Snack Attack

Snack Attack

For Jake

Chapter One

Zipper had a problem. He loved living in Zootopia with his new friend, Hannah Snowshoe Hare, but he hated having to ask her for help with everyday tasks that she had trouble doing for herself. He was living in a world where the smallest citizens were rodents, which were easily ten times his size, if not more. Hannah, meanwhile, regularly faced the hardships of living in a city that, while modern and inclusive, wasn’t built with wheelchair users in mind.

In that way, Zipper had something in common with his hostess. But he prided himself on being self-sufficient, and he wasn’t going to let his new surroundings change that. Hannah, too, was an autonomous animal, so she’d understand.

So, one day, around lunchtime, when he noticed Hannah’s friend Lory arrive for a visit in an odd-looking transport pod, he decided to sneak in and find himself some lunch. He was sure his friends wouldn’t mind if he borrowed it. Besides, he’d be back in no time.

Inside the machine, Zipper studied the array of options open to him. He didn’t much care where he went; it couldn’t be that hard to find a pair of cherries, a few blueberries, or a nice, juicy grape. So he elected to push the most prominent button, which was also the biggest, for no other reason than to test his strength. Years of following the Rescue Rangers’ regime had kept him in pretty good shape, but he may have let himself go a bit. Years of living in Disney World—and feasting on its delicious delights—will do that to a fly. It took him a minute or two to fully press the large, chrome button that read only ‘home’...but he did, and now he was leaving his.

Chapter Two

Zipper had endured many strange sensations while on missions with the Rangers, but being trapped in a falling elevator wasn’t one of them. At least, that’s what it felt like as the machine increased momentum.

Was it this jarring to other animals? Maybe he was just green. Or maybe he’d really, actually bitten off more than he could chew this time. The thought of that was ironic, because he certainly wasn’t thinking about food now. In fact, he was looking green(er) than usual, having gone from his usual teal to a more olive shade. Hopefully, he’d get his appetite back soon—otherwise, this whole trip would be a washout.

Luckily, it wasn’t long before the machine slowed its pace, eventually landing gently on solid ground. The doors slid open, and the tiny traveler darted out to look around.

He was still somewhat dazed, so it took him a second to get his bearings. When he did, he realized this wasn’t a home after all. It was...a laboratory! He’d had more than his fair share of lab mishaps as a Ranger—food or no food, he wasn’t sticking around.

Zipper reeled in the opposite direction, only to realize that the machine’s doors had shut in the interim, and he had no idea how to open them again. Desperate for a hiding place, he scanned the room...and then a large, hand-shaped shadow obscured his field of vision...

Chapter Three

“Where my Zip-Zip?” Hannah called out lovingly to her roommate. “Zip-Zip, come say ‘hi’ to Lory.”

“I’ll bet he’s gotten sick of me already,” Lory said, Though his sweet, self-deprecating grin always resulted in a smile of her own, this time it was only half-hearted, because she was suddenly wracked with a terrible premonition: Zipper was in trouble.

“He wouldn’t just ignore a friend—something must’ve happened to him.”

“Did you get into a fight? He has a bad habit of running off when things don’t go his way.”

“No, that’s not it. But who cares why he left—right now we’ve gotta find him!” Hannah knew that Zipper wasn’t the type to go looking for trouble—despite his past escapades, he wouldn’t pick a fight unless provoked, and nothing unusual had happened in the past few hours.

“All I did was tell him we’d have lunch when you got here…!” Hannah blanched as she glanced at the clock. “How the heck did it get to be 1:30 already! He must be starving and went to look for food!” Hannah felt horrible. “My poor Zip-Zip!” They’d search first, ask questions later.

Hannah raced toward the Meta-Trek, with Lory not far behind. The contraption, created by a human scientist and generously shared with Hannah and her circle of friends, was the fastest way to get from A to B in a hurry, which they absolutely were. But then… “It’s gone!”

That made Hannah feel even worse—after all, the MetaTrek didn’t just go across town—it could travel across dimensions, too, which meant Zipper could be anywhere in the known universe—and a lot of unknown places, too.

And when you run into trouble that big, there’s only one thing to do—call your local law enforcement.

Chapter Four

Chief Bogo wasn’t too keen on letting his two top officers off the beat so that they could put in yet another favor for a friend. But since one of their friends was Mayor Horse, who’d gone a long way towards rehabilitating Zootopia following the nighthowler nightmare, it was the least he could do.

