Sorry it took me a long time to update this fanfic, but I tried to be faster than the previous slow update.

Big thanks for Pickles and Pies for beta reading this chapter!

The fox is commonly known as the most untrustworthy mammal. They are cunning, slick and good liars. That was what animals know them for.

But Judy didn't want to be trapped into that stereotype thinking. The mammal in front of her, how he looked so small compared to all paramedics working around him. He looked small and defenseless. On a big hospital bed in a busy emergency room, he seemed drowned in the sea of whites.

While Judy waited, she reviewed in her head what it means to have a mammal in charge for a collared predator. It was simply like a children having guardian. The mammal in charge could be prey or another predator, freed or collared. It was usually certain family or close friends.

But this fox has none of it. He was utterly alone.

Judy, who has hundreds of siblings, couldn't imagine how it felt to be alone, without family or friends.

"Officer Hopps?"

Judy turned to see a pig nurse.

"You need to go to the administration room, there are several papers you have to fill out," she said with a polite smile. It looked totally fake but professional nonetheless.

"Ah yes, okay...," Judy mumbled. It was still overwhelming her. The smell of blood and the bustling of emergency room were a bit too much, even for her.

She was glad to get out of the suffocating room. But her happiness was soon replaced by some worry for the unknown mister fox. He would be okay, right?

"The administration room is straight down here, then turn to the left. It is on the right side, you won't miss it."

Judy nodded. She kept glancing to the back.

"Your friend will be okay. Don't worry Officer Hopps," the pig nurse added.

Judy couldn't reply to that. That unknown fox wasn't her friend. He was a stranger. A hopeless stranger.
So Judy just nodded then walked to the administration room.

Inside, she was greeted by a tall giraffe. She looked a bit cold but once again, proffesional. "Officer Hopps? Please sit down, I'm Clara Hounds," she introduced, offering her hoof. Judy hopped to the big chair in front of her desk and shook her hoof.

"Officer Judy Hopps," she replied back. Clara smiled and sit again. Judy followed her suit. The chair was for a big mammal so the desk stood taller than her. But fortunately the girrafe could still see her because of her long neck.

"So is it right you will be in charge of the medical bill for Sir collared fox?" She asked.
Judy didn't like how the giraffe mentioned the fox. He should have a name. It felt unfair to be refered by his collar.

"Yes," Judy just answet shortly.

"Alright then, please fill this form," she offered her some papers to her. Judy read it briefly before she started to write.

"So, have you checked his predator ID?" She asked again while Judy was still busy writing.

"Ehm... No..." Judy answered with soft voice. She still has not registered to the police system yet, so she couldn't check mister fox predator ID via her cellphone.

"Then I will print it for you. You have a right for that," the giraffe said.

Judy just finished filling the form when she handed her the print out.

Name: Nicholas Piberus Wilde
Age: 33 years old
So, his name is Mr. Wilde...
Date of Birth: -
Current Address:-

Then his listed mammal in charge was also empty. It was disturbing.

"I see you have filled the form, so any question to ask?"

Judy glanced up from the print out, she folded it nicely then put it inside her pocket.

"About the payment..." She timidly saying.

"Don't worry, we can take the payment cut it from your salary every months, so you don't need to pay it right away, is that alright?" Judy sighed in relief. Her salary wasn't big and she just moved into the big city so her money was limited. Her parents are quite rich, but she didn't want to ask them for money unless it is an emergency.

"That will help me very much, thank you," Judy said. Clara nodded understandingly.

"So, is he a crime suspect or something?"

"...excuse me?"

"Sorry, I just wante to ask since we take special caution to crime suspect patients. So what is his case?"
Judy was a bit dumbfounded. It was clear the mammal in front of her had thought Mr. Wilde was some kind of important crime suspect. It must been what had happened in the past. It made Judy feel a little angry.

"He is not a suspect or anything, I just help him because he is a wounded mammal so, he doesn't need special caution, thanks."

"Oh... Sorry, I just misinterprets things... Sorry to ask this but, Officer Hopps, are you new in Zootopia?" She asked again which irritated Judy much further.

"Yes, is something matter?" Judy asked back.

"Ah no... It is okay, I will tell you as a native citizen of Zootopia, it is just... It is not uncommon to find a wounded adult collared predator, you see. It happened all the time. They usually steal, or hustling or pickpoket so they got hit alot, all the time. That's one of the reason why the city won't gave them health insurance. It also hopes to give them more drive to do more good deeds so they can be free."

She smiled to Judy, it feel weird and misplaced, like she pitied her because Judy was a naive countryside dumb bunny.

"Make sure this is the last time you help them. It is not healthy, and it cost a lot too."
Judy was in the edge of fuming, her face might be red because of holding so much anger. It was totally wrong to stop helping mammals just because it cost a lot money or even 'not healthy'.

"Do you know why there are no free collared foxes in history, like ever?"
She paused and frowned a little. Yes, she had heard that before. But since then, she decided she will believe it when she sees it, so she didn't believe it until now. Or rather, Wilde is the only fox she has seen since she arrived at Zootopia.

