Judy's Adventures in Wondertopia-SPOILERS!

Judy's Adventures in Wondertopia

Prologue

Today was Judy Hopps' 26^th birthday...and she had to work. She loved her job, but, being one of 275 siblings, she was accustomed to birthdays full of family, games, and laughter. As luck would have it, it was a slow day at the ZPD, and no one—not even Bogo—was in a hurry. It was quiet enough that she and her partner, Nick Wilde, managed to sneak lunch early. That was a career first...for Judy, anyway.

They walked to the break room holding paws, certain nobody would see them. Nick peeked through the door's frosted glass pane. “We're officially the first ones here, Carrots. Nobody even bothered to turn the lights on.” He opened the door, and, with his free paw, found the light switch.

“SURPRISE!” At least a dozen of their fellow officers—and Bogo!--had gathered to greet Judy...which meant they'd also caught she and Nick holding paws. But Judy was so touched that she didn't care.

“Thank you, guys! Were you in on this, Nick?” she asked, certain she knew the answer. To her surprise, he shook his head.

“Not this time, Carrots. Everything Nick Wilde does is a little more—intricate—than this.” Leaning in to whisper in her ear, he added, “I've got plans for you tonight.”

“Oooooohhhhh!!!!!” The squeal alerted them that Clawhauser had overheard Nick's proposition. “OMGoodness, you guys are tooo sweeet!” Judy smiled at the cheetah, but Nick just glared. “It was my idea, Judy. I just had to throw you a party, 'cause you are ah-may-zing!!! Okay, guys, let's hit it! One, two, three…!”

Everyone sang to Judy, and all did so reasonably on-key, expect for the party planner extrordinare. “...Happy birthday, dear Judeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…!!!!!!!!!!” The rabbit of honor smiled and stood very still, willing her ears not to twitch at the pitch.

“Okay, cake time!” Clawhauser took her paw, dragging her away from Nick to admire the brightly-colored confection topped with lit candles that sat on the table in the middle of the room. “It's carrot cake—your fav!” he sang out. “Blow out the candles and make a wish!”

She thought of all her family back home in Bunnyburrow and felt a rush of homesickness. Taking a deep breath, she blew out the candles. Everyone cheered.

Chapter One: As Sure As Otters Are Otters

Judy was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her two-hundred and seventy-five brothers and sisters on the bank, and of doing absolutely nothing. Once or twice she had peeked at the picnic the others were having, but it had no carrots or blueberries in it, and, 'what good is a picnic without carrots or blueberries?' thought Judy.

She was considering (as much as concentration would allow, for the hot day was making her very sleepy,) whether or not it was worth her while to make a nighthowler chain—and then she remembered her mother had warned not to go near the bright blue flowers, no matter how inviting they might seem.

Then, suddenly, a brown otter with brown eyes ran very close by her. There was nothing so very remarkable in that, nor did Judy think it so very out of the way to hear the otter say to himself, “Oh, dear, oh dear! I shall be late!' But when the otter produced a watch from the pocket of his waistcoat, Judy started to her feet, sensing that his words were not merely words, and that there must be something of importance at stake.

She ran across the farm after him, just in time to see him disappear into a large couch on the river. Being a strong swimmer, Judy elected to jump in after him. She soon found, that the couch concealed not water, but a large vacuum where the water should be. In another moment, Judy dove in after the otter, never once considering how she was to get out again.

You see, the young rabbit aspired to be a police officer, and upon hearing the otter fret, she perceived that he might be in danger, and thus felt that it was her duty to save him. Judy was the sort of rabbit to believe in, and thus achieve, the impossible. It was this, her steadfast state of mind, which kept her in pursuit of the otter.

Judy was surprised to find that the inside of the vacuum was quite dry. She fell rather slowly and as she fell, she was able to discern that it was decorated to resemble a little house. This struck her as strange, as there didn't appear to be anyone present.

All of a sudden, a shrill voice exclaimed, “Hellooo! Oooh, I just love visitors! Welcome to my humble abode!” Judy's eyes met those of a cheetah—or at least she assumed it to be, as its eyes and mouth were all that was visible. It slowly materialized in full, and Judy discovered two things: one, it was in fact a cheetah (and a rather large one at that, particularly around its middle), and two, it had the ability to float in midair. 'Curiouser and curiouser,' thought Judy.

