ZOOTRAPIA
CH3: Faster than a Trigger
I do not own Regular Show and Zootopia.

- O – O – O – O – O -

xJUDY II

Judy trusted herself not making a decision she would regret later.
But rather than hopeful, majority of thoughts would jump inside the boundary of worry.
She had just assigned a total stranger to do work for her, and it meant getting separated.
A tall jay like him would have more chances to be seen by the wrong eyes rather than be safe in a supposedly more winding path.
In a way, she felt like she just employed a decoy out of him.

For one short set of conversations, the bunny realized how much she cared for the citizens. Any citizen.
Currently, she had one goal for them – to meet up with the other ZPD officers.

Judy was trying to keep track of the numerous jobs the force had arranged for them.
Swinton the pig efficient with a baton, was assigned to leave specific doors open to mislead Bellwether and if ever given the chance, delay her for whatever she planned to do.
Delgato the brawny lion would keep one Fire Exit sign turned on for the back-up to see and once they arrived, have his self to join and guide them.

If the jay was right about his assumptions, the ex-mayor would probably go for the Chief's office where classified papers about Night Howlers were kept.
The path Bellwether was currently heading through meant the false doors Swinton had set wouldn't have to be used, and it would naturally put the others up the task.

Wolford as a mobile wolf was waiting with a few others inside the mayor's office.
Fangmeyer the unswerving and loyal tiger was single-handedly guarding the boilers, where nearby was the generator system.
Bellwether could have a bodyguard or two try to turn the lights back up, while she herself could go for the main office to get someone's credentials for the department's computer room.

There were probably no more than ten officers inside the building, including herself, depending on how Clawhauser mobilized the follow-up for Nick's side.
Bogo could have ordered all possible squads left.
Judy still had to debate where she would go first, while wishing she could get to see a certain vulpine.
He was just on the other side of the building the time he sent the message, or so the message said.

For all she knew, it could be a trick by Bellwether.
The number wasn't even his to start.
But she felt otherwise, and wanted to believe Nick had a small but genius plan.
Grunting, she shook her head and the worrying thoughts away.
It was a bit of the reason why she actually sent Mordecai away.
She would do better to not focus on it currently.

One weak gunshot was fired.
Judy immediately ran for cover, gritting her teeth as she had a bad turn.
The bunny quickly studied the situation.
It looked more like a small threat rather than a reaction to sighting her.
However, a silenced gun could either mean Bellwether had been ready all along for a possible confrontation and had wanted to settle things quietly or one of the officers could be making a risky signal of offense.
It was on one of the proposed of courses after all but highly not favored.
Still, it was possible.

She could hear footsteps from her left side. It wasn't Bellwether but rather a ram.
She could feel it from the weight of the steps on the cold floor, with the singular sound of their rhythm.
While her partner had a heightened sense of smell, she was confident in trusting her sense of hearing.

It meant Bellwether went for the higher offices and one ram was sent for her location to get the generator system.
She could signal Fangmeyer for help.
Rams were more of brute force and brawl rather than a tactical approach, probably Fangmeyer too, but Judy could outsmart one or two.
Plus, they probably had more focus on the goal instead of possible confrontations.

She reached for her comms device and slowly chose the appropriate channel for the nearby tiger officer.
She held the voice button and immediately rubbed her hand against the phone.

A rough rub meant necessary silence.
The call was answered but nobody replied.

Judy's initial relief compelled her with a more courageous drive for the upcoming presentation.
She gave it a series of soft taps to ask for help, repeating it once to feel assured.

There was still no answer, but Judy released the button.
She hoped the message was clear.

The bunny cop breathed deeply then started counting to ten, while imagining a red fox in green tee eating the same number of blueberries for a cheerful thought. "Okay, here goes."

She swiftly sprung to her feet and adjusted the then reloaded gun in her grasp, putting her hopes for blueberries to deal enough impact to knock someone unconscious.
The door to the boilers was roughly opened and she saw in the corner of her eyes the tiger looking neat with his uniform.
However, her relief quickly vanished.
Right before them was indeed a ram, one of the more muscular ones. What Judy did not anticipate was the ram actually carrying one smirking Bellwether.

"Shoot them now!" Judy yelled as she stood firm in her stance. Bullets started flying across the area. The ram only turned around, also covering Bellwether, and the shots went stuck in a bulletproof vest while Judy's splattered to become smashed blueberries.
"The other parts of the body!"
"Too late."

