On the Wilde Side

A/N: Thank you to everyone that reviewed, followed or left a favorite on this story. I was overwhelmed by the response and it really motivated me to get the following up chapter out quicker despite having a heap of homework to complete.

Quick clarification on a review by the user "Sturdivant". At my school, and I believe in Australia in general, it is preferred to use single quotations for speech and double quotations for internal monologues/thought processes. While I personally don't really care what I use, my exams for this year in the subjects of English and Literature have teachers asking me specifically to use single quotations for speech/quotes and I'm sad to say I've lost marks for not doing so before. As a result I'll still be using single quotations for additional practice: I'm sorry if this affects your enjoyment of the story.

The silence after his exclamation was deafening. Chief Bogo looked incredulous, for once staring at Nick in disbelief rather than anger. The bunny looked equal parts surprised and grateful, although there was no mistaking the apprehension in her eyes. Perhaps she thought that he wanted her for dinner?

'Is this another one of your unfunny jokes, Wilde?' Chief Bogo finally asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over them.

Nick was silently cursing himself. Why did he have to suddenly open his big mouth and ask for a bunny, of all animals, for a partner? He had always enjoyed working solo for numerous reasons: having to worry about another animal when you were working on a case was one. The fact that most officers would leave Nick stranded in a dangerous situation was another.

Just because the rabbit had gotten the short end of the stick for probably the first time in her entitled life, it didn't make her anything like him. Rabbits were seen as cute and cuddly creatures. Foxes were seen as dangerous criminals. A rabbit officer on the ZPD was apparently the greatest thing that had ever happened to Zootopia. A fox officer was hidden from the general public.

He still had the chance to play it off as a joke. It would teach the rabbit that life wasn't fair for everyone, and that the saying 'anyone can be anything' was just a way for the Mayor to attract tourists and take their money. Sure, she would probably be upset for a little while, but then she'd most likely return to her three hundred brothers and sisters and resume her apple pie life on the farm. At least she had that option to fall back on.

But he couldn't do that. The image of her being muzzled had been so vivid that it had practically burned itself into his skull.

'No Sir,' Nick replied, offering a forced smile. 'I've never been one to joke around.'

'And what makes you think I'll allow this?'

The no-nonsense question from Chief Bogo was addressed to the bunny, who was practically skipping on the spot with excitement. Apparently having forgotten the fact that only a few moments ago she was about to become a meter maid, the apprehension in her eyes made way to a sparkle of pure joy.

'I'm sure I'm up to the task, Chief Bogo. I've been training for this ever since I was a kid. I won't let you down, Sir, I'll promise!'

Nick pointed his claw at her. 'What she said.'

Chief Bogo looked down at his clipboard in quiet contemplation. Another uncomfortable silence descended over the three of them, with the only audible sound the soft 'thump' of the bunny switching nervously between her two feet.

'Officer Hopps,' Bogo addressed the rabbit, having finally made his decision. 'After very little deliberation I have decided not to make you a parking officer. Since you appear to be unnaturally eager to prove yourself, you will be partnered with Officer Wilde and tasked with patrolling the slums. Perhaps some of your enthusiasm will rub off on him.'

'However,' he continued, lowering himself until his face was only a few inches away from Nick's, 'If you or your new partner so much as breathe in a way that inconveniences me, I'm going to make sure that you wish you had never been born. Do I make myself clear, Wilde?'

'Crystal.'

Without so much as a goodbye, Chief Bogo abruptly exited the room, leaving a pensive fox and a grateful bunny to come face to face with each other for the first time. Big, purple eyes stared into calculating, green orbs.

'Thanks for helping me out,' the bunny began, offering her hand to him. 'The name's Hopps. Judy Hopps.'

Nick shook her hand casually. 'Nice to meet you Carrots.'

Nick went to exit through the door, motioning for Judy to follow, but quickly found his pathway blocked by a very annoyed rabbit. Her nose was twitching furiously, hands on hips, looking extremely unimpressed. Nick had to stifle a laugh. Now would be a perfect opportunity to rile up the bunny.

'Don't call me Carrots. My name is Judy.'

'Carrots suits you better. Judy is a stupid name.'

The tone of her voice was laced with frustration. 'Give me one good reason why you would say that.'