"I think you understand way better than me, Officer Hopps, so don't even bother to help them. It won't 'help' them," she added which make Judy more confused.

What does that mean?

IoI

When you are a collared predator, life is a living hell. Not only do you have no health insurance, but but also no education insurance, no bank account, no full time job, etc.

It limits everything, every single aspect of life. Maybe thegoverment hopes it will drive the predator harder to get their freedom so they can be equal like prey.

But wasn't it too hard for them?

Judy glanced to the print out of Mr. Wilde's predator ID.

He looked... Miserable. From the ID photos, which disturbingly looked like criminal ID photos, he looked thin. His fur was in disaray and dirty. His eyes, half opened, looked as empty as she remembered. And the fur below his collar, it looked red from blood.

Yes, she could mistake this photo as criminal ID photo. It showed her how unhappy he is, how hard his life is.

Yes, she was naive. Yes, he could be a thief, a hustler, a pickpoketer, or anything but it couldn't be justified to just beat him to his death. Just because he is a predator, it doesn't mean he deserve all of this.

But what if he is truly a criminal? What should she do?

Even though Judy has been looking forward to his first case, but strangely the thought throwing Wilde behind cold bars felt twisted in her stomach. It wasn't like he needes more miserable things in his life.
An adult collared predator could be mean. He hadn't done the good deed yet, or he had been free but turned into a criminal so he had to bee collared again.

But from how the thinned fur around his collar, Judy knew he had been wearing it for his entire life. So it mean he had never been free. So it mean he never done the good deed before.

Or did he?

A good deed could only be achieved with the agreement from both predator and prey. There were some case where the prey was too old fashioned, who always prejudice again predator. They never use their chance to free predator from their collar.

But with fox...

"...what about the fox from the ER? Is he a criminal or something?"

"Nah, no one know his true story. But I bet he is not clean, he could be a thief or hustler, then get punchef out of his life. I think he deserve it..."

"Well, if you still use the collar then it mean you hadn't try enough. It is damn easy, I have been free since I was 5 years old..."

Judy closed her eyes and frowned.

Judy knew how it felt to be judged. How cruel the prejudice could be. But it seemed Wilde had it worse, way worse than her.

IoI

Nick gasped, his eyes opened suddenly and there were a truly frightening familiar beeping sound coming from his neck. He closed his eyes, first bracing himself for the painful shock. But then the beeping hadn't stopped. It mean the color is still yellow, he still had time. So the second, he tried to calm down his nerve and his raggimg heartbeat.

Slowly his body started to relax and finally the beeping stopped. He exhaled and let his body sink to the bed.
Wait, since when he had bed? His heart almost stopped, but he tried his best to be calm. Nick was good at controlling his emotion, but he was weak toward some unexpected event.

Once he was sure his breathing and heart beat were regular, he opened his eyes and took on his surrounding.

He was in a white room, there were some unfamiliar monitors with beeping sounds around him. He was attached to some wire and tube.

Is this a hospital? Nick questioned himself because he had never been there once. Medical facility usually reject adult collared predators like him.

So, why he could ended here? He wasn't sure there are any mammal who care enough to bring him to hospital. Not to mention they have to pay for him.

He had expected he will rott at the dark alley. Or at least, Finnick will bury him a bit decently later.
But not here, not at the hospital, alive, with some kind of weird drug which made him a bit drowsy but he was too panic to fall asleep again.

Is this another kind of program from the goverment? But, Nick was sure the goverment always pour everything they got to make sure all prey happy, some predator live decently, and a few predator live in their shit like him.

There were simply no good program nor rule for a fox like him. The society really hate them to their core, to their smallest code of DNA.

So, Nick couldn't understand why.

Maybe most of miserable mammal would be grateful in his situation, but he was used to ride the most scarriest roller-coaster named 'live'. If he let himself happy to be 'up', then in a second he will be plumented toward the 'down'.

He was sure of it.

Then the door of his room opened. Nick a bit tensed, but trying his best to let himself looked relax enough on his bed. Don't let them see they got into you.

"Hey, I see you have awake, Mr. Wilde."

No one called him Mr. Wilde, ever. It was too weird in his ears. But the most surprising thing, it wad a bunny. A bunny cop to be exact.

So it was real? Nick was almost sure the bunny officer was some hallucination induced trauma.
It was weird, she was smallest officer Nick ever seen in all his life. Probably the first bunny officer too. She didn't look scary or menacing like any other big mammal officer. She looked almost welcoming even especially with her cute little fluffy tail- okay, stop there. Nick scolded himself.

Him and his fluffy maniac side of him.

Remember Wilde, she is an officer. At the seconds, she will drag him to the nearest police station then torture him with everything she got. Not to mention all bunny usually avoid all fox like plague. It wasn't hard to imagine her hate him simply because of what his late ancestor did to hers.