The cheetah seemed very friendly, so Judy thought it prudent to be civil to it. “Thank you. My name is Judy Hopps; I live on a farm far away from here. And you are?” The cheetah seemed flattered.

“Little ol' me? I'm the Cheshire Cheetah, but you can call me CC, or Clawhauser, or Ben, if you want to.”

“Where are we, exactly?” Judy pondered aloud.

“Silly me! I forgot to mention…! Welcome to Wondertopia, Judy Hopps!” answered the cheetah brightly, with a bow of his head and a wave of his tail. “Coming in for a landing!”

“Wonderto...oh!” Judy had barely processed the cheetah's words when she found herself sprawled on a bed of soft leaves. She was not a bit hurt, and so she sprang up, eager to explore her surroundings. She suddenly spotted the Brown Otter hurrying down a long tunnel, and, without another thought, she followed him.

She caught up to him just in time to hear him say, “Oh, my ears and whiskers! How late it's getting!” No sooner had he spoken than he was out of sight. Judy found herself in a huge hall—one that, she reasoned, must be for elephants, and certainly not rabbits. She looked around in awe.

“What is this place?” She had remarked only to herself, and was surprised to hear the Cheshire Cheetah reply, having appeared beside her just then.

“This is the Hall of Doors. You can get anywhere in Wondertopia from here, in the blink of an eye. After all, not everyone can appear and disappear like I can!” He chuckled. “Go ahead—open one and see!”

Judy walked to the nearest door; it puzzled her to note that this door was marked 'BuffaloPillar'. “What's a 'BuffaloPillar'?” she asked her companion, who laughed.

“He's just a buffalo,” CC informed her. “They call him a 'Buffalo Pillar' because he's influential. Somebody messed up the engraving on the door!”

“In that case, I'll talk to him first; he'll know how I can get out of here.” With her paw on the doorknob, she heard a loud sniff from behind.

“You want to leave?!” CC squealed, sadly. Judy gave him a sympathetic look.

“I have to, CC.” My parents, and my brothers and sisters—all 275 of them—they'll be looking for me.” CC sniffed again.

“Okay, but...woah, did you say you have 275 brothers and sisters?” Judy laughed.

“I sure did.”

“Wow! Okay, Judy—good luck with the Buffalo Pillar. Be careful; he can be a bit...testy.”

“Thanks, CC.”

And so, Judy opened the door and prepared herself to face the Buffalo Pillar.

Chapter Two: Advice from a Buffalo Pillar

Judy stepped across the threshold and immediately fancied herself in mouse country, as there were blades of grass surrounding her, and these were about the size of trees. For a fleeting moment she considered that she must certainly have the wrong door, when suddenly a voice somewhere above her head boomed, “WHO ARE YOU?!”

She looked up to find a giant buffalo--no doubt the Buffalo Pillar himself—seated on an equally giant stone bench crafted in the shape of a mushroom. Reasoning that she would never be heard from her present height, she was considering what to do when the Buffalo Pillar bellowed,

“YOU! MY OFFICE! NOW!” bent down, and extended his hoof to her level. Realizing his intention, she obediently climbed on. When she was relatively level with his face, and therefore his ears, she spoke as loudly and as clearly as she could.

“My name is Judy Hopps, sir. I'm lost, and I was hoping you could help me find my way home.” He snorted in disgust, and she nearly lost her balance.

“I DOUBT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO DO THAT, RABBIT. ALL WAYS HERE ARE THE QUEEN'S WAYS.”

“The Queen?”

“YES. FOR YEARS I'VE TRIED TO OVERTHROW HER, BUT SHE'S A HARD ONE TO CATCH.”

“The way you speak of her—is she...unkind?” The Buffalo Pillar snorted again.

“THAT'S PUTTING IT LIGHTLY,” he said. “SHE IS DECEITFUL, MANIPULATIVE, AND POWER-HUNGRY. SHE DELIBERATELY RENDERS ANIMALS SAVAGE WITH SOME SORT OF SECRET POTION. NO ONE KNOWS WHAT'S IN IT, AND WITHOUT THAT KNOWLEDGE, SHE'S UNSTOPPABLE.”

