Guardian Blue: Season 2

by sarsis

Judy is still reeling from the events of the last month, and she is very much ready for things to calm down so she recover and also come to terms with how she feels about the fox she nearly lost. But, when it rains, it pours. They will take an assignment that challenges their comfort zones, and they will uncover a plot that may go beyond Zootopia itself, and out into the world.

17. Chapter 17

Author's Note:

Oh Em Goodness. This chapter is huge, sorry guys. But I couldn't just.. cliffhanger everyone again. Might want to make sure you have some free time before you bite down on this one. X.x I am looking forward to getting a chance to write a bit this week as the family is not in town. Less distraction gives me an outlet to be creative. I have a lot of story to tell still, and while there has been some naysaying, I am still enjoying this as much as I can!

If you are just joining Guardian Blue for the first timeyou will want to check out Season 1 first, and I would highly recommend Thanks for the Fox before that as well so everything makes sense. ^^

Zootopia belongs to Disney. The characters belong to Zootopia. I also belong to Zootopia. So I belong to Disney. I will stay by the door and wait for Disney to come home. They should be home any minute now. Any minute.

Also! A HUGE shout-out to J. N. Squire for assisting with editing for Season 2! It's been a long road through so many chapters, but wait till I ask him to help me re-edit Season 1!

Guardian Blue: Season Two

Episode 17: Teamwork

Judy stood with her back to one of the trees that lined the edge of the clearing. The treeless expanse behind her went up the mountainside. It was a relatively long way up to the top where a defined rocky ridge offered very little cover. The grass was at least tall enough that her ears would likely peek over it, but not by much. The bunny's arms were crossed as Nick paced in the forest before her. The two lions looked on curiously as the four hyenas sat in a circle in front of Skye's pack where the vixen and her striped buck consumed some rations. At least the hyena family had stopped crying at that point. Apparently, as Judy and Jack got water from the stream, Motti had told them that Ukweli had died. They were obviously not happy to hear that. They seemed, as a result, much less interested in the discussion between Nick and Judy.

Nick grumbled a bit. "I know you're faster right now, Carrots! But, I don't like sending you. I really don't like it. In a list of stuff I don't like, I'd circle this one here with a red pen, Fluff."

Judy sighed yet again. "I won't get caught Nick… and I'm gonna be a lot harder to see than some bright red mammal slinking through the weeds." She was more than a little exasperated to be going around in circles with the absolute most sensible choice.

"Foxes used to sneak up on rabbits just fine," Cassie grumbled. She was still not feeling amicable toward Judy after being introduced to the forest floor so hard earlier. Nick and Judy ignored her, however. It would serve no great cause to provoke her.

Nick crossed his arms defiantly. "I know you, Judy. There's an entire town on the other side where you haven't arrested or beat down a single bad guy. Can you even resist that kind of temptation?" Judy rolled her eyes. Nick was stalling with wit. She knew why. It was the main point of contention between them at that moment. Judy wanted to call immediately, and her partner wanted to wait until dusk when it would be harder to see her.

"We are wasting time, Nick. The sooner this is done, the sooner we get everyone to safety." It was pure common sense. "Some of us need medical attention." She indicated the lioness without a shirt who was still hugging her middle. Cassie nodded emphatically and pointed to her sister as well.

"It's not that bad." Charisse grumbled. She didn't like being the focus of attention.

Nick slumped a little and rubbed his muzzle. "Okay, fine. You make that call, and come right back. Don't do extra investigating and don't get curious and check up on a thing you see. You make the call and get back to the tree-line. Please?" Judy could see the fear in his eyes. She knew how protective he was even before they were dating. She figured it had to be so much worse for him now. They could not let that get in the way of their job, however. And that job, right then, was contacting Chief Bogo and asking for help. Judy moved over to Jack and Skye and nodded to the understandably morose family seated with them.

Judy spoke in a bare whisper, "Okay, I'm heading up. Skye, I need you to keep an eye on everyone here and make sure they stay together. If anything happens, you follow Motti to the shelter point. Don't take unnecessary chances on our behalf. We will be focusing on our own safety. Jack, you and Nick get up the hill to that big twisted stump Motti pointed out. Hold there so you are close enough to hear me call down if there's trouble. I can get myself to cover faster than all of you can together, so I need to give those in camp as much of a head start as I can."

"Wait, why is Jack going?" asked Skye fearfully.

"To keep Nick from following me up the damned hill." Judy grumbled under her breath. She knew the real reason, though. It was to give Jack a chance to get a very special piece of information from Nick. Skye didn't question the reason Judy gave. She knew Nick well enough to believe that.

"Please be careful," she said to Judy. "I hate sending you alone. It's nearly half a mile up to the top. I would be willing to go with you." Skye having that bright white pillowy fox tail was just as bad as the beacon-worthy orange fox tail, so Judy had already shot that idea down.

"I know. It'll be okay though. We don't know that we've even been compromised yet, and if we have been, it's not likely they have been able to alert anyone here. I will be careful." Judy explained. She would feel a lot braver about what she was going to have to do if everyone wasn't acting like this was the last time they might get to see her. It was certainly not helping with the doe's own anxiousness.

"Squeaker…" Skye hugged Jack as he got up uneasily.

"It's alright, Magic." He pushed his cheek to hers. "I know it'll be fine, and we will be back home safe and sound soon enough," he stated. "Just wait here. Listen for me if there's trouble. I will be right back by your side, I'm not leaving you."

Cassie interrupted. "So, do we all eventually get our own fox? Is that how this club works?" Charisse punched her in the arm, making the irritated lioness flinch. "Hey, I didn't say it was a bad thing. Maybe I want one of these neat foxes too. The bunnies sure seem happy with them. Did you ever think of that?" The injured lioness rolled her eyes at that and hugged her knees, looking dejected. She was not happy with Cassie continuing to be an antagonist, but it appeared that the attitude was not wholly unexpected. It was possible, Judy mused, that Cassie was always a bit hot-headed.

Jack walked over to Nick, and the red fox followed Judy as she began ascending the steep hill through the grass. The sun was high in the sky. It was hot, and they were certainly visible as they exited the forest. The mid day heat did more to make Judy reconsider waiting until Dusk that Nick's worries did. It was so oppressive. Still, contact had to be made as soon as possible. That was not going to change. Judy pressed on.

"Alright, so if you get in trouble, don't hesitate to make a lot of noise, okay?" Nick asked as they panted through their hot uphill march.

"I know, but I'm not going to get in trouble, alright? I'm not rising up higher than the grass. The cell signal will go through the grass just fine the moment I get over the hill. Heck, maybe even a little bit before. You just stay there at the ready. After that, we've gotta try to find our way to the sheltered rock outcropping Motti mentioned. It's not over yet, but it's close." Judy was feeling tired from the past couple of hard days. She looked forward to being home with Nick. A few ciders and a movie night would put all of this behind them.

The three of them ascended the hill up to nearly the half way point pretty steadily. Nick was having more trouble with his leg, but it didn't seem as bad as it had been yesterday. They had not been traveling quite so fast due to Cassie complaining about her 'bunny-injuries'. Nick and Jack finally hunkered down a bit and the red fox hugged Judy tightly. With the sun directly overhead the thick, gnarled stump offered no shade.

