The sun rises behind a sky full of dark rolling clouds. Wind whistling through empty buildings and overturned carts, kicking up dust. Tumbleweeds blown around as a small group of seven mammals appears. They are led by a medium sized tan coyote. A large wolf is carrying a bundle of grey and rose over his shoulder. When they reach the middle of town, the grey and black wolf drops Judy ungracefully in the dirt. As she struggls to her feet, paws still bound, the rest of the group spreads out from them taking up the entire lane. The small feline yanks Judy up by her ears. Her grunt of pain is muffled by the gag and the claws against her throat.
A short distance away, in the bell tower of the rundown school, a red fox cleans a long rifle. Across from him stands a fennec fox keeping watch. Large ears held down so as to not draw unwanted attention.
"Nick. They're here." Finnic's deep voice is laced with displeasure as he glances back at his friend.
"Let's get this over with." Nick stands and chambers a round.
"They have a bunny. I'm guessing she's yours." The red tod rushes to the tower opening with ears pinned back.
"Damn! Finnic.." His teeth are bared when he looks to the fennec.
"Ya I know. Just get her up here, I'll keep your girl safe." Nick places his long rifle next to the sandy fox then turns and heads down the ladder.
"Wilde! I know you're here!" The coyote's voice carries even with the wind fighting against it. "I've got your Mate. You've got thirty seconds before I let Rayn here have her fun."
Moments later Nick steps out of the school, walking towards them. Judy sees him and starts struggling. Rayn tightens her grip on the bunny's throat. Seeing this Nick bares his sharp teeth at the feline in warning. "I have what you want Conrad, so release her."
"And what is it we want exactly?" The cat holding Judy sneers at him.
"You want me and the money I won from your boss. I'm right here and you'll get the money when she's out of harms way." He stops by an empty cart, ten paces from them, with paws up.
"Let her go Rayn. She's no longer of any use to us." Conrad, the coyote, nods to the cat. Rayn lets go and shoves Judy towards Nick. A light drizzle starts as she stumbles to keep her footing, then runs to him. When she is in his arms Nick pulls her in tightly and turns around, putting his back to the gang. A risky move but it puts him between her and them.
"My friend, Finnic, is waiting in the bell tower. I need you to get up there quickly." As he whispers barely within her hearing, his nimble fingers undo her bindings and gag.
"Nicholas! There are more surrounding the town." Her arms encircle his neck and she squeezes. Nick holding her just as tightly.
"I figured that might be the case. I have a plan, but you need to get into that building." She kisses his nose then runs into the building he had previously left. Nick waits until her ears poke over the railing, then looks back to the gang leader.
"She's safe. Where's my money?" The coyote takes a step in Nick's direction, drawing his revolver.
"Buried all over town." He spreads his paws wide and gives them a come-and-get-me grin as lightning flashes, drawing their attention skywards. Nick uses this unexpected distraction to duck behind the empty cart. The thunder hits the same time Finnic shoots the grey and black wolf, dropping him instantly. Nick pulls his twin revolvers and fires over his shelter, panicking the rest of the group. As they find cover of their own, the rain pours in earnest. Then all hell breaks loose.
Bullets rain down on the coyote and his gang. A brown bear, not quick enough to get into the doorway of a ruined building, lets out a roar when he takes three shots in the shoulder close to his heart. The Meerkat huddles behind Rayn as she returns fire at the bell tower. Chunks of wood are ripped off the cart Nick is behind, as the rest of the small group fires upon him. One shot imbeds itself in his right thigh, causing him to yelp in pain. The sound of a second gun coming from the tower makes Nick suspect Gideon made it back.
During a lull in the hail of bullets, Nick chances a peak around the cart to take aim at anyone he sees. At that moment a marble fox pops his mangled face out of his cover, illuminated by lightning flashing. Nick fires quickly, catching him in the shoulder of the arm he had brought up to shoot with. The fox howls in pain over the sound of thunder and falls back into the building he had taken shelter in.
More shots are exchanged. The brown wolf taking multiple rounds in the chest, bleeding out slowly. As Rayn takes aim at the tower, Finnic already has her in his sights. Her face explodes covering the Meerkat in grime. Nick takes another bullet, this time through his upper left arm, from Conrad. More lightning with thunder close on its heels, lets everyone know the storm is right above them, and will only get worse, with mud making their footing precarious.