A thought occurred to Judy. Perhaps she could catch the Queen and bring justice, order, and peace to Wondertopia once more. “How do I find her? I'll put an end to her tyranny!” The Buffalo Pillar looked rather amused.

“I HARDLY THINK YOU'RE THE ONE FOR THE JOB, RABBIT. HOWEVER—IF YOU DARE TO TAKE DOWN THE QUEEN—YOU MUST TALK TO THE MAD HATTER FIRST.”

Judy had so very many questions, but before she could gather her wits enough to speak, the Buffalo Pillar set her down. “GO.” Fear of crossing him propelled Judy out the door, and she once again found herself in the Hall.

Chapter Three: The Mad Tea Party

Judy strode through the room, examining each engraving in hopes of finding one that would give her direction. She stopped at a door with not one, but three engravings on it. They read:

THE FEBRUARY FENNEC

THE DORSLOTH

and, below these:

THE MAD HATTER

“Aha!” Judy opened the door and was greeted by the sight of a long table, set with a vast quantity of tea things in various states of disarray. At the far end sat a small fox, a large sloth, and a third creature whose features were obscured beneath a long overcoat and a hat that was at least two sizes too big.

“Excuse me,” Judy asked, “May I join you?” Two of the table's occupants made no move to reply; the small fox answered with a question of his own.

“Wha' chu want, bunny?” Although she was put off by his dismissive manner, she simply squared her shoulders and considered it practice for her future policing duties. “I am here to speak with the Mad Hatter about the Queen. The Buffalo Pillar sent me.” The small fox's eyes widened.

“Siddown, kid. What's yo name?”

“Judy Hopps,” she said, holding her chin high. She selected a chair across from the Hatter and sat. The small fox turned to the Hatter.

“C'mon, man! You listenin'? This bunny means business!” The Hatter sighed. Judy could feel his eyes on her, but she couldn't see them, which she found rather unsettling. At length he spoke.

“Are you sure you're alone, Carrots?”

“Yes—unless CC's here somewhere. It's hard to tell with him.” The Hatter chuckled. “Overgrown cat. Well, either way, what we say here will be safe.” Doffing his hat, he placed it on the table and shrugged out of his overcoat.

Beneath the clothes was the most dashing fox Judy had ever seen. His fur was a deep russet, and his eyes were of piercing emerald green. It pleased Judy to note that the pale green shirt he wore complimented his eyes quite nicely.

“Don't look so surprised, Carrots,” he remarked, smiling slowly, and Judy blushed. “Haven't you ever seen a fox before?”

“Of course.” Thinking it best to change the subject, she added, “Just not one who's a hatter.”

“I'm not. Queenie and I aren't on the best terms, so this is my disguise.” The small fox spoke.

“Nick here's been leadin' the revolution fo' years,” he said. “Name's Finnick, by da way.”

“And since Finn introduced me to you, I suppose he won't mind if I add that we call him 'The February Fennec' because he goes nuts on Valentine's Day, seeing that he's really just a romantic at heart.” Nick batted his eyelashes.

“Quit it, Nick,” Finn snarled. “And shut up!”

“Ha---ha--ha--ha!” This came from the sloth seated at the far end of the table. Upon hearing his laughter, Nick glared at him. “This is the Dorsloth. Hey, buddy, tell us a joke, why don't you?”

“Sure—thing—Nick. What—do—you—call—a—three—humped—camel?”

“Beats me,” Nick replied.

“I dunno; what do ya call a three-humped camel?” asked Finn. Judy thought for a moment. Meanwhile, the Dorsloth seemed to be readying himself for the punchline, which turned out to be…

“...Pregnant.” The three laughed.

“Too bad we dunno if it's not anybody's birthday today,” Finnick suddenly remarked, “or we could sing dat unbirthday song.”

“What's an unbirthday?” Judy asked him.

“The same as yo' birthday, 'cept it's on the other...” He paused, figuring the sum. “...Three-hun'red an' sixty-fo' days a year, and you don't get no older.” Judy smiled thoughtfully.

