The Fire Triangle, A Zootopia Fanfiction -- Part One: Fuel - 17

Disclaimer: Zootopia stories, characters, settings, and properties belong to the Walt Disney Co. This story is written under Fair Use Copyright laws.

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The Fire Triangle—A Zootopia Fanfiction

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Part One:

Fuel

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Chapter 3 – Day of Carrots and Blueberries

(Continued...Pt. 9)

Erin Hopps was out of her league, way out of her league...and Judy Hopps knew it.

In her time with the ZPD, Judy had questioned street-thugs, gangers, smugglers, car-thieves, fences, burglars, and counterfeiters. After all of that, a 13-year-old sister with a 'tude was not a particular challenge.

And so she stood, leaning against a light pole with her arms folded and one leg crossed over the other in a figure-four, listening to Erin's explanation with a placid expression and no comment.

(Yet!)

Mercifully, for Erin's sake, Judy was at least making this a private Q-and-A; she had taken her younger sister out behind the dealer's stalls, leaving Cotton and her other siblings with Nick, (much to the younger bunnies' disappointment,) and hopefully out of earshot.

As for Erin's GFs, they'd responded to Judy's appearance as any girls that age would have.

"Oops, gotta go."

"Later, Erin."

"C ya girlfriend."

"T-T-Y-L."

When Erin finally wrapped up her presentation, Judy had only one question for her.

"He tried to kiss you?"

"Yes!' Erin replied, spreading her paws at 4 and 6, fingers extended in a clawlike manner as if to emphasize the word. "So yeah, I hit him. I mean, how would you feel if a fox tried to kiss YOU?"

Judy coughed into fist, remembering al-Rafaj Jewelers. Without even trying, her younger sister had just scored a bullseye—but of course, she didn't know that.

And the older bunny wasn't about to tell her. Instead she furrowed her brow, and began pensively massaging her chin, looking very serious.

"All right, that's serious Erin—felony misconduct. Come on, we need to go find one of the Sheriff's deputies."

She pushed herself up off the pole and turned as if to go. Almost immediately, she heard Erin's voice coming from behind her. "Wait!"

Judy waited, but did not turn around, not right away. When she finally did, she saw her younger sister trying hard not to look shaken.

"What is it Erin?" Judy asked, (as if she didn't know.) "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Judy." The younger bunny insisted, "Really, and I don't need to go talk to any Sheriff's dep. I smacked up that creep up good."

For a hint of a second, Judy fought the urge to smile. Erin talking like a 'girl from da hood' sounded about as natural as Chief Bogo singing, 'Oops, I Did It Again'.

"Yes, and good for you that you did, sis," Judy nodded approvingly, and then her face turned utterly grim. "But what about the next girl he tries it with? No, we need to go report this and right now."

She turned away again, this time beckoning with a finger.

Erin did not follow her, instead assuming her favorite tough grrl stance.

"He won't," She said, "not after that mark I left upside his face." It was as close to a growl as was possible for a bunny...and sounded even more artificial than her attempt at 'homie-speak'.

Judy shook her head. "Yes, he will Erin, he'll just pick a weaker target next time." She tapped at her chest, the spot where she normally wore her badge. "Trust me, I know these things. Now, let's go."

"WAIT!" Erin called again, but this time there was a plaintive edge to her voice. She seemed to wilt for a second, and then looked down into the grass, unable to meet her sister's eyes.

"Okayyyy , he didn't really try to kiss me..."

"What happened, Erin?" Judy had assumed her earlier pose, once again waiting patiently.

That was how it went for the next twenty minutes. Erin would tell the story, and when she was done, Judy would simply ask, "What happened?" And with each retelling, another layer of varnish would come off, until the tale was finally pared down to the truth.

...including at least one little tidbit that Erin hadn't mentioned even to her girlfriends.

"....so then I heard a sound like a horn or something, and when I looked, all I saw were these two eyes like furnace vents. It scared the sweet be-cheezes out of me Judy, I swear, I almost wet myself."

She shuddered slightly at the memory, and Judy could see that this time her sister wasn't acting. Okay, now they could move on.

