A/N: I apologize for the delay, and I apologize for the size. So far this is the largest chapter, a lot of explaining this time around and less action. Again, sorry in advance.

Ice Carvers, 121 Glacier Street in Tundra Town. It was about eight thirty in the morning, and the calls were already coming in for Cutters to arrive. Every night the Climate Wall would kick up a mild font of medium to low temperatures to compensate for the natural chill that occurred whenever the sun was down. In the morning the chill would intensify and blow fresh snow across the streets of Tundra Town, while the Climate Wall would renew the searing temperatures for Sahara Square. This shift in night time to morning temperatures would convince the milder, packed snow to gently melt and leak moisture all throughout the night then be turned to solid ice as the new chill arrived. This then was a job for Ice Carver's professional Ice Cutters. Ice Cutters were animals of all sizes that carried ice picks, De-Icer cannons, Roof Rakes, Ground Shovels, Blow Torches, Ropes and all manner of professional ice and snow removal equipment. Dressed for the job, they were also sporting thick winter coats on their fur, while wearing an orange scarf that read 'Carvers' in black and gold letters. Or if they weren't able to produce fur thick enough, they would instead take to wearing thick temperature controlled orange jackets with the same branding. Issued by the company for free of course.

Normally, trucks, vans and snow mobiles would have been deployed all over the city by now, but there was a mandatory meeting this morning at headquarters. It was announced on extremely short notice, but none the less it was a requirement for every Ice Carver to show up for it, to which everyone was present-except for three members.

A polar bear, a tundra wolf and an arctic fox.

The meeting room was full of Ice Carvers talking amongst themselves about their latest jobs. Each animal was actually different, since each job was different, so no two employees were of the same species. There were twenty three animals present, including the boss, and their sizes ranged from small, to medium to large, giving everyone a fair shot at doing some work on smaller jobs. Jobs like Chez's Cheez on Frost Avenue, or the large commercial jobs like clearing out parking lots at Mousy's.

The boss, a snow leopard with well oversized black ears, stood in front of the meeting room while everyone else talked amongst themselves. He wore next to nothing that said business, aside from his suit pants. He left the jacket in his office. He had on a white tank top, clearly stating that he, and the other Tundra biome animals, cared not for the cold. The snow leopard tapped his toe claws impatiently while leaning against the large oak desk at the head of the meeting room. His patience was great, but it was wearing thin by the minute. The three missing animals weren't late yet, but playing this close to the line was growing on his nerves. The snow leopard's red eyes shifted to the analog clock hanging on the wall. It was eight fifty-five, they had five minutes to get here before he locked them out and ruined their ability to remain professional under the watchful eye of the law. It was true that they were all professional ice cutters, a legitimate business, but the boss' latest report would ensure that everyone would newly know how to avoid being arrested on conspiracy or suspicion with ZAIRD on the loose.

The snow leopard drug his wide, black paws through his even blacker braided hair. Thickly wrapped locks that extended to nearly the center of his back and, while also not common on snow leopards, granted him a bit more protection against the cold.

Slowly his eyes shifted to the wall clock again, eight fifty-six. Only a moment has passed. His large black ears flexed to the vibrations of all the conversations occurring in the room around him. While other snow leopards had small and subtle ears, his own were large and sharp, more like that of a small feline or a vulpine's ears than a large cat. But they gave him an immense edge on hearing. He could hear almost every conversation in the room and identify the unique differences in everyone's voice. He could tell there was a lot of flirting between crew, but they never really fraternized during work hours so all was well on that front. Even earlier, while listening to news reports in his office. He detected the unique vibrations of a helicopter a few miles away, and the unmistakable repeating pops of gunfire. That's why he called this morning's meeting on such short notice.

In the basement garage, he could now hear a van pulling in like it was in a hurry. The loud, thump of car doors soon followed. Them the stomps and stamps of three separately weighted animals charging towards the basement elevator. The missing members were finally arriving. His eyes shifted to the wall clock, eight fifty-seven. They arrived and with minutes to spare. Lucky them.

Then only moments after, "We're here!" The polar bear, wolf and vixen came crashing through the door to the meeting room. The three were greeted with laughs from their co-workers, and a stern silent glare from their employer. The boss wasn't impressed, nor deterred. He only wanted to get things going.

"Sorry boss, traffic is..." Mondval, the Polar Bear began to explain but he didn't have any real excuse, he was just late because they were late.
"Just sit down Mondval." The snow leopard groaned lightly, a rich British accent padded beneath all his words. "Tone, Monica, I assume the both of you were with Mondval. Do keep up with the schedule. There is important business to discuss."

"How important?" Monica, the arctic fox inquired while taking a seat at a table along with Mondval and Tone, the tundra wolf.
The snow leopard opened his maw to release a large, fanged yawn. His black claws erected from his paws to gently slide across the surface of the oak desk he'd been patiently waiting in front of. Closing his mouth, he stood up straight and turned to the audience of ice carvers before him. "Well, let's get to it." With a flick of his paw, the lights in the room dimmed, and a projection illuminated the forward wall Ten was standing at.

'ZAIRD' was projected on the white board, running alongside one of the many news feeds from earlier this morning.

"ZAIRD," The snow leopard began. "There has been an announcement that ZAIRD has appeared inside Zootopia, and chances are they will begin a city wide sweep for the criminals responsible. For those of you unaware, the PMPI building in Downtown Zootopia was attacked this morning. It was some type of viral outbreak in the building that caused animals within to go savage and attack one another." There was a light gasp from his audience of Ice Carvers, some of them knew, others clearly didn't, but they all listened on anyway.

"The savage animals even attacked ZPD who arrived on scene, unfortunately killing them in the process. In the end, twenty animals died at approximately one o'clock this morning. But I didn't gather you all here to tell you that, I brought you here to tell you this..."

The snow leopard turned to his white board again, hitting a tiny remote palmed in his fist to advance his presentation. It brought up, what looked like, an advertisement for ZAIRD, that read.

' - To serve, protect, and defend Zootopia and animal kind everywhere.' It displayed their emblem and their central building, a tall black sky scraper near downtown Zootopia, closer to the Meadowlands than anywhere else technically. Although if any animal were to think back-that building wasn't actually there anymore. It may have been at one point but it seemed to have just disappeared in recent years.

"ZAIRD" The snow leopard called out to his employees. "Can anyone tell me what it stands for?"
Instantly, at least seven paws, and hooves went in the air. The leopard pointed towards a female ox, with muscles far larger than she looked like she needed, but she looked good in them regardless.
"It stands for, Zootopia Assault Infiltration and Rescue Division, Mr. Ten." She told him, referring to him by name, in a stern, but saucy tone of voice.

Ten, was the snow leopard's name, or at least that's what he told everyone.
"Incorrect." Ten informed her, much to the ox's shock. Followed by each paw and hoof retracting their bets. Apparently everyone only knew of the current ZAIRD, and not the one that was commissioned ten years ago and fell apart five years ago.

Ten nodded, "Alright then, ZAIRD actually stands for Zootopia Assault Infiltration Research and Rescue Division. Once upon a time, ZAIRD was abbreviated to ZAIRRD, and the organization was split into four units. Unit one was the Zootopia Assault Division, code name ZAD. Those were the guys all of our movies feature whenever we go fighting over seas with the lizards and the birds. Those are the guys who undergo the dangerous operations that require people to be tortured, fired upon and brought back alive... Those are the guys that both eat, and shit bullets. Those guys, are dangerous."