"Stay low, talk quiet. Use your ears. Please." Nick was achingly anxious. Judy felt a pang of guilt putting him through this. She knew he was afraid of losing her, and the danger was real.

"Alright," Judy answered in a serious and caring tone, "…and you listen to what Jack has to say and help him, Nick," she stated solidly. She did this in order to provoke Jack not to waste any time. Hopefully this would not take long at all.

"What?" Nick asked, and Judy turned and darted up the hill as quickly as possible, hoping that this would give him enough time. This was important to Jack, and he might not get much of a chance to follow through if things went badly.

The rest of the climb up the hill was actually pretty slow because the bunny would only move a few meters before stopping, hunkering down, and listening. She could, at first, hear soft murmuring from the direction of Nick and Jack. Then all she could hear was the hissing of wind over tall grass. It was unbearably hot under the sun, but she made her way toward a large boulder that was near the top of the hill. If she didn't have to move entirely over it, she wouldn't. The bunny checked her phone every few stops to see when she had any signal.

Part of her mind immediately worried that it was too easy. The tower would have been shut off or something. They would not be able to call out. They would have to fight their way out of this place. If it were just Nick and Judy, that might work. However, with other mammals depending on them for protection, that would be a lot more difficult, if not entirely impossible. They were taking an unspeakable chance coming this close to a settlement to call for help, but they didn't have much choice.

Judy finally reached the boulder and gasped in silent delight when she saw the single bar pop up on her phone. She found herself thanking the sun and moon that this was possible. Carefully, she looked through a "v" shaped divot in the rocks. She could see the small village down the hill. It was not nearly so far down as the forest on the other side, and a lot closer than Judy was really comfortable with being. It would take less than thirty minutes to get from the village edge to the rocky ridge she was on. It would be way faster in a jeep or something. That wasn't a lot of time to get back down the hill to the cover of the forest. She peeked through the rock only long enough to make sure there wasn't a guard on the hillside or something, able to hear her.

Judy ducked back down behind the rock and immediately dialed Bogo's personal emergency contact number. It began to ring. There was a connection! Her mind was racing and her heart was pounding. She considered all kinds of things that could go wrong to spoil this idea. Maybe Bogo would not pick up. Maybe the line was not really fully connected. Maybe his personal phone was dead, or sitting in his desk drawer. Maybe he was at a press conference. Maybe if he picked up, the signal would not be strong enough and he would not answer again because he was irritated that she was calling him direct.

"Adrian Bogo, ZPD, how may I assist you?" he answered clearly on the other side. It was beautiful. His voice was beautiful to Judy. She almost completely forgot to say anything at all. "Hello? Judy?" he asked. Her name had probably shown on his caller ID.

"Chief, we need to be extracted. Now. I am texting the coordinates to you." That was the thing that needed to be said the most.

A hoarse whisper came from the other end of the line. "Hopps, this had better be a real emergency, we are dealing with a top-level crisis here ourselves!" Judy had no doubt in her mind that her emergency was worthy of the call, but her curiosity was crippling in the moment. Bogo sounded absolutely distressed and she was not used to hearing him like that.

"What's happened?" she asked quickly.

Bogo whispered the next part. "Mayoral candidate Swinton was assassinated last night in her car outside the airport."

"What!?" Judy hissed.

"We don't know much more than that, and obviously all of our resources are on it, so… can you give me a good reason to divert them to coming and picking you and your partner up so suddenly?" Judy took a deep breath. Of course something would be going on to make this harder. Why wouldn't it?

"Nick and I stumbled into something really bad here and, long story short, we rescued a bunch of kidnapped mammals. We were locked in a mine and left to die. That gun you had to give back to the Department of Interior Affairs? It found its way immediately back into a kidnapper's possession to be pulled on us. We were nearly killed by a bomb. We have managed to escape with the other prisoners who had been abducted and forced to work in a mine where they were to be drowned upon completion of their unlawful task of destroying a historical monument of some kind which is, I believe, tied to Professor Lupin's death." She absolutely needed to point out where Nick and Judy were even involved in this. The bunny sighed slowly as she got silence from Bogo's end. She whispered, "There is a likely wide-spread, high level criminal element here, and it's not safe for us to go into a town or city. If you don't have us picked up remotely, we, and the other survivors, will die." Judy nodded at that. That was concise enough. She opened the text app and plugged in the numbers for the intended pickup point based on where that was on her GPS map. She brought the phone quickly back to her ear.

"Damn it, Hopps," Bogo grumbled. "I take it that the ding from my phone was your text of the location?"

"Yes, Sir." She had succeeded. Help was called for. Anything that happened now would not prevent it. She was sure of that. All they had to do was stay low, keep quiet, and wait for pickup. Still, she needed to have Bogo exercise caution too.

"Do not tell any of this to anyone from the Interior Department. I think it's been compromised," Judy said.

"Because of course it has," Bogo whispered grumpily. "I had suspected already, but do you have proof that is not circumstantial? My boss is going to need a really solid reason why I do not get the necessary departments involved in this immediately. I'm breaking protocol here, Hopps."

"Gaudby Pembe is the name of one of the kidnappers. He's…"

"A very important mammal, Hopps," Bogo hissed into the phone. "And a high ranking member of the Department of Interior Affairs. Are you absolutely sure?"

Judy sat up straighter. "Absolutely. He was actually with the mammal who had the gun when we were locked in the mine with the other prisoners. The hippo's name is Jonas. They both came out of that mine. Pembe knew the combination for the electronic keypad for that mine and was carrying the key for it. He would have to have been aware that a group of kidnapped local mammals was being forced to purposefully destroy a historical site inside the mine. They were going to flood the mine with them in it. While Gaudby is involved, sir, he may not be a willing participant. He slipped Jack the key to the mine when he was throwing him in there." Judy understood that her statement to her boss might be the only evidence if Bogo did not make it in time. They had to know as much as possible as fast as possible.

There was a painful pause from Bogo's end of the line before he said, in a hushed tone, "With everything going on right now, Hopps, I cannot send a lot of help. Security for the city is top priority for obvious reasons and any diversion of my force outside the city might compromise you faster than me just telling the department head about the problem. I will send a suitable team to extract you. We will have to have the ZBI deal with your kidnappers separately. I know that might mean some of them get away, but that's all I can do. I will get this moving immediately." Judy sighed softly, feeling the weight of 'oh crap, things went to hell in the city and he can't help' lifted off her sunbaked back. Bogo continued in a whisper, "I don't think I have to tell you to keep low and wait for pickup… and do not confront these dangerous mammals in the meantime!"

Judy was about to answer in the affirmative when she jerked hard at the unmistakable sound of a gunshot from the forest. "No!" she cried as she immediately looked down the hill. Nick and Jack were still huddled against the stump tightly, but were looking around it fearfully. There was another shot. Judy was able to read the direction a little better that time. It was about a quarter of a mile away from the camp at the base of the mountain. It was way too close.

"Hopps! Are those gunshots?!" cried the Chief. He was certainly not whispering at that point. "Officer Hopps!"

"Yes, Sir! Gotta go!" She hung up the phone and bolted down the hill toward Nick and Jack. She kept low in the grass, scurrying as fast as she could. Nick might have already started to run down the hill to aid in the camp, but he was busy shaking Jack who was absolutely going to pieces.

