Judy Hopps felt as though her life had come screeching to a halt.

A moment of grim clarity struck her very suddenly as the gray bunny sat there in the huge chair opposite Chief Bogo's desk. The large and imposing buffalo was looking down at her with a serious, stony face. She sensed no malice from him, but his face was resolute.

"For what it's worth," Chief Bogo let out a large sigh, "I'm sorry, Hopps."

"I can't..." the words would barely leave her small muzzle, "I can't have my position at the ZPD back?"

"I cannot restore your position to the ZPD at this time," Chief Bogo repeated gravely.

"But..." Judy looked down at her white-furred palms in disbelief. She folded her paws into fists. "But sir... with all due respect. After everything I- everything we- everything Nick and I did...!"

"There's no denying you did Zootopia a great service, Hopps," Chief Bogo folded his hands and set them atop his desk. "However, recall that you and Mr. Wilde were both acting as vigilantes there when you took down Bellwether."

"Does that matter?" Judy grit her teeth. "I... we figured it all out. We brought peace from the calamity Bellwether was trying to stir up!"

Chief Bogo held his hands up briefly in a conciliatory gesture. "I know, Hopps. I know. What you accomplished was massive, and I will not diminish it. However, with some information that has some to light, I'm afraid I have to be the bad guy here-"

"No need for that, Chief," a gruff, unfamiliar voice came from the door to Chief Bogo's office. "Not when I'm around."

Judy turned in the direction of the voice, and saw an unfriendly-looking moose. Though nowhere near as tall or wide as Chief Bogo, he somehow managed to exude a stern appearance that nearly mirrored Bogo's. The moose reached into his tan trench coat as he walked into the office.

"Randall Freemammal, City Commissioner," the moose greeted flatly. Judy almost felt like extending her paw, but Freemammal quickly withdrew a stick of gum from his coat and tossed it into his mouth. "I mandated that you not return to the force." Freemammal began to chew unpleasantly.

Judy's brow furrowed intensely. "Why not?"

Freemammal paused at her fervor, though his expression did not change. "Quite the problem with authority, hm?"

"She's very... strong-willed," Bogo said vaguely, rubbing the bridge of his muzzle.

"All right, you want your reasons?" Freemammal took out another stick of gum and waggled it at Judy before popping it into his mouth. Judy cringed as he chewed intensely before continuing. "I'll give you your reasons. I don't want your kind on the force."

A note of anger burst forth from Judy's mouth as an incredulous sound, and she held her paws out wide, glancing at Chief Bogo.

"My kind!?" Judy exploded. "What- just- just because I'm a bunny!?"

"That's not it at all," Freemammal put his hands into his coat pockets, standing up straight. "For starters, conscripting- no, blackmailing a civilian to help in an investigation is already a sketchy move."

"I just- I..." Judy was taken aback. "I was given little other choice! Chief Bogo's deal-"

"Which you agreed to," Freeemammal kept chewing, sparing the frowning buffalo a glance. "You agreed to abide by his terms. Beyond that, we see multiple infractions of endangerment of life and property. Mostly to Little Rodentia."

"I..." Judy's teeth showed.

"That was just while you were on the force," Freemammal held out a forehoof. "After you resigned and came back to Zootopia, we can trace property damage, a reckless disregard for safety-" Freemammal held up one of his hoof's digits, "oh, and let's not forget the allegations that you tortured a small-time criminal using your ties to a crime lord to get the information you wanted expediently."

A surge of horror swept through Judy. How on Earth had anyone figured that out? Had Duke Weaselton actually gone to the police? That... that weasel! Judy's shock was replaced by anger.

"But, sir!" Judy looked for help at Chief Bogo, but his face remained solid. "Sir, I did what I had to do. All of the actions I've- that it was alleged I took... look what they did? I- Nick and I... we managed to stop the largest social crisis that has faced this nation in generations!"

"The ends justify the means, hm?" Freemammal sneered, sticking yet a third piece of gum into his mouth. He chewed furiously, then spat the clot of gum into Bogo's trashcan. "That type of absolute, goal-driven thinking was the route taken by Bellwether, wasn't it?"

Judy's jaw dropped as her expression morphed from surprise to fury. "Bellwether!? If you're actually going to compare me to her, I'm gonna-...!"

"You're going to what?" Freemammal craned his head down. "Because whatever it is, it's not going to be 'serve this city as a police officer'. I can assure you that."

Judy felt as if she'd taken a blow to the gut. She deflated.