Again, his employees sat in total silence while he explained.
"Unit two is the Zootopia Infiltration Division, code named ZID. Those are the guys you virtually never see. Again, we make our movies about guys like that. The spies, the secret agents, the sleeper agents, the infiltrators... They blend in perfectly, gain as much information as they can about their target, then silently put them in the dirt and escape just as silently as they arrive." Ten spoke while staring at Monica, Mondval and Tone. All three of which looked absolutely paranoid by his accurate retelling of the Divisions, but didn't raise a paw to speak.

"Lastly," Continued the snow leopard, "Is the Zootopia Rescue Division, code named ZRD. These are our nuclear scrubbers. Our bomb defusal experts. Our chemical warfare phalanx. These are the animals that can save that who is dying. They can restore what is missing, and combat the uncurable. These guys save lives, from the smallest shrew, to the largest elephant, and they do it in a jiffy. But don't let the red cross fool you, they're tough as nails like the others they just shoot less and more accurately because of it."

"Sir?" A female lynx called up to Ten. "What about that fourth or the uh... third one? The Research department? I never heard of them before."

The lynx's comment was joined with the agreeing murmurs from other animals that also were oblivious to the existence of a fourth division of the secret police.
"Mhmm, the Research Division." Ten cleared his throat, advancing his slide again, showing a dated photo of the four Captains of each division twenty years ago. "The Zootopia Research Division was the only of the four Divisions that never went into live combat first. The Rescue Division were the medics, of course, so they were expected to receive live fire eventually. But the Research Division's primary goal was to identify whatever substance was in the air, water, or dirt that was getting into animal food or animal blood-and stop it from killing animals. Curing poisons, stopping plagues, destroying viruses. Most of the deadly diseases that wiped out our primitive beast predecessors, were completely wiped out by the work of this single division, and we have them to thank for many of our over the counter medicines that keep us healthy and well nourished. Technically, the Research division is also responsible for the bug burgers and jumbo shrimp that we all love so much. They're heroes just like the other three-but they were disbanded."

"Sir?" A male lion waved his paw in the air. "This is great and all and very informative. But, what does this have to do with us? We're just Ice Carvers, I don't think the history of the military is going to get us out on our routes any faster." Many nods followed the question while all the animals kept their attention locked on Ten, and the slide of the four ZAIRD commanders, wearing nothing but military uniforms finely decorated with medals and patches.

"I'm glad you asked." Ten smiled towards the lion as he put his paw down. "The reason is... ZAIRD will more than likely be flying in choppers, moving with APCs and, fingers crossed that this one never comes through, rolling tanks into the city. You are all responsible for your own well being while out on the ice, carving, cutting and de-icing-but if a ZAIRD vehicle buzzes past you and splatters you across the road-I'm powerless to do anything about it."

There was a hush among the employees, now understanding the presentation. ZAIRD was here to help, but they employed much stronger, strong armed tactics than the ZRD or even the military in some instances. Ten continued with his explanation, "I can't stop any of these vehicles from rolling past, flying over or even seizing a portion of the city. On top of that-I can't stop any of ZAIRD from pulling over, or arresting any of you for anything. They're police. So while I'm not saying that they're crooked, and will grab you just because... They ARE allowed to grab you just because. So if any of you have done something wrong, or personally don't like law enforcement. Or are just in a bad mood and don't like high tech military grade devices flying over your heads... I implore you, I beg you, I'm praying, that you will just stuff it. And do your damn jobs."

There was now mild chuckling coming from the twenty five animals sitting before the snow leopard. "There's no way I can stop them from arresting any of you, and if they harm you, by accident or on purpose... there's not much I can do about that either. They're only here because they were announced by the ZPD, otherwise they'd still be ghosts in our own back yard."

Mondval, the polar bear sitting with Monica and Tone rose a large paw, "But-How long will ZAIRD be in city?"
"Mondval." Ten exhaled, "They've always been in the city... They're only showing their necks because ZPD announced it, probably to their exact disapproval. Which means they don't have to play nice anymore. They're going to be all over the streets like they own them until whatever investigation the police has them on-is through. So again," Ten turned to everyone as the lights returned and the projection faded away, "If there's any resentment for the Special Forces or Law Enforcement-keep it in your hat, and shovel the snow, alright?" With that animals began to rise from their seats, shuffling for the door to begin their days work.

Tone rose a paw, snatching the snow leopard's attention. "Um... Mr. Ten?" His paw was shaking while he was looking at his phone nervously.
"Yes, Tone? What is it?" Ten acknowledged the wolf past a rhino and cheetah stepping out of the room. Trying to discover the reason behind the grey tundra wolf's terrified expression. It was as if he'd seen a ghost.

"I have to make a phone call... I was just informed that one of my family members was involved in the PMPI incident this morning."

Ten's ears slipped towards the back of his head, visibly showing his grief for all to see. Mr. Ten, the snow leopard, was a hard man, a patient man and a strong individual. But he was not above empathy for his fellow animal. "That is terrible news." The snow leopard sighed. "Well-I suppose all I was trying to say everyone was... If you see helicopters, or vehicles that don't look civilian. Check your speed, and stay out of their way. Don't get arrested. Don't get killed. Okay? Good, now get out there and shovel some snow and break some ice."

.

.

Chief Bogo was sitting in his office chair. He was at his desk, exhausted and staring straight into the ceiling with nothing but doubt in his mind. He didn't know what was happening anymore. He didn't know what was supposed to happen next. He hadn't even issued any real orders aside from directing his officers to the homes of animals that had lost their loved ones in that horrible attack earlier in the day. His mouth opened releasing, a deep sigh of aggravation, depression, desperation and confusion. What was happening to this city in only a few short hours? What would become of this city in the next few hours? What other phone calls would he suddenly get today? Where had the time gone?

Just last week, things were proceeding as normal with Officers Hopps and Wilde roughing up Duke Weasleton to discover a bank robbery was going to occur, and they thwarted it. In their first days as real officers and partners, they found and shut down the malicious street racer that had been ripping up Sahara Cental and now the Department of Mammal Vehicles has never been faster at processing requests. But now, Hopps and Wilde were missing. ZRD clearly shit the bed when it came to properly maintaining their charges. That was a nightmare in itself to even think about. On top of all that, Ex-Mayor LionHeart was awake, and now he would be assaulting Bogo's phone any minute with a panic attack.

LionHeart was still a lazy piece of work, but with his title stripped and only given the opportunity to serve as a figure head instead of a politician. The man was actually showing genuine interest in the city instead of furthering his post and remaining in office. When it comes to scandals and screw ups, LionHeart would no doubt go down in history as one of the biggest. But as he'd mentioned on the news after BellWeather was captured. He was doing the wrong thing or the right reason. He tried-only in the most ass way possible. However, now the city was so mysterious and scary, LionHeart had no choice other than to keep posted with the news and keep calling Bogo whenever he had a question about a mysterious organization he received threatening letters from years ago.

Bogo's land line phone began to ring.
"Think of the Devil, and he shall beckon."Bogo whispered, while adjusting to sit straight up and reached forward to seize his phone.
"Bogo speaking." The ox exhaled deeply, hating that the Mayor was now his phone pal so frequently.
"Chief Bogo?" A haggard voice came through the receiver, sounding as if it had run a mile before making the phone call.
"W-who is... Who is this?" Bogo paused, trying to remember the voice. So much has happened in such a short time. Running on no sleep, spirit effectively battered, work schedule in absolute anarchy. But through all that Bogo could still just barely recognize the voice. He'd heard the voice recently, this the tone, the volume, it all sounded so familiar. "Identify yourself."
"It's me Chief." The voice spoke low, near a whisper. "Benson."
"Benson!?" Bogo sat up straight at his desk. "Are you on a... land line? Why are you calling in the middle of the morning?" The ox hadn't guessed Benson, matching the face with the tone did remind him of the wolf on night shift however.