"Jack, it's father away! It might not have anything to do with them! It could be hunters plinking buibui or something! We have to move before it does involve them!" Judy yanked one of Jack's ears, shaking him out of it a little. He finally stumbled along with Nick. He apologized softly but was too consumed with worry to say anything else as they began moving as quickly and quietly as they could down the mountainside.

"I've made contact," Judy said breathlessly a few moments later. "Bogo's sending a team. We just gotta get everyone to shelter. Now. Also, Nick, Swinton's been assasinated."

Nick jerked his head back, looking at Judy incredulously. "The candidate for Mayor? Are you serious?!" Judy nodded at that. Nick sighed heavily. "Well, there goes any hope of a day off after we get back. I'll be lucky to have time to empty my bladder before they have us stand endlessly out behind some frightened official's door to guard them." He groaned. "Still gonna be a while before the Chief can get someone here. I guess I'll just pee at the pickup point." Nick panted. Judy looked back at him, checking on her partner. His leg didn't appear to be giving him too much trouble, but she was sure the adrenalin helped that.

She called back to him, "I'm telling you that so you know that there's all kinds of problems for Bogo right now, but he's still sending a small team. It's just to get us back, Nick. The ZBI will have to deal with the crap here later. That's not our deal." Judy puffed. She would prefer the criminals got caught, but their survival, and that of the other prisoners, was a lot more important.

After a bit more weaving through the tallest tufts of grass and small mountainside shrubs, they finally reached the tree-line and their little makeshift camp. No one was there.

"Noooo!" cried Jack, going to his knees. The place was bare, only the few scuffed areas where folks had been sitting showing that anyone had ever been there as all. It was completely quiet save for Jack's horrified lamentation.

"Jack!" Judy barked angrily to silence him. "Motti's taken them toward the agreed shelter point. If there'd have been a fight here, you'd have heard it. Can you imagine Cassie going quietly?" Jack stood up shakily.

"N-No. No, I can't," the buck agreed in a shaky tone. While he was prone to freak out about his vixen, which Judy certainly understood, Jack was doing as well as one could ask from an untrained civilian with the situation. The doe felt the same fear and dread and anxiety. It was hard even for her to get around the creeping panic.

Nick interrupted with a huff, "Yep, everything's comin' up team HoppsWilde today! It was getting pretty boring with all of the walking, but now we have mammals with guns in the dark, dangerous forest to liven things up. I'd almost given up on this dull party!" Judy shot a warning glance at Nick. His use of banter to calm himself was something she understood and had learned to deal with, but it was not making it any easier for Jack to hold himself together. The fox continued anxiously. "Okay, so we aren't safe just standing here. Do we just follow them?"

"I hear someone!" Jack whispered, ducking down in a very bunny-typical fashion. Judy's ears picked it up at the same time Jack's had. It was the scuffling of leaves as someone ran recklessly through the undergrowth. She and Nick moved to the sides to take cover behind shrubbery at the edge of the forest as Jack hunkered down behind a cut and rotting tree. Judy spotted the mottled color of a lycaon as he burst into the unmarked temporary camp. It was one of the missing lycaons who had left the previous night. He looked utterly panicked. That… was definitely not a good sign. Judy pushed her way out of the shrubs to get him to stop.

"Kila wafu!" the distraught canid sobbed. "Aliuawa na bunduki!" Judy pulled him forward and down, pushing his face to her shoulder to try to quiet him. She needed to hear if someone was behind him. And she could hear it. Stomping feet. It was at least four mammals, all heavy.

Jack popped up, ears back, looking terrified. "He says they're all dead, killed by guns. They aren't taking prisoners this time, Judy! Whadda we do?"

"They're moving away." Judy whispered.

"Samahani!" cried the lycaon. Judy covered his mouth, feeling bad about how rough she was being, but she didn't want them hearing him and coming back their way if she could help it.

"He says sorry. He knows he led them right to us." Jack growled.

"At least they are going that way." Nick said apprehensively. "That way used to be North on the map, but has been renamed 'NOPE!'… So we should be going approximately…" the fox pointed the other direction. "That way, now called 'as fast as we can' on our compass rose."

"Which way did Skye go?" asked Jack quickly. Judy could appreciate his narrow focus. She'd be absolutely the same if it were Nick that she could not see. Jack did not, however, help the simplicity of the situation. What had been 'trouble is that way, we should go the opposite way' instantly became painfully complicated.

"That way." Judy groaned, pointing in the direction that the heavy footfalls were going.

"They're after the group!" hissed Jack.

"Samahani!" cried the lycaon again before he pushed the embracing bunny back and bolted in the original direction Nick had said to go. Away from the trouble. Judy let him go. There wasn't any stopping the terrified and grieving mammal. Judy felt pain in her paws from the surge of adrenalin and looked at Nick.

She said, in a fearful tone, "We have to buy them some time, let them get some distance."

"How do we do that?" he asked. Judy looked frantically from side to side and then threw her head back and released the loudest howl she could. It was an anguished sound. She wanted it to sound like the distraught lycaon. She heard a shout in the direction the footfalls had been in.

Nick had both his paws on either side of his horrified face, muzzle wide and eyes as round as jeep headlights. He then threw his arms up in the air. "Well that's all done up neat and nice," Nick whined. "Life was great, wasn't it? What was your favorite part, Squeaker?" he asked. Jack looked completely stunned as Judy's mind raced. She did the thing, but they had to deal with what was coming.

"Skye was my favorite part," Jack answered seriously.

"I liked movie nights with everyone," Nick grimaced, crossing his arms. He then gave a very fake smile of comfort, "Oh, and I was also very fond of not being gunned down in cold blood because my partner and Officer Wolfard somehow switched bodies before the trip!" He pointed in the opposite direction again. "We gotta go!"

"Nick, running's not gonna work here. We gotta switch to offense." Judy growled. She had to focus the fox on a very painful reality. They had a long wait before help arrived and they could not hide in the forest for hours from a determined search party.

"You want to fight the gun-toting murderers!? I'd call that absolutely bonkers!" Jack cried.

Nick wore a stunned expression and slowly nodded. "That's why we lose to him on Trivia night, Fluff. He knows the big answers."

"We don't have time, Nick. And we may only have one chance. Remember the Four Officer Alley scenario in special training?" she asked. Nick furrowed his brow and then widened his eyes, nodding.

"Are you absolutely sure, here, Fluff?" he asked.

"No, but…" She looked away, toward the sound, drawing ever closer. It was still about 60 or 70 yards out.

"We're gonna die, aren't we?" asked Jack sullenly.

"Hide." Nick said, leaning down and grunting as he pulled up the fallen part of a tree, showing a hole that the buck could slip into.

"Are you guys kidding?" he asked plaintively. Nick shook his head sadly. Jack whimpered and wedged himself into the hole. Nick then picked up a sturdy limb to swat someone with. Judy knew that, given their size, it would not do much, but it might let them get enough of an upper paw to let Skye get the others to safety. It really didn't look good. Judy got a smaller limb and she moved behind one of two trees that were more or less lined up laterally at the camp's edge in the direction the approaching threat was from. Their pursuers would reach them before they reached Jack. The seconds ticked by. Then minutes wandered past them. It felt like it took so long for anything to happen. Surely ten minutes passed with the sound of the mammals getting closer. They were being very thorough in their search. Would they have ever caught up to Skye and the others at that rate? Had Judy made a terrible mistake waiting for them here? Should they really have run instead and circled back? Finally, the shuffling and stomping became loud enough that she could tell that they would be clearing into their temporary camp soon.

