Dear readers, yes this is the first fanfiction I have ever posted, and man is that scary. A quick note this is quite simply a prologue, I may continue this (almost certainly) however I may lose my muse. If perchance that does ever happen I will be blunt as to my reasoning, and extremely sorry.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything I write about, save for any plots and original characters, as such of course I don't hold any ownership of Zootopia.
November 26th, 2018,
The singular word that the whole entirety of the ZPD hates. Raids are never as easy as they're set out to be and no matter the preparation there will always be some losses. The hatred of those who would wish pain against the citizens of Zootopia, the panic still got to some of the officers. This would be no different for one Judith Hopps and her partner of two years Nicholas Wilde. Having trained and worked together for two years had tempered their resolve, forcing them to trust in each other which in turn caused them to become extremely close. They believed Everyone in the ZPD saw them for what they portrayed their relationship as civil, amicable, professional however life rarely goes the way we wish. Their relationship would be tested during the raid, and they knew it, something in the air reeked of troubles ahead, making all on edge.
2 Hours Till Breakpoint,
"Ya know Carrots. I never *grunt* understood why they force us to wear this heavy gear." A sigh of exertion followed after the retort. A roll of his partner's eyes being the only response that Nick would be getting from her. She knew that he was merely trying to lighten the mood, she appreciated the gesture however in her book, it just showed how nobody took her seriously.
"Just be glad your not needing to cover your tail Slick," Judy grinned at the look of horror that crossed Nick's features, "Or the fact that we are not heading in first." Glaring at the wall across from her as if it was the one who made her life a living hell. "Or the fact that we are the last to head in."
"Buffalo But just wants to protect us and you know-"
"I Don't need protection nick," Judy nearly shouted, "I am not just some Token bunny!" The venom in her voice stung nick to hear. He couldn't bear to see her hurt, and he knew what he just stated hurt her more than he could ever imagine. Closing his hanging maw Nick walked up behind the turned bunny and did what immediately came to his mind, he wrapped her in an understanding embrace.
"Shhh… It's okay, I know how strong you are Judy, no one would say otherwise." Caressing her ears as she huddled closer to his chest, the kevlar now proving to be an even bigger hindrance in his eyes. "You are Judy Hopps, the first rabbit officer, the only officer who can boast a complete record, the hero of Zootopia. No one questions your resolve, and if they do-" a chuckle escaped his lips, "Well you married me for a reason after all."
"Did I marry you for a reason?" Judy whimpered, staring into Nicks deep emerald pools. "Yes, yes I did…" Reaching up she dragged his maw down and kissed him gently, pulling away she grinned at his smug expression. "I'm sorry about snapping Nick… I… it's just that-"
"You never have to explain yourself to me Carrots. I get what your feeling." Nicks gentle voice cut through her worries. He was always able to be there for her, he understood her better then she did, but most of all he always knew what to say to keep her calm. In some ways, it was what made them both fantastic partners, whether that was on the beat or off. He was her fox.
Resting her head on his chest, "Dumb fox." Judy mumbled.
Clutching his mate closer, "Sly Bunny."
*skrrt*30 minute announcement, repeat 30 minutes till raid*skrrt* the intercom buzzed away their time left until shit hit the fan.
"Come on Carrots, time to do our jobs." nicks grin couldn't have made her happier. Seeing his giddiness at the prospect of catching the bastards that had been controlling many aspects of ordinary life for the everyday mammal. This group was tenacious, they had drug ring all over the city, controlled half of the managerial mammals within the city limits, and had a hand in almost every corner of government they could find. This was a significant risk on the ZPD's part, but the chief had accrued a large group of mammals to take down the central headquarters, a highrise that had been built in the Meadowlands. As well throughout the last eight months many anonymous tip-offs about the best day to execute the operation, and other clues led the buffalo to believe that today was the day.
Judy personally didn't trust a single word that was in those tips, but she had to admit that the mammal who wrote the must have put some semblance of truth within them. They had been the only way that the ZPD even caught the trail of the group and also learned of the group's infamous name. The 'Martyr's Syndicate' as they called themselves where appalling, and they needed to be brought down.
1 Hour Till Breakpoint,
It was like pulling claws, for every three steps they gained into the highrise, they were pushed back two. Every mammal that fell five more took their place. Horrifically grunts would step over their fallen brethren, never appearing to care if they were alive or dead. The Chief had noted early on how every criminal was prey, from the most massive elephants to the smallest rabbit, the prey mammals spewed from every corner, every corridor and fought. Thankfully it appeared that they had no live munitions but plenty of tranqs, as such there was no loss of life on Bogo's side. It was the numbers alone that had him worrying, for the past thirty minutes there was no ground to be shown for either side. He was proud of his ZPD officers as they showed their tactical knowledge and teamwork which he saw gave cause to the Syndicate henchmen to worry. Bogo would use that to his advantage.