The grey bunny sit beside of his bed. She took out her notes and her pen. Nick wanted so bad to comment about her carrot pen. It was too stereotypical, almost boring but he just shut his mouth. He was too nervous to joke around. He prepared himself to the worst case of his life, tortured by a bunny officer, then get dumped to the jail which he would never get out. The collar shock in jail is more heavier and stronger then the usual one, Nick really didn't look forward to it.

"So, let me introduce my self. I'm Officer Judy Hopps from ZPD, I found you at the one of alley at Happytown and brought you here. Can you tell me the whole story why you ended up there?"

Nick drummed his paws to the bed softly, he refused to see her eyes. Some of prey felt insulted just because he stared directly to their eyes. Maybe he it too disgusting in their eyes, he wonder why but not really care either way.

"It is usual... Just some of mammal roughed me... A collared predator is an easy prey, ha. Since the shock collar won't even let us feel scared let alone fight back," he said with a bit cold tone. Nick was sure he digging his own grave.

But, why care? He was ready to die back then. He was ready to die now too.

"I see... Do you know why? Do you know them?" The bunny officer wrote something on her note and asked him with serious face.

It takes a while before Nick got over his shock.

"...you believe me?"

The grey bunny tilted her head. "Do I have to not believe you?" She asked back.
Now, this was the weirdest thing ever happened to him. He was at the hospital, brought by a bunny officer and she believed his half truth story.

"Usually most mammals don't believe me," he replied back.

"Then I'm not your 'most mammals'," she said with a little smile.

Certainly, she was 'impossible' in his life book.

"Don't you think I steal something or do some kind of crimes?" Nick asked again. Is this a new kind interogation? If yes, then it really intrigued him.

Judy paused. She put the end tip of her carrot pen on her lip.

For an officer, she was cute, honestly.

"There are nothing with you, you are beaten, alone in a dark alley. Rather than the crime suspect, you are more fit to be a victim. Even though, lets say, you did something against law, as long as there are no one report you or no proof about it, I can't do anything about it."

Well, she is smart. But, still a dumb bunny. She got a point, but most of officers believe adult collared predator are the bad guy. Always the bad guy.

She is really strange indeed.

"I didn't expect you believe me," he mumbled.

"Then, what do you expect me to do? Let you rott at the alley?"
This once, Nick stared to the bunny eyes. She was obviously joking. But he was serious. So the bunny went silent.

"So... Is this a new program that I'm unaware before? After the treatment, do I have to expect an interrogation at police station or what?" Nick finally asked what bugging him most.

This time, the bunny looked to him with a serious face.

"No, I'm the one who brought you here, on my own choice," she said. It was like a bad joke in Nick's ears, but he noticed she was serious.

Like, a bunny pay the treatment for an adult collared fox?

That is the definition of 'impossible'.

"I don't believe it...," he mumbled.

"I don't need you to believe me, I just need you to get well. So, about your condition, do you want me to help you report it at the police?"

Nick just stared to the bunny officer. She was too strange, too weird, he couldn't understand her at all. Why? Why she did all of this?

"You are new at Zootopia..." he finally concluded.

The grey bunny groaned. It looked like Nick was right about that.

"Yes, you are right. I'm new at Zootopia, so what?"

Nick wanted to laugh ironically. Of course, she was new at this hell city.

"No wonder you are a dumb bunny..."

"Excuse me!?"

Now, Nick couldn't contain his laugh. He laughed hard, it had been so long since he could laugh this hard. This bunny was really dumb. She is really really dumb.

IoI

Judy was ready to strangle the strange fox. Here she helped him but now he laughed at him? How dare he...

But then he noticed, the fox was crying. He was crying and laughing at the same time. But somehow she knows it is not crying until laughing. Because right now she couldn't tell if he is laughing or sobbing. He covered his eyes with his arms, the tears were falling onto the sheet.

"I was ready to die..."

"What?" She heard that right with her sharp hearing. But, she hoped she heard it wrong.

He rubbed his eyes with his paws. They were a bit red from the crying.

"Well then I guess I owe you, Officer Fluff. I will return the money to you, it will take a while but I will pay you back," he finally said.

"I don't need it, I help you sincerely. Now, will you report the attack to the police or not?"

"No one will bother about my report, beside you maybe, but I don't care. It is too much hassle for me. I just need money to pay you back."

Judy didn't like it. She didn't like to think how the attacker was free from any charge after what they have done. But, this fox was more alarming.

He was... Weird. He expected her to let him alone rott in that dark alley. He laughed to her, called her a dumb bunny, then laughed, then cried.

Is it really possible no one ever help him before? Is that why he react so strange toward her? Is that way he was scrunching away from her in fear back then? He really did expect her to hurt him more?
Is that what everyone did to him?

Did he expect nothing but pain?

"Well, if that so, you can do whatever you want," Judy finally said. It was better that way, she was afraid this fox really suicidal. If he promised her he would pay her back, then it mean he didn't plan to die until he pay her back.

It seemed she couldn't let this fox off her eyes then.

To Be Continued

What will happen next? Stay tuned for the next chapter