"They're coming." Judy whispered, ears straining to pick up more than the whispering from the boughs of the trees overhead. She then gave a signal to Nick who clutched the limb in his paws solidly. He nodded to Judy. She held three fingers. That's the number of individuals she could hear. Nick grimaced at that. It meant that the officers would be outnumbered. If they all had guns, this was going to be the shortest last stand ever.

The next few moments seemed to go in slow motion from Judy's point of view. Rarely had she ever been in so much danger, so every sense was enhanced as three mammals moved quickly past the trees which she and Nick had been hiding behind. They were able to get a good look at their pursuers.

There was the familiar hippo, Jonas, and two very large and heavy boars they had not seen before. The boars had long, heavy machetes, using them to hack away vegetation out ahead of the hippo as he stomped through the forest confidently. Jonas was carrying that massive silver gun. Judy made a motion to Nick, and the agonizing wait was over. They could not wait for them to turn around and see the officers waiting for them. Time was up. Judy bolted hard with a kick off of the tree behind her. The three mammals didn't have a chance to even hear her as she brought her slightly smaller, but still very stout limb into the back of Jonas' knee. The gnarled wooden limb shattered, having been laying on the damp forest floor too long, perhaps. However, Nick's was nice and solid as he brought it up hard to the butt of Jonas' gun and palm. The silver weapon flew up and out at an arc into the leaves.

"Gyaaah!" the hippo yelled, recoiling in obvious pain. The boars spun around as Jonas dropped to his elbows and knees from the shock of being hit twice in rapid succession so unexpectedly. Judy scrambled to the fallen weapon and grabbed it, flinging it out into the forest hard to take it out of immediate play. She then spun around just in time to avoid a swipe from a very sharp machete. She bounced quickly to put a tree between her and her attacker. Her small size made her a lot more agile than the boar's stumbling movements. She glanced quickly in the direction of another pained shout as Nick dodged a bladed attack and brought his limb into a rounded boar snout hard enough that the sound echoed off of some trees. Down he went.

"Welcome to the club!" Nick yelled back at the fallen boar as he moved swiftly to square off with the other one. He glared at the nervous-looking mammal in front of him and grinned. "It's got a sweet, woody, earthy scent. You're gonna love-…" Judy tensed up as Jonas finally jumped heavily forward and grabbed Nick by the tail. The fox yelped as he was yanked back by it, but turned with a savage crack on the huge mammal's thick grey knuckles, earning the freedom of his tail. Judy gritted her teeth, surprised that was all the hippo got for grabbing it.

"Om nom nom!" Nick barked, and then swatted the hippo in the mouth hard, sending Jonas hard onto his back. Yep, there was the actual response.

"Nick, your Nine!" Judy shouted as the other boar moved to the aid of his fallen comrade with blade in hoof. Nick jerked away from his nine o'clock position in time to avoid being split open by a machete, and then blocked the next swipe with his stick. It cost him about a third of the length of his weapon.

"Judy!" Nick shouted with a tone of panic. Judy turned a split second too late.

The world suddenly jerked backward, and searing pain shot through the bunny's chest. She felt the chuff of leaves on her back as she landed and curled into a ball defensively. Something hit her. Her mind reeled through the possibilities. Was she cut open? Had she been shot? Was she dying? She felt heat spreading over her chest. She'd been cut. It was a machete blow. How could she have lost sight of the other boar? The shock of the hit wore off as she felt herself lifted up by her slender neck and she grunted as she was pushed hard against a tree. Her little feet didn't even make it to the ground.

"Dwop it phoxth!" sputtered the boar that had Judy pinned against the tree. His face was a disaster. Blood was everywhere. The fox really let him have it. Nick looked at him with a pained expression. Judy grunted as she was pressed harder. The boar had the strength to break her neck with how hard he was pushing. Breathing hurt even without that hoof on her neck. She felt heat spreading into her beltline. She was bleeding badly and she knew it. Nick scowled and held onto the stick. The hippo finally got back onto his feet and walked over to the other boar, taking the other's mammal's machete. Judy couldn't see Nick very well, and she knew he couldn't see her either to know she was really injured. She couldn't escape like she might normally have been able in such a situation. She really needed help.

Nick spoke in an angry tone. "We already made the call, Jonas. You aren't silencing us here. We gave names, locations, everything," he growled, holding up his stick to confront the approaching hippo. The huge mammal laughed and swiped at Nick. The fox deflected the weapon but it was swung heavily enough that it knocked him backwards. Judy cried out as well as she could in fear for her partner and lover.

Jonas grinned at the red canid. "I don't know how you all got out of your cage, fox, but you are gonna really wish you'd stayed." He looked back to the boar that was holding Judy. "If the fox dodges this next one, break her arm." Judy grimaced a bit, feeling her smaller limb clutched painfully by the boar. This was not going to be a quick end, she quietly dreaded.

Nick gave a furious growl. "You won't win this, Jonas, you already lost. Stop this madness! You aren't getting anything out of it! Just leave! That's your best possible choice here!" Nick was obviously stalling for a little more time. But help was hours out, not minutes. It was for all nothing, Judy thought dizzily. Maybe Skye and the others would still have a chance.

Jonas laughed. "Nothing? Well, except the satisfaction of seeing you in multiple parts all over this damned forest. You really think we're afraid of your buddies at the station? They'd be pushing documents through the proper channels for six months before they were even allowed to send someone to get your shattered bones. We are kings in this place! I assure you, nothing can touch us out here."

"That's what you think," interrupted a rather dark-toned voice off to the side. Judy turned her neck a little with some pained effort to look in the direction it had come from. Her jaw dropped. Jack stood, braced and ready with a massive silver firearm clutched in his small, straining paws. It was aimed carefully at Jonas. "Let her go, or I turn your boss into fertilizer." At the very least, the boar let go of Judy's arm.

"If you fire that, it'll kill you too, stupid bunny. This ain't no movie." Jonas rumbled coldly to Jack, not putting his machete down. The hippo grinned, blood spilling down the front of his expensive-looking tan and black button-up shirt from the deep split Nick had put in his upper lip. There was a quiet pause.

"Worth it." Jack growled, lifting the gun and very obviously preparing to fire. Jonas stepped back a little, fear growing in his expression. Suddenly, the woods were shaken by a loud and thundering boom. It came from the direction that the others had been retreating. Jack looked in the direction of the sound. "Skye!" he cried. Judy took the unexpected opening as she felt the startled boar relax his grip on her neck. Curling her body upward painfully, she put her heel as hard as she could in an already ruined boar nose. That gained her freedom instantly as he fell backward and dropped her to the ground. Nick lunged for Jack to grab him before a machete split the buck in two. The fox blocked the hard downward blow with his stick at the same time, which caused Nick to lose his footing from the furious force of it. He tumbled with the bunny in the leaves as Judy put some distance between her and the two boars.