"WILDE, HOPPS!" The Chief commanded, "GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE!" He waited for less time than he could blink before he saw the grey blur heading his way. "Hopps," grunting in recognition, "Where is Wilde?"
"Right here Chief, how-" Was all Bogo needed to hear from the fox as he promptly held up a hoof to stop whatever he was going to say.
"I need you two- to go in- through a backdoor," Shooting volleys of pepper spray pellets into the offending building in between breaths. "As you can see we are gaining nothing here." Ducking behind his cruiser, the buffalo finally glanced to his trusted officers. If anyone ever asked him who the best partners within his precinct were, he would always answer with the two beat cops.
"Whatever you need Chief we'll do it." Came the sunny reply from the lagomorph. "Where exactly would we be heading in from?" The stretching of the x did not go unnoticed by the buffalo.
"There is a ventilation cover approximately three stories up, use your new gear to reach it and breach silently. We haven't seen any live munitions, but that doesn't mean they aren't saving them." The bovines rundown of their mission made it seem effortless.
"10-4. Come on Carrots let's go." The lack of sass in the foxes voice caused a new wave of worry for the chief. If this was hitting Nicholas Piberius Wilde, the jokester of the precinct as hard as it appeared then maybe this was as bad an idea as it was shaping up to be.
Rounding the corner had our foxy friend shocked. "So is that what we have to breach?" Nick's snark seemed to be returning full force. Pointing up three stories for an elephant, the size gap between species made the gap quite a way up. "I mean, I know you're a bunny an all, but I don't think you can jump that high. Can you?"
His sass was making Judy irritated. Due to the pure thought that every second they spent gawking at the feat they would need to tickle the cover, meant that they had added another second that their comrades had to face the Syndicate threat head-on. "Keep talking, and you'll be sleeping on the couch."
Miming a zipper along his maw had Judy grinning, she loved her fox. Now, however, wasn't the time nor place for these thoughts. Judging from the height of an average elephant, the vent would be about twenty-five to thirty feet above the ground. Now, this should pose to be a daunting task for any mammal, yet, due to upgrades in the ZPD gear, their gloves had been outfitted with some futuristic tech. A sticky substance had coated a specific pair of gloves which the two had been given. The concoction was similar to salamanders mucose, allowing most smaller mammals to climb walls in such a way that they wouldn't fall.
"Come on slick, use your paws for something other than rubbing lips." Judy's wicked smile gave the fox a quick pause.
"Now Madame, I don't know what you mean." Nick sniped back. "If I remember correctly, you didn't have anything horrible to say earlier today." Watching her tail flick as she walked straight up to the wall.
"The first one who reaches the vent wins the first choice for their favourite position." the singsong voice did nothing to ease Nick's nerves.
"How are we supposed to make it up there?"
"Watch and learn." Slipping on her rather sticky gloves and tightening them, she faced her newest enemy and sprinted. Just before Judy turned into a bunny pancake, she launched herself up into the air latching onto the wall with her gloves. Digging her hind legs underneath her, she pounced further up, now nearing twenty feet off the concrete. Judy looked down. "BAD IDEA." the cop seethed, wiping her head back forward she was determined to keep her eyes straight lest she loses her lunch. Judy had just dug her hind paws under herself again when Nick tore past her, using the gloves and what appeared to be his rear claws to storm past her.
"Keep up Flopsy." Nicks grin didn't go unnoticed by his wife, causing him to go faster as she lunged up again trying to grasp his tail. Judy was successful in doing so. "Ow-ow-ow-ow, please stop."
"You called me Flopsy. I thought I said that was on par if not worse than cute." Her icy tone made him stop dangling just a foot from the vent. "Good Fox. He knows when to give in to his partner." Judy climbed off his tail and crawled the rest of the way to the ventilation cover. Prying it off, she tossed the lid down, where a resounding clang deafened everything for a second.
Pulling herself into the vent Nick followed suit, pulling him into a chaste kiss had his eyes going wide. "I'll treat you to whatever you want after this okay Slick?"
Grinning from ear to ear, "I think I'll take you up on that offer officer."
30 Minutes Till Breakpoint,
"This is far too easy!" Judy whopped after just bringing down a charging rhino in a rich looking jacket by dodging away from a steel support beam. Hearing the crunch of his collision caused no worry from the bunny. "I mean they have the numbers, but their all idiots!" Shouting out over a barrage of pellet fire.
