Judy was excited – well, maybe excited wasn't the proper word. Anxious could work, though it was underwhelming for what she felt. Adrenalized could also work, though she wasn't as energetic as that would imply. Pumped, it seemed, would be the best term to use.

"Carrots, could you stop bouncing in your seat?" Nick asked from her left, sounding more amused than annoyed. He was dressed in a casual outfit: Sleek black pants with a simple turquoise turtle-neck shirt. It was better than his usual floral shirt and tacky tie with khakis, but Judy didn't find it as satisfying as his police uniform. She wore a different outfit, though it matched far better: blue jeans with a matching v-neck t-shirt, hidden under an unzipped winter coat of pink that matched her ears.

"I'm not bouncing," she objected. "Just... Floating and falling. Repeatedly." She gave a small grin at her attempted excuse, not letting it falter as Nick gave her a look that clearly said he wasn't impressed. With a shrug, she turned her gaze to the sight outside: a snow-covered street in a portion of Tundratown that hadn't seen love in quite some time. Abandoned buildings were everywhere, broken glass and litter barely visible through the white blanket that coated the land and muffled the sound to a degree that even she couldn't hear very far. Her breath was visible and occasionally fogged up her view from the window, but it cleared away fast enough for her to oversee what they were looking for.

King had parked the group on top of a hill overlooking the apartment where the prey hostages were being held. His white car was relatively well hidden against the snow as they watched the darkened street, quietly listening to the sound of radio chatter over the walkies Nick had brought along. Lucas and his team were in place – a group of six other SWAT officers, in two heavily armored vans, hidden around the corner. Tundratown and Downtown cruisers were parked anywhere that seemed relatively well hidden – in empty garages, dilapidated buildings, or in alleys that were out of immediate sight.

"Can't we turn on the heater?" Nick asked, a slight tremble to his voice.

"Mm-mm," Robin replied from the passenger seat. "Exhaust will give us away."

Nick cursed quietly at the logic being sound, trying to find an alternative to stay warm. It wasn't until Judy heard his teeth clattering together that she turned around to look at him. The poor fox was huddled away from the door, curled up as best he could while rubbing his feet. His tail wound tightly around him, but every once in a while it flicked as the mammal it was attached to gave a shudder. "Nick, why didn't you bring a coat?" Judy asked.

"W-We foxes are supposed to have thicker pelts, for winter," Nick said. "I d-didn't think I'd need one."

"You live in Savannah Central, Nick!" Judy replied, unable to help but smile at his flawed logic, finding it rather amusing and, admittedly, a little cute in its own way. But oh, he could never know that. "Your pelt is going to be thinner because of that, it's like you live in a constant summer!" She chuckled as he gave her a sort of glare, though it was laced with defeat at his mistake. "Do you guys have any spare coats?" She asked, looking to the front seat.

Robin sighed and shifted. "Hang on a second," he said, before the sounds of buttons popping, followed by a zipper being undone, sounded. After some grunting and an awkward hiss, he reached back and offered Nick his charcoal hoodie. The reynard snatched it up immediately and threw it on, giving a sigh of relief as warmth flooded over him.

"Thanks," he said, holding the cloth to him tightly as he huddled up.

Judy took a minute to look over the fox, before grinning. "You know," she said. "You don't look terrible in that thing. I think you could pull it off better than Robin."

The fox in question scoffed. "Really, Hop Along? Please, I invented that look."

"Yes, and Nick just so happens to pull it off better," she shot back. King let out a small "oooooh," making Robin and Nick both snort. The panther laughed, grinning as he looked in the back seat.

"You know what, I think she's right," he said, turning to Robin. The fox looked up at him and squinted his eyes.

"Aw, what the hell, you're supposed to be on my side!" he said, fake anger undermined with his attempt to not laugh.

"Ey, I'm on the right side," the panther replied, holding up his paws. "And you ain't always right!"

"Yeah, well, to all of us you're left," Robin said, grinning.

"Yeah, leaving y'all in the dust," King shot back.

Nick and Judy looked at each other, unable to help but laugh at the resemblance of their banter to their own. "I didn't think anyone did that but us," Nick chuckled.

"What, jab at each other?" King asked. "Me an' Robin have always been like this. Well, after I taught him how to roll with the punches, that is. Slow learner-" The panther broke off with a laugh as Robin reached out to swat at him. "But does well enough to keep up."

"Just like Fluff here," Nick grinned, laughing at the elbow Judy dug into his side. This only worsened as he tried to continue. "Slow at the start, but when she catches on..."