Unfortunately, Nick tackling Jack knocked the gun out of the buck's paw, and Jonas seized it immediately. He threw down the machete and lifted the gun, firing it. Splinters exploded not far from Nick's head as he ducked and rolled. Jack ran the opposite direction. Judy hunkered down in the cover of some dense undergrowth. She couldn't risk running further because she'd not be able to see the hippo if she did. She'd be an easy target. Her ears rang painfully from that gunshot but she was able to hear the heavy rustle of leaves on leaves and a heavy thud from the tree falling after its supporting trunk had been exploded by that massive gun. That was a stupidly powerful weapon.

Judy tried to quiet her breathing, making herself dizzy in the process. Or was that from blood loss? Her entire front felt wet. She comforted herself that it was not so bad that it took her out immediately, so she tried to ignore it. She got cut, but she could deal with that later. She couldn't check it without moving and maybe giving away her position. Nettles and briars cut into her clothing and fur and skin. She could barely see the hippo, but knew it was only a matter of time before they saw her too.

Jonas called out, "We will find you, idiots! You should've killed me while you had the ch-…" The hippo's words were cut off with a thump on the side of his head. He staggered and quickly whipped his gun in the direction the large, heavy stone had been thrown from. Judy covered her ears, wincing before the shot. Jonas fired the weapon twice as he swung it around. Judy couldn't see in that direction. Had he hit his target? Judy's heart hurt. Nick couldn't leave her. Not now. The hippo waved his bloodied hoof. "Fan out! Both ways!" Judy relaxed a little, not just because they fanned out in directions that did not include hers, but because she felt pretty sure that monster would have gloated if he'd actually hit anything. Her Nick was safe for at least a little longer.

What was that earlier boom? Was it another gun? It had been so loud. If someone had been shooting at Skye's group, it would likely have been more than one shot. Judy rubbed her ears, the ringing starting to subside. If they moved far enough away, she would try to get a more secure hiding place. The shrub was not cutting it. Fortunately, the assumption the hippo had made was that they were on the run. At least the mammals chasing them weren't wolves. Boars had a good sense of smell too, so she couldn't hide forever. They would smell the blood. It burned. It was a pretty bad cut to hurt like that.

"Fox, I've got your bunny!" the hippo lied. Judy growled under her breath. He was using Nick's love of his partner against him. Judy watched as Jonas turned away from her. She didn't think she would be so lucky as to disarm him again. Her back hurt. Her chest hurt. They weren't going to last much longer. Nick did not show himself after a few moments. That meant he knew that Judy was not actually captured. That pained her heart a little because it meant he had not run away either. He was still close enough to know it was a lie.

"Stop!" yelled one of the boars from some distance off. Jonas quickly looked that way and lifted his gun, causing Judy to flinch, but he didn't pull the trigger. It was too far off to be in his line of sight, most likely. "Hold it you little piece of-…"

"Nope!" Jack yelled.

"Can't you catch a damned rabbit?! Do I have to replace you guys?!" yelled Jonas.

"Hey, I sniffed him out didn't I?!" yelled the boar. He sounded out of breath, like he was actively chasing Jack. Judy grimaced. They were doing better than they could hope, but they couldn't keep it up forever.

"At leatht you kin thtill thmell!" yelled a boar from the other direction. It was definitely the one Nick cracked in the nose.

"Idiots!" the hippo gestured wildly with his gun. "This forest is full of damned idiots! It's the Idiot Forest!" He leaned back against a tree.

"Yew kin help uth, yew know!" came the call from the nose-bleed section of the forest. "They fasthter than they-…" He stopped suddenly with a thumping sound from his direction. There were two more solid thumps. This got the hippo's attention.

"Barry?" he called. "Hey! Did you find him?" He moved the gun in that direction, but didn't fire. Jonas peered intently into the woods. Judy widened her eyes. Did Nick get him first? If the group was suddenly outnumbered they might leave them alone. It was not going swimmingly for them as it was. "Barry, call out! Kev, check on him!"

"I'm on it!" the one called Kev shouted. There was another thump from the forest. Judy held still. Her heart ached with hope.

"Kev!" shouted Jonas. "Shit. Kev?!" A very nervous hippo clutched his weapon at the ready, obviously shaken. Judy held perfectly still. There was a shuffle from off to her left. The hippo turned and fired faster than Judy could cover her ears. Even through the ringing, she heard the hippo bellow, "Gotcha!" It was the worst possible thing for her to have heard. Judy cried inwardly. No! Then she watched Jonas stomp in distress in that direction and scream. "Kev, what the hell! Why didn't you say it was you?! Damn it!" the hippo roared. "Announce your approach to armed mammals! You always announce your… oh God damn it!" He flailed his arms furiously, looking like he was about to blow apart with rage. Judy let out a breath she'd been holding. It had been the boar. It wasn't Nick.

Disasterously, the breath she let out, while meaningless to her ringing ears, had been audible to the hippo. In an instant, Judy was staring into the inky black darkness of the barrel of that personal cannon. Her heart froze. No. Not after they were getting the upper paw.

"Stand up slowly, rabbit," came the low, growled order. Judy struggled to do so, hugging her middle as she pushed upward from under the thick and pulling nettles. She looked down, waiting for the shot. "Alright fox, I don't know if you're still watching me, but I really do have your bunny friend this time. Don't bother showing yourself though. I'm through playing with you guys. I'm not letting you save her, I'm just giving you a chance to say goodbye." Of course he'd take the time to grind this into the one she loved. The hippo smiled, bringing the gun up to point at her.

"You won't get away with this." Judy said coldly. "They already know your names, and they will come for you. Maybe you get away today, but you will have your day. You will have to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life." Her arms felt very weak as they were held crossed over her chest.

The hippo lowered the gun a bit and began to laugh. "That… is so children's book stupid," he said. "That's very funny. Exactly who are you, to threaten me?" He grinned at bunny. There was blood on his mouth and running down the side of his head where Nick or Jack had hit him with a rock. At least the smug hippo didn't get out of this encounter unscathed. It was a bitter comfort, but it steeled Judy's bravery a little as she stared up at him. She bared her teeth in a snarl and balled up her fists.

Judy growled out darkly, "I am Sungura ya Shetani."

The hippo brought the weapon up again, sneering. "Oh really? And in the end… what does that mean to me?"

"JANGA!" came a loud cry from above the hippo. Judy and Jonas both jerked their heads up in time to see a red streak plummeting toward the ground from the trees above. As Nick had screamed "disaster" mid-fall, Jonas didn't have time to really move the weapon. Judy dove to the side instantly, fearing that the hippo would just pull the trigger and blow her away. She rolled and bolted to the side as she heard a terrible wail from the larger mammal. She jerked her head to look back. She stumbled to a halt as she saw the scene behind her. The hippo staggered backward clutching his arm to his chest, crimson marking it down to his elbow. Nick held a machete in one tightly gripped paw as he dove to grab the fallen gun.

"Now!" Nick yelled. Jack bolted from behind another tree with a sturdy limb nearly the size of the buck weilding it. Still crying in alarm and pain, the hippo was treated to a horrible crunching impact to his locked knee. And then another to his head as he fell. Then another. Also… another. Judy might normally have told Jack to stop, but she only wanted one thing right then. She ran toward Nick, feeling a little numb as she watched him stumble back onto his backside. He looked like he was having trouble standing as he clutched the gun, training it on the unmoving hippo.