'Alright then,' Nick began mischievously, leaning casually against one of the desks. 'What job do your parents have?'

'My parents are carrot farmers, but…'

'Okay,' Nick interrupted. 'What job would you have right now if you weren't a police officer?'

'…Probably a carrot farmer, but…'

'What's your favorite food?'

'…Roasted carrots.'

'I have every right to call you Carrots. You were probably a carrot in a past life.'

With that, he pushed past her and back into the main entrance of the station. The entrance of the ZPD was always a sprawling hub of activity. Whining and complaining criminals in handcuffs were brought in by officers and escorted to the cells. Citizens sat on steel benches to the sides; waiting for their turn to make a complaint or to speak to an imprisoned loved one. Animal lawyers ran around aimlessly, trying to converse with clients or officers. The occasional representatives of the press were there, trying to disguise themselves as the general public and fooling absolutely nobody.

Clawhauser sat in the middle of it all, acting as the receptionist and the main source of communication between all the operating officers. If you had a complaint or needed backup on a case, you would have to go through Clawhauser. The friendly big cat rarely ever did his job properly though, preferring to chat to random animals about a new Gazelle song or a new application he had recently downloaded on his phone. Sometimes he got so absorbed in his conversations that he completely missed or ignored distress calls, which seriously made Nick question why he hadn't been fired already.

Judy finally managed to catch up to him, having to frantically dodge and weave her way through all the activity. Nick wagered that she was unused to having to deal with so many big animals in such a big space. Country life never truly prepared you for life in the city.

They both exited the building together, finding themselves in the bustling streets of Upper Zootopia. Nick glanced over at Judy, watching her reaction as she drank in the sights.

There was no doubting that Zootopia was a beautiful place. It had to be if it was to truly be considered the land where anyone could be anything. Practically every species of animal walked on the bustling streets at any one time. Large buildings as high as the eye could see sparkled with elegant and colorful designs. Smaller, more humble shops catered to any vague need or whim an animal could have. Framed by a shining sun and a vast canvas of seemingly endless blue sky, Zootopia was truly a place to behold.

But there were places that the sun wouldn't reach, where there wasn't endless opportunity, and that was what Nick saw everyday. It made the beautiful sights where the rich lived seem trivial in comparison.

'It's beautiful.' Judy exclaimed, completely enraptured by the sights that lay before her. Nick gave the slightest nod of his head as affirmation, and then motioned towards the direction that they would be walking to reach the slums.

'Take it in while you can. Where we're stationed the sights are a little more…unpleasant.'

She turned to him; awe giving away to determination as she puffed out her chest. Nick wondered if he had acted like that when he had first joined the ZPD: eager to become an officer without any idea of what it truly entailed. A basic patrol was something that an established officer would take little pride in, and after a year of being saddled with the same patrol every day the pride quickly turned into contempt.

The dull gleam of her badge caught his eye, pinned directly over her heart. It had been polished recently, as he could make out his own reflection in the bronze metal. She wore it proudly in such a way that it reminded him of his first days as an officer; not that he would admit that to anyone.

'Oh yeah,' Judy said, breaking Nick out of his thoughts. 'You never told me your name.'

'Nick,' Nick replied, taking the sunglasses located inside his pocket and putting them on. 'Nick Wilde.'

'That's a stupid name too.'

'When you look this good, sweetheart, it doesn't really matter.'

Well, one thing was for sure: the slums certainly weren't as glamorous as Upper Zootopia. They had originally been built for the disadvantaged animals in Zootopia who were struggling with the rapidly growing prices as the city expanded. It had been a way for those animals to become a part of Zootopia's diverse culture without being filthy rich.

That ideal hadn't lasted long. As soon as Mayor Lionheart took over, he diverted the money from the slums and pumped the additional funds into the rich areas. As a result, the areas of Zootopia that were exposed to the public and had accommodation to purchase were beautiful and prosperous. To be fair, most of Zootopia had become beautiful and prosperous. Unfortunately the slums had been mostly ignored.