"Sir." Benson exhaled, "I'm at a pay phone, a block down from Ice Carvers."
"Ice Carvers?" Bogo's brow wrinkled. "Wait-?" Chief Bogo's mind broke open the truth. He'd completely forgotten about the undercover agents that had been deployed in Tundra Town.

The wolf coughed, then spoke into the phone again. "This is Agent Thane Benson, Chief. Badge Number one three..."
"Benson!" The chief snapped into the phone. "I know perfectly well who you are now, I apologize... You and your brother..."
"Is he alright, Chief?" Thane inquired quickly, asking about Pete. "I couldn't live with myself if something were to h-"
"He's fine son, he's fine." Bogo reassured the weary agent. "What about you? Why are you calling? Has your situation changed?"
"Yes sir." Thane sighed laying on the bad news, "Agents Jeager, Nolan and Clawson are ... dead, sir."
Chief Bogo nearly dropped the phone away from his ear at the grim news. Thane continued.

"They followed the tracking probe I had installed on a suspicious mark after trading stolen weapons. A fennick fox who was harboring a woman that looked suspiciously like Judy Hopps, who I saw on the news recently. So I activated the probe as the mark pulled away, deploying Jeager, Nolan and Clawson but they were intercepted by a ZAIRD chopper and failed to report in. Their vitals are also reading deceased on my devices... so I have no reason to believe they survived their encounter with them, sir."

"... we just lost six animals earlier today." Bogo mouthed into the phone.
"Aw Chief..." Thane's voice cracked, his spirit being tested.
"One is critically injured... and likely to return but... the other five are... gone." The ox sighed, his shoulders slumping. But he summoned his resolve, again, as he'd been doing for the past few long hours. "Abort the mission."
"I can't sir." Thane immediately refused.
"What are you saying?" Bogo's voice didn't even rise in aggravation. "Why would you work alone? Your eyes, ears and nose have been cut off."
"I've trained for this, sir. I can apprehend Ten on my own." Thane continued to argue. "I'm not prepared to leave."

"Ten?!" Bogo nearly shouted, "You work for him, what are you-wait." The Chief paused. "Are you saying Ten is your mark? He's an Ice Cutter."
"He's a weapon smuggler, sir." Thane reported.
"What!?" Bogo couldn't believe it. "How can you be so sure? Where is your report?"
"It was with Clawson, sir. I've only just gained access to sell weapons under Ten. Most of the other animals here don't even know this place is a front. They genuinely think it's an ice cutting and snow plowing business."

"Son. You're the only operative left from a four man team. You were trained for this-but trained to work as a team. You can't accomplish this alone." Bogo attempted to talk sense into the wolf, sensing that Thane wasn't all there anymore. He'd been gone so long, he may have forgotten what it was like to actually be an officer.
"I'm not exactly alone sir. My other... co-workers, are smart, strong and intelligent individuals that I can probably trust."
"Probably?" Bogo grunted, "There are no room for probables, Thane. I'm not conducting another funeral for any more of my officers. Your orders are to return to ZPD headquarters."
"I'm undercover sir, I'm disavowed by the ZPD. So I don't take orders from you." Thane informed him in a pained tone. His spirit fell, he didn't want to sound like a traitor, but he had a job to do and he was determined to see it through.

"Thane... you arrogant fool! Think of what you're doing! Think about how far in you are! The ZPD had no clue that Ten was your mark! He's easily prepared to deal with situations like this, and people like you! Abort the mission!" Bogo shouted as loud as he could in his usual, demanding tone.
"You don't have to shout! I'll see if I can get time off." Thane responded.
"Time off?" Bogo repeated, "What the devil are you-"
"I know, it's just... tough news is all. I'm fine, I'm a man too after all, Dad."
"Dad?" Bogo paused-understanding what Thane was doing now. Undercover work.

"Son." The ox changed his tune.
"Dad?" Thane followed suit, acknowledging Bogo's now playing ball too.
"I love you." Bogo choked out. "We all love you, make your family proud."
"I will, I love you too dad." Thane then quickly hung up-leaving Bogo hanging on the line.

It had been some time since he'd ever had to say those words, and he'd never actually said them to a man before. But if there was anything Bogo would do-it would be to keep his men alive. Thane obviously had someone closing in on him and he couldn't speak as Thane Benson anymore, he needed to return to his disguise, his secret identity-Thane needed to return to being Tone Whitepaw.

"God damn it." Chief Bogo hung up the land line phone, and didn't even get a moment's breath to himself before the phone rang again... He didn't know what to say this time, so he guessed.

"This is Dad speaking." Bogo guessed wrong.
"Dad?" An asian voice crept through the phone, then exhaled like they'd been smoking. "Chief Bogo, cut the games-this is Luis."
The Chief sighed heavily, "Sorry about that Detective. I was just on the phone with-"
"Agent Benson?" Luis cut Bogo off.
"What?!" Bogo shouldn't have been surprised-Detective Luis was an enigma. "How'd you discover that? That's classified top-secret information!"
"I talked up Clawhauser with a box of bear claws and got a list of your officers before I left this morning. It's good to stay informed."
"Why in the hell did Clawhauser hand you the list of undercover operatives?!" Bogo boomed, wanting to berate that blubbery cheetah at the front desk.
"Because they were a baker's dozen, but that's not important Chief. If you just got off the horn with Benson, then that means you already know the bad news?"
"That three agents are dead." The Chief's ears fell against the sides of his face. "Right?"
"Unfortunately." Luis confirmed, exhaling again. "What Benson probably didn't tell you, is that they were shot down by ZID."

"We have no time for probables, Detective Strider." Bogo held his head with his free cloven hand, while nearly ramming the phone into his temple with the other paw. Damn it, too many men were dying today.
"Sure we do." Luis replied quickly taking another drag from his cigarette. "But I'll repeat myself without the probable. Jeager, Nolan and Clawson were killed by ZID."

Chief Bogo had heard him the first time-but he wasn't sure he wanted to truly process the information.
"Why...?" The Chief's voice grew weaker, unable to comprehend why his allies-were shooting at his own men. Even though they were undercover, they were supposed to identify themselves to other law enforcement immediately. Unless ZID was somehow crooked.
"That I can't say for sure just yet." Luis exhaled, "But I can say that it didn't stop there... Something is seriously wrong with ZAIRD right now."
"Why?" Bogo sat up again, probably for the twentieth time today. "What happened? Where are you right now?"

"On the south connecting bridge that shoots through the Climate Wall, you know... the hot/cold death trap bridge. The one that only the most desperate, or government funded, drive down."
"Oh." Chief Bogo knew the road well, it was exactly where low lives, smugglers and bootleggers were during the late nights and early mornings. When the heat and chill was just enough to keep their vehicles from malfunctioning while crossing. "What do you see?"

"Well," Luis exhaled deeply, on his second cigarette of the conversation. "I'm actually standing on top of nine corpses right now."
"Nine?!"
"Yes, Nine. Three undercover, six ZID. The undercovers in question were hit with 7.62x51mm rounds. Tiny, painful, inaccurate and messy bullets that are belt fed normally. In short-Gatling gun ammunition. From a helicopter. Bullets from those barrels are all over the road actually."
"..." Chief Bogo was silent.
"The soldiers over here however, the ZID that is." Luis exhaled again then continued, "All brutalized with 9mm ammunition. I could go into the exacts, but basically what I'm saying is, our undercover officers weren't shot by the ZID soliders; they were shot by the ZID chopper. Then that same chopper's crew, were all shot by a single officer using 9mm rounds. I say that because everyone in the ZID carries 10mm and .45 caliber rounds. Also, our undercovers were using .45 ACP as well. Obviously for the increase in stopping power, while sacrificing carrying capacity."