"Nick!" Judy yelled.

"Okay Jack, that's good!" Nick yelled. Jack slumped back, clutching his bloodied stick, panting. The buck's eyes were wild in lapine distress, little pink nose wiggling hard. Judy couldn't blame him. That was a combat situation, not just an apartment raid. Nick kept the gun on the hippo and smiled at Judy. His smile then instantly went away. Judy stopped in front of her fox, a little uncertain at the horrified expression. Fearfully she looked behind her. No one was there.

"Nick?" Judy asked.

"You're hurt!" Nick cried, trying to get up and falling again. Judy's eyes went down to the crimson soaked shirt. She had almost forgotten that she'd been hewn down with a machete. She suddenly felt light headed. How bad was it? She couldn't tell. There was definitely a lot of blood and her shirt had a wide open gash in it.

"You're hurt too, Nick!" Judy said firmly, trying to push through the sudden sinking 'about to pass out' echoing ringing tone in her ears. "I'll be okay! Did you break your leg again, please don't tell me you broke your leg!" Focusing on Nick's injuries helped Judy get through that sinking dread and mind-numbing absolute certainty that she was nearly cut in half. She needed to push through it. She needed to ignore it and just focus on him. Nick shook his head.

"No, I've screwed up the other ankle. It's fine, Carrots. Judy! We have to get you help! Hold on, it's okay…" He sounded terrified. The bunny knew what it looked like. However, it didn't hurt that much. Nick's reaction to it was frightening her a bit more than any pain from the wound.

"I've got her." Jack held her from behind. Judy looked up at him, a little bewildered and not entirely sure why she saw treetops framing her view behind the buck. Oh. She was lying down. That was why. When had she started doing that? Oh no. It really was bad. She felt like she couldn't move. Her heart raced faster, and she felt so weak. Her limbs didn't want to move.

"I'm cold," she said, more to herself than to anyone else. It was so hot today. What a funny thing. She began shivering. It was suddenly hard to feel afraid or care about much of anything. It was mostly all just very confusing.

"She's going into shock," Jack said, his voice echoing a bit.

"I know that!" Nick shouted at him. Nicks voice echoed longer. "Gimme your shirt, we have to stop the bleeding!" Judy looked up at the treetops. Her chest felt so heavy and numb. It didn't hurt really.

Judy suddenly remembered something. Nick loved gazing up into the trees over the hammock in the back yard of her family home as she rested there with him. That was so much fun. He smelled of fox and of homemade cider that day. Her mom caught her sleeping beside him. How silly.

She wanted a drink. That cider would have been wonderful. The stuff her dad made was so good. She wanted to try making that. It didn't seem so hard to make.

She had to get up. If she closed her eyes she might not open them again. What was she even thinking about?

She was glad that her dad got over his distrust of foxes. Her grandfather did too. Good for him.

Gideon was sorry for hurting her. He was a good fox. Maybe he would have been no matter what. They grew up. He opened a bakery.

Fresh baked food was so good.

Blueberries in her back yard with Nick was one of the cutest things she ever sent a picture of to his mother.

Vivienne loved her son so much.

Nick was crying. He loved his bunny.

She wanted to give him some fresh baked pie.

That would make him feel happy.

Where was Skye? They had to help Skye.

Those adorable little white wolf pups on balloons from the show Nick took her to would look cute sailing over her head in those treetops.

The waving points of light through the leaves reminded Judy of snow when seen blowing around from below a streetlight.

Was it snowing?

Did it ever snow here?

What was snow?

Nick…

Darkness came.

There was a soft shaking of her shoulder and Judy opened her eyes, startled. They were shooting! She was in danger! They were going to get shot! She tried to roll over and get to her feet to run.

"Judy, stay still, it's okay!" Nick said sternly, arm over her neck as she began panting in panic. The bunny instantly relaxed. Hearing his voice made her feel safe. It always did.

"Nick?" she asked in a dry, raspy tone.

The fox holding her from behind, embracing her, spoke calmingly. "You're okay. You went into shock, but you're coming out of it. We have to move, but I want to make sure you go easy. I don't want you to start bleeding again."

"How did I get hurt?" Judy asked weakly. It was still all random ideas and images tumbling in the wind. Floating wolf pups and snow… cider and blueberries. That was all a jumble of her last moments. They were in a forest. Oh, the mine, there had been that. Wait, did Nick attack that armed hippo with a very large blade? Oh. Did Jack kill him with a tree limb?

"You got cut by a machete." Nick stated, confusing Judy a bit as she came out of her flurry of thoughts. Oh yes. That was how she got injured. Nick continued. "But… it's not too deep. You are light enough that it threw you more than cut you." Nick stroked Judy's ears, gazing lovingly into her eyes.

"I can get up." Judy said, suddenly remembering why they needed to move. Skye. And they needed to meet someone for the extraction. It was all coming back to her. She looked down, realizing she was wearing Jack's black shirt. Her shirt had been pretty much completely destroyed.

Nick put a paw over Judy's head. "Give it a moment, love. I want you to relax until your eyes are back to normal. Immediately falling over won't do you any favors." He looked tenderly into her eyes, making it obvious he'd been carefully observing her.

"Where's Jack?" Judy asked bluntly.

"Getting sick." Nick answered.

"Why?" she asked.

"Jonas died."

"Head injuries?" Judy asked, remembering that Jack had bludgeoned him.

"No," Nick said in a serious tone, "While Jack and I were trying to treat your injuries, Jonas got up and tried to get away into the forest."

"Blood loss?" Judy asked. This was serious. A suspect dying in their custody was a really big deal and required a lot of investigation.

"No," Nick answered slowly, barely in a whisper. "…the forest also contained the lycaon that Jonas failed to shoot. Jack didn't secure the other machete, which a vengeful canine discovered, so…" Judy widened her eyes. Oh no. "So… yeah, that went exactly how you'd expect." Judy tensed up a bit. Jonas had been killed by the remaining lycaon, but…

"Jack shouldn't feel responsible for that!" she murmured.

"He doesn't. It was my fault." Nick said.

"You aren't the one who made him attack us, Nick!" Judy also did not want Nick damaged by that.

"No," Nick said. "It's my fault Jack got sick. I didn't want to take pressure off your wound so I sent him to collect the other weapon so Jonas couldn't find it. And we wanted them all accounted for. I should not have sent him out there. He found Jonas. It wasn't pretty."

"Oh my God." Judy said in a sinking tone. This was a disaster. It was not going to look good in the report at all.

"Yeah, thanks, Nick." Jack said miserably as he staggered out from behind a stand of trees off to Judy's right. The injured bunny looked up and saw a shirtless buck. She'd not seen him in person without a shirt before, but there were plenty of times in film she'd seen it. Somehow, she expected the real thing would be different. It wasn't. He was a handsome buck. Skye was lucky.

"We have to go to Skye." Judy said, remembering her again.

"Thank you!" cried Jack in exasperation. "I'm on it!" The buck turned hard and just started stomping off through the woods.

"Hold it!" Nick barked sharply.

"No!" Jack said pleadingly.

"We'll join you, let me help Judy up." Nick stated.

"Yes! Thank you!" Jack shouted, pivoting on his heel. Judy winced as Nick helped her up.