Nick had grown up on the outskirts of the slums, surrounded by the dirty and rundown buildings. His father had left at a young age, leaving just his mother and himself. His mother had tried diligently to support them both but it hadn't been an easy task. When he had wanted a junior scout uniform, she had only barely been able to scrape together the money to buy it for him. They barely had enough money for food afterwards, and Nick never really forgave himself for being that selfish.

Most species of animals that lived in the slums were generally not well liked by society. Foxes; weasels; rats: there were a lot of stereotypes surrounding these animals and they were considered to be amongst the most untrustworthy and vile species of mammals in Zootopia.

The saddening thing was that the animals that lived in the slums usually conformed to society's expectations. So many bright foxes living in the slums had been arrested or gone on to live shady lives because that was what was expected of them. The possibility that they would be accepted by society was just a childish ideal that vanished as soon as they got older.

Nick hadn't been able to get away quick enough. Becoming an officer was his way of showing everyone that he was above all this; that foxes could amount to more than just common thieves and criminals. To shake the way he had been treated all his life. To change the way people viewed foxes, and other "shady" species, so that the people in the slums could be liberated and freed from the binds of society.

And then he had been sent right back to the slums as an Officer: to the place where he could make no difference and where nobody would listen to him. Another muzzle.

'So what're we going to do?' Judy asked, the excitement she had from earlier persisting despite the drastic change in scenery. 'Save the day? Arrest some criminals? Punch some bad guys in the name of the Law?'

'Nope. We're going to walk around aimlessly until someone needs us.'

Studying the expressions of the rabbit was interesting for Nick. After his statement, her expression had gone from excited to extremely confused in the blink of an eye. He found it amazing how quickly she could go from annoyed, to excited, to angry and to eager all over again.

He had met other officers who had been extremely emotional on the field before, but so far the rabbit took the carrot cake. It was a stark contrast to Nick's preferred smooth and self-assured approach.

'Huh?' Judy questioned, seeking clarification. 'But I thought the Chief assigned us to this area.'

'Immediate action is for missions, Carrots. We're on a patrol, which means people come to us when they need help, not vice versa. Even then, from experience most people wanting help in this area are just crying wolf. Today's going to more be about you getting a feel for the slums so you don't get overwhelmed and go crying to momma rabbit.'

Judy looked extremely irritated at his comment, but rather than response chose to observe the rundown buildings. There was graffiti all over the walls of the houses, all of which had lost their once vibrant color and faded into a dull, industrial grey that hurt the eyes.

'It's so…bleak.' Judy commented as they kept walking, her ears twitching whenever she heard even the most vague of noises in the distance.

Nick nodded. 'This is the place that Zootopia forgot about. It's a pretty tough place to live, I'll tell you that much. A lot of shady stuff goes on around here and we're the ones responsible for stopping it.'

'Awesome,' Judy said with a grin. 'That means I can make a difference here.'

'I thought I could too,' Nick replied, suddenly feeling tired. 'But the world doesn't always work the way you want it to.'

"Help, Police, Help!'

The sound had come from the corner of the street. Both Nick and Judy ran towards the voice as fast as they could, forgetting their conversation with each other.

The voice belonged to an ageing female tiger that appeared to be very distressed. She wore an expensive black outfit that was extremely out of place in the dirty streets. The colorful, smudged makeup adorning her face appeared to be of reasonably high quality that definitely would not have been obtainable in any shop located at the slums.

The beginnings of ugly, purple bruises could be seen through her black fur and indicated a brief struggle. The lack of any accessories on her figure, despite her dressed up appearance, indicated a mugging to Nick.

It was a fairly common occurrence. Animals from the richer areas usually had no genuine experience in dealing with the slums, and found themselves easy targets for the more ambitious and conniving of the criminals. The money of a rich animal wandering the streets was usually enough to buy a considerable meal or two.

''Officer Nick from the ZPD, at your service ma'am,' Nick introduced, and then pointed at Judy. 'This is my partner, Officer Hopps. What seems to be the problem?'

'We'd be happy to help.' Judy added, opening a notepad that had been located in her breast pocket and pulling out an unbelievably large pen that was shaped like a large carrot.

'Is this some kind of joke?' The woman spat, looking at both Nick and Judy as though they were the most disgusting things she had ever seen. 'Since when did the ZPD let rabbits and foxes into their ranks? The whole department is going to the dogs, I tell you.'

