Prologue: Nick and Judy

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Time Setting:

April 14th, 2017, the year after the first film

When the early morning sun in Zootopia shone down on the buildings of Sahara Square, it was not hard to see the indescribable beauty of bright red sandstone. The smooth, shiny sandstone buildings looked as though God himself had carved them straight from a monolith far beyond mortal understanding. Mixed with the tan of the sandstone was the cool green of the leaves of the palm trees swaying in the wind. Even at night, these beautiful trees would give a passing animal a soothing accompanying breeze.

If there were three things an animal in the city could say about Sahara Square, it would be these: the sun was always warm and lovely (for any animal that was not a polar bear); the casinos always doled out money like broken ATMs (but only to those who won their games); and the amount of car thievery was ridiculously high (especially when most of the animals living full-time in Sahara Square drove cars like Hamborghinis and Catston Martins).

Other than the car thievery, Sahara Square was a delectable getaway for animals who wanted luxurious housing, splendorous views, and, with the addition of extra security, a refuge from car thieves.

But the high amount of grand theft auto was not the reason the ZPD cruiser was slowly moving down the Palm Strip and into the parking lot of the Palm Hotel and Casino.

The driver of the cruiser had reasons of her own.

Officer Judy Hopps motored the huge car through the wide, leafy lanes of the Palm Hotel, which was surrounded on all sides by flashy cars and flashy animals as they drove into the massive parking lot. High above the cruiser, the five-star, thousand-foot-tall, world-famous building stood in the shape of a colossal palm tree, and was crowned up on the furthest point with enormous, green fiberglass leaves. These sent gorgeously cool green shadows down onto the ground below it, making any animal that passed by feel as though they were walking on a beach made solely for giant dinosaurs. The massive pond above the enormous lobby section of the building spilled out over its edges into the massive pond around the building. Without a doubt, the Palm was a very, very classy building. The prices for a room alone were beyond outlandish, even if they did offer 360-degree views of the city.

Beside Judy, Nick Wilde, her closest friend, sat in the passenger seat, chomping with vigor on a toothpick.

Nick's foxy gaze was known for critically reviewing everything he saw, with a long list of exceptions (usually Carrots, blueberries, his friend Finnick's van, etc). Perhaps he wasn't actually that critical of everything.. His shifty green eyes slid back and forth, examining the rich and famous animals around him, recognizing that they probably had way too much money, more than they knew what to do with.

As the huge vehicle rumbled to a stop in the roundabout in front of the massive tree-shaped building that was the Palm Hotel, Judy felt a rush of excitement. They, along with a few other officers, had been given a special assignment by Chief Bogo.

"Ah, yes," Nick drawled as he stepped out of his side of the car, "and now for your ever-recurring favorite show, Life and Times of the Rich, Famous and Way Too Rich."

Judy couldn't help but roll her violet eyes before responding. "Nick, it's not really that bad," she assured him, even though she wasn't really sure he believed her. "Only half of the animals on that show are actually telling the truth."

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