It started with the protest outside Animalia, with Gazelle backing up everyone with her speeches and her fame. Everyone believed a pop star, and she dragged the crowds right along into her beliefs. Even her tiger dancers were back to normal, assisting her in the events. All of the predators that had been effected had been returned to normal and released from confinement. Soon, signs and such began appearing around the city, with "Stop the collars" written in red across them. "The shock needs to stop" written on others. Predators in the city used Nick's speech and act as a way to explain their beliefs on why predators should not be forced to wear tame collars.
And one of the greatest things to surprise Nick was that it wasn't just predators that fought for their freedom from the collars. He saw prey animals along with them, ranging from kangaroos to zebras, bats, horses, antelopes, rabbits, including some of Judy's family, and more. After the events at the theater, thousands of animals witnessed Nick protect Judy from the savage tigers. They realized that the mayor had been targeting predators, and that Nick could control himself without his collar if he hadn't been shot with the night howler serum.
Judy's family saw how Nick was, and they actually liked him. Even the little one that hugged him was rooting for the freedom from the collars. And he couldn't be happier. Judy and Nick participated in every protest they could,along with Honey, Clawhauser, and Finnick. And they gained more popularity. This entire revolution was started by these two, a fox and a rabbit.
Weeks had gone by, and soon Nick was realizing that "No chompers allowed" and "Prey only" and "Predator only" signs had been taken down in most parts of the city. All animals were welcome almost anywhere now. And even though some prey still had their hate for predators and some predators still had their hate for prey, the vast majority of animals began working together. Prey and Predator. Predator and Prey.
News articles of the protests, of certain animals, including prey, taking off the collars of predators with the special devices only owned by hospitals and the police, were shown on the televisions daily.
And none of it was violent either. They screamed, shouted, made signs, fought back, but didn't hurt anyone in the process. This helped gain more popularity for the protests as well. A month went by, and many citizens of the city signed a petition that had been set forth by a snow leopard named Irene living in Tundra Town.
Usually, this would not have gone anywhere. But with the signatures of hundreds of predators and many prey animals added in, it actually got some consideration from the higher ups. The protests were popular, and many joined in everyday. It became the biggest news in town. And finally, after the new Mayor Dawn Bellwether took her place, she went over the petitions and requests from the city. Not many knew much of the new sheep mayor, but it was definitely a great change from Swinton, who was now rotting in jail.
Dawn did her job well, and thankfully, to many animal's surprise, showed care for both prey and predators. She even told in her speech how happy she was to make change, and that she had a predator friend growing up in the suburbs. Therefore, she knew how the collars worked, and promised to change the way animals lived in this town.
Another two weeks went by, and finally, on most likely the greatest day of Nick's life, a law was passed. A law that stated that "Tame collars" were a health risk, and shocked animals that were experiencing even mild emotions. Several other reasons of why the collars were wrong were listed. But Nick didn't care about those reasons. His most favorite part was the end, where it stated that "This requires that all tame collars are to be removed from each and every predator in the city."
One week later...
Nick and Judy walked towards the misty river that ran underneath the large green bridge. It was nearing evening, and the city lights on the other side of the river were starting to cast an orange light over the water. Judy, wearing her dark blue police uniform, and Nick, wearing a black suit with a red tie, traveled near an old abandoned warehouse. His itched his neck, where the fur was still a bit shorter, but free. His collar had come off only a minute after he and Judy had heard the news about the new law. But to the rabbit's surprise, he didn't toss it away or set it on fire or throw it into the river like many other predators in the city did.
He tucked it away inside a small drawer inside his tiny apartment. She had asked him why, and he had told her that though it held terrible memories, he found it harder to part with than he would have thought. He wore it when he still had his father and mother, and he remembered his fifth birthday when his father leaned down and snapped it around his neck. His father had been upset, and Nick didn't understand why then. But he did now. And even though he disliked the collar, and wanted to keep it hidden from sight, he kept it because it was the last thing he had that reminded him of his father. He even denied going with Honey, Finnick, and Clawhauser to a giant event in the predator side of town where everyone threw theirs collars into a giant pile, and lit it on fire. Nick did want to go, but everyone would be suspicious of him for not ditching his collar. He also could imagine how many animals would be talking and mentioning his park, which would of made him uncomfortable, even though he wouldn't have shown it. No, he decided to go have dinner with Judy and her family that night, which he enjoyed a lot. They were getting to know him better, and so far many of them liked him.