She put a paw on the younger bunny's shoulder.

"Look Erin, that boy was out of line with what he said, but that still doesn't justify you hitting him," she raised an ear and an eyebrow," OR bragging about it to your friends. I have to say it little sis, that was really being a dumb bunny. Do you WANT mom to find out about this?"

Erin drew back in horror as if Judy had suddenly burst into flame. Why hadn't she thought of that herself?

"You won't tell her, will you?" Her voice was a high whimper.

Judy sighed and shook her head.

"No Erin, I won't tell on you, but I heard what you said back there; you thought I was mom for a second. And you were right to do that, because she's going to find out."

The younger bunny said nothing to this, only looked at her pitifully. Judy nonetheless caught the unspoken question, and sighed again; only this time it was more of a grumble.

"Yes Erin, she'll find out. She's MOM; she always find out."

"She won't...make me pull out of the talent show, will she?" Erin looked even more pathetic.

It was a question Judy hadn't anticipated and she had to think it over for a second. No, their mother wouldn't forbid Erin to participate in the talent show, not even for a worse offense than using her feet to settle an argument; there was much too much riding on the young girl-bunny's performance for that to happen. It was the dress rehearsal for her Performing Arts Academy audition after all. Their mother would never dream of...

"Judy, this is my LIFE!" Erin cried out suddenly, having mistaken her older sister's hesitation for something else.

The unexpected outburst sent Judy's train of thought skidding off the tracks for a second, and in the awkward silence that followed, another voice spoke up.

"Um, excuse me?"

Judy looked...and gasped, and then all at once her face became a granite mask with a twitching nose and laid-back ears.

"Nick! What the heck do you think you're doing?" She began thumping her foot so hard it punched a divot into the ground. "Darn you, this is a private conversation, and..."

...and he was supposed to be watching the other kids, and now they were probably hiding nearby and listening in, too. Before Judy could say this however, the red fox hurriedly raised his paws.

"I know, Carrots, but there's something YOU don't know, something very important that I need to tell you both."

Judy stopped her tirade, but her foot continued to thump. And now Erin's foot joined in on backup.

"Go on." She said

Nick took a short breath and then turned to speak to Erin.

"I bumped into Conor right after he left the barn. He knows he was out of line with what he said, and he feels bad about it now.

Judy started to raise a finger, but then her partner quickly adjusted his sights.

"He made me promise not to talk about it, Carrots; that's why I didn't say anything before." He shrugged, adding, "But since you already know anyway, I figure now there's no harm in telling."

"Okay," Judy nodded, her ire rapidly cooling. Yes, they did need to know this, and if that was the case, Nick had been absolutely right to keep what he knew to himself.

She watched him turn to speak to her sister again.

"But there's one thing, Erin. Conor didn't realize was scaring you, he was looking at his cell-phone when you spotted him. I bet that if he'd seen you, he'd never have made that crack about a kiss."

Judy looked at Erin and then back towards Nick. No, and Erin sure as heck wouldn't have let on to Conor that he'd frightened her. Look at the way she'd kept it from her girlfriends. (It was the code of the tough grrls, you never showed fear—eh-VER!)

Heck, she'd had to PRY it out of her younger sister.

"I think if you told him about it, he'd apologize." Nick was saying, "He's halfway ready to say he's sorry already."

"Well there you go, little sis." Judy said, giving Nick a quick appreciative nod, and then laying a paw on Erin's shoulder again, "If mom finds out what happened but you've already buried the hatchet with Conor....well, then she won't be mad about it."

Erin spread her arms in exasperation; she still had a little 'tude left.

"How am I supposed to do that, Judy? He's working the table where they're selling those Japanese Gazelle shirts. You know how long it'll take me to get to the front of the line?"

"Sorry sis, but that's the way the carrot cake crumbles." Judy answered with a shrug. She suspected that having to wait in line wasn't the real reason Erin was balking at Nick's suggestion; she'd rather do anything than admit to Conor Lewis's face that he had frightened her.

"Almost anything," Judy coolly reminded herself, glancing away over the tops of the vendors' stalls and towards the gantry of the outdoor stage.