Bellwether jumped out of the fluffy cover and fired a shot from her own gun. The bunny instinctively stooped and covered her face. A few seconds of silence, she still hadn't felt nothing but turned around to realize Fangmeyer was roaring in pain, and holding his chest.
"Fangmeyer?!" Judy ran to her fellow officer, offering feeble support.
"Stay away from the tiger or he'll make you next." Bellwether whistled lightly.
"What?"

It was then that Judy noticed the rapid eye movement and the uncontrollable twitches the tiger was having.
"Night howlers?!" She turned to Bellwether in desbelief. "How?!"
"No questions will be entertained." The ram beside the ex-mayor fired a net from his gun and entangled the pained victim. "But you will entertain us."

Looking over at the netted officer and at Bellwether heightened the sense of desperation Judy was feeling.
"No!"
She hopped from cover to cover and got her comms device. She aimed for the other squad in the building, hoping they weren't having any encounter themselves.

"Awoo awoooo!" rushed the officer into the speaker, ignoring how pitched her voice became.

Code Howl A2.
Everyone was to form a tight pack and to approach a set of targets together
She could have just mentioned the particular code but she knew some of the others had yet to master combat guidelines.
She was answered with a short rejection, with one of the officers explaining the battle they were in.
She tried the same for the others, yet she received the same rejection. Just how many troops did Bellwether have for the attack?

Judy was left with only one number remaining.
It was for Nick Wilde.
She clenched her hands against the floor, holding on to her dwindling determination.

"Officer Hopps," Bellwether sneered. "Doesn't this give you nostalgia? How long has it been since we chased each other around?"
Perhaps no more than a month before, they did have quite a chase in the nearby museum.
She had barely pulled through, if not for a certain fox.
Needless to say, she definitely wanted to ask him for help.
Ultimately, she held in bitter thought how she always ended up leaning on to him for support.

"It seems Nick broke one part of the deal. I wonder who he sent the other text message too."
Judy tried to make sense of the scoundrel's ramblings.
Could the ex-mayor really have stalled a full police force? Or maybe Nick tricked him and sent it to Finnick's side.
"I rather expected it anyway," Bellwether uttered on, brimming with confidence. "But I'm sure he won't dare disappoint me, especially with you near my grasp now. I'll be sure to let him know."

Judy breathed deeply and matched it with the rhythm of her heartbeat as if to draw strength from it, not that any extra oxygen could help her in her current situation.
Bellwether was probably trying to stall her actions too, which was not going to happen.
"Nick," she whispered softly to the air.

With one last straw of resolution, she slowly and silently retreated, leaving a recorder behind.
The tiger continued growling, fighting against the effects of the Night Howler serum while Judy walked through the darkness, continuously whispering the fox's name.

xMordecai III

Walking around a large police building had never made him so nervous.
Mordecai never felt restrained by the borders of a police department, probably because there were always Skips around and his best friend Rigby, of course.
He knew he could get lost in any moment then.

Apparently, his job was to meet up with either of the two foxes Judy had specified for him: a red fox or a much smaller fennec fox going by the names of Nick and Finnick, respectively.
'FinNick,' Mordecai thought with amusement. 'Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. What's it with foxes and rabbits in this place, anyway?'

He felt a sudden air of coldness which brought him chills.
"Brrr... It gets cold at nights without a party."

The bunny officer certainly gave him a lot of points to take note of, especially strict warnings.
He was told not to follow Judy or walk back, nor to speak out loud.
He was allowed to retreat and save himself though, not that he would do something a coward would do.
It was the very reason things got a lot more complicated between him and Margaret.
"Ugh, she must be worried."
He was more concerned about a troubled Margaret than a furious park manager.
Maybe he could make amends by offering his friends one of those pies Judy was suggesting him to try, or make it special for a dinner.

Yet again, his mind wandered off his main goal. All the seriousness of the situation he was in was making him anxious.
There was also the possibility that Rigby was brought to a different universe, to an actual pizza paradise where hamboning was all he needed to do to get free pizzas.
If only hamboning could be an efficient weapon against muscled rams and crazy armed sheep.
Was it some kind of war against a perceived equality?
Any world had its madness, after all.