"Please be careful," her partner whispered. "Seriously, you almost died…" Nick looked away, gritting his teeth. He sucked in a hard breath through them and Judy worried as she sat up fully.

"Nick?" she gazed at him intently. Was she okay or not? He said she would be alright.

"I didn't…" Nick closed his eyes, unable to say anything a moment. He looked up, obviously trying to calm himself. Judy then looked up at Jack. He pantomimed throwing his friends into the forest so he could run after them. He was really urgent. Judy looked back to the fox and he pinched the bridge of his muzzle between his eyes. Judy realized how upset Nick was and she held him.

"I'm okay, Slick," the doe whispered softly, "Let's just go get Skye. There's time for this. We have to make sure she's alright." Nick moved his hand over Judy's shirt a little. She flinched, afraid he was going to push on her cut, but instead he moved his fingers up to the collar of the shirt and reached in a little, pulling a beaded metal cord that held a very special pendant. Judy's heart sank.

"I never knew you went anywhere with… this," Nick whispered as he handed Judy the silver rectangle. It was the plate from the officer memorial with Nick's name on it, and the date that he 'died'. Bogo had given it to her, and it had taken on a very special meaning to Judy. Nick knew that she had it, of course, but he did not know that she wore it as a necklace when she went out. Judy cupped her muzzle.

"Nick…" she clutched it tight in her little paw. She turned it over. There was a deep groove on the back of it, the side that didn't have the engraved name and date. The blade hit it. Judy felt a heavy chill run through her as her eyes went wider. Had that been all that stood between her and death?

"Don't… don't lose that. I know it… it's important." Nick said in a serious, wavering tone.

"Wait, what the hell is that? What's that date?" Jack asked, approaching to find out what was keeping them from helping him find Skye.

"Nick, I wear it to…" she started. They didn't have time for her to explain this! It wasn't a big deal. It shouldn't have even mattered to anyone but her.

"…to make sure you remember to always come back to me so I never know what it's like." Nick finished for her. He looked into her eyes, his own still pained.

"I… Well… yes." Judy shakily stood up. Okay, he understood. He really understood.

"Sentimental bunny." Nick whispered. Judy closed her eyes and nodded. They could talk about it later. They would talk about it later. She pushed the silver plate back under Jack's black shirt.

"Oh my God… that…" Jack cupped his own muzzle with his tiny paws. He had spotted the writing, it seemed, as Judy put it away.

"Why are you still standing there, Jack? Did you forget Skye?" Nick asked. Jack's eyes were wet.

"Come on, you're slowing us down." Judy chuckled weakly, and they started through the forest. That prevented more discussion about the sentimental token of Judy's. Nick did not look comfortable, even if he understood it. That was reasonable. It was… pretty morbid in its own way.

Judy felt brutally tired, so walking was tedious. At least she wasn't dizzy or cold. She knew she lost a lot of blood, so it was going to take a while to totally recover. Hopefully whoever Bogo sent would be there soon.

The lengthy walk kept along the lower point of the valley, fortunately. Judy did not have to push herself hard to go up any steep inclines. Nick offered to carry the bunny a couple of times, but he was having trouble with his twisted ankle. Judy appreciated that he might have the strength to do it, but if he stumbled and dropped her, and she got hurt even worse… She knew how bad that would be for him. She declined.

The walk was interrupted every few minutes or so to allow them to listen and look for anyone who might impede or attack them. Thankfully, they found themselves alone in the densely wooded valley. Still, the boars were unaccounted for. They had all the weapons they knew about, but it didn't mean that everyone was safe. Nick kept the big, heavy gun in his belt behind him, ready to use it even at the risk of breaking an arm if he really had to. They were making it out of this forest no matter what, he'd said.

Jack didn't speak much at all as they made their way along the valley floor. Judy knew why. He was worried about his fox. There had been that loud boom. What had that been? Judy had a nagging concern, but didn't bring it up. Skye had been carrying a bomb. It was evidence. Was it unstable? Had it gone off as they fled? She feared this answer above all others. That would destroy Jack just as completely as it had his intended mate, and Judy dreaded this more and more as they moved.

Nick watched Jack carefully as well. He had likely prevented the buck from running off when he was taking care of Judy. She'd been unconscious in her fox's arms for over an hour, she was told. She recovered quickly once she got over the shock, but that was so much lost time. Jack didn't seem to hold anything against them. No one had it easy in this. He was simply focused on not stopping long as they plodded on toward the sheltered rocky outcropping. Jack held the two machetes and cut away brush and undergrowth to allow Judy's journey to be a little easier.

Judy felt dull pain slowly increasing, likely due to the effects of adrenalin leaving her. Her joints all hurt too, which she expected. Jack didn't seem to be injured, but the doe knew he was not likely to be undamaged by all this. He would be so deeply harmed if anything happened to Skye. He'd just told Judy that he was willing to give himself to the vixen forever. Every step that Judy took, she asked for the same thing that the buck was surely quietly asking. Let her be okay. Let them be unharmed. Don't let this be it for them.

"Jack, hold on, stop," Nick said rather suddenly as they approached a drawn in point of the valley with a somewhat defined trail onward. At the end was sort of a cave made of rock on both sides but vines and roots overhanging the top of the valley. Jack looked back at Nick, then ahead of him. It was instantly obvious. Between where they stood and the mouth of that cave… there had been an explosion. The ground was scorched and cleared in a wide circle. A few small trees were fractured and ruined. Dirt and grass and leaves had fallen everywhere on the outskirts of the cleared radius.

"Skye?" Jack called out meekly. He stood there alone, in the middle of the blast mark, a machete gripped in each hand. One still boasted crimson from its terrible purpose. Judy looked side to side frantically, heart heavy. She didn't see a body, but… would there be, with Skye holding the backpack? Nick moved forward quickly, passing the smaller mammal. He likely wanted to keep the terrified buck from finding whatever might remain. It made Judy immediately worried that Nick did see something. "Skye!?" Jack called out louder, despair in his cracking voice.

"Jack?" The familiar voice of their missing vixen was whimpered fearfully from above them. Jack gasped out as he looked up. Standing at the mouth of the cave, with a stick fashioned into a spear, was the white vixen Jack needed more than the life he had barely gotten away with.

"Skye! Ahhhahahaa!" Jack cried joyfully. He dropped the twin blades with metallic clanking and ran toward the mouth of the cave. Judy choked back a sob. Wish granted. She wouldn't be able to try her luck in anything for a year, she told herself. She put her paws over her aching chest, bowing her head. Lucky, lucky Jack!

The vixen cried out desperately, "Are you okay? We heard gunfire! I was so scared!" She clambered down the roots of a tree at the edge of the little cave. Jack ran to her, throwing his arms around the larger mammal, gripping her tightly. She went to her knees to better hug her buck, dropping the spear behind him. Judy sputtered a bit and Nick put an arm around her.

"Calm, Judy. Calm. It's okay. It's alright, don't waste energy, love…" he whispered. Judy couldn't stop crying as she saw a hyena, then another, and finally all four exit the cave, follow by a couple lions, glancing about cautiously. They were all okay. Nick smiled at the scene before them.

"Is… help coming?" asked Cassie with fearful uncertainty. She was suddenly a lot more humble.