It didn't matter anyway because Nick Wilde had a ready solution to her sister's (alleged) dilemma.

"Allow me," he said, pulling out his cell-phone and holding it aloft in the manner of a stage magician presenting 'an ordinary object.'

Then he scrolled and punched in a number on his speed dial.

"Hello, Finnick? Listen, I know you're busy but can you put Conor on for just a second? Yeah, thanks." He waited and then, "Hi kid. Listen, I won't keep you, but I'm here with Erin and Judy Hopps and... No! No Conor, I didn't tell her, but Judy knows anyway; she overheard Erin talking about it to her friends. Yes, that's right. But listen, there's something you don't know, kid. Well it's something I think you need to hear from Erin, and not from me."

He held out the phone in Erin Hopps' direction, but Judy immediately waved him off, swiftly turning her gaze on Erin before the younger bunny could object.

"No sis, not over the phone; face to face."

Nick nodded and put the phone to his ear again.

"Did you hear that, Conor? Yeah. Yeah, okay, I'll tell her."

He put his paw over the phone again.

"He says he'll meet you in back of Finnick's van in half an hour. Is that good for you?"

"That works." Erin answered quickly, (more in response to the look Judy was giving her than the red fox's words.)

Nick nodded and spoke into the phone again. "She says okay. Right, bye now."

He put the cell away and Judy nodded.

"Okay Erin, I think we're done here. You can go."

Erin nodded and turned to leave, but then was quickly yanked back by a caveat from her older sister.

"Just so you know sis, I'm going to call and make sure you went through with it."

Erin thumped her foot again, but the protest that followed wasn't quite what Judy expected.

"Well DUH you're going to check up on me; give me some credit, huh Jude? I get enough of that 'dumb-bunny' garbage from other species, 'kay?"

And then she was gone.

"She's your sister, all right." Nick chuckled in the background.

"Can we go on the rides now?"

They turned and saw Cotton and Timmy, looking upwards with pouty expression.

"Well at least they're not arguing again." Judy thought with a wry smile.

There was no question of which ride to go on first; if they picked anything else, the Ferris wheel, the Orange Stringer, The Astro-Jets, The Flying Saucers, the Tea Party, The Carousel, etc. the kids would invariably demand, "Why can't we go on the roller-coaster?"

And so the roller coaster it was, an attraction that went by the simple name of Bald Mountain

Actually Judy was as eager as any of her brothers and sisters to get on the coaster, though for a slightly different reason.

Here was her chance to get a picture of Nick Wilde, the fox who never let things get to him, (yeah, right!) screaming like a little girl—perhaps even catch him on video. The thought was enough to make her ears want to curl up like cinnamon rolls. Ooooo, eeeeyes!

Someone nudged her from behind.

"Judy, the line's moving."

"Oops, sorry Jessie."

She hurriedly stashed her cell phone. Yes, it was set for the camera function, yes the lens was clean, yes she had enough data storage, so stop your fidgeting Judy Hopps.

The coaster was a newer one, with rails set on a brightly painted triangular frame. Judy counted three loops, two corkscrews and a spiral. If one of those things didn't get the fox going, another one surely would.

And speaking of Nick, when she turned and looked back for a second, Judy saw something that made her ears stand up and her nose start twitching.

The red fox was gazing out over the amusement concession, his face a kaleidoscope of different emotions. First he was smiling, and then his expression turned wistful, then deep-blue sad, and then his hackles rose in momentary fury.

And then they lay back down again, and a sad smile crossed his face.

"What the heck is going on with him?" Judy wondered. It was heard to tell; Nick had donned his mirrored sunglasses and she couldn't see his eyes.

What she did see was the fox take out his cell-phone and scroll through if for second, staring down at something on the screen with an expression of...of...

Judy felt her ears rise up again. "Wha...? Nick almost looks like he's going to start crying."

Then the line moved forward once again, snapping both of them out of it.

The coaster cars turned out to be arranged in standard order; a single car up front for the rodents, then two cars for the smaller mammals, and three more behind for the larger species, the seats getting progressively bigger the further back you went. When the Hopps party boarded the ride, Judy found herself in the second car, with Timmy seated beside her, and Nick Wilde sitting directly behind.