That’s how Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde found themselves on driving through the city while talking to Dr. Robyn Stephanie Irving, anthropologist and Jill-of-all-behavioral science trades. She couldn’t fathom how a fly had gotten a hold of the MetaTrek.

“Hannah said he was hungry, and he’s also stubborn as heck, so, naturally, he went looking for a snack,” Nick told her.

“Shouldn’t he be more concerned with becoming a snack?” Robyn mused aloud, though to say such a thing sent shivers down her spine.

“You’d think so, but...I haven’t known him long, yet it’s obvious to me that he has a ‘Carrots complex’.” Robyn’s chuckle could be heard through the phone, and Judy gave him side-eye as she drove.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Like you don’t know…!”

“Humor me.”

“He’ll ‘try everything’ to get what he wants.” Judy smiled.

“Fair enough.”

“Well, officers, here’s what I propose. I’m doing fieldwork right now, but I’ll put in a call to my assistant at the lab and see what he knows.”

“Sounds good, Robyn. Keep us posted, will ya?” Nick reminded her.

“Absolutely. I’ll be in touch soon.”

“Great, thanks, Robyn.” Judy added. Having Robyn’s input had eased their minds considerably, but WildeHopps wouldn’t rest until Zipper was found safe and sound.

Chapter Five

As soon as she got off the phone with her friends, Robyn dialed the lab. “Hello?”

“Hi, Elliot, it’s Robyn.”

“Oh, hi, Ms. Irving. What can I do for you?”

“Did you harvest the flies yet today?”

“Yes, I found several. I was just about to glue them to the board.” Robyn was glad Elliot couldn’t see her cringe. Of all the ways she could’ve pursued insect biology, why had she thought that gluing fruit flies to a board to monitor their anxiety levels was a good idea? Sure, it had seemed harmless enough, but that was before she learned that Zipper--arguably the world’s most famous fruit fly, and the sweetest one, too—had moved to Zootopia. His anxiety was surely through the roof, and that was all the more reason to fix her terrible mistake.

“Hold that thought. Do you have the jars in front of you?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Look closely at each jar. Do you notice any fly that looks discolored, maybe bluish?”

“Huh?” But as Elliot examined the row of jars on the table…

“Yeah, there is one, with some red on it, too. Should I put that one out of its misery first?” he asked helpfully. Robyn winced.

“Um, no, actually. Let that one go, please.”

“But...”

“If others escape in the process, I won’t penalize you. It’s a long story, but that one needs to go.”

“Sure, Ms. Irving, if you say so.”

“Thank you, Elliot.”

“No problem.”

~

Freedom! The instant that jar opened, Zipper was off like a shot. Eager to put some distance between himself and his captors, he zoomed across the room. Hovering next to the Meta-Trek, he listened, hoping he could go home soon.

Five minutes went by before the fly heard the familiar whirrs of the machine. Help was on its way! The doors opened, and… “Officers Hopps and Wilde, ZPD.” Judy flashed her badge. “Have you seen this fly? She held up a photo of a smiling Zipper, one of several candid snaps Hannah had offered to aid them in their search.

Elliot knew the MetaTrek could attract some interesting visitors, but it was really Ms. Irving’s pride and joy. He’d never seen it before, only heard her gush about its potential...and there was a big difference between ‘potential’ and a rabbit and fox in police uniforms standing a foot away. “Um, yeah, I...”

“I’m right here!” As Zipper made his grand re-entrance, he was thrilled to note that Nick and Judy were as happy to see him as he was them. “C’mon, buddy, let’s get you home,” smiled Nick. “Tell you what—You’ve had a rough day, so I’ll let you ride in my pocket...in fact, I’ll even share my blueberry stash with you.” Zipper didn’t need to be told twice.

Chapter Six

WildeHopps met Hannah and Lory at the bakery, excited to tell them the good news. “Did you find him?” Lory asked, frantic.

“Well, let me put it this way: my personal blueberry stash is toast, and I didn’t even get my rations yet today!”

“Did you miss me?” Zipper popped out of the fox’s pocket, his face covered in blueberry goo and glee. Hannah beamed.

“Did we miss you?! Of course we did! C’mere, lil’ Zip-Zip, and give us some snuggles!”

And so, as WildeHopps looked on, Lory took the fly under his wing, Hannah held him close to her heart...and Zipper himself promised to order in from now on.