“That sounds like fun! It actually is my birthday today, so I guess I'll miss out.” Finnick shrugged.

“We could always sing the regular birthday song,” he offered, though his expression suggested he was merely being civil and hoping she'd decline. But, for the first time since she'd arrived at the table, Judy was enjoying herself.

“I'd love that!” The Hatter smiled.

“In that case...” With a flourish, he produced a small cake, complete with a lit candle, from his hat, and waved his paw in the air as though it were a baton. “A-one, a-two, a-three...”

Nick and his companions sang to Judy at the top of their lungs, and when they'd finished, Nick offered the cake to her. “Make a wish, Carrots.” As she was about to obey, he leaned in closer and whispered, “I hope your wish comes true.”

Having observed that Judy seemed rather bored by the Dorsloth's joke, when the birthday festivities came to an end, the Hatter added, “How about a song, pal? 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat'?”

“Okay...” replied the Dorsloth, and began to sing solo. Judy quickly discovered that while his voice was easily lost in harmony, it was surprisingly pleasant to her ears. “Twinkle—twinkle—little—bat/How—I—wonder—what—you're—at/Up—above—the—world—so—high—like—a—tea-tray—in—the—sky/ Twinkle—twinkle—little—bat/How—I—wonder—what—you're—at.”

However, by the time the Dorsloth had finished the song, Judy decided that she no longer had time for silly riddles, or even music, however lovely it may be. She cleared her throat. “About the Queen…?” The Mad Hatter turned his captivating green gaze to her.

“Okay, here's the deal. We need to find out what she's using that turns animals savage. Until we do that, we have no way of knowing how to stop her.” Judy nodded.

“We should send a spy—someone who's hard to catch.”

“Like a fox?” the Hatter asked, grinning.

“I'm surprised your hat doesn't fit you; your head seems plenty big to me.” Finn laughed.

“Ooh, man, what a burn!”

“Can it, Finn.” To Judy, the Hatter said, “Relax, sweetheart, I was only joking. There's no way I'm going in there. I've tried that already, and it's not pretty. The Queen hates me, remember?”

“Then I'll go.”

“No.” The word leapt from the Hatter's tongue unbidden. “You don't know what she's capable of.”

Judy considered her options before speaking again. “What if whoever we send was also hard to see?” Judy and the Hatter locked eyes. Both spoke at once.

“CC!”

“Di foo thay thomething?” At that moment, CC suddenly appeared, his mouth full of something that was causing him to spit crumbs as he talked. He swallowed. “Sorry. I made tarts; anybody want one?”

“No, thanks,” Judy said, and the others shook their heads. “Would you be willing to help us with a secret operation?” CC stared at Judy—eyes wide, mouth full yet again.

“Wha' aboot?” he asked.

“We're going to take down the Queen,” she said proudly. CC nearly choked.

“That's—that's great and all, but count me out.”

“Scaredy-cat,” Nick scoffed. His companions laughed. Judy gasped in disgust.

“That's speciesist! How dare you!”

“S'okay, Judy,” CC replied, glum. “I just hope you all know what you're getting into...” With that, the cheetah vanished.

“Okay—plan B,” Nick said, drumming his claws on the table. Judy sat, arms folded, looking very cross indeed. Finnick and the Dorsloth sat quietly, subdued, until the former spoke.

“Wha' 'bout dem Tweedles?” Nick's eyes lit up, and upon noting this, Judy sprang to attention.

“Good thinking. But they won't do us a favor without getting something in return. What do we have that they want?”

“The young one's gettin' married, right? Wouldn't she get a kick out of a big ol' tea party theme, all girly and stuff?” Nick nodded.

“Good. But try to insinuate I'm girly one more time, and I'll hang you on the tree by your ears again.” Finnick swallowed nervously and gave him the peace sign.

“Alright, it's settled. Finn, you stay here and clean up. We want this place to be worthy of our guests.” Finnick seemed to consider a retort, but think better of it when he recalled Nick's warning. “Flash, try not to slow him down.” It suddenly occurred to Judy that this was the Dorsloth's actual name, and one that his companions seldom bothered to use. Judy found this to be incredibly rude. “Carrots, you come with me to see the Tweedles. They're more likely to cooperate if someone can vouch for my new plan.” Judy nodded.