"Is Judy okay?" asked Skye, dismissing the lioness. Cassie wilted at that, apparently having missed how weak the doe was as Nick held her up.

"She's cut, she needs help." Nick said. "But she'll be okay, I think. Help should be coming. Judy got through to Bogo." He answered Cassie's question in a manner which made the hyenas cheer and the lioness who had asked just instantly sit down. The strength was sapped from her legs with relief.

"What happened here?" asked Jack, indicating the blast radius. "Is that blood?" he pointed at part of the rock face. That, Judy felt, was what Nick had been moving to keep Jack from seeing. It was definitely a wide arc of blood-spray.

"We got followed," Cassie said bluntly. "Hyenas are loud when they're scared." Motti nodded at that casually, indicating that this was a fact.

"I knew there was at least another guy." Judy thought aloud. "Was he armed?" Judy was immediately afraid that the terrible fight might not be over, heart picking up pace again, fluttering in her chest.

"Skye blew him up." Cassie said matter-of-factly. The vixen grimaced a little at that.

"Wh… what?" Jack asked.

"What happened to the other guys? Are they gone?" asked Motti's brother with concern. Judy had to agree that his question sounded more important than the fate of the one they all knew about already. They understandably wanted to know if they were safe. Nick reached behind him and pulled the huge pistol out from behind him where it had been pushed into his belt.

"Uh…" Skye gazed at it fixedly.

"The owner of this gun is no longer with us." Nick explained.

"Told you so." Motti said to her family. Her mother and father both nodded slowly with serious expressions. Judy gritted her teeth. She didn't do that alone, it wasn't like that!

"So, we're safe?" asked Cassie, breaking Judy's discomforting train of thought.

"Not yet," Nick said, "But at least we aren't being shot at. Skye, did someone else get killed?" he asked. Judy glanced up to a very serious Nick. That was a very police officer question. She felt a pang of guilt as she'd not been acting much like an officer when survival instinct became the prevailing sense.

Skye looked extremely anxious. "Nick, I heard gunshots, I had to protect them," she said in a pleading tone, very visibly wilting. Her buck held her comfortingly.

"Sweetie, it's okay!" Jack said seriously. "It's alright… nothing's wrong, we know how it was!" He was holding her. That's all that mattered to him.

"What happened?" Judy asked. They still needed to know.

As Skye's face was pushed against the smaller buck's bare chest, Cassie answered instead, "She combined one of the motion sensing lights from the mine we were all in with a freaking bomb is what she did." Judy froze. "She wired it up, pointed the sensor upward mostly, reconnected it and moved back. The yak or whatever he was… walked close to it a few moments later. He was trying to figure out what it was. That light came on and his got snuffed out." Skye kept her head down for the whole description of that, ears back. Judy was speechless.

"Wow." Nick said slowly, looking completely dumbfounded.

"Wait, what?" Jack asked.

"Jack, we were going to talk about it!" Skye whimpered bitterly. "We were going to talk, honest we were. I just didn't want you thinking it was why we were together!" Skye seemed genuinely fearful. Judy tilted her head. It didn't seem like she was upset about what she did, but something she hadn't talked to Jack about.

"What?" Nick repeated Jack's sentiments.

Jack looked wide-eyed at his vixen. "What are you talking about? Skye, how did you even know how to do all that? That was so dangerous!" he cried.

"When I was younger, Jack." She looked away, gritting her teeth bitterly. "I told you I wanted a job that they didn't want to hire a fox for, and I told you back then that I didn't want to talk about it. And! And, you said it was okay. But I was going to talk to you about it, I promise." The fox shrunk against Jack a bit, as if actually groveling before him. Judy felt a sinking sensation of dread. Skye was afraid of losing Jack over this. What the hell was it?

"Skye, nothing's wrong, you can talk to me." Jack said. He seemed fearful too.

"Drama? Now?" Cassie asked dryly.

"Shut the hell up." Motti's mother said unexpectedly. The offending lion recoiled at that.

"I went to school to work for The Mammalian Intelligence Agency." Skye said in a slow and even tone. "I flunked out. I didn't make it. Not the right attitude for the job, they said. But we all know it's because they couldn't place a fox. Even my instructor knew that. He was furious." She sighed heavily. Jack looked at her with wide eyes.

"A spy. Oh my god, you trained to be a spy." Jack said slowly.

"No, it's not all that. An agent. Law enforcement, like Judy. Just… more flexible," the white fox explained. "My feelings about you had nothing to do with that. I know that your movies were just stories, you aren't some stupid wish fulfilment, Jack. I really do love you!" Judy stared fixedly at Skye as Jack gazed at her with an utterly shocked expression, ears back.

It suddenly made sense. Everything about Skye made perfect sense. The chip on her shoulder about Nick poorly representing foxes. The knowledge about military weaponry. Her fighting style. And she was afraid that Jack would hate her for it? Judy watched as Skye just held the small buck and cried into his shoulder as he said nothing. He finally took her by the shoulders and moved her back. He was on his feet, looking down into her eyes as she remained on her knees before him. His expression was serious. Calculating. He looked almost cold as he regarded the fox before him with his ears actually towering over her, perked and focused. She went quiet. Tension swept through everyone watching as his blue eyes locked on hers.

"Jack, please…" whispered Skye with a squeak in her voice. "Please talk to me."

Jack looked at Judy, then at Nick, then back at Skye.

Finally, he spoke. His tone was confident and every word was clear, very much for all to hear, "…All that I am, all that I was, all that I ever shall be, I give unto thee." Skye's jaw fell open, and Judy couldn't help but cup her own muzzle, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. He was really going to do it. He was doing it right there in front of them.

"What…" Cassie started to speak, but Judy shot her such a murderous glance that Motti visibly flinched as if she might get lion spray on her from it.

Jack continued almost melodically, expression softening, but serious. "…To love and protect, to honor and aid…" Tears marked the buck's cheeks just as clearly as Skye's as he spoke. Judy glanced over to Nick who took her small paw and nodded to her. He was getting the words right. That didn't surprise Judy really. Jack had to learn new material quickly all the time.

"Oh Jack…" the fox wilted a bit in her kneeling position before her lover. Her teeth showed as she gave a joyful smile, both paws taking his. Judy's heart soared and she felt light-headed.

Jack smiled back to her, obviously encouraged by her expression of happiness. "Unconditional… unwavering…" He moved his little paw to lift Skye's chin to keep her looking up at him for those words. "In this life and the next…"

Skye said the final line simultaneously with the buck. "May fate never bear us apart."

She then threw her arms around him. "You crazy mixed up bunny!" she cried, "What did you do that for? You never had to!" she squeaked. "Do you even know what you did?"

"I finally got to say the lines I was made to say," he said, and then half whispered the next words to his beloved vixen. "…to the only audience that's ever deserved to hear them."

Judy perked up a bit and looked to Nick. She could hear it. She didn't love the timing of it, but she had to tell them.

"I hear a helicopter," she announced. "We need to move to the pickup point." Her chest hurt, she felt weak and near her limits, but strength was returning to her limbs with a will to walk to make this whole mess be over. Jack helped the still-crying white fox to her feet and Nick motioned for the others to follow. Motti took the lead, knowing exactly where they going to meet the helicopter.

"Glad you made