The anger that formed on Judy's face earned her a few points in Nick's book. Dealing with prejudiced people was something that Nick genuinely hated doing.

Unfortunately, as he was well aware, being prejudiced towards foxes had become commonplace and was present in almost all aspects of society. He could walk into a shop in Upper Zootopia without his uniform and be refused service simply because of his species. Even though he didn't show it on his face, the dismissive comment had also made him angry.

He guessed that Judy must have been hassled a lot due to her size as well. While rabbits were seen in a positive light by society, there was also the ever-present idea that all they were good for was growing carrots and looking cute; nothing more than toys to be put back on the toy shelf. The fact that no other rabbit had ever tried to become an officer further added to the disbelief that a rabbit would make a competent member of the ZPD, and no amount of good publicity could fix the doubts that a lot of the animals may have had regarding her capabilities. The ZPD was traditionally a place for the larger animals like elephants and rhinos: it was no place for a small and cuddly rabbit, or a fox that would most assuredly be a criminal in disguise.

He may have disliked rabbits in general, but if there was one thing Nick hated it was judging an animal off the basis of prejudice. Admittedly he may have been guilty of doing so at times, but only when he was feeling angry or bitter. Judy should not have been spoken down to by a random animal and treated as though her performances in the field would be inferior simply because of her species.

'They started letting foxes and rabbits into the ZPD ever since we evolved from savages,' Nick finally replied, placing his paw reassuringly on Judy's shoulder. 'You must have skipped that stage.'

The tiger's face contorted in anger, as she lifted her chin up haughtily at them. 'Do you know who I am? If you weren't an officer of the Law I'd make sure you were arrested for that insult.'

'Well if I was an officer I would arrest people that insult my partner or me,' Nick said smugly, pulling his badge out of his pocket. 'Oh wait, I am. So please, get to the point.'

The tiger grumbled incoherently as Nick pocketed his badge. He took a quick glance at Judy to make sure that she had calmed down, and was surprised to see that she also had a grin on her face. The rabbit may have been small, but Nick was starting to get the sense that she could have one hell of a temper.

'I was robbed a moment ago by my ex-boyfriend, Daniel Murdoch,' the tiger recalled quietly, not bothering to mask the disdain in her voice. 'He lives at 23 Vulpes street. He took my purse and all the money I had inside it, and I need it back.'

'What's your name, Ms.?' Judy asked.

'That's none of your business,' the tiger growled back. 'Just do the job the council pays you to do and get me my stuff back.'

Nick simply ignored her last insult, instead choosing to walk in the direction of the street she had given them. It wasn't too far away and was in all probability a five-minute walk even at a slow pace.

He may have hated being confined to the slums, hated doing the same thing day in day out with no change, but Nick always did his job properly. Memorizing every street name had been the first thing he had done when he had been assigned the slums and to this day it was still an invaluable asset.

Once they were no longer within earshot of the tiger, Judy spoke. 'Gee, who shoved a carrot up her butt?'

'Everyone in the slums has some sort of problem,' Nick replied, his concentrated gaze flickering away from the streets signs to the obnoxiously large carrot abomination that Judy held in her hand. 'They're usually a lot more subtle than that lady though. What's up with the giant carrot?'

'I grew up on a carrot farm,' Judy answered, pocketing the pen. 'You have to learn how to love them or there's no way you can get up in the morning.'

'Did your three hundred brothers and sisters get the same treatment?'

'Two hundred and seventy five brothers and sisters, actually.'

Nick stopped walking and turned to face Judy. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she had been insulted until she turned and found Nick with a smug smirk on his face and raised eyebrows.

She crossed her arms and huffed. 'Shut up.'

They walked through the streets in silence. Nick had no problem at navigating his way through the mostly empty streets. Animals tended to avoid walking openly in the slums. The few animals they did encounter usually gave them an unpleasant and condescending stare before continuing on their way. Everyone seemed to have a problem with him or her.

His thoughts turned to Judy. The rabbit seemed to have some personal problems as well, and with these problems came a point to prove. Animals rarely exited their sphere of comfort unless someone showed them the way, and unfortunately that had led to stereotypes dictating the thoughts and feelings of society as a whole.