"Oh, there's the fox."
Nick Wilde was just sitting on the entrance steps, seemingly bored with his face placed on a hand. Meanwhile, Mordecai was on the farthest side of the building corner, blocked by a glass wall and hidden by the night's shadows.
He couldn't see the fox's whole face, settling with only the side view.

He was given detailed steps on how to approach the vulpine, depending on the situation that could be presented to him. He tried to recall her words as best as he could.
"If Nick is still approaching with the green t-shirt raised, do not stand him."
Something gave him an idea that he probably messed up how he remembered the essentials.
He tried to make sense of the other instances.

"If Nick is breathing, check if he is unconscious. If he is not, approach him and stun him with the tazer. Only twice, not once!"
Mordecai was pretty sure it was wrong and wouldn't apply for the fox's current state.
Moreover, Judy did not look really enthusiastic about the possible use of the tazer.
That definitely meant something.
He would try not to resort to the weapon.

"If Nick arrives before Finnick, you take the tazer and give it to Nick. He will do the rest."
He was not exactly sure whether giving an animal - possibly still bound by the enemy's chains - his only available weapon would bring good results.
Judy however emphasized on the situation that no matter how small Finnick looked compared to him, he was not to laugh or to insult him about his size.
He frowned. Surely not a lot of animals could become smaller than the bunny, especially for a fox kin.

"If Nick is nowhere to be found, make sure you are hidden! Remain nowhere to be found."
Mordecai felt like he was losing grasp of a well-formed logic inside his mind.
Anyway, he wouldn't have to think about the instance also since Nick clearly was not nowhere to be found unless Judy actually meant Finnick.
He probably lost track of the lot of proposed course of actions she mentioned.

"Uh oh." The bird touched the sides of his head, trying to gain more focus. "So if the fox is sitting, looking bored... uhh, what did Judy say?"
Mordecai resisted the urge to strike head on, like what Rigby would undoubtedly do.
He wasn't aiming for chaos. He just wanted to get home, and have a try for those baked pies and a Jumbo Pop.
He realized he forgot to ask the bunny about the flavors.

He decided to observe the fox first.
Other than sitting with a bored expression, Mordecai noticed the animal was holding a cell phone.
It was likely the one used to send a message to his Carrots.
'They must be really close,' Mordecai thought. 'So this place's equality includes the right for any kind of relationship?'

Just as his mind was about to wander to the possibilities of babies, Mordecai heard incoming police sirens. A lot of them.
"Woah. Woah. Wait. Judy didn't tell me about the police."
The police cars stopped before the building steps. Numerous animals in uniform came out of their vehicles and hid behind them with guns pointed at the building.

"We got you now, Bellwether. Stop what you are doing now!"
Mordecai became totally clueless as to what to do. He glanced at the police force that looked wet and tired, then at Nick who seemed to have received a new message.
He couldn't read his expression.
But he did not expect his next action either.

Nick Wilde stood straight and raised a gun to the side of his head.

Mordecai could see lots of faces twitching from the police force, likely in shocked panic and fear.
"What is the meaning of this Officer Wilde?!" yelled a cape buffalo as he dropped his cover along with the megaphone, moving before the others.
"Chief, I misled your team to the Rainforest District and I must pay the price."

'Huh.' Mordecai did not expect the fox to have such a sly-sounding voice, even if he just announced what could be a horrifying decision.
He was getting increasingly nervous, uncertain whether to act and jump behind him.
They were just a sliding door away, assuming the door was still functional.
Bellwether did manage to enter.

"Stop it with the games and tricks, Wilde." The chief raised a large finger. "We have an entire squad of officers inside including Judy Hopps. You wouldn't want to delay us."
The fox raised his unused arm with a shrug. Still, it offered an awkward but sinister aura.
"Unfortunately, I'm under the orders of Bellwether to do this."
Mordecai felt like he was not supposed to see or even be involved in this any longer.

"And you would shoot yourself?" The buffalo gave him a stern glare. "For what? Playing into the sheep's hands?"
There was a small pause.
The sirens offered a dizzying rhythm of noise.
Nick Wilde sighed. "Trust me, Chief. Bellwether's inside." His tail twitched a bit, as he started speaking more softly. "She can't watch me now. But if she doesn't see me... unconscious or something, she'd know I blew it."