"Nick!" Judy interrupted, grinning just as widely as the fox as he tickled at her side to make her remove her elbow. "Stop it!" she laughed, unbuckling her seatbelt and pushing away from him. Nick's paw trailed after, fingers wriggling for her side, before he pulled away with a laugh.

"I've got your kryptonite, Carrots," he gasped, bringing up his paws in mock awe. "The mightiest weapon of all, able to disarm even the most fierce of fluff-balls!" He wriggled them again, his expression becoming a wide smile as he looked past them and down to her. "Not even the great Officer Toot-Toot can resist them!"

Judy opened her mouth to respond, but it was drowned out by both King and Robin laughing from the front seat. "You two are amazing," the panther said after catching his breath.

"Well, I'm amazing," Nick said. "But we already knew that. Carrots, on the other hand..." The fox cut himself off with a snicker as the rabbit began to swat at him again.

It took a minute for the laughter to die down, and silence filled the car again. It was broken a moment later by King taking in a sharp breath and leaning forward. Every other mammal in the car joined him, peering over the hood and down the hill to the sigh below.

A red semi truck with the words "Cottontail" and something beneath it, scratched out, rolled up to the apartment, a large white trailer being towed behind it. It came to a park outside of the building, and a group of mammals poured out from inside. A wolf with brown fur jumped out of the drivers side, and a jaguar left the passenger side. Both held an assault rifle, Kalashknikovs from the looks of it, and had hip-length black coats with matching pants and boots. The wolf walked to the back of the trailer and unlocked the door, flinging it open as the jaguar walked to the entrance of the building and waited just outside. From inside the trailer jumped out a lioness and a fox, both dressed and armed as the other two were. The inside of the trailer was, aside from the black-clad predators, empty.

The fox walked over to the jaguar, and both went inside the building, leaving the wolf and lioness to guard the truck itself. They looked around and idly spoke, bringing up the collars of their coats to shield them slightly from the occasional gust of wind that tore at them.

"Showtime," King said with a grin, flashing his lights once. On que, the street below sprang to life. SWAT vans and police criusers tore into the open and formed a circle around the building, officers departing their vehicles and taking cover as they shouted for the armed mammals to drop their weapons. The wolf and lioness, both having aimed at the officers until they realized how foolish it was to resist, slowly raised their paws and lowered to their knees, setting the weapons on the ground. It took a moment for police to approach and begin cuffing them, the SWAT members pushing into the building.

A few minutes later, a group of five mammals were being escorted out of the building: The fox and jaguar, a lion, a coyote, and another wolf. Police immediately swarmed them and began to read their rights, cuffing the mammals and shoving them into the backs of cruisers after a thorough patting down. A separate group of officers went into the building and, minutes later, emerged leading a mass of ragged-looking prey mammals, all of whom seemed completely exhausted and hardly able to place one foot in front of the other.

The entire process took less than ten minutes, and Judy jumped up with a fist pump. "Yes! We did it!" Nick grinned beside her and Robin sat up in his seat, King giving a little fist pump.

A small celebration was held as the group passed around high-fours and 'woot-woot's, before settling back into silence. The group stayed in quiet elation at something finally being done about Phraxus, something to help loosen whatever unseen leverege they had on the city.

"Woah, shit," King said suddenly, making Judy and Nick lean forward again. One of the officers of Tundratown, a female cheetah, fell down and was clutching the back of her leg as red stained the snow. Some officers took cover, others dragging their feline partner around the cruiser to give her immediate aid. The officers looked around, trying to find the shooter, until a second shot went out and broke off a cruiser's side mirror, just barely missing the head of a wolf officer.

It was at this moment that a hare from the group being brought outside dove for one of the rifles that the Phraxus members had left on the ground, the police yet to collect all of them. He brought it up and gunfire sounded from below, the sound going from muffled to loud as Robin threw open his door. "Hopps, with me!" he shouted, pulling his mask up as he ran to the side, aimed for one of the buildings just down the hill.

Judy sprang into action, nearly out the door as soon as his closed. But Robin quickly lost her as he entered one of the larger buildings, a three-story brick-walled library. She cursed the fact that, despite a rabbit's natural agility, foxes were naturally faster. Pushing inside, she took a moment to look around – old books were everywhere, graffiti and scorch marks adorning the walls and floor where bored youth had been having a bit of risky fun. Empty spray paint cans, smashed monitors, and similar debris. It seemed, to her, almost post-apocalyptic.