"...I'm... not a solider anymore, Luis." Bogo spoke up. "You don't need to tell me the exact details like a debriefing."
"I understand Chief." Luis puffed smoke audibly. "Long story short. There's some sort of internal struggle going on here. I can't say why the ZID would shoot at undercover, because... their exact jobs is information gathering, so they had to know they were shooting at undercover agents. But I also can't say why everyone was shooting in the first place. Each soldier was hit in the head by two rounds, aside from the obvious pilot-that was hit with six."

"Why... six?" Bogo regrettably inquired.
"Because he was the pilot. Chances are he was hit through the chassis of the helicopter and brought down, judging by the grouping on his chest and face at least. He was shot through the glass, and 9mm rounds have impressively low kick so the shooter had a control advantage that would make a moving target less a target and more of a toy." Luis exhaled audibly once more. "So what I've gathered from the scene so far is that a vehicle was traveling from Tundra Town to Savanna Square, and was intercepted by another vehicle. All the while, both vehicles were being tailed by the helicopter. Judging from the shelling I've identified, both vehicles were hit and flew off the road, which lead to the undercovers leaving their vehicle and being gunned down first. Their blood is much older than that of the ZID, even if only by a few minutes. Then something here happened, probably a fight-then someone in the ZID went nuts and started shooting. Either that, or there was a hidden ZAIRD soldier somewhere nearby, lucky enough to be right where all the action went down. The chopper was likely also in the area, and was disabled when it got too close to the rogue agent, which... would mean that it would have had to have landed at some point since there is no crash sight for a helicopter obviously." Luis then exhaled again.

Bogo was never quite sure how this red panda could gather so much in such a short time, or miraculously be in so many places at once, but he was damn good at his job and always managed to gather the facts before even firing a round at a potential threat. The Chief's resolve was still weak, but it got stronger with good officers like him, and Hopps on the force.

"So..." Bogo sighed not sure where else to go with Luis' investigative skills. "Have you located the smuggler?"
Luis shook his head, but there was no way Bogo could have seen that. "Not exactly," Luis stated. "But I'm under the impression that Benson did. These were his fellow agents after all. He wouldn't have activated a tracking probe without good reason. The thing is... why would ZID also follow a probe?"
"How did you-" Bogo stopped himself, he didn't want to pry any more into how or why Luis knew so much, he just did, and he was an asset to the ZPD, so it was fine.
"I learn things, Chief." Luis exhaled smoke and flicked his cigarette off the highway as he approached the broken stone barriers. "But I'm going to be learning a lot more soon. The vehicles that were shot at were a commercial van, and some new... civilian grade something." He bent down to scratch at the tire tracks. "Brand new tires..." He sniffed his fingers, Chief Bogo could actually hear that. "Something of this year's make and model... These marks in the ice are from brand new wheels, which had to have gone on a brand new car... It's strange to see undercover agents driving brand new vehicles, Chief."

"They're not in my employ anymore, Strider." Bogo informed him, trying to not justify their deaths through stupidity. "I would have never advised they do something like that."
"I understand," Luis rose and lit up another smoke, now looking over the edge of the bridge. "Their vehicles went over the side... I'll have to examine the river. And as much as I'd like to, I probably shouldn't get in touch with Benson. His psych report says that he's unshakably loyal and emotionally vulnerable. Losing his team would have him rattled, so contact is out of the question."
"Something tells me you'll be watching him though." Bogo nearly cracked a smile.
"Oh no question about that, Chief." Luis exhaled a puff of smoke. "Like I said, I'll keep you posted. I'll provide a full report of this by the end of the day."

"Luis!" Chief shouted into the phone, hoping the red panda wasn't about to hang up.
"Yes, Chief?"
"Ten." Bogo told him. "The smuggler's name is Ten. He's the owner of-"
"Ice Carvers, on Glacier Street in Tundra Town." The red panda recited as if he had the information memorized already. "Didn't know that. Thanks-I'll give the place a bit of a once over and see what I can uncover."
"We have an agent in there already, be triple cautious Detective." Bogo grumbled, trying to perish the thought of the Detective duty also coming to an unfortunate end.
"I'll keep my nose clean Chief, and my ears open. Take care."

Luis clicked off his phone, leaving Bogo listening to the dial tone. Bad news begets even more bad news. What was this city coming to? The ox exhaled, and placed the handset on the ringer. Three under cover agents were dead, and six ZID officers were dead. The hospital and a first responder would need to head out to the scene before the weather got too hot or too hold for them to handle. Bogo reached for the phone again, right as it started to ring.

"Again?" Bogo sighed, and lifted the receiver to his ear. "Bogo speaking."
"Chief Bogo!" LionHeart filled his ears. "I've got another question!"

.

.

Bunny Burrow, a sunny, lazy, wind swept, comfortable plot of land just nestled outside of Zootopia. The carrot farming, berry harvesting, baby booming mega habitat that helps provide Zootopia and the local burrows, hovels, habitats and homes with vegetables and fruits from nearly each kind of tree and bush. Bunny Burrow was the place where it was perfect to be a rabbit.

But could it handle a fox?

They would soon find out.

"This reminds me of that scene..." Nick laughed. He was looking left and right. His eyes wide, scanning the surrounding waters.
"From that one movie?" Judy smiled back to him weakly. "It does... doesn't it?"
"Yeah." Nick replied with his own weak smile, clutching the weapons crate in his waterlogged paws as the current pushed them closer and closer to land.

The rabbit and fox had managed to survive their fall from over three hundred feet, clearly by the graces of powers greater than themselves. As soon as they connected with the frozen river below, they were propelled through the water like a rocket. They fell into the under ice current that was used to move floating chunks of tundra around Tundra Town for animals on the go. Which propelled them out of Tundra Town waters and into the channel outside Zootopia in mere minutes. By that time the air had gotten thin enough for Judy to panic, Nick had sprung to life and kicked the case open, quickly assaulting the both of them with icy waters and scared fish. Together, they breached the surface with the weapons crate in hand and clasped it shut, providing them a floatation device large enough for a fox and a bunny.

Although the weight of both a fox and a bunny on the case was enough to make it sink-leaving Nick to relinquish the position of floater to Judy-while he merely waded beside her. It reminded them both of a scene they saw in an art film years ago about environmental disasters and a large sinking ship. The end scene depicted two survivors, holding onto a chunk of boat while waiting for rescue to arrive. Obviously the two of them had watched it at different times in their lives, but it was impossible to be an English speaking animal and not have watched the film. Also their situation was completely different, this water wasn't freezing.

Judy was lying on her back, staring into the sky. She could feel the taut fibers of her suit warming, and her fur beginning to crisp and dry under the morning sun. Nick on the other hand was holding onto the crate with half his body out of the water and half in, being trailed by his tail that floated aimlessly behind him.