Looking around, Conrad notices most of his small troop were down and primarily out. With no back up in sight. "Wilde! I'll make you a deal!" Nick loads his last twelve shots into the six shooters. Not knowing how many were left surrounding them. "You come out and your bunny lives! Or I can just keep her! I doubt she'll survive my guys having their fun!"
Nick glances to the bell tower, heart racing. Ears pinned, he checks his pockets for any ammunition he might have missed. Coming up empty, he looks to the tower once more. Two gun barrels sticking out fire simultaneously before ducking back out of sight. Heartbeats later he makes his decision.
"Forgive me Carrots." He whispers this prayer then stands up with paws in the air. His guns hanging loosely from a finger each. Limping from the lead in his leg, Nick makes his way around the cart watching the rain fall from the sky, soaking everything in its path. More blinding light steaks across the sky being chased by rolling waves of sound. He waits to be shot hoping Judy isn't watching. When no more pain comes, he looks out at the road running through town.
What seems to be the entire Zootopia Marshalls is holding the coyote, who is now missing an ear, and what is left of his gang at gun point. More being led in, all cuffed. Each mammal soaked through. Nick starts laughing quietly at first then works his way up to hysterical as he replaces his six shooters in their holsters.
"Nicholas!" All panicked amusement vanishes when he hears her voice. Nick turns in time to catch his personal grey fuzzy bullet. Ignoring the pain in his left arm, Nick pulls her close and breaths in her sent. His fur bristles as the sent of other mammals, mingled with hers, registers. A rumble starts in his chest when he takes notice of her appearance. "Do not worry. Their scents will wash off, quickly in this rain. They practically carried me here, kicking and screaming most of the way too."
"And your dress?" His growled question surprises him. Clearing his throat, he tries again. "What happened to your dress?"
"Last night the fox...he...he tried..." Her noes twitches as tears threaten to fall. Nick tightens his hold more and looks for any fox he doesn't recognize. The growl rumbles from his chest, loader then the thunder, when he sees only one other fox. The marbled one he got in the shoulder. "Nicholas please. He is caught. He will face charges. Besides, all he managed to do was rip my dress before the coyote shredded his face. He got violent because I got him between the legs."
"Where you tied at the time?" His attention is back on her.
"I was tied the whole time. They only gaged me last night though." She buries her face in his wet chest. Her arms wrap around his torso, paws clutching his shirt. Nick ignores the fur she is pulling out in favor of making her feel safe.
"Sir." Nick turns his head to see a portly cheetah standing a few feet away. "We have a doctor set up in the bar. You can head there whenever you are ready to have your wounds looked at."
"You are hurt!?" Judy pulls out of his hold causing him to wince when it jars his left arm. "Why did you not tell me. Come on, we need to get you looked at."
"Alright Carrots, lead the way." She grabs the paw on his uninjured arm and gently pulls him to where the cheetah points.
"His arm is a through and through, but we need to dig the slug out of his thigh before we can stitch him up. Ralph, get him some whisky." The doctor explains while motioning to one of the other alpacas. They give Nick some whisky to drink then pour some in his wound. The two assistant alpacas hold him down while their older brother starts digging in Nick's leg.
Pain filled yips, grunts, and growls escape his muzzle during the ordeal. He never moves though, not wanting to make things worse. During the whole process, Judy hugs his head and Nick buries his snout in her neck. The alpaca holding his torso glances at her periodically, worry evident in his eyes. Nick notices but Judy is oblivious, cooing to him. Whether to keep him calm or herself, Nick can't tell. It takes an hour to remove the chunk of lead and a piece of wood from his thigh. By the end of it all Judy is tearful and Nick is ready to pass out. The doctor wraps him up, then leaves.
"I dun know how ya did it but ya managed to live through all them mammals shooting at ya." Gideon walks in shaking his head, little water droplets hitting the floor. The sound of rain letting up follows him. "Hello Miss Judy."