She heard a grunt from somewhere above her, the library's open center letting sound echo throughout the dilapidated building. A quick look around revealed a set of stairs on either side of the entrance just beyond the checkout desk, and she was quick to run up them. On the third floor she could more clearly hear the grunting, and traced it to the source: a side room that had, from the looks of it, once been used for reading. Windows faced down the hill and moonlight streamed through the window, faintly illuminating two figures as they thrashed around on the ground. Judy could faintly make out the smaller form of Robin from the lengthy tails of his coat, but the larger mammal was giving him a good fight, flipping him over and pinning him down with one arm to his neck as they reached for a knife on their belt.

Judy immediately jumped forward and kicked the ocelot off of the fox, sending them across the ground. The pained hiss she heard was distinctly feminine, but the pale green eyes that glared at her from the window held a spite that didn't match. She wore a simple black turtle-neck sweater with a sleek leather vest, several potrusions visible from beneath it, and tight dark brown jeans. A black scarf was wound tightly around her neck.

Robin let out a grunt of thanks as he rose to his feet, Judy offering him a paw to help him up. Both turned to face the ocelot, who flashed a dark grin.

"Esmerelda," Robin said. "How good it is to see you again."

"Red," she spat back. "How's that cut in your side treating you?"

"Just fine; how's the missing teeth I gave you?" he said, the smirk almost visible in his tone. Esmerelda hissed at them, and Judy flipped out her ZPD badge.

"ZPD, you are under arrest!" she said. "I suggest you come with us quietly, miss, or else-"

Judy didn't have time to finish her statement before Esmerelda picked up a random book and threw it at her. Judy ducked, flinching as Robin grunted at a second book hitting him in the forehead. The ocelot reached down to her right and grabbed a sleek, silver sniper rifle, pointing it at Judy and making the rabbit freeze. Just as the trigger was pulled, a book flew from just behind Judy and smacked the barrel down towards the floor, concrete cracking and breaking from the impact. Esmerelda hissed again, not able to chamber another round before Judy was on her, jumping up and kicking her in the chest to send her to the ground.

The ocelot rolled to the side as Judy neared again, pulling something out from under her gray vest – a can not unlike the smoke grenade Robin had used, but it was sky blue rather than green. Judy's eyes widened as the feline smirked and rolled the grenade at her feet, grabbing the rifle she had and turning for the door. White smoke began to fill the room, and Judy immediately began coughing, tears stinging at her eyes.

"Robin," she coughed out. "We need to get out!" Judy began making her way to the door, only to realize that, without the clear moonlight streaming into the room, she coudn't properly see the entrance or exit. The stinging in her eyes and now-flowing tears weren't helping, either, and she tripped over one of the books on the floor. "Robin!" she choked out, wiping at her eyes with her paws – she knew it wasn't exactly a smart reaction, but instinct took over and made her try to remove the irritant from her eyes by rubbing it out.

Gravity left her a second later, arms wrapping around her and lifting her over a shoulder as she was carried from the room. The burning, painful sensation didn't leave her, however, until she was thrust into a frozen world. Her tears began to stick, and all her bare fur slowly began to feel as if it were made of ice. Coughing sounded beside her and, when her vision cleared enough, she turned to see Robin on his paws and knees, rubbing at his eyes as he gave off a few coughs.

Rolling over, Judy looked up at the sky. Stars twinkled in and out of existance, blurring as more tears occasionally slid free from her eyes and a cough made its way from her. The cold of the snowbank Robin had thrown her into was, well, cold, but it was also a comfort from the small burning sensation that the tear gas had done to her.

Both mammals laid there for a minute or two, the silence only breaking when one let out an involuntary cough. It was Judy who finally spoke. "She got away, didn't she?" the rabbit asked.

"Y-Yeah," Robin said. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Judy said. "She dropped a tear gas grenade, she was prepared to be cornered."

"But I could've gotten her," Robin argued. "If I just moved a little faster, didn't hesitate, or watched my footing when I entered the room, I could've-"

"Hey," Judy interrupted. "We all make mistakes. Nobody's perfect. And, besides, you got me out of there. I couldn't see through the gas, and too much of it can kill a small mammal like me... So, thank you."

Robin was silent, not even letting out a cough in response. She could feel his anxiety, his worry, from where she lay. But there was also anger and frustration mixed in. Internally, she debated on whether or not to hold her tongue on asking the reynard beside her about what he had said to Esmerelda, before letting her curiousity get the better of her. "Robin?" she asked, able to his head turn slightly to look at her curiously. "What did you mean when you asked how her missing teeth were doing? She didn't have any blood on her, you couldn't have knocked one out up there."