She'd quickly learn that, in many ways, it would be a hopeless endeavor. Right now she was filled with an infectious optimism and saw the world through her big, starry eyes. She thought that she could change the way animals thought about her and her species. Nick had thought the same, but a year of being unable to change anything, or rather not being given the chance to change anything, had made him see the world through cynical green eyes.

Nick finally stopped outside the given address: a small, single story house that looked about as close to the definition of safety hazard as possible. The grass on the lawn had long since shriveled and died, while all the windows on the house had been boarded haphazardly with rotting wooden planks. It probably had room for a small back yard, judging by the size of the house compared to the land it was built on.

'This is the address that the woman gave us,' Nick spoke up, attempting to look through the cracks in the boarded windows. 'It looks like it's seen better days.'

Judy watched Nick as he craned his neck to try and look inside, and tapped her foot impatiently. After waiting for only the briefest of moments she tapped her foot again and let out a frustrated sigh.

'What are we waiting for? Let's get him to open up so we can search the premises.'

'Dumb bunny,' Nick scolded, gently hitting her on the head. 'What's the first thing you'd try to do if you were guilty of a crime?'

'…Run away?' Judy replied, staring at him with an unimpressed look on her face while gently rubbing the top of her head.

'Bingo. Try and use that small brain once in a while. Climb over the fence and wait in his backyard. If he's actually guilty he'll try to escape out the back and run straight into you. Make sure you have your handcuffs ready.'

It was a typical procedure. If the animal inside the house was guilty of taking the purse, he would have to look for an outlet to escape. Considering that all the windows were barred so tightly that Nick could barely see anything through them meant that the animal could only try to escape through the backyard. Right where Judy would be.

The other option was that the animal wasn't guilty and the tiger was just using the purse robbing as a smokescreen for something else. Unfortunately for Nick, it had happened before and Chief Bogo had been very close to firing him in a fit of rage.

Judy jumped the fence cleanly and ran frantically to man the backdoor. Nick shook his an amused snort, before putting on his signature smug grin and knocking on the grimy door of the house.

The animal that answered was a very disheveled looking tiger with dirty brown fur, wearing a stained singlet and brown shorts. He appeared to be slightly tipsy, swaying on the spot and struggling to focus his attention on Nick. His eyes furrowed in confusion as he took in Nick's figure, but there was no drunken hesitation when Nick flashed his badge. The panic in the tiger's eyes spoke volumes.

'Good afternoon Sir,' Nick began casually with hands in pockets. 'Are you the owner of this premises?'

'I am.'

The tiger sounded drunk. A slight slur as he spoke indicated that the words out of his mouth were instinctive and lacking in higher levels of thought. The tiger's breath also smelt of rusty cheap liquor that made Nick cringe internally, although he maintained his outward appearance of nonchalance.

'I believe this house belongs to a Mr. Daniel Murdoch. Are you him?'

'Who's asking?'

Nick flashed his teeth. 'My name is Nick Wilde: an officer of the ZPD. Recently, there's been a complaint made about a missing purse in this area. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this purse, would you Mr. Murdoch?'

Yet again the panic in his eyes and mannerisms was visible to Nick, who at this stage was convinced that the tiger was guilty. Murdoch took a moment to compose himself in a valiant effort to sound sober and professional. He failed miserably.

'I ain't never heard nothing about no missing purse. I'm an honest man officer. Just ask anyone.'

Nick had to hold back a snort. 'Then it wouldn't be too much of a hassle if I explored your house then, would it Mr. Murdoch?'

'I 'spose not. Just gimme a minute to tidy up. It's a mess in here.'

Murdoch shut the door in Nick's face. Nick counted to five.

'Got him!'

Judy's statement was unnecessarily loud, as was the drunken complaints of Murdoch. Nick jumped over the fence that Judy had jumped over a moment ago, frowning as he did so with a lot more difficulty than her, and found himself face to face with a grinning Judy and a tiger in handcuffs swearing drunkenly as he leaned against the walls of his house to stay upright.

'Mr. Murdoch,' Nick questioned. 'Did you or did you not take steal your ex-girlfriends purse?'