She had planned it this way; when the time came, all she'd have to do was take out her cell, aim it over her shoulder and...

"Please Carrots, DON'T show that thing around the precinct, pleeeeeese?"

"Wellll, I don't know, Nick..."

YES!

As before, little Cotton insisted upon attaching herself to the fox, sitting beside him and holding his paw. (She would have been seated in his lap again if the attendant hadn't vetoed the idea.)

Settling a little deeper into her seat, Judy pulled down the safety bar and waited. A second later, the coaster pulled away from the entrance platform and began to churn its way up the ramp.

'Bald Mountain' was an apt name for the attraction. Like all mobile coasters it came with no frills and no scenery, depending entirely on twists, turns, drops, and loops for its thrills.

And speaking of drops, they had reached the top of the lift-hill, and down we go!

The initial drop was almost vertical, and Judy nearly forgot to grab her camera phone. All around her the kids were screaming. Was Nick losing it too? She couldn't tell; there were too many other shrieking voices for her to pick his out of the chaos.

From the first drop, the coaster went over a series of rolling hillocks. It was fairly tame stuff, and she didn't even try to get a picture of the fox. But now came the first loop, and Judy had to hold her cell-phone in practically a death grip to keep from it from slipping away as the car went up, over, and upside-down. Behind her there were more screams—and also the sound of one of the larger mammals saying 'adios' to his lunch. From there the coaster went into another drop, shorter than the first and then into the first corkscrew. (She barely got her phone out in time for that one.) Another drop followed and then another, and then the cars went into a second loop, smaller than the first. Judy didn't bother with the camera-phone here; she wanted to save it for what she knew was coming up.

Because here came the second lift-hill.

This time the drop took them straight into a corkscrew. Luckily for Judy Hopps, she saw it coming in plenty of time and was able to get the phone-cam ready. From there, the coaster went into another series of rolling hills and then up and around the big loop. Now Nick was screaming; Judy was sure that she heard him, and she switched the phone to video cam, recording for a full ten seconds as the coaster went flying around the arc.

But the Bald Mountain Coaster still had one more card to play, the rattlesnake, a circular vortex in which the cars spun around an ever-tightening series of coiled tracks.

When the coaster eased back into the station, Judy couldn't wait to pull up the safety bar, though not for the same reason as some of her fellow riders. ("I wanna get off! I wanna get off!" a young feline voice was chanting a somewhere behind her.)

No, in the case of Judy Hopps it was because she couldn't wait to see what treasures her cell-phone camera must have captured; she was like a lotto ticket holder who just KNOWS that hers is the winning number.

But first she had to get some privacy. No problem; she simply excused herself to go use the little girl bunny's room and off she went.

She had to wait nearly a full minute for an empty stall; it seemed like six hours. But then finally it was her turn and she bounded inside the waiting cubicle, shutting the door behind her and scrolling eagerly through her cell-phone's picture library.

Almost immediately, her face fell into the linoleum. "What the...?"

The first pic was from the initial drop; and not only was Nick not screaming, he wasn't even raising his arms—or holding on to the safety bar. Instead, his arms were lying folded across his midsection, and his face looked like...like...

"Sweet cheese n' crackers, he almost looks bored!" Judy gaped, barely able to register what she was seeing.

She scrolled on to the next picture. This was the one from the first loop and it was even more bewildering that the first image. Once again, Nick looked as cool as one of the Pawpsicles he used to sell.

"And how the HECK did you manage to keep your sunglasses from falling off?" Judy's voice was almost screaming in her head.

The bunny's mood did not improve in the next few minutes; every one—every single one of the pictures that followed showed Nick wearing that same insouciant, 'yeah, whatever' look on his face. Through the corkscrews, the loops, the drops, even the vortex his expression never wavered. The video footage was even worse; it was as if he'd substituted a wax dummy of himself right before the coaster pulled out.

And the worst part was—Judy was certain of it—the red fox hadn't had a clue that she was filming him.