Robin was quiet as he looked away, clearly debating if he should be honest or not. "I may or may not have lied when I said I didn't know her personally at the diner," he admitted. "We did meet, a few times in fact, back before all this started. She was attacking my uncle when I let my anger get the better of me..."

Judy waited for the fox to continue, opting to prompt him when he remained quiet. "What happened?"

Robin licked his lips, ears folding against his head. "I uh... Took my father's baton, and swung. I didn't know what I was going, so of course I missed the first swing. But the second caught her in the mouth. I almost kept hitting her, blinded, but... Uncle Victor stopped me."

"Uncle Victor?" Judy asked, sitting up.

Robin cast Judy a sideways glance, and she could feel his guard rise immediately. He was quiet for little over a minute before speaking. "Hopps... Can I trust you to keep a secret? One that lives depend on?"

Judy's ears drooped slightly. She hadn't expected this question to crop up from Robin. But, filled with resolve, she nodded. "Of course," she said.

Robin stared for a second before dropping his head. "Nick and I are cousins. His father's name is Victor Wilde, he was with my father on Outback Island when I was there. He had to move there for job purposes, but when shit hit the fan for us, he was ultimately left on the island while the rest of us came back here."

Judy widened her gaze as she looked over the fox beside her, taking in the information. Robin and Nick were cousins? And he had been with Nick's father some time ago? But with the way he spoke...

"He's alive, isn't he?" Judy asked.

Robin shot Judy a desperate look. "You can't tell Nick. If Phraxus finds out that his dad didn't kill me, they'll leak information on every job he's ever been forced to do for them, and hunt down his wife, and Nick."

"He was supposed to kill you?" Judy gasped.

"The other night, when you guys took in those three amateurs? He was waiting until later to come kill me. But... he didn't know it was me. When he found out, he gave me the information I let you two copy, and told me about the hostages. He's out hiding now, with my father."

Judy sat and processed the information, before pushing herself to her feet. "I won't tell Nick," she said, making Robin cast her a grateful look as he pushed himself upright. "But he needs to know. Soon."

"I know," Robin stated. "I'd have told him that night if I could, but I can't risk Phraxus finding out. After what my uncle did, it's the very least I could do to save his hide." The two started walking back to King's car, the crunching of snow sounding beneath their feet as they neared.

"You keep alluding to something that happened before Phraxus... What is it?" Judy asked once the car came into view.

"Maybe I'll tell you some other time, Hop Along. But not today." Robin looked down at her and offered a smile, which she returned after a light punch to his arm.

"I think I'll let you keep that one nickname," She said. "As long as you keep your promise."

"Somehow I think that's a fair trade," he chuckled, climbing into the car once he neared his door.

"Yo, so what happened?" King asked, starting the engine and slowly sending the car down the hill.

"We ran into Esmerelda, she dropped a bunch of tear gas grenades," Robin replied.

Nick looked down at Judy with worry, looking over her. "Carrots, you're alright, right?" he asked.

Judy nodded and smiled brightly, fighting off a cough from the gas. "Just fine. That gas burns, though," she admitted. Nick nodded, before narrowing his eyes and leaning down to her level for a moment.

"Hold still," he muttered, reaching up with a paw to wipe just under one of her eyes. Judy looked up, confused, as Nick pulled away. "You had a tear," he said with a smile. His ears were tilted slightly back, and the forced nature of his smile told Judy that he was, if nothing else, a little nervous as to what he had done.

"Alright," King said. "Let's check in."

The four mammals piled out of the car and started walking to the collection of officers. Three of them stepped forward, all unfamiliar to Nick and Judy, and held up their paws and hoof, telling them to stop. Nick and Judy flashed their ZPD badges, and the three officers – a zebra, coyote, and a female panther – told them they could pass, but neither King or Robin, since they weren't members of the ZPD.

"Is their a chief here?" Judy asked. "We need to speak to one of them."

The female panther looked at her partners before nodding, walking off and returning with both Precinct chiefs in tow minutes later. Chief Bogo snorted as he neared the group, and the elephant behind him held a similar set of stars indicating their rank, the name "Phanti" gleaming on their badge. Out of sheer habit, Nick and Judy both straightened their backs, and even King and Robin followed suit slightly.

"So," Chief Bogo said, crossing his arms. "You two couldn't have come and found us yourselves?"

"No, sir, as these two," Judy gestured to Robin and King as she spoke. "Wouldn't be allowed past this point."

"And with good reason," Phanti said, leering down upon the two in question. Her voice was tinged with an eastern accent. "Why are they here in the first place?"

"These two are important assets and key witnesses to these events," Nick said, paws held just behind his back. Phanti snorted, clearly unimpressed by the fox's response.