"As a courtesy to you..." Freemammal looked over the bunny critically, and stuck another stick of gum in his mouth, "and as an acknowledgement of your service to Zootopia... we won't pursue criminal charges against you. How's that?"

Judy said nothing, her eyes darting over to Bogo, a betrayed look on her face.

"Hopps..." Bogo frowned, a touch of sadness reflecting in his brow. "If it were up to me, you'd already be back in your blues."

"Wh-what do I do now, then?" Judy placed her hands on her chest. "I want to keep helping the city. I want-"

"Do whatever you like," Freemammal said curtly. "But do it elsewhere." Freemammal snorted. "If anything else, you and Bellwether have shown me that big trouble can come in tiny, unassuming packages. So thanks for that. You're dismissed."

"Sir... Comissioner, I-" Judy held her arms out plaintively.

"I said 'dismissed'," Freemammal responded. It had none of the fury that so frequently infused Bogo's voice, but all of the finality.

Judy grit her teeth, leaped out of the chair, and left the office. She barely thought she heard Bogo say: "I'm sorry, Hopps."

The bunny's frustration melted away to sadness before she left the lobby, and she winced as she heard an excitable cheetah's voice calling out after her from the reception desk.

"Hopps!" Clawhauser waved. Judy turned her head, looking at him sidelong, and Clawhauser released a terse gasp, reading the despair on her face. "Hopps, what's wrong?"

"It's..." Judy felt like her throat was pinching shut. "It's just 'Judy'."

"What?" Clawhauser blinked. "What happened!?"

Judy turned and fled from the ZPD, tears beginning to well in her eyes.

By the time Judy got back to her apartment building, she felt completely empty. Clouds choked the sky, preventing the sun from reaching her. Judy felt as though the effect would only be complete if she had her own personal rain cloud pouring on her on her way home. She entered the building, and her steps came slowly and heavily as she approached her tiny room. As she placed her hand on her door handle, she looked to her left and saw her neighbors, Bucky and Pronk. Near them was a case of soda, laying on its side on the floor. They were arguing, as usual, but it sounded somehow far-off, even though they were standing right next to her.

"How could you have dropped the whole thing?" Bucky raged, throwing his hands up. "Now all of the soda is going to be like tiny time bombs!"

"Maybe if you'd carry your own soda case to the room, this wouldn't have happened!" Pronk put his hands on his hips. "You know I don't even drink that tooth-rotting swill!"

"The soda's going to be as flat as your jokes!" Bucky pointed at Pronk. "I should force-feed you every last drop-...!"

The two abruptly noticed Judy and turned their heads to look at her. She looked either very sad or very tired, and they weren't sure which.

"Now you've gone and done it, Bucky," Pronk said, folding his arms. "The bunny cop's gonna go and arrest us both for disturbing the peace."

"You don't have to worry about that," Judy said in a hollow voice. "I'm not a police officer any more."

"What, really?" Bucky looked confused.

"So we can argue all we want now-ugh!" Pronk started, before Bucky jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow.

"Yeah," Judy opened her door, "knock yourselves out."

"Shut up, Pronk!" Bucky said, then turned a worried look to Judy. "Uh, is there anything we can do to help, bunny?"

"I don't know," Judy said, then entered her apartment, shutting the door.

Not bothering with unclothing, Judy flung herself onto her bed. She felt tears threaten her again, her face wrenching with frustration and impotence. She slammed her fists on her pillow before driving her head into it firmly. Judy realized how much truth there was to those three words.

I don't know.

She didn't know what to do, or where she was going to go from here.

This isn't how its supposed to happen, Judy thought as she rolled over in her bed. I should be back on the force. I should be partners with Nick. We should be... we should be making the world a better place together, side by side.

The bunny's mind swirled with despondent thoughts. Judy's neighbors were quiet, but she almost wished they weren't. She wished there was some sort of distraction from her racing mind.

Judy stared up at the ceiling with unblinking eyes. After everything that had happened, after everything she had been through, she refused to believe that this would be her fate. Used up and tossed out, like a piece of tissue paper. She'd learned so much; she'd learned to trust, she'd learned humility, she'd learned the importance of not giving in, despite overwhelming odds.

Judy's teeth felt dangerously tight in her mouth as she clenched them.

She wasn't going to go home. Not again.

Judy was going to keep fighting to make Zootopia a better place, no matter what.

She made this resolution as she angrily curled into a ball to fall to rest.

Zootopia... you better be ready for me, because I'm not going anywhere.