"Carrots?" The fox spoke, coaxing Judy's vision to float over to him as his paw met her cheek. "We're not lost, are we?" He asked, not actually certain where he was at the moment. Everything to him was actually a bit of blur, especially the last ten or so hours.
"No." Judy nuzzled into his wet paw, taking comfort whenever they touched like this. "We're just outside of Zootopia, floating towards the Burrows. We'll probably hit dirt in ten-twenty minutes or so."
"Oh that's good." Nick's widened eyes panned left and right. "Because I would hate to be lost at sea, you know like that one movie. Lost at Sea."
"I thought you were going to say, 'Stranded'." Judy quipped back at him.
"I wouldn't mind being stranded somewhere with you Miss Hopps." The fox smirked, with a wink.
"Oh get real." The bunny grinned wide, curiously watching Nick's eyes darting around like he could hear something in the distance, slowly sneaking up on him. "Is... everything alright?"
"Huh?" He blinked rapidly, "Yeah yeah, fine, everything's fine. It's just been some morning, hasn't it?"

"It has." The bunny also glanced around, wondering if she should be hearing something as well. "Is there something near us, you keep searching like-" Nick cut her off quickly.
"Oh no no, just taking in the scenery. You know... Hey, Carrots did I tell you how we managed to get outta the ZRD's headquarters?"

Judy blinked, she wanted to know the story-but she also had her nightmare fresh in her mind. Inwardly, she knew Nick would never make some kind of bargain with another woman just to save her, especially not Captain Alexandria. But in her mind, she was also hoping he wouldn't have made a deal like that. So she inhaled sharply, and bravely asked-"Well, how did you manage to escape the Rescue Division headquarters? It was supposed to be locked down tight, right?"

"It was!" Nick snorted, shooting water from one nostril while laughing. "Turns out they locked all the doors, but never checked the windows. I actually crawled through their ventilation system." He finished with one of his signature grins. "Can you imagine?"
"Their vents?" Judy's brow rose as she took her paws off his, and placed them on his cheeks. "How tough was it?"
"Tough?" He laughed, "Nothing is tough, if I'm doing it for you Carrots." His grin quickly returned.
"Come on, Nick. Be honest. What happened?" The bunny continued to pry, hoping to hear only good news.
"We were under ground." Nick spat quickly with a grin. "Believe that? The infamous ZAIRD rests under the city!"

The waves threw Nick and Judy to one side as the rabbit adjusted to the news. "Underground?! Like... the sewers?" She could hardly believe it.
"Sort of." Nick chuckled while shaking his head to clear the sea water from his ears, "Think they ever had anyone escape before?"
"Probably not, Slick Nick." The rabbit praised with a warm smile gracing her tired face. "I don't think they knew what hit em."
"Speaking of hit..." Nick glanced around as if he'd only taken in the scenery. "Why are we in the ocean again? And what happened to Fennick? I thought I paid him to watch our backs."
"Our?" Judy frowned into Nick's eyes, wanting him to tell the truth.
"Yeah." Nick's ears fell back, indicating that he was trying to cover up a white lie, for her sake. "Our backs? What?" He gave a sheepish grin. "What?"
"Nick." Judy didn't demand, she didn't beg, nor did she snarl, she merely repeated herself in a stern tone, and it was enough to get the fox to budge.
"Fine fine, you got me Carrots. I paid him to watch you, but only until I got back."

"Got back?" Judy tilted her head to one side, "From where?"
"From the land of not. I fainted-on the spot. I could feel it in my bones and skull, but I didn't want to, nor could I until I knew you were safe, and there was only one guy I trusted."

"Fennick." Judy lowered her head.
"How come that little guy isn't here anyway?" Nick looked around again, trying to figure out where he even was. "I sort of expect to see him doggy paddling and giving me the middle finger."
"ZAIRD got to Fennick, Nick." The rabbit expelled quickly, while shifting her gaze towards the sea.
"They... got Fennick? Why?! What did he do?" Nick countered, not understanding why ZAIRD would have anything to do with a hustler like Fennick.
"He... may have bought some illegal firearms from a string and we got tailed by them."
"Tailed?" Nick's gaze sharpened, but his eyes were still quite wide. "So wait, he bought guns and ZAIRD followed? He got played?!"

"It's not that simple." Judy informed the fox, staring into his widened eyes. "We were also chased by some black car, and those are the guys that shot me while I was in the back of the van."
"WHAT?!" The fox's voice nearly made the waves buckle. "Are you hurt? Are you alright?! Where were you hit?"
"Surprisingly." Judy flopped her ear over one eye, like Gazelle. "Only in the ear, just the tip of it too. I got really lucky."
"The ear?" Nick's wide eyes blinked at her injury, and he felt much better. Although shootings? That would explain the pain he felt in his back. "I'm so glad you're not too hurt though."
"Me too." The bunny snorted sea water this time, "Augh! It's up my nose."
"So wait, the van got shot at?!" Nick's brain clearly farted once. "Oh man, that's going to have Fennick in a fury! Wait-is the van okay?" Nick's tone was dangerously sincere with the question.

"It... fell from the bridge, with me and you and a lot of bullets." Judy explained, still holding Nick's cheeks in her paws. She kept her gaze locked on his wide eyed stare. There was something different about him, and she couldn't put her paw on it but she knew she would figure it out soon. Sitting up, Judy turned to glance off towards the land mass that they were being pushed towards-it was Bunny Burrow alright. She could tell from the rolling hills covered with lights. They were only a few minutes from being within easy swimming distance, but it would still take a moment to convince herself that swimming was safer, and smarter than holding onto a crate and floating there.

"Carrots." Nick spoke, catching Judy's attention. "Are we safe?"
"Safe?" Judy spun to smile into his eyes. "I... can't say we're in danger-so we are sort of safe. Why?"
"Just..." Nick's wide stare met Judy's concerned gaze. "I'm living the dream being an officer and all but... I'd like to actually have a day off, with you."
"Nick." Judy smiled into his eyes, "We've only been working together for a week."
"And we've only been living together for a week. Don't you think we should... get to learn more about each other?"

Judy was taken aback by Nick's forwardness when it came to their relationship. They were close, very close, but the truth was, they only really knew each others last names because that's a part of an introduction. But as far as courting is concerned, they hadn't even started. Judy had no idea what Nick's favorite color was, what kind of music he listened to, since they mostly worked and slept, and she hadn't gotten any grasp of his diet. He was smooth talker, and a wonderful guy, but she didn't know anything else, not even his birthday. To think that they sleep in the same bed every night.

"I..." Judy smiled at the thought however, "I'd love that. I want to know so much about you, Nick." She really did want to know his name. Know his birthday and his likes and dislikes. They've been playing it so safe that it's been more like a dream than a reality.
The fox snickered, "Well we have time-why not ask. Ask me anything! Anything you'd like."
"Okay." Judy grinned, holding his paws now and smiling into his wet face. "What's my best feature?"
"Those big beautiful purple eyes." Nick answered swiftly.
Judy visibly blushed as sea water sent sailing over her head. "Second best feature?" She giggled, not sure why she would ask something along these lines.
"That large brain rolling around in that tiny head of yours." Nick fired off another answer.
"I thought I was a dumb bunny." Judy's tongue came out of her mouth-getting a taste of that salt water present on her lips.

"I did say that, yes. But that was before I discovered your third best feature."
"Oh yeah?" Judy took the bait. "What is that?"
"That supple, round, pronounced bunny butt you have." The fox snapped his fangs, causing Judy's cotton tail to twitch with sudden excitement.
"Nick!" She laughed, "Come on-be serious."

"I am." The vulpine admitted, "You're the one asking odd ball questions."
"Well then..." Judy paused, thinking for once. "Ever think you'd be a police officer?"
"Not in a million years. But I did want to be a junior ranger scout." The fox nodded, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone for a moment.