"Gideon!" Judy releases Nicks paw and runs up to her kithood bully, giving him a tight hug. "It is so good to see you. I only wish it was under better circumstances."
"Told you she forgave you." Nick chuckles weakly at the other fox's surprised look. "I'm glad you got here when you did. Bringing all the Marshalls sure helped."
"You brought them?" She releases him to look into his eyes.
"Yes ma'am. Sure am glad to have gotten here in time." Gideon nods while scuffing the floor with his foot. She gives him a big smile.
"You are wonderful Gideon." Judy gives him a light kiss to the cheek then returns to Nick. Gideon just nods again a little stunned, then leaves.
"Judith." Nick's voice is soft as he places his paw against her cheek. "Will you forgive me for leaving?"
"Of course I will. Just tell me why." She presses her cheek more firmly into his paw.
"I wanted you or your family to tell them where I was going. That way they would leave you alone, I didn't want them to hurt you. That didn't work out very well did it?" They are interrupted by a knock on the bar's doorframe.
"Sorry to disturb you two. My name is Bogo and I would like to hear what happened." A huge cape buffalo walks up to the table Nick is laying on. "Don't worry, it's clear who is in the wrong considering all the reports coming in from all the towns they terrorized."
"I was wondering, how did you all get here so fast? Is Zootopia that close to town?" Judy asks before Nick can comment.
"We were on our way to Bunnyburrow, hoping to intercept them before they got there. We ran into your friend who was on his way to get us." Bogo explains before motioning to Nick. "If you would enlighten me on why they were after you."
"Alright, but can I make a request first?" Judy pricks her ears at this and the cape buffalo nods, interested. "You know that marble fox with the whole in his shoulder?" Another nod while Judy's ears fall. "Hang him by his balls."
"What?" Bogo raises an eyebrow.
"He's the one that tore her dress. You can imagine how that would come about." Bogo nods and sticks his head out of the saloon.
"Fangmire! Add assault to the list of charges for that fox!" Murmurs sound throughout the square.
"Understood." A feline sounding voice calls back.
"He will face punishment for his crimes. However, the way he is punished will most likely not be what you wanted." He pauses in contemplation. "Though I do understand your reason for wanting him punished in that way, so I will keep it in mind. Now, can you tell me what happened here? From the beginning."
"Are you sure you are well enough to travel? You were just shot yesterday." Judy fusses over Nick's bandages that she just finished changing. The slightly bloody ones lying on the dusty bedroom floor.
"I need to get you home. They must be very worried." He gives her a gentle smile and opens his arms in invitation. "Besides, with everyone joining us we can go slow. It'll take an extra day or two but it wont cost me any extra discomfort."
"What if you aggravate them?" She gently steps into his embrace, placing her paws on his chest.
"We've got plenty of supplies, just in case." He rubs his muzzle between her ears to sooth her. "Plus I want to apologize to your parents for what I did, and hopefully they'll still let me keep you."
"You saved me from those bandits, they would be fools not to." Nick leans in, kissing her. They only stop when he hurts himself pulling her in tighter.
"Well that's inconvenient." She giggles at his understatement. "Hush you. Let's get everyone gathered." Judy steps out of his arms but grabs onto the paw of his good arm. Then they leave the room and head down the hall to the stairs leading into the bar. "I wish we could've found you something more appropriate to wear."
"I like wearing your shirt, and I doubt either you or Finnic would appreciate me wearing his clothes." She tugs the shirt of his that she is wearing straighter. The white fabric hangs down to her knees and is cinched around her waist with twine.
"You have a point there." They fall silent as they make their way down the stairs. When they reach the bottom Nick looks around. "Good you're all here. Is everyone ready to go?"
"Miss Judith, I can not in good conscience allow you to trek back to the Tri-Burrows in only your Mates shirt." An aged red vixen, standing next to Gideon, walks up to them holding a bundle of cloth. Completely ignoring Nick's question.
"My dress got ruined the other night when..." The vixen quiets her by holding up her paw.
"I know all about what that scoundrel did. So I took one of my old dresses and made you something more appropriate." She hands Judy the bundle.
"Thank you Mrs. Grey. I shall go change now." Nick watches her head to the pantry behind the bar for privacy, then turns to face the vixen.