Right then, a chubby cheetah rushed out of a police car with a worried face.
"But what about Officer Hopps, Nick?"
There was a donut under his collar. He must be the receptionist Judy was talking about. His uniform looked awkward with the urgency of the situation.
"Anytime now, any of the officers inside can call us for help," the buffalo pointed out. "And we will help them if they need it."
Nick Wilde shook his head. "But they won't do that or else they would risk having their positions revealed."

Mordecai was impressed by how calm and collected the fox was.
Judy was not exaggerating his form of ingenuity.
Even from quite a distance, he could feel a logical confidence from him.
"What do you suggest for us to do, then?" the chief asked, rather compliant.
The red fox glanced at the large cheetah, probably with an apologetic look then at the leader with a reassuring smile, "Oh, you can all leave quietly and peacefully."
There was a little bit of arrogance too, Mordecai decided.

The buffalo gave him a solid stare and a silent frown.
"Now just leave the sirens wailing."
Nick casually gestured for them to shoo away using his free hand. "Make it authentic. Shoo. Shoo."
There was a rough snort from the chief as he glanced at the gun beside the fox's head, but he started retreating anyway.
"Oh. Oh." Nick followed up. "And don't show yourselves until you receive a message."
The buffalo turned his head back a little. "We won't just retreat and end our jobs here, Wilde. You got that?"
"Yes, Chief," was his brief reply, actually making it sound serious.

So that was it.
A police force arrived and Mordecai was then clueless.
The same police force was about to go and Mordecai was still clueless.
What if he could use that police force for his advantage?
What was Nick Wilde currently thinking with the gun still held up...
And a smirk in his face?

"I guess that's it." Nick seemed to be checking his phone for any new messages but he shrugged.
He looked around and sighed.
Mordecai started moving to the main glass doors.
He decided he would be able to do something once the situation presented itself unavoidable right before his face.
He hoped opening the sliding doors would not give off any sound.

The fox was still looking in the same direction.
Mordecai took the chance.

"Hmm. Now nobody has to see a possible gruesome sight. Whatever happens to me..." He lowered the gun and bobbed his head downwards, as if he was checking the weapon.
There were a lot more muttered words that Mordecai couldn't comprehend.
Maybe he was texting.
Mordecai just got behind the doors, which opened swiftly.
He didn't know why he felt so nervous.

"Never let them see that they get to you, Wilde." The fox raised the gun to his temple again.
He adjusted the distance a few inches away.
"That wouldn't be right as my last words, if I do actually die, eh?"

Nick Wilde continued with a rapid succession of words, as if he was also actually nervous.
As he approached the fox from behind with the tazer ready, he noticed the frequent twitching of the tail and the constant shifting of weight between his feet.
He rose to the peak of the steps backwards, nearly hitting Mordecai who almost gasped himself.
The latter only had a small time to process the already moving finger on the gun's trigger and his sudden reaction of jumping for the fox.
It felt like his senses were heightened in slow motion.

"No, wait!"

Rain started hitting his skin.
Mordecai could swear the gun didn't fire.
All he could hear was the police sirens and the loud ringing in his head.

"Eeeooo-?!"

Mordecai looked up to see a blurred version of the fox, who seemed to be shaking him.
He also noted a splatter on his left cheek... right cheek... left.
Was a bullet supposed to be that messy when they hit a target?

"Oh gosh, it's a serum bullet."
The sudden clarity of his sense of hearing sent another pang of dizziness to his head, causing him to hold the fox's shirt.
"She cares about you."

Why did his mouth just say that?
His mind felt like a puddle, like he was about to enter the Dizzy World.
His senses seemed to play with him, becoming clear then blurred every now and then.
Did the fox just growl at him?

"I'm gonna call Carrots."
Mordecai frowned as he felt saliva on his face. He could see Rigby hamboning right in front of him, with that loud voice of his.
"A tazer?!"
His eyes felt heavy. He blinked. He shut his mouth. Did the police sirens just get silent? There seemed to be a fireworks display right before him.
"Don't tell him about it."
"No, I won't."
The bunny cop smiled at him before he finally heard the gunshot in his head.
He was definitely hit, after all.

"Stun me now!"

- O – O – O – O – O -

Regular Show summary:
Mordecai gets assigned to a dangerous task and ends up in an uncertain state. Unfortunately, Rigby seems too far away from the area of combat and is nowhere to be found.

Zootopia summary:
Judy and Nick starts out a task in two separate sides of the ZPD building, only for the former to make faults in anticipation and the latter to make a problematic course of action.