"Okay... Why did you pull away from me on the Sky Tram after you told me about the Junior Ranger scouts?"
"Because it would have been in bad form to kiss you where everyone could see and get jealous." The fox smacked out another cheap answer with a cheeky grin on his muzzle.
"Nick!" Judy's spirits were always high whenever they were together. And his jokes always made her feel better. "Jealous? How many vixens are after you in the rain forest district?"
"None." He snapped with a smile. "I meant animals would get jealous of me, kissing such a cute bunny."
"Oh you jerk." Judy flicked Nick's nose. He was powerless to stop her, less he begun swimming. "Don't call me cute."
"I can, and I will." Nick grinned up at Judy as her finger slowly stroked down his face.
"What makes you think you can call me cute?" Judy got in his face.
"I can call you that because, Miss Hopps, you are. It's not an insult, it's a compliment-and I meant it, even the first time I said it."

The water rocked the two closer together as the coast grew closer and closer to them. It was now probably safe enough to swim, but Judy had another burning question in the back of her mind.

"Nick." The rabbit's gaze fell to their now clasped paws-where their fingers had laced together after being so close for so long. Her view shifted back up into his large green eyes, curiosity burning a hole in the back of her mind but Fennick's warning was still too freshly burned into the same area. She knew she couldn't ask. She was instructed exclusively not to, but that didn't stop her from wondering... Who exactly was Nikki?

Only another moment passed before Judy and Nick were suddenly slung into the damp grassy hill that lined the edge of Bunny Burrow. Her prediction had clearly been off by a few minutes. The tepid waters now greeted them instead of the chilled sea fairing temperatures of further out. The fox groaned at the tingling of his body starting to warm up finally. More like a burning sensation than a gentle tickle. Although Judy didn't mind the temperature at all anymore. Fighting through Tundra Town, only to be dipped in near freezing waters was enough to make her appreciate, and stave off the cold like she had trained for it. Because she sort of did. The academy was tough after all.

Her ears perked up to the shouts and laughter of nearby bunnies. They had only just crept in under radar, and if she knew her family, which she did, there would be no hiding herself or her best friend for much longer. Rabbit ears were great when it came to detecting predators, and Nick's groans of rejuvenative agony would only attract attention much sooner than later.

"Carrots!" Nick called out to Judy who was only slightly higher on the inclined hill than he was. Neither of them were touching water anymore-but only a slip or a slide would place them back into the drink. "We've hit land! Land! Can you believe it!? Land!"
"Yep." Judy smiled warmly, sitting up and turning her vision down to Nick, who began patting around like he couldn't see anything. But he still managed to climb the hill with ease, and mount his figure over Judy's. This was comforting but also a bit awkward since she was forced to lay back against the hill with him hovering over her like he was zeroing in for a kiss. "What are you doing Nick?" She laughed, gently jabbing his chest-then noticing that his gaze fell straight to hers, with that same wide eyed expression.

Was he not aware where he was?

"Nick?" Judy questioned him, seizing his head in her paws, staring into his blinded gaze again. "What happened Nick? What's wrong?"
"Oh Carrots." He laughed, blinking calmly, but his vision only returned to wide and scan-like after he re-opened his eyes. His vision, was impaired.

"Nick!" Judy chirped up to him as bunnies began to bound over the hill, shouting for the two of them in excitement and discovery. Their time together had officially ended.
"Carrots." Nick offered a smile. "Guess it's a good a time as any to tell you, I'm uh... Blind."
"What?!" Judy could hardly squeak out as she was pulled to her feet by one of her older brothers.

"JUDY!" A crowd of excited bunnies roared like she was a super star, because she rightfully was. The bunny was lifted away from the ground and crowd surfed slowly over the hill by no less than one hundred bunny hands.
"Carrots?!" Nick called out, looking left and right-exposing his blindness with his inability to follow her through the crowd. He was also surfing on bunny paws only feet from Judy, but his ears were being hit with too many voices, too many questions, too many excited squeals. While his eyes, completely useless.

"Oh Nick..." Judy frowned while being carted off, "What happened to you?"

. . . .

. . . .

The Hopps Family Farm. They had finally arrived. Nick and Judy had survived through a strange outbreak of primal at the PMPI headquarters. Muscled through strange interrogation at the ZRD's underground facility. Narrowly dodged bullet sandwiches from ZAIRD after an arms deal. And managed to float over sixteen nautical miles around Zootopia to wash up on the grassy hill of the farm. It had been an eventful and dangerous morning and things were finally starting to slow down... seemingly.

"Gyaaah!" Nick shouted from the other room, the large wide open room that housed the multitude of single beds for all the bunnies. The only bunnies that had their own rooms were the eldest thirty, any bunny that had a child and, of course, the parents. The main bedroom had been partially converted into a hospital by erecting curtains in a hexagon around the fox patient, propping up a bed for the injured vulpine and dressing every bunny within ten feet in white robes, rubber gloves and face masks. They were taking this hospital thing seriously.

Nick had no clue how to deal with such attention a first, since this was the first time since he had joined the ZPD that he'd gotten so much unnecessary attention. But as bunnies started rubbing him down with cotton swabs, taking his temperature and asking him where things hurt. Only then did he realize that this wasn't some weird experiment. These bunnies were serious.

"Aaaahhh!" He was forced to groan as a bunny effortless pulled a bullet from his back, while he was injected by another overzealous doctor. He hadn't even realized a bullet was there. It had jabbed him through his jumpsuit and lodged into his soft tissue sometime during the last few hours. It was more like a dent in his flesh than an actual penetrating wound. So he'd been shot, just as Judy had. But it didn't actually pass through or into him. Good news. "Gyaaaaa!" Another foreign object was torn from him before the drugs had time to kick in. "W-what are you doing to me!? It burns! Aaaah!"

"What are they DOING to him?!" Judy was shouting while sitting in the kitchen that rotated by its own accord. The entire room spun around her while she sat in a kitchen chair-her purple orbs locked on the stack of curtains that harbored her partner, under the medical care of her sisters that were more like divas than doctors. "Dad?!" Judy turned to her father, Stu Hopps, who was sitting in front of her like she was an actual television.

Stu sat up, snapping back to reality. "Oh uh, sorry Jude the Dude. I was just admiring that souvenir you got up there." The father Hopps directed his chubby fingers to point up to Judy's shot ear.

Even Judy had forgotten she had had it at this point. Her ear fell into her paws, giving her the real chance to look at it instead of just remember it. It wasn't really a big injury, more like she was bitten by a large bug than with a bullet from some random gang member.

"Oh, this?" Judy's eyes shifted slowly to her father. "How come you're so calm about this? I thought the city scared you to death? Seeing me covered in cuts, bruises and bullet wounds isn't even making you... flinch?"
"Nope!" Stu exclaimed with a grin, keeping Judy's expression confused and doubtful. "After reading about everything you did for that city, and your friend over there. I realize now that keeping you on the farm was far more dangerous than what the city could have thrown at you."

"More dangero-" Judy attempted to ask, but was cut off by her father and Nick.
"Aaaaah! C-careful!" It was mostly Nick. But her father had advice to share too.

"Nope. Not scared for a moment. Just as it was when your mother and I decided to work with Gideon Grey, we also decided that the city was the perfect place for a bunny. Your sisters over there giving your friend a once over, went to Zootopia to volunteer as health care professionals to help with the savage recovery."
"The recovery?" Judy sat up, returning her ears to their upright position. "Really? By themselves?"
"Yep." The father nodded with a bright smile. "They want to be nurses, doctors and anesthesiologists when they go back... for some reason. But carrot farming isn't for everyone anymore. So I support em one hundred percent."
"So you're singing a different tune now?" Judy's arms folded over her chest. "Because that's nearly all I heard from you when I was growing up. Carrot Farming. Settle with what ya got. Foxes are scary, keep your distance."
"Yeah." Stu smiled, exposing a warm glow to his bravest daughter. "And I couldn't be more proud of you. I'm so sorry I wanted you to be safe, and isolated from the world when all I really wanted was for you to be happy, and for you to be you. Working in a big city. Working as a police officer. Best friends with a fox? I couldn't have dreamed it."