"I thank you as well Anna. Though I will miss seeing her in my shirt." He glances back at the pantry then gets smacked in the shoulder by Anna.
"Do you really want others to see her in that getup?" Nick instantly shakes his head in the negative. "Good boy."
"Don't lament too long Nick. You'll be seeing her in something similar a lot more often in the near future. Best get yourself a ring quick." Finnic bursts into uncontrollable cackles at the many emotions his comment has brought to his friends face. Pleasure, excitement, joy, worry.
"A ring." He breaths out longingly, then starts patting his pockets. "I have my mothers here somewhere. I can get it resized and...and..what if they wont let me?"
"Who wont let you do what?" Nick jumps a foot in the air at her voice. Judy's ears are lopsided with confusion. One up, the other down. "Are you alright Nicholas?"
"Yup, just got distracted and didn't notice..." He turns to see her standing behind him in a pale yellow dress. Simple but well fitting. "That looks good on you."
"Thank you. Mrs. Grey is magic with needle and thread." She beams at Anna.
"Oh posh. Please, call me Anna." The vixen walks up to Judy and examines her. "I am glad it fits."
"Anna, thank you. I appreciate what you have done." She gives the surprised vixen a warm hug. "So, are we ready to go?"
It is noon on their second day out when their group runs into another. This one consists of twenty bunnies of varying colors. Lead by none other then Judy's father, Stuart Hopps. His tears out do everyone there, practically watering the nearby desert flora for the week. After nearly suffocating Judy with hugs he turns his attention to Nick. Said fox fears he is about to be shot again when Stu pulls him into a tight embrace. Thankfully, for the fox, avoiding Nick's injuries.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you for saving my little Judes." His tears soak the fur on Nick's shoulder.
"Gideon did the most. He brought the Marshalls, and Judy helped Finnic shoot some of the posse." Nick flinches when Judy's little paw hits the shoulder of his wounded arm.
"You better not downplay what you did." Angry tears form in her amethyst eyes. "You were going to let them kill you, just to spare me. You...you idiot!"
"I just couldn't stand the thought of them hurting you." He pries Stu off of him and pulls Judy in. Petting her ears to comfort her.
"You are lucky Gideon made it in time. I would have never forgiven you had you died. It is bad enough you got shot." Though she is angry with him she still burrows her face in his chest.
"Why are you traveling if you've been shot?" James asks while Stu hugs Gideon in thanks. Still crying.
"I needed to get Judith home." Nick explains over her head and James nods in understanding.
"Where'd you get hit?" He looks the fox up and down, not seeing anything obvious.
"His arm and his leg. The leg is the reason we are not further along." Judy peaks at her brother from the confines of her lovers arms.
"Alright boys, let's get a litter going." Nick and Judy look at Stu confused. "We're going to carry you back. No reason for you to injure yourself more. Plus, this'll be faster."
"You don't need.." He tries to protest.
"It's the least we can do after all you've done for our family." Stu delegates the bunnies with him to start on the simple stretcher.
"I also brought your family trouble." Nick tries again to refuse the help but is shooed away.
"You did nothing wrong Nicholas. So I don't hold you responsible." Stu makes Nick sit down on a nearby rock formation. Judy follows and stands next to him. "You were hurt saving my daughter. Bonnie would skin me alive if I made you walk."
"You let them carry you or I will stay right here." Judy steps in front of him, paws on hips, glaring. She squeaks in surprise when Nick grabs those same hips, pinning her paws, and pulls her onto his lap. Snuggling her as she straddles his hips.
Her ears go a deep red at the suggestive position they are in, causing her brothers to snicker. Nick smirks at her roguishly with half lidded eyes, then kisses her nose. "As my Lady wishes."
AN: The meaning of the word Litter that I use in this story is another name for a stretcher, one without wheels. So, no, I'm not talking about a litter of baby animals.
For those still confused on the Coyote's actions: He is an outlaw with his own rules. Hostages are off limits as long as they are useful. When they are no longer useful, all bets are off. And he asks her those questions to get anything out of her that he can use on Nick.
Happy (one day late) Independence Day! To my readers that celebrate it. Hope you all enjoy this new chapter.