There was one member of her family that muttered to himself, saying that "Predators are inherently evil and can't control themselves.", or "Removing the collars was the worst idea ever". But Nick and the rest of them ignored him. For the most part, Nick's new life hanging out with Judy and being free was amazing. There was one issue though, and that was money. Nick didn't have a job. And once Judy found out about how he and the other used to hustle money out of animals, they had to stop. She promised that they could all stay with her until they found a place for work. Luckily, with the gigantic change sweeping the city, it made it easier for predators to find work.
But for some reason, Nick found it hard to find a place to earn money. And even though he had a rabbit best friend, his collar off, and a new representation of being the "hero predator", he was still a fox. The most untrustworthy animal of them all. Judy told him not to dwell on it, but he couldn't help it. And after awhile, he started thinking.
"I wanted to take you out here tonight to show you something," he said to Judy, breaking the silence between them.
"I figured." she said, casting a small smile.
"Well, heh, I just wanted to talk to you about something that I came up with. It's about what you asked me a few weeks ago, that early morning after Animalia. You asked me if I wanted to open up the park again."
Judy's ears perked up.
"Yes?" she asked.
"And, well, I just wanted to take you out here, to show you the place that was once Wilde Times. I haven't been by here since, that night. And, I wanted to show you the place, you know. Let you see what old Wilde here built with the help of his friends."
He smiled, and was about to turn the corner of the fence, where the entrance would be into the parking lot for the small clinic, and the giant warehouse.
He tried to keep in the gasp.
The place was a wreck. And not just classic Nick Wilde wreck, but a wreck. The windows were broken, the yard and parking lot out front were covered in trash, and toilet paper and other items were sprung everywhere.
Nick could read spray paint on the side of the building that read "F predators." and "How the tables have turned, chompers"
The large blue banner that hung across the building that read "chompers only" was covered in mud, ripped to shreds, covering the ground in front of the warehouse doors.
Judy stopped at the entrance to the parking lot as Nick walked in, towards the clinic.
He looked down, picking up a small orange piece of paper off of the ground. It was covered in mud and who knows what else, but the fox could make out the picture. It was him, giving a thumbs up, smiling. He wore it collar, all the collars flashing on the side of it. Green, yellow, red. It said "Wilde Times" and on the bottom, said "I'm not just the president, I'm also the.." but broke off right there, the paper being ripped. Nick could remember almost every slogan. They had this place going for a few months. It was amazing. And now, the place had been vandalized.
He sighed, dropping the piece of paper on the ground. He felt a paw touch his shoulder, and turned to see Judy standing there beside him, her ears hanging down.
"I..I remember there being a story about a bunch of animals coming here and tearing up the outside of the place. I think it was when you were still in jail.." she sighed. "Nick, I'm sorry."
A moment passed, then took in a deep breath.
"Why? You didn't do this." he said angrily.
"No..But, the police didn't do anything to stop it, either.." she looked at the ground. Nick turned to her, but smiled slowly.
"Aw carrots, we got to learn not to hold things against each other that happened before our giant mission, right? I mean, if you heard all the things I've said about bunnies before I met you, you'd leave right now." he laughed. She raised her eyebrow, smiling.
"Well, sadly, most of it's probably true." she giggled.
"Well, you've proven that not all rabbits are that way." said Nick. She nodded.
"And you've proven that all foxes aren't bad either." she said. Nick nodded, closing his eyes, before turning back and looking at the building.
"Wonder what it looks like inside." he said. He took steps forward. he pulled open the clinic door, which was unlocked, and went inside. The floors were dusty, but other than that, nothing had really been moved or touched. But the secret door to the park was wide open.
Nick peered through the door, then jumped in. Judy walked towards it, following him.
Nick cheered, enjoying the feeling of happiness as he slid down the slide, without fear of a shock. Jud slid closely behind, and jumped over Nick as he slid to a stop at the end of the smooth metal slide.
She landed on her feet, and stood up, looking around. There was a desk, with a bunch of hooks on the wall behind it. The sign above read "Collar Check".
Nick stood up, dusting off his suit. "This is where the collars would be put when predators came in here to play at the park." he finished.
Judy turned. Her ears perking up, she looked at the sight in front of her. A giant roller coaster, going outside of the building and back in. A gift shop, which still had stuffed animals inside of it. A water place, with a plastic log inside, for running. Everything was amazing.