It was Judy's turn to smile with a healthy glow now. "Aw Dad." She rose, "I've always been happy. Because you let me be myself. You told me to think small and think safe, but you never stopped me from dreaming big, or being bold. I can't tell you how many fist fights I got in when I was growing up."

"Fist fights?!" Stu was taken aback by that statement. His daughter was the bravest, and boldest, but also the brawlingest?! She was supposed to be a girl, not a boy in girls fur. "You were? Really?! Judy that's so dangerous! So reckless! So . . . Did you win?"

"Most of them." She announced triumphantly, only for her proud stance to be broken up the grunt of disapproval from Nick only a few, rotating feet away from her.

"Was... that mine?" The fox giggled, "That came out of me? Wow..." Nick's tone was decidedly less alert than it had been only moments before. Apparently the drugs kicked in.
"Is he..?" Judy pointed at Nick's curtain. "Did they actually give him anesthetics?!"
"Um... Probably." Stu scratched the top of his head, completely oblivious to anything his sea of children did during the day.

"Probably!?" Judy pushed past her father, having no worldly idea why she allowed Nick out of her sight in the first place, and with her siblings of all animals.

If this were like normal homes, Judy would be able to march right up to her sisters and demand her time back with Nick. If this were like normal homes, Judy would have only had to step past or through perhaps two or three bodies before she could reach her goal. If this were like normal homes, Judy wouldn't need to double-reference names in her memory before shouting for a bunny to step to one side, but this wasn't a normal home. This was the Hopps Family Farm and her family's house. So she had well over sixty rabbits to wade through on her way to her partner's medical emergency.

"Buddy! One side, one side!" Judy slid between two of her brothers. "Excuse me Alice. Oh-sorry Tommy. Gah-Larry, don't do that! Eeeewww, Benny, your butt needs changed. CHRISTINA! CHANGE BENNY!"
"Alright!" Christina called back from across the sea of bunnies. What the hell she was doing so far from her infant was beyond Judy's level of giving a damn, but she handed off the giggling toddler to her sister Marcie, and kept pushing through her brothers, sisters and cousins with a mission on her mind. Finally after sixty full seconds of squeezing, pushing and twisting, she emerged into the open ring of vacant space that surrounded the tent that was erected around Nick. This was also the furthest the rabbits could be without needing to wear medical equipment, so it made her job of getting to ground zero that much easier. Her ears, in addition to the constant chatter of rabbits, filtered through to find Nick's mild, completely anesthetized, laughter.

"Your ears... aren't as big as I remember, Judy." The loopy fox commented.
"I'm not Judy. I'm Tammy." Tammy told him quickly, in a professional tone. Much to Judy's surprise. Tammy was sassy when they were growing up, now all of a sudden she was stern? It's only been a week!
"Tammy!" Judy shouted, hoping her sisters weren't butchering her fox.
"Angie, go get Judy." Tammy informed her sister, Angie.
"Suzie, go get Judy." Angie passed the work off to Suzie.
"Wendy, go get Judy." Suzie spun to redirect the task to Wendy. All of them had some level of work they were doing that required them to be close by. Wendy on the other hand was just the gopher, getting things. She was expendable.

After a moment, a bunny with blue eyes, and a face mask came through the curtain, walking straight up to her older sister with a warm smile gracing her eyes.
"Here Judy." Wendy held up a smock, rubber gloves and a face mask. "We got all the bullets out of him."

"Bullets?!" Judy already had the face mask on. "What do you mean bullets?! We... I... thought we... I..."
"Nothing to be worried about." Wendy yawned into her mask, looking sleepy, she always looked sleepy. "Come on, he's been injected with pain killers already, so he's going to be loopy but he'll heal up fine."
"Oh god, what have you girls done to him?!" Judy's mind only threw doubt and fear at her, not certain what to expect behind the curtain. But as her half scrubs were thrown on, she nearly ran forward to punch through the curtain. "Nick!" She called out, as she cut through to see his condition.

Instantly, eight bunnies turned to Judy appeared. They waved gingerly with crimson gloves, indicating that they were indeed working on the fox in question, and taking it seriously. Stitching closed a gash before snipping the wire and setting down their tools.
"G-girls!?" Judy was shocked, seeing their bloody gloves. But Nick didn't look butchered or mangled. As a matter of fact, he was smiling like a drunk with only a few more bandages across his body than he did when he was patched up by Fennick. Perhaps her sisters actually were good medical professionals.

"Is he... okay?" Judy questioned her siblings, receiving nods of approval as they begun to exit. Removing bloody gloves. Tossing ear nets and face masks and dropping their aprons in a basket on their way out. Only one of her sisters remained, Julie, who was only a year younger than her.

"Julie." Judy stepped up to her little sister.
"Judy." Julie maintained her stoic expression, trying not to hug the life out of her big sister. "Mr. Wilde here had six bullets in his body, two teeth from hyenas, one tooth from a honey badger, a rock-from Outback Island. He's got a long claw pattern going up his back starting at his butt and stopping at his shoulder blades, and there was a thorn in his foot. We got that out."

"...w-what?" Judy repeated what she'd just heard in her own head. He had an injury? Injuries?! That many?! Well the multitude was no surprise, but claw marks? Claws? Going up his back? Where could he have gotten those? They must have been old, because she had seen Nick shirtless from all angles and never noticed claw marks before.

"Don't dwell on it too hard. He's a predator, he's probably been in more fights than you were in, big sis." Julie informed her with a grin, visible behind her face mask.

Judy's eyes rested on her sister as she stepped out of the tent, leaving the two of them alone finally. Or as alone as they could get in a room of over two hundred bunnies. But being separated by a thin curtain was enough to satisfy her for the moment.

Nick's eyes rolled over to Judy, smiling brightly as she approached.
"Nick?" She called out to him, stepping up and leaning forward to touch his face where they had laid multiple bandages across his cheeks, nose, and lower jaw. The doctors had even dressed his head with a large wrap, now indicating his apparent concussion. They could diagnose even that?!
"Is that you Judy?" He asked, still sounding hindered. But a lot less drunk in her presence. "Where is my tail? I... I can't feel it?" Well, maybe still drunk in her presence.
"Nick." Judy exhaled, thanking her stars that he wasn't talking crazy... or at least not too crazy. "It's right behind you where it belongs. My sisters really are going to be doctors and nurses. I'm surprised they didn't hit me in the ear." Judy's warmth grew, watching Nick's lazy expression remain on his face. He looked more like a sloth now, or at least he did in the face. His grin was still present on his medicated cheeks and bandaged muzzle. While he wasn't actually in any serious medical danger, she couldn't deny that seeing her family, taking care of a fox was a warm feeling that she wouldn't have wanted to miss for the world.

"Get some rest Nick." The bunny dismissed him with a kiss to the side of his muzzle. Stepping back from him to return to her sisters to inform them of how proud she was.

"Judy..." Nick whispered, closing his eyes slowly, her wish clearly being his command. He appeared as if he were going to say something to her, but his wide green eyes flickered like that of a dying flame before finally closing. He lowered his paws and exhaled deep, falling into a drug assisted sleep.