"Ignoring that," Chief Bogo said. "What did you need us for, Hopps?"

"We wanted to make sure this was all taken care of, sir. There's no need for us to stick around tonight?" she asked.

"You two are out of uniform," Phanti interrupted. "Why would you even be here in the first place?"

"A little something called 'blending in'," Nick quipped. "It's surprisingly effective, should try it sometime."

"Shut it, Wilde!" Bogo snapped, before sighing. "To answer your question, Hopps, yes. Everyone here is fine. Our only problem is that the hare got away, and the sniper nearly took out an officer."

"Sir," Robin said, stepping forward. He ignored the scathing look Phanti gave him, and didn't buckle under Bogo's intense stare. "How are the officers doing? I know that shots were fired, but beyond that, I've got nothing."

"And why should it concern you? Why does this," Phanti said, waving around her hoof. "Concern you, lomri?" (Fox)

Chief Bogo opened his mouth to snap at the other chief, but Robin cut him off before he could speak, each word rising until he was shouting. "Why does this concern me, ma'am? Because I'm the only reason we even knew about these mammals. I'm the one who helped set up half this operation, and I'm the reason your sniper only let out two shots. I feel pretty entitled to be involved with this! I don't need some snobby Precinct chief telling me off because I'm not an officer! I've put my ass on the line every bit as much as any of the mammals here, and," his tone fell to a hiss at this point. "I feel like I deserve a little more respect. So I'd honestly either help like an officer should, or shove that attitude of yours up your ass."

Everyone fell silent, and Judy felt her pelt growing hot as everyone's gaze turned to them. Chief Phanti looked taken aback, and Bogo was staring at Robin with a horrified expression that was slowly turning to anger. Whispers began to sound from the officers, muttering about how "The fox fucked up" or they "Hope he enjoyed walking while it lasted."

As Chief Bogo opened his mouth to harshly scold Robin, Phanti's loud laugh interrupted him. And this wasn't a simple chuckle or snicker of amusement, it was full-blown uncontrolled laughter that rolled from her mouth and filled the frozen air. She leaned back and blew from her trunk once, before bringing it up to wipe at the smallest formation of a tear on her right eye. "You, I like you," she said, crouching down. "What is your name, fox?"

Robin stared at her, briefly caught off-guard, before shaking his head. "R-Robin. Robin Wick."

Chief Phanti brought her trunk down and pat the top of his head, to which Robin visibly strained to not flinch. "Robin Wick. Not many are bold enough to call me out like that. You say it was you who helped us find these poor mammals?" The reynard nodded. "Then I thank you for your aid."

Judy let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, able to hear most mammals around her doing the same. Even Chief Bogo seemed to have to let out a sigh of relief. " Fortunately, Officer Talens will need only a short time to heal from her injury, and Rhinowitz managed to take most of the hare's gunfire. It wasn't a high enough caliber to get through his vest, though he will have some light bruising come morning," the buffalo stated. Chief Phanti stood up and nodded.

"You all go home. We can take things from here, and will keep both Officers Hopps and Wilde posted," she said.

"Thank you, ma'am," Nick said, both officers and Robin saluting before they turned away. As they walked off, Judy could hear the chiefs talk behind them, seeing them off.

"He isn't an officer, correct?" Phanti asked.

"Not that I'm aware of. But he's got the making of a good one." Chief Bogo replied.

"I call dibs," Phanti declared.

Bogo snorted. "After the antelope from the academy? I don't think so, it's my turn."

"Come now, Adrian, you got both the rabbit and fox firsts! That makes up for it, doesn't it?"

"Not by a longshot," Bogo said, humor filling his tone before he let out a grunt, Chief Phanti having shoved him lightly.

Judy suppressed a snicker as she climbed back into the car beside Nick, Robin and King quietly buckling in. As he started the car, King spoke up. "You are one crazy motherfucker, Robin. Telling off a police chief like that? And an elephant no less? She could've squashed you no problems!"

"You only just now realized that I'm crazy?" Robin asked.

"Nah, just reminding you," King said.

Judy looked over to Nick, both grinning as they listened to the banter. It was just as amusing to listen as it was to do, they realized.

~ óÓÒò ~

So, now that I've done this allusion for the 5th-ish time, I have a question for you all: Would you like to see a prequel story revolving more around how Robin evolved into Dust, and the events that he keeps speaking of? Or would you prefer I try to condense it into a single chapter at an appropriate time? Feel free to let me know. I'm still working on my other stories as well, don't you worry! But my writing seems to flow best for this particular story at the moment.