Yet again, in Nick's experiences there were usually two main options that a handcuffed animal could take when placed in Murdoch's position. The first was the smart thing to do: admit to their guilt and try to do everything in their power to reduce the amount of time they spent in the cells. The second was try and deny anything ever happened and stubbornly plead innocent until the evidence was practically shoved into their face.

Murdoch seemed to be an advocator of the second option. 'I didn't nothing I swear! That bitchy tiger Valkyrie is just tryna get me in trouble with you lot.'

'Then how'd you know she complained?' Judy asked, narrowing her eyes. 'It could have been anyone else that made the complaint.'

'She has it in for me,' Murdoch countered. 'She just wants to get revenge on me cause I was sleeping 'round with some young tigress down the block.'

Judy had a disgusted look on her face. 'Then why'd you try to run?'

'…I forgot I had something on now. I'm gonna be late for my daughter's birthday if you two don't let me go free.'

'So you were inside your house in a singlet, drunk as a skunk, on the day of your daughter's birthday?' Nick commented, cutting through all the bullshit and getting straight to the point. 'Mr. Murdoch, lying to the police isn't an offense that my partner or I take lightly. If we search your house and find out you do have the missing purse, I promise you you're going to be looking at extra charges and a much longer time in the cells then if you simply tell us the truth.'

Murdoch considered his choices, and Nick hoped that he would take the rational option. Having someone constantly deny that they were guilty, even when it was obvious, let do a longer a longer much more strenuous process of arrest that put Nick directly in the firing line of Bogo. A quick glance at Judy also told him that the rabbit was getting frustrated, which wouldn't have been good for the handcuffed tiger.

'In my bedroom,' Murdoch replied in a defeated manner, head hanging low as the rational option finally won out. 'First drawer on the table to the left. I swear I was gonna give it back officers! I only wanted to make the slut think twice about dumping me.'

Nick motioned to Judy to follow him over the fence then flashed another grin at Murdoch. 'Don't go anywhere. We'll only be a second.'

They both jumped back over the fence and onto the dead grass. Nick took a moment to straighten up and stretch out his arms. He then turned to face Judy, who was waiting patiently for him to speak. The excitement in her eyes hadn't faded in the slightest over the course of the day. If anything, it had become more pronounced.

'So how does your first arrest feel, Officer Hopps?'

She seemed surprised at the question: probably expecting another dry remark or an order of some sort. However, her surprised expression quickly shifted into one of pride as she yet again puffed out her chest.

'You want the professional answer or the real answer?'

'You have all the time in the world to be an unemotional stick in front of Chief Bogo. Give it to me straight, Carrots.'

'It feels great! I'm out in the big world, chasing and taking down big criminals. It's like a dream come true.'

She spun around on the spot, giggling excitedly as she drunk in the atmosphere of her first real achievement at the ZPD. It was almost as if she was pretending to be a Princess in a fairy tale. Nick looked around, observing the rundown neighboring houses and various bits of rubbish littering the street. At least he couldn't fault her enthusiasm, but if this location was where she wanted her fairy tale to come true the bunny was seriously messed up.

Nick's ears picked up the drunken curses of Murdoch along with the metallic "clink" that handcuffs made when being dragged. He guessed that Judy would have heard the noise too if she hadn't been so absorbed in the moment. Murdoch was probably trying to climb his way over the fence to freedom, but judging from the sound of his labored breathing he was having little to no success achieving that feat.

Nick pointed in the direction of the noise. 'I wouldn't exactly call this guy a big criminal.'

Judy looked unimpressed. 'Don't ruin my moment please.'

'Take him back to the station then call it an early day. I'll search the house and get the purse back to the lady tiger. You did better then I expected today Carrots. Maybe you'll make it in the big city after all. And make sure you ditch the fox repellent tomorrow. '

He didn't wait to see her face blossom into yet another grin, choosing instead to enter the house and search for the missing purse. There was still the matter of returning it to its rightful owner. He'd made it to the doorstep before he heard Judy's voice call out from a distance.

'You know, Mr. Wilde, after everything I've heard you don't seem like a bad fox.'

And though he wouldn't admit it to anybody, for the first time in close to a year, Nick had a genuine smile on his face. Not a forced smile; not an amused smirk; not a signature grin; but a genuine smile.