"I'm not complaining," Nick chuckled as he rolled from underneath a desk while pouncing on an unsuspecting zebra guard. Tazing the mammal down onto a knee, Judy followed up with a punch to the solar plexus, bringing it down entirely. "What would you prefer, the guards to be well trained, or have actual weapons?" His snarky question lead to a punch from his partner.
'It had been rather easy.' Nick mused, the past half hour containing rather boring moments, taking down a grunt here or there. Never truly anything taxing. He and Judy had to have taken out at least fifty mammals within that time. 'something wasn't right.'
"Come on. I won't let chief see us straggling behind." Judy berated as she stalked around a corner looking for their target. The unfinished high rise in the middle of the Meadowlands was supposed to be a beacon to the works of peace between predator and prey. The Syndicate had moved in and made use of the upper floors for their meetings and their investments. It sickened Judy to the core.
"We are technically way above most of the ZPD." Nick's retort granted him a cold stare from his mate. "I mean-we are-kinda-oh stop giving me that lo-" the sound of multiple guns being cocked brought Nicks rant to an end, looking ahead there was only one way that the gunshots could have possibly come from. The corner his mate was right next to, he rushed to her hoping against the worst.
*BRATATATATAT* *KATHOOM*
For a good thirty seconds, the sound of handguns and a hand cannon fired within the next room was all that the to officers could hear. The silence after all the guns discharged was unlike any either officer had ever heard. Until that is, a deafening group of screams started. It took what felt like eons for the duo to reach the ajar door. Peering inside had Nick witnessing a strange sight, his night vision offering a clear look inside the spacious room.
The Prince of Darkness himself would pale at the scene, and Nick did worse. Stumbling back he retched onto the floor, Judy looked up at him with worry, having seen him be this affected only a handful of times before.
"What di-" Judy's worry was pushed tenfold when she saw an angry looking rhino that had loomed around the corner Nick and Judy had come from. Being five feet from her prone mate, the pachyderm made the smart choice and kicked Nick down the hallway. A pain filled yelp that followed caused Judy's blood to boil and freeze, sprinting forward, fully intent on bringing this mammal down.
Springing up to meet the rhino mid punch, she kicked off his fist re-aiming it to embed itself into the wall. Judy twisted herself midair to bounce off the opposite wall and collide with the rhinos head, punching it through the same board his hoof now resided. Landing on the floor, Judy checked to see her handiwork; the rhino appeared to be unconscious.
Looking over at her mate Judy's heart stopped beating.
Nick laid on the floor a piece of rebar sticking through his side, blood pooling underneath his form. Judy raced to his prone form, "T-Ten Th-Thirty Four" Judy called into her radio, "Officer W-Wil-Wilde is down... Thirty-eighth floor. Paramedics needed immediately, I repeat, Paramedics needed immediately."
Kneeling down Judy saw the full extent of the damage, the rebar had pierced straight through. The exit wound looked quite grizzly having penetrated through the back panel of kevlar and sticking at an angle that made Judy queasy. She could tell that it had pierced through a rib, probably pierced his liver, and was now sticking out of his side.
"Stay with me, Nick." Grasping his paw, "Stay w-with me, you can't leave me!" Judy's tears clouded her vision, rubbing her eyes she started to caress his maw that was splattered with blood. Nick's yelps and whines were soothed a minuscule amount. "We still have to tell my parents that we are married... we-we were supposed to grow old together goddamnit!" Nicks whines started to grow distant as he pried open his eyes, looking at his mate's puffy red eyes.
"I guess-" A fit of coughs with blood spurting from his maw followed quickly by his words. "I- let you- down- again." his breathing growing more haggard with each breath.
"No Nick," Sobbing full force, Judy choked out her next words. "You never let me down, and you never will."
"Ha... Fluff," Nick wheezed "I... lo… ve... yo.. u." His final breath rasped through his form.
"Nick... Nick please, please... NICK!" Judy's cry to the heavens, one of wrath, love, pride.
Breakpoint
"Officer Hopps, if you could move."
Dun-dun-duh yes, I did just do that, a cliffhanger for a prologue. I know I am a bastard. Thank you, thank you I wanted to make my readers worried within the preamble soooo ya know.
All will be explained in a concise amount of time if I have a say in it. Reviews, telling me how much you wish to disembowel my dog and I are very much appreciated. As well as constructive criticism or help with grammar, spelling, or something just didn't read right, I wanna know so I can fix it.
Have a good sleep.
Updated 2018-05-23: Just using a beta to fix some fuckups.