“Which is?” Nick only looked at her with those fascinating green eyes of his and said,

“You'll see.” Donning his hat and coat once more and taking Judy by the paw, he led her out into the hall.

Chapter 4: TweedleDaddy and TweedleDaughter

Nick strode purposefully across the hall, not stopping until he reached a door marked--

TWEEDLEDADDY

and, some ways below that,

TWEEDLEDAUGHTER

“She wanted her own plaque—spoiled brat.” Nick muttered this under his breath, and somehow Judy didn't have the heart to tell him that all the residents of Wondertopia she'd paid a visit to thus far had their own plaques—himself included. The sole exceptions seemed to be the Brown Otter and CC, both of whom had visited her first—in a manner of speaking.

Nick closed his claws around the doorknob and pushed it open. It squeaked—or at least they perceived it to, for the sound blended with an equally high-pitched wail. “Daddy!! Whaddaya mean I can't get married in Wondertopia! I love it here!” A second voice, slightly lower in pitch, answered.

“Daddy does too, honey, Daddy does too. But if someone doesn't take down that blasted queen, there might not be a Wondertopia.” This was their chance.

Judy and Nick found themselves in a forest clearing in front of no less than a dozen polar bears, all standing together in a circle. They approached cautiously, and Nick spoke. “We'd like to have a word with the Tweedles, please.”

“Let 'em in, Kevin,” the second voice said, and the polar bear turned, bent, and rose again, turning once more to face the visitors, this time, with a shrew standing on each paw. Nick took off his hat, bent, and allowed the older one to kiss his cheeks. “What is it this time, Nicky?”

“Well, sir, my friend Judy and I...” The older shrew motioned to Judy.

“Come, child.” Judy stepped forward and followed Nick's example. Then, Nick went on.

“We're going to overthrow the Queen, but we need your help.”

“Go on.”

“In return for helping us, you can hold the wedding at my tea table.” Before her father could form a reply, the young shrew squealed.

“Ooh, a tea party wedding! I love it!” The older shrew sighed.

“Just tell us what we gotta do, Nicky. And you bettah not blow it this time.”

Chapter 5: The Queen

The little band of animals stood in The Hall, directly outside The Queen's door, her vast gardens spread out before them. They entered cautiously, one by one, and once all of them were over the threshold, they made certainly to stay close behind one another.

The garden was strangely peaceful; there wasn't another animal in sight, save for three lemmings, each dressed as a playing card, clustered around a patch of soil. Judy led the group steadily closer, until they could make out that the creatures were busily painting several bright blue crocuses a vibrant shade of red.

“Excuse me,” Judy began, a little timidly. “What are you doing?” The lemming marked Two replied in a low voice, “The fact is, you see, Miss, these here ought to have been red crocuses, but we planted blue ones by mistake.” Judy was suddenly only half-listening, overcome by the most curious notion that the flowers looked familiar. “...and if the Queen finds out...” upon saying this, Two suppressed a shudder, “So you see, Miss, we're doing our best before she comes to...”

Rather suddenly, Five shouted, “The Queen! The Queen!” whereupon the three gardeners instantly threw themselves flat upon their faces. Uncertain of what else to do, the rest of the visiting party followed suit, leaving Judy standing alone directly in the Queen's path. The Queen was nearly impossible to see amidst a sea of lemmings, all of whom looked much like the three gardeners. Her Majesty arrived last, a diminutive sheep. Being nearly the same height as Judy herself was likely her reason for approaching the rabbit and ignoring all the others entirely.

The Queen smiled, and said rather adoringly, “what's your name, bunny?” It was a tone identical to that of the one used by Judy's older relatives in the moment before they invariably proceeded to pinch her cheeks.

“My name is Judy, so please your Majesty.” The Queen appeared quite pleased.

“Judy, can you play croquet?” Judy had never heard of such a game, but because she was ever-willing to try anything once—everything, really—she decided that a small lie couldn't possibly make the situation any worse than it already was.

“Yes.” The Queen beckoned to her.

“Come on, then! We little guys are going to have so much fun together!” With that, Judy joined the procession, hoping very much that the others would catch up in time to carry out their plan.