Jamming the phone back in its holster Judy banged the stall door open, so hard the wall shook and several other females stared. The Bunny ignored them all, stomping out of the powder room and back into the sunlight.

"Spoil MY fun, will you Nick?" she silently demanded of the fox...and speaking of that double-crosser, where the heck was he anyway?

Using her paw as makeshift visor, Judy turned in a slow circle, raising her ears like antennae. No Nick, but somewhere nearby a kid was performing the famous 'broken record' skit, "CAN'T we go again?" CAN'T we go again?" (It was the same young leopard cub who'd been begging to be taken off the coaster only moments ago.)

Judy finally spotted him waiting in line for the Furris Wheel with her younger siblings, giving little Cotton a ride on his shoulders.

And something inside of the bunny seemed to grab her and pull her back.

"What the heck is your problem, Jude? You should be showing Nick some admiration, not acting like he just dropped your birthday cake. And why did you even want that picture anyway?"

She took two long breaths and went over to him. Though her irritation had evaporated, she was still curious; just how had Nick managed to stay so calm throughout the ride...and how had he kept his shades from falling off for that matter?

The answer to the second question came almost immediately. Approaching the fox from the rear, Judy saw that his sunglasses were secured to his face by way of a neoprene strap encircling the back of his neck. D'ohhh, right; surfers used those things, too. Clever guy, that Nick Wilde.

But that still left her other question unanswered. Sidling up next to her partner Judy asked him, as casually as she could, "So, how did you like the roller coaster, Nick?"

The red-fox cleared his throat.

"Oh it was okay, Carrots," he answered, offering a small shrug, "but honestly, it could have been better and it could have been a LOT more scary."

"Really? How?" Judy felt her nose beginning to twitch.

"Well...take that first drop out of the lift-hill." Nick answered—and did he sound just a little uncomfortable? She couldn't quite tell.

"I mean, you come off the hill and down you go, whoosh." The fox was saying, illustrating the point with the flat of his paw. "A better way to do it is to have the drop start off gradually and then suddenly turn steep when the riders aren't expecting it. Same thing with the loops; you want at least one of them where the coaster slows down when it gets to the top of the curve, make it feel for a second as if you're about to get stuck in the air, hanging upside-down. Then when the car starts to go down again, make it sudden so that the passengers aren't ready for it. That's what makes for a great roller coaster ride, Carrots; it should always have a few surprises up its sleeve—and this one didn't"

"Ah, I see," Judy answered, trying hard to conceal her bewilderment. She had brought Nick on board the Bald Mountain coaster hoping to see him freak; instead she was getting a critique, and it only led to the biggest riddle of all.

Where the heck had he learned all this stuff?

Unable to gather her thoughts, Judy looked at her watch for a second.

Erin should just now be making her rendezvous with Conor Lewis. She hoped it would go well, because at least one of the things she'd said to her younger sister was a truism as old as the hills.

Mom always does find out.

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"Wait a minute, hold it. You didn't KNOW I was a fox?"

Conor Lewis was T-boning with his paws again, staring dumfounded at Erin Hopps.

They were out behind Finnick's van on dealer's row, while on the other side, the sale continued at full tilt. Luckily the fennec-fox had been able to buttonhole one of the sheriff's deputies, a bobcat, into helping them maintain order. It was the only reason he'd been able to spare Conor, even for a couple of minutes.

Erin held up a paw, pawlm outward.

"Swear to heck, I've never seen a fox with fur that color before. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a silver fox until my girlfriend Lisa told me about it."

Conor shoved his paws in his pockets and looked away for a second.

"Yeahhhh, we are getting kind of rare," he admitted in a melancholy half mumble.

It was an opening, and Erin quickly took advantage of it.

"Look, I'm sorry for going off on you like that, really." She said, "You scared the heck out of me fox." She went on, repeating in a rush what she'd said to her older sister. When she finished, she braced herself up, waiting for the inevitable rejoinder. 'Then why the heck didn't you say so in the first place?'

