It was now nighttime, and Judy was fast asleep. She was dreaming that she was a kitten going on vacation in Mataraja Falls with her family. Her tour guide was a kangaroo, and he was guiding the Hopps family to the top of a cliff.
"This place is called Avian Peak." Said the kangaroo. "This clifftop gets it's name because there have been lots of avian sightings. Can anyone tell me what avian means?" Judy raised her paw.
"I know, I know!" She said. "Avian is another word for bird. A bird is classified by having feathers, a beak, warm-blooded, and lays eggs."
"Very good!" Said the kangaroo. "Just make sure that you stand still. Hawks have keen vision." They continued walking, and they saw a large nest.
"Look at that." Whispered the kangaroo. "It's a bird's nest." He hopped over to the nest and found feathers. He picked one up and smelled it. "Most likely a red-tailed hawk, but where is the hawk?" Suddenly, Judy got captured by the hawk!
"Put me down this instant!" She shouted. "When I grow up, I'm gonna be a police officer in Zootopia, and that means I'll put you behind bars!" The hawk turned his head around, and he gave a maniacal laugh.
"You think we can change our diets that quickly?" Asked the hawk, who looked a lot like Cory. "You're stupider than you look! You and your family will make a great meal for our clan!"
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Judy shot up awake screaming. She was on the boat with Nick, Nibbles, and Cory. Her screech was loud enough to wake up the other animals.
"Carrots, what happened?" He asked, walking over to comfort Judy.
"I had a nightmare last night." Judy replied. "I had a dream I was a kitten, and my family and I were at Matarajah Falls. We were on a cliff, and I got taken by a hawk who wanted to eat me! And what's worse, it was Cory who wanted to eat me!"
"Geez, talk about a vivid dream." Said Nick. "I guess those sea grapes Nibbles dived for last night didn't agree with you. Good thing I stopped by Ungu-Latte's before we left. I wouldn't touch seafood even if we were at a seafood restaurant! Instead, I had a sandwich that I bought fare and square along with a soda."
"I had a weird dream, too." Said Nibbles. "Remember that strange animal I described last night, a human? Well, I dreamed I swapped brains with one!"
"Are you still afraid of me, Judy?" Asked Cory. "I swear to God that I would never eat a talking animal. How many times do I have to tell you?"
"I know that." Replied Judy. "But my instincts still tell me that all birds are blood-thirsty predators. No offense."
"None taken." Answered Cory.
"Alright, you sea dogs!" Said Renato. "It's 7:00 in the morning, and we'll be arriving at Canary Island any second now." An island comes into view, and it's a forest with birdhouses on every tree.
"This is it." Said Cory. "Canary Island. Animals don't wear clothes here, so you'll have to take your clothes off."
"Don't worry, land-lubbers!" Said Renato as the Nick, Judy, Nibbles, and Cory took off their clothes. "I'll watch over your clothes and electronic items while you're gone." Nick walked over to the seal to check his pocket for something.
"There you are!" Said Nick, grabbing his homing beacon and stuffing it in his tail. The quartet of animals walked off the boat and onto Canary Island, where they were stopped by a group of echidnas walking on all fours.
"Halt!" Said an echidna. "Who goes there?"
"It's me, Cory." Said the hawk. "Remember? The hawk that refuses to eat animals that talk."
"Cory?" Asked another echidna. "Welcome back, and it seems you brought food like you promised."
"Yeah." Cory lied. "Food." He then whispered to his mammalian friends. "Don't worry. This is all an act so we can get into the village. I haven't found any reptiles, but I found mammals!"
"I thought mammals give you indigestion." Said another echidna.
"News flash, prickle-beak." Said Nick. "Echidnas are mammals, too!"
"No, we're birds!" Said the first echidna. "See our beaks?"
"Nick actually has a point." Said Judy. "Despite having beaks and laying eggs, echidnas are mammals. Not reptiles. Besides, if you really were birds, where are you wings and feathers?"
"We have feathers!" Said the second echidna. "They're just sharp."
"Those aren't feathers, my friend." Said Nibbles. "Those are quills, and porcupines and hedgehogs have them too!"
"And who ever heard of a bird sweating milk?" Asked Judy. One echidna used her long tongue to lick herself, and the sweat felt tasty. "Say, this tastes great. Almost as good as ants!"
"Maybe Nolan was wrong." Said another echidna. "Perhaps we aren't birds."
"Is Nolan this scary owl I keep hearing about?" Asked Nibbles. "The one works turns the non-bird animals into slaves?"
"Yes, that's him." Said Cory. "Anyway, can we go in?"
"You sure can!" Said an echidna, and the monotremes got out of the way to let Cory and his friends in. When the four made it to the center of Bird Village, everyone was surprised to see Cory back.
"Look." Said a secretary bird. "Cory's back! And he brought back food!"
"Food?" Asked Judy. "No, we're here to rescue the slave animals!" Nolan overheard the rabbit and flew down to inspect the ruckus on the forest floor, with Floyd following behind him.
"Cory!" The owl shouted. "You're back, but where are your reptiles? You were assigned to get one to eat."
"But we don't have to!" Pleaded Cory. "About a day's flight away from Bird Village is Zootopia, where predator and prey live together in harmony without eating each other."
"And best of all," Said Judy. "Zootopia is a place where anyone can be anything!" The Canary Island residents, bird and non-bird alike, started murmuring to each other.
"A place where anyone can be anything?" Asked a guinea pig.
"Does that mean I don't have to eat mice or squirrels?" Asked a hamerkop.
"I don't have to operate the pullys?" Asked an emerald tree boa. All this chatter made Nolan's blood boil.
"ENOUGH!!!!" He screeched. "Cory, you promised that you'd bring a reptile back and eat it alive, yet you failed. Because of that, you shall die. As for the offerings, the fox will be forced to plant flowers to attract bugs, the beaver will search the pond for fish and frogs, and the rabbit will be dinner." Tears started forming in Judy's eyes.
"You can't do this!" Said Nick as he pulled out the beacon from his tail. "This isn't fair!"
"Who said life was fair?" Asked Nolan. "The fox will be cooked, too." Luckily, before he was grabbed by a great horned owl, Nick pressed the button on the beacon that will summon the ZPD to Canary Island.
Author's Notes: Mataraja Falls is named after Maharajah Jungle Trek at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Here's you'll see flying foxes, tigers, a Komodo dragon, blue crowned pigeons, and even though I didn't see any, water buffalo.
Sea grapes are a type of seaweed native to the Indo-Pacific. It is eaten by people across the region, such as Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines. You might remember diving for these plants in Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Another scrapped idea for Zootopia 1 was a café called Ungu-Latte's, a play on the word ungalte, another word for hoofed mammal.
Nibbles's dream is an obvious nod to Pixar's 30th feature film, Hoppers. I know it's a little strange to have a Pixar film referenced in a WDAS-based story, but there's already a Ratatouille reference in Zootopia 2. It's also a coincidence that the mice in Zootopia look similar to Remy!
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