Judy could have remained where she was for hours. Just watching the fox sleep painlessly made her feel much better about how their day has gone. It was still early, but it had been shit so far. So things were now looking up. She shifted her gaze to the slop box that was full of the foreign objects that were removed from his body. Where these things were hiding, how long they'd been there or where he got them was beyond her-but he didn't appear to be in any pain. Probably due to the drugs. And he wasn't leaking blood all over the floor or the beds, so he was actually safe here. Both safe and comfortable. It's what Judy always wanted for herself and Nick, causing her to wonder if living away from Zootopia would be more preferable than living in the city.

But being an officer was her dream. Working for the ZPD is how she met Nick in the first place, and by any other circumstances it probably wouldn't have been as special or magical. Magical. It probably wasn't the best way to describe the way their first encounter had actually gone, but it was acceptable.

For the most part at least.

"Judy!" Bunnies suddenly began shouting for her near their front door, causing the sea of rabbits to shift their attention towards the entrance where a loud roar was drowning out everyone's conversation. A roar that Judy had become all too familiar with in the past ten hours. Her slight nirvana had been effectively shattered.

Her heart pumped with double shots of adrenaline and fear while her ears trembled to the exact blade rotations of a helicopter landing somewhere outside. That same tone she had heard when she was with Fennick before the shooting, before the fall, before the explosion.

"This can't be happening." Judy cut a path through her family as she made for the door. Getting to the door was much easier than it was getting to Nick, but probably due to the fear that was slowly spreading through the collective of the home. Or due to the no-nonsense adrenaline that was giving the fear in her body a proper ass whoopin. None of these bunnies had ever witnessed a military grade helicopter before, and with the knowledge of what these organizations are capable of, Judy wasn't prepared for that level of violence to befall her farm or her family.

Without any ounce of hesitation, Judy charged out of her front door, and made eye contact with the helicopter and the black clad soldier slowly stomping towards her home. They had already landed and exited in that short of time? Were they that serious on nabbing them?!

It didn't matter to the bunny cop. They had landed. ZAIRD was here.

"NO!" Judy screamed, and rushed the solider in a blaze. They were twice as tall as her, wearing armor that probably could resist all manner of gun fire, and were prepared to kill for nearly any reason but it didn't matter to Judy. She had graduated at the top of her class and she was defending her home, her family, and her fox... ZAIRD wasn't going to have him. Not without a proper fight at least.

"GET AWAY!" Judy screamed and dove through the air, launching a kick aimed at the helmet of the ZAIRD soldier marching towards her. To her horror, and miscalculation however, her foot was seized right out of the air and she was snagged in a powerful grip by the armored soldier.

"JUDY!" Stu shouted from the door of their home. "Hold still honey!" The father bunny called, causing both Judy and the ZAIRD soldier to snap their attention in the direction of the large bunny man rushing forward with a pump action shot gun in his paws. 'Is that my father?!' Judy thought for a split second, having never witnessed this side of her parent before.

"Wonderful..." The mechanical and filtered voice echoed through Judy's ears, then... BLAM!

Judy hit the dirt, being dropped from the soldier's grip as they were bucked backwards by the shotgun blast hitting them squarely and forcefully.

"GET-" BLAM!
"OFF-" BLAM!
"MY-" BLAM!
"PROPERTY!"

Stu boomed with each cock and blast of the shotgun, punching back the ZAIRD soldier. He was accurate too, hitting the soldier in the knee, then shoulder, then neck and finally a cluster of buck shot went sailing for the helmet. Stu wasn't a violent man, but he was a wise worldly man and knew where to hit something to make it flinch. But within the moment of Stu pulling the trigger for the fourth time, there was a loud bang, and the weapon flew out of his hand and into the air, spraying the pellets harmlessly into the air.

Stu fell backwards on his butt, his shooting hand aching from the impact. Judy scrambled to her feet and charged in front of her father, throwing her arms up and out to each side, baring her chest and making herself as large a target as possible. She was gasping for breath while the ZAIRD soldier glared down her and her father, clutching a large handgun in their black armored paw. Their armor was clearly mussed from the shotgun blasts in the chest, knee and shoulder-but the soldier didn't advance. Merely glare, still holding their weapon with precision and form.

Only a single bullet had left the chamber of the soldiers handgun during the battle, somehow striking Stu's shotgun instead of any of the forty-five bunnies watching through the windows, the man with the weapon or his daughter who was, at the time, crouching only inches away from the blasts. But now, all the targets were in sight and so dangerously easy to hit. But that wasn't why the soldier was here. It wasn't for blood or for war.

"Well?!" Judy growled at the soldier. "Are you going to slaughter a whole family full of innocent bunnies, just for a bunny and a fox?! Is that what you want?! Are you a monster?!" She howled, having no other recourse, since she was being glared down by a gun barrel. Nothing she could do would matter, so all she could do was shout.

The soldier remained stationary, but shifted to slowly holster their pistol. Judy remained steadfast, with her arms out stretched, even when her father rose to his feet and began backing into the house. She had never even seen an aggressive side to her father ever since she'd been born, but seeing him defend her in such a manner made her triple certain that nothing in this world was what it seemed. ZAIRD, at first, appeared to be the greatest of good. Judy knew they couldn't be trusted. Her father, a once dormant man, wielded a shotgun like a well trained solider in order to defend her. Even her best friend was a shiftless no-good conman when they first met, and she would be willing to give him her heart if the moment was right. This was the world she was aware of now, and it was the world she had dedicated herself to defending. Even against her own kind, law enforcement, like ZAIRD.

The solider before her held their position for an unnecessarily long amount of time, as each bunny was forced back into the home and the door was closed, only leaving Stu and Judy outside to stare down the black armored soldier. It of course meant that bunnies were now crowding through the windows, but Stu was powerless to stop that.

"Well?" Judy growled again. "What have you to say for yourself? Why are you here? What do you want?! Why can't you just leave us alone?!" The bunny continued to berate the soldier.
"Because..." The soldier finally spoke, lifting their paws to unclip their muzzle filter, helmet and goggles slowly peeling away their helmet to reveal the face beneath the mask. Exposing their black, red tipped hair to fresh country air and the breeze.

"I made a promise to your commander that I would find you." The vixen spoke freely, dropping her helmet straight into the dirt. "And I'm here to fix the fox." Her pink eyes scanned the bunnies before her, but finally locking on to Judy.
"Uh..." Stu stepped forward as Judy's arms slowly dropped. "This another friend of yours, Jude the Dude?" The dad swallowed hard, not sure whether to be nervous or somehow relieved and apologetic.
"Um..." Judy swallowed too, as the ZRD Captain stepped up to her and her father. The vixen seized and held the shotgun backwards with the trigger jammed under her finger so it was impossible to even fire it, while returning it to Mr. Hopps.

"This is... Captain... Alexandria..." Judy slowly read off, slightly remembering her name. But trying to get over her nightmare coming to life. "She's the..." Alexandria then cut in.
"Captain Alexandria of the Zootopia Rescue Division." The vixen corrected, clearing her throat and extending her hand out to Stu and Judy as Stu retrieved the shotgun. "I'm here to provide healing."

Stu took Alexandria's hand and hastily began shaking it. "Well that's just great! Sorry about the... you know."
"Think nothing of it, sir. You were defending your home. I would have done the same." The vixen gave a bright, fanged smile. Showing off her perfect predator teeth. Then slowly turned her head to Judy, who's ears had fallen back from caution."Miss Judy Hopps?" The vixen questioned her.

"Y-yes?" Judy swallowed for a fifth time, the nightmare creeping closer and closer to her psyche.

Alexandria released her father's hand, and turned her open armored paw to Judy."Where is Nicholas Wilde?"