There was no comeback; Conor Lewis might never have heard his fellow fox's credo, 'Never let them see that they get to you,' but he understood the principle well enough. No, Erin wouldn't have wanted him to know she was afraid of him, not under those conditions. (HE wouldn't have either, had the situation been reversed.)

"Right, yeah I can see that now." he said, and then solemnly raised a paw, Ranger-Scout style, "And what you just told me, isn't going any further than right here, right now. You follow what I'm bringing out?"

Erin nodded, but then she felt her ears standing up.

"Yeah, thanks but..."

"But what...?

The bunny scratched at her nose, it was starting to twitch.

"Well that thing you just said, 'follow what I'm bringing out?' I never heard that expression before, is that something else from Zoo York?"

Conor's mouth pulled sideways for a second.

"Ehhh, sort of," he said, flipping a pawlm, "It's something another fox I knew back there used to say all the time. I guess I sorta picked it up from him."

"Kay," Erin nodded, and the young silver fox took a slow, deep breath.

"And I'm sorry for that...that thing I said about you kissing me. That was out of line." He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, and even through the black fur of his ears, the young bunny could have sworn she saw a hint of rising blush.

Then he looked at her again, and Erin felt a wave of disquiet. Even in contrition, there was something unsettling in those molten amber eyes of his.

"And...I hope you understand that I never would of actually tried to kiss you."

"Better not have, boy." Erin thought, (with more self-assurance than she felt) and then she said, "Yes, I know." And then it was her turn to feel a rising heat in her face. "And...I-I'm sorry for hitting you, Conor, really."

The young fox only shrugged and flipped his pawlm again, "Ahhh forget about it, Erin. I had it coming, know what I mean?"

Erin blinked as the realization came over her. She'd suspected it all along, but only on a subconscious plane. But now the thought was front and center—and now she was all but certain of it.

Conor had LET her plant that foot in his face...and now that the girl-bunny thought about it, he hadn't even flinched when she'd connected with him. It was as if he hadn't felt a thing.

Erin forced herself not to shudder. Without meaning to, the silver fox was scaring her again—but she wasn't about to own up to it, not again.

As things turned out, she didn't need to. The young fox seemed to sense her discomfort and quickly changed the subject.

"So, what time you playing again? 7:30, that right?"

"Yes, that's right," the girl bunny answered, the urge to get the heck out of here fading just enough to keep her in place for the moment.

"Cool," the silver fox offered her a thumbs-up. "What song you got in mind?"

Erin couldn't help grinning. "Adam's song by Mink 182."

The reaction she got was wholly unanticipated; she had expected either wicked delight or white-eared shock. Instead, this stupid fox was...frowning?

"What?" she demanded, feeling the ire starting to seep in through the cracks once more; "that song a little too edgy for you fox-boy?"

"No, too depressing." Conor answered, shaking his head. "If it were part of a set, yeah, but if you're only playing one song, you probably wanna stay away from a downer tune like that."

Erin internal temperature went up by fifteen degrees. Where the heck did this...this FOX get off lecturing her? She felt her paws go straight to her hips.

"Oh ,and I suppose you think I should play something nice like 'Girlfriend' or 'You belong With Me?"

"No," Conor answered her, refusing to take the bait, "I think you should play something edgy yeah, but also upbeat, "Get This Party Started." You'd crush that song, or 'Would I Lie To You?' by the Ewerhythmics, that one would give you a chance to strut your stuff on vocals AND on bass."

For just a hint of a second, Erin hesitated. The fox was right; either one of those tunes WOULD be great for her to perform.

But there was no way she was admitting it to this jerk. She pointed to the base of her neck and leaned forward.

"Listen bushytail, when I want your advice, I'll ask to be talked out of it."

"Whatever." Conor shrugged and turned to go, but then stopped and looked over a shoulder.

'By the way Erin, I'm signed up to perform myself, tomorrow night at 8," he winked, "just in case you're interested."

"I'm NOT!" she snapped, thinking, "Dang fox-creep, always trying to get in the last word!"

With that, the young bunny turned and stepped into her huff, and then departed in it.

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There is an Easter Egg in this chapter, actually several of them, referring to a certain series of theme parks we all know and love.