“N-nice weather we're having,” said a timid voice at her side. It was the Brown Otter, looking anxiously into her face. Pleased to see him unharmed, Judy asked,

“What are you doing here?”

“I'm the Queen's butler. My name's Emmitt, by the way,” he replied, and before Judy could offer her name or ask another of the multitude of questions hurrying through her head, someone shouted,

“Halt!” and the procession came to an abrupt stop. Clapping her hooves, The Queen called out,

“Places, everyone!” As the court scrambled to do as she ordered, she approached Judy, stopping when she reached Emmitt. She spoke to him.

“Harold, announce the games!” It upset Judy that The Queen had addressed him wrongly, but the otter himself didn't seem to care.

“Let the games begin!”

Judy quickly learned that to play croquet in Wondertopia, one must—according to The Queen-- strike hedgehogs with flamingos, in order to have the former roll beneath lemmings assembled in arch positions. Out of The Queen's earshot, Judy apologized profusely to both her ball and mallet, and they, in return, quite graciously forgave her. Only then did she go on playing—and very gently, at that, for fear of hurting her implements. Furthermore, Judy knew it would be wiser to let The Queen win.

After several rounds, Judy began to feel rather uneasy; as brave as she was, she had begun to doubt the plan that had brought her here. Suddenly, she noticed a curious appearance in the air. This left her quite befuddled until she could make out what it was.

“C.C.?”

“Hiya, Judy!”

“I thought you refused to come here.”

“I didn't. I just refused--” he paused, looking around nervously and dropping his voice to a whisper. “--the other thing. You're my friend; I couldn't let you come here without checking up on you. Besides the obvious,” he went on, and Judy was certain he meant The Queen, “what do you think of everyone?” She smiled.

“You have good friends here, C.C. Strange ones, but good ones.” Then, her face fell. “The thing is, Nick--” C.C. grinned.

“He's a good one, too, Judy. A little...” He rotated a claw beside his head, “...sometimes, but good.” Silent for a moment, C.C.'s eyes lit up suddenly, and he went on. “Ooooh, you like him, don't you?!” Beneath her fur, Judy turned beet-red.

“Kinda.”

“I knew it!” C.C. grinned wider, waved, and, as he disappeared, sang, “Judy and Nick/Sittin' in a tree/K-I-S...” Thankfully for a profoundly embarrassed Judy, he was gone before she could hear him finish.

No sooner had C.C. vanished than a cry of, 'The trial's beginning!' echoed across the grounds. Judy hurried to follow the sound, lest The Queen would become incensed by her absence. She found Her Majesty seated on a large throne, with a gavel at her side. The jury was composed entirely of lemmings. Many of these were visibly shaken, shifting nervously in their seats or shaking with fear. The accused was a young red fox with wide, innocent blue eyes.

Judy thought it horrendous that The Queen would rig the jury by using her own servants, and more horrendous still that the animals were placed in this position against their will. All at once, The Queen shouted, “Order, order!” banging her gavel with such force that the poor lemmings were frightened out of their wits.

“Harold, read the accusation!” Emmitt stepped before the assembly, unrolled a large piece of parchment, cleared his throat, and read:

The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts/ All on a summer's day:/ The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts/ And took them quite away!

Then Emmitt went on, “Now for the evidence...”

“SILENCE!” shrieked The Queen. “Sentence first, verdict afterwards, and then the evidence! Bring in the nighthowler serum!” Judy's ears stood on end. The flowers in the garden weren't ordinary crocuses at all. She had seen them before.

Just as she had begun to debate making an escape, a voice called out.

“I object!” The crowd gasped, and Judy turned sharply; it was Nick, still dressed in his Hatter garments. “You, Bellwether, framed this young fox. I have the tarts. They were buried in the garden—neatly—which is solid evidence that the Knave's trial—and all others before it—have been premeditated setups to justify administering Nighthowler serum to all accused. The flowers used to make the serum are all over the grounds; you forced the lemmings to paint them so they wouldn't be identified.” Red-faced, The Queen opened her mouth to retort, when suddenly…

The ground shook, and the Tweedles' army of polar bears descended on the courtroom. Chaos reigned, and while the assembly and jury fled unharmed, the polar bears surrounded The Queen, with one of them picking her up and clutching her in a giant paw as she screamed all the while. “To the dungeon with her!” Nick exclaimed, and the polar bears marched away. Soon, The Queen's screams were no more than a faint whimper in the distance.

No longer in danger, Judy ran toward Nick faster than she had ever run in her life. “Nick! You did it! You saved Wondertopia!” He accepted her with outstretched arms.

“I couldn't have done it without you, Judy.”

“But why? You had the polar bears here along.”

“Maybe so, but I never had the courage to lead them. You inspired me. You're an extraordinary rabbit, Judy. I know you can achieve your dream; I just wish you could do it here.” He shifted uncomfortably, and with a sly smile, added, “I can't bear to see you go.” Although tears pooled in her eyes, Judy smiled. Wrapping her arms around the fox, she sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

“Oh, Nick…!”

Epilogue: It Was All A Dream!

“Carrots! You're awake!” Judy blinked, finding herself in her apartment with Nick standing over her.

“Huh?”

“Don't you remember? You ate your weight in cake, got a major sugar high, then crashed. Bogo said we could take the rest of the day off, so I decided to bring you here until you woke up.”

“What? Wait—back up. He did?!”

“He said to consider it your birthday gift.” Judy smiled.

“Fair enough. But what about me? I never do stuff like that!” Nick shrugged.

“What else can I tell you? It's your birthday; you deserve to live a little.”

As Judy's mind cleared, her dream came back to her. “I had the weirdest dream, Nick. I ran after Mr. Otterton, fell into a couch...”

Nick looked taken aback—not only that, but—jealous. “You chased after Otterton and fell into his den because…?” Absorbed in the memory, Judy was oblivious to his reaction.

“I thought he was in danger.” Nick laughed, relieved.

“Of course you did. That's my Officer Fluff!” Judy's eyes were suddenly filled with that wide and joyful look of wonder she often got when something piqued her curiosity...or, if Nick was lucky, when she looked at him.

“In the dream, I met a cheetah who looked like Clawhauser—he could appear and disappear at will. I met a wise buffalo who looked—and acted—just like Chief. There were two 'Tweedles' that were really Mr. Big and Fru Fru...”

“It sounds like something right out of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,” Nick replied with interest.

“Cheese and crackers!” Judy exclaimed gleefully. “That was it! I knew it came from a book!” She continued, content. “Flash was the Dorsloth, Finnick was the equivalent of the March Hare...Wait. You actually read that book?” she quipped.

“Yeah, I read it...when I was a kit.” He paused. “Well, okay—Mom read it to me. But it was always one of my favorites. Still is.”

Her eyes met Nick's again—really met them, as if she could see into his soul, and he lost his breath, feeling his heart melt in his chest. She spoke again, softly. “My dream—you were in it, too, Nick. You disguised yourself as the Mad Hatter. At the office, I wished to be home with my family in Bunnyburrow. But in the dream, when the Hatter gave me a cake...I wished to be with you. To see you again, for real, and tell you I loved you. I realized that you're my family, too, Nick...or at least I want you to be, someday.” Nick was speechless...unusual for him, but it felt wonderful just the same. “When you were the Hatter, you led the revolution, and you saved Wondertopia.” As an afterthought, she added with a shudder, “From Queen Bellwether.”

Nick sat on the bed. His legs felt weak, and he wanted, needed, to be close to her. He gathered her to him and met her gaze. “Mad Hatter or not, I'd do anything for you, Judy.” Before he lost his nerve, he let himself say the words. “I love you.”

She beamed up at him. “You mean…?” He nodded.

“When I said I had plans for you tonight? That was my plan.” He smiled, gave a modest shrug.

“It wasn't my plan to tell you just yet, but I really do feel the same way, Nick. I love you, too. I know we were trying to take things slow, see where it went, but...” He chuckled.

“It's okay. You over-think things. We'll do it the way we always do...As a team. Partners.” She nodded.

“But...”

“And sometimes you talk too much. But I love all that about you. Now be quiet and let me...” He lowered his head to kiss her. Her head spun so that she couldn't talk if she tried. They stayed blissfully lost in the wonder of one another all night.