just continued to focus on the television, as they wanted to see the show.

[center] ******************* [/center]

[i]"So, Henry, we really are looking forward to a great show tonight, right?"[/i] The wolf reporter, Frank Howlen, said through the radio to his fellow in the sky, now that they both were off the air and just talking between each other, and the German shepherd was happy to answer.

"I would say we are, Frank." He said, and the camera mammal continued to look at the crowd below, and Henry himself looked down at the show going on bellow as he was amazed that there were so many mammals down there, and there were still others coming. "There are still some mammals coming and joining the crowd. We can see cars coming from the highways, and some mammals are coming on foot. It seems that everyone has decided to come to see what is going on."

[i]"Well, this is no surprise, considering how many celebrities are taking part on this event. I feel lucky that I am here myself, for I can see some of my own personal celebrities, I hope I can see them performing."[/i] Frank admitted in the radio, and he even added, "[i]I'm actually quite envious of you, Henry. You are u there in the high, and you can see all from an amazing angle."[/i]

"Yeah, I know." Henry said, wanting to laugh with his friend. "Well, I'll make sure to capture some amazing shots up here so I can show it to you."

Someone cleared their throat nearby, and Henry Dogbert looked to see the antelope camera mammal looking at him.

"I mean… [i]we[/i] will capture some nice images." He added, and the antelope went back to recording.

Henry looked over as something called his attention. It seemed… like some kind of light in the city, and it was rising from the ground and floating in the air. It was shining in a brilliant and otherworldly golden light.

As Henry took sight of it, his camera mammal also noticed it by looking at the dog and following his gaze.

[i]"Henry? Is it something wrong?"[/i] Frank asked through the radio, and Henry didn't answered right away, as he looked at this mysterious thing.

Whatever it was, was glowing brighter by the second. By the place it was, it was a little far from the show, closer to the center of the city. Maybe somewhere in the central part of the city, was it some kind of aircraft? Maybe another helicopter? But why was it glowing so much?

[i]"Henry?"[/i] Frank asked again, and this time the dog answered.

"Frank, I'm seeing something from here. It is around six or seven miles from here, near the center of Fangtropolis, and it is rising in the air and glowing."


  [i]"What? Some kind of craft?"[/i]


"I'm not sure…" Henry said as he squinted to try to look at it better. It was still rising in the air, and it looked as if the shine was getting more intense.

"What could it be?" The dog said to himself, and he felt the impulse to go in there. Henry Dogbert was a mammal that had grown up and studied to one day become a reporter, and he had pursued this for a while.

He got himself a job in channel 8, an important news channel, and in there, he got a job as a reporter.

He was a member of the team that was in there to cover the Pred-Pride Show. It was a big thing. Still, as a reporter, he had been taught to pursue a good story if he was ever able to sniff one. Some even said that he had some kind of nose to smell good stories, and right now, he felt like he could find an interesting story regarding the source of that shine.

[i]"Henry? You still there, buddy?"[/i] Frank called him, and Henry took a few seconds to answer to the wolf.

"Frank, do you mind covering the show from the ground for a while?"


  [i]"I guess I wouldn't… Why?"[/i]


"I want to take a look at that." Henry said, making the antelope look at him, "It could be something…"


  [i]"Something… like what?"[/i]


"I don't know… I just want to go take a look at that."


  [i]"Shouldn't we be focusing on the show? They kind of were very keen on it when they gave us the assignment."[/i]


"I'll just be out for a few minutes, I'll be back soon." Henry ensured him, and he added, "I just really want to go see what is that… If it is nothing then I'll come back right away."

There was a silence between them, and after a while, Frank said:


  [i]"The boss probably going to cut off my tail for this… Okay, you can go. I'll cover you up."[/i]


"Thanks, dude." Henry said, "I'm going to pay you a nice crocodile steak when this is over."

[i]"You already own me a lot of steaks for the things I've done for you."[/i] Frank said, [i]"Just try not to get in trouble this time."[/i]

"Okay, thanks." Henry said as he finished talking with his friend, and he turned his attention to the antelope, who was staring at him. "Oh, come on, we are reporters, aren't we?" He asked, giving the mammal a light punch in the shoulder, and the antelope still looked unsure.

"Hey, dude!" Henry said, talking to the pilot through his radio, the sound of the blades of the helicopter making it hard to talk normally. "Do you see that glowing thing over there?" He said, gesturing to the glowing thing that was still rising at a slow pace in the air. Take us there, okay?"

The pilot nodded, and soon, the helicopter was flying in direction to that.

Henry was a reporter, after all, and if there was a chance that there would be a story, he was going after it. Like any good reporter would.

Little did he knew that this would turn out to be a story that he would rather never have found…