"Nick..I can't believe you built this entire place by yourself." she said. Nick strolled over to her, smiling.
"Well, I had help from my friends, but yeah." he laughed. "Also some help from a loan shark, but I think you remember him well enough, don't really have to explain who he is."
"The polar bear who stuck us in the freezer?" she asked.
"Yeah." he nodded.
"Nick, the inside isn't in that bad of shape. And, well, with help, the outside can be fixed. Nick, you loved owning the park. Being a host for all those guests."
"Yeah but, well without collars, it doesn't serve its purpose much anymore." he said.
She laughed. "Nick, you can have a park without any of that. Just have a park. Let animals come here for fun, even if they don't have a collar."
"So.. open the place up for..everyone?" he asked. She nodded.
"Everyone" she said.
"Even..."
"Yes, Nick. Everyone."
The fox stood there, thinking, then smiled. He put his paws on his sides, and moved his tail across the floor.
"Judy..You're right. This place could be filled with animals. Animals of all sorts. I'll get Honey, and Finnick, and Clawhauser, and you and I can rebuild this place."
"My family could help too, Nick." she said.
"Yeah! You're family..And maybe even... Maybe even some animals from the protests would help."
"I'm sure they'd be happy to. You helped them." she said.
"You helped them too." he said back, pointing at her.
"Well, I guess. But I was just there for back up."
he laughed.
"That's it Judy.." he said, putting his arm around her. He moved his paw into the air, gesturing towards the rides and the rest of the building.
"Wilder Times,a place built by mammals, for all mammals."
"A place for preds and prey to enjoy themselves." Smiled Judy. Nick nodded, then realized something. He reached into his pocket in his pants, pulling out something round. He held open his paw to Judy, revealing her carrot pen.
"Thought you might like to have this back" he said, handing it to her. She took it, tucking it into her belt. Turning back to him, she sighed.
"You kept it for awhile."
"Yeah..." Nick began, "Well you know, forgot about it and everything."
"You sure that's the reason you kept it?" She asked, eyebrow raised.
"Um....well... Mostly..I mean, maybe...maybe I did keep it around."
"Why?"
"Well, because when they took you away to the hospital, I didn't know if I would see you again. And I didn't know if you would come back to me or not, if you did live. So I kept ahold of the pen." He finished, looking at the floor.
"Aw Nick, you know I wouldn't just abandon you. I'd come back to tell you how silly you were to fight three tigers. But also how brave you were too." She said.
He laughed. "Yep, that's me, always getting into those situations."
Silence passed in between them, before Nick spoke,
"Judy...thank you." He said, looking back at her.
She held his paw.
"No. Thank YOU, Nick. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am now. And I would still be that ignorant rabbit from the suburbs."
"Guess we both learned something." Nick said.
Three weeks went by, and the park was nearing it's original self again. The front had been cleaned up, and even though Honey was hesitant at first, she and the others had assisted in restoring the building. And luckily, Judy had kept her word and most of her family had come and helped restore the rides and replenish the food and snack bars, and gift shops. Stuffed animals to key chains were sold, while now, an assortment of insects and fish, along with grasses and fruits for preys were sold at the snack bars.
Some of the protests from before had even come and assisted in painting and cleaning the place up, and helped Nick sort everything out.
And a week later, the place was ready for the reopening.
Animals of all sorts, prey and predator, waited outside to be the first to enter into the new theme park, made for everyone.Nick looked outside at all the uncollared predators waiting to return.
But, before any of them could enter into the park, Nick, dressed in a dark black suit with a blue tie, welcomed his first guest. The newly labeled Lieutenant Judy Hopps. Police officer.
She walked through the doors of the building, the clinic not being used at the main entrance anymore. She smiled up at him, and he smiled back, gesturing towards the theme park.
"Well, Carrots, do you trust all the rides to keep you safe as much as you trust me?" he asked jokingly.
She laughed.
"I guess we'll see." she said, elbowing him in the side. The two walked together, Clawhauser and Honey holding open the doors, as hundreds of animals, prey and predator, swarmed into Wilder Times, hoping for the time of their lives. And from that moment on, though it started out slow, predator and prey stopped looking at their differences.
They were just "mammals."
And many years down the road, mammals would be working together side by side, predator and prey, establishing a better world.
Of course, none of it could have happened had it never been for a sly fox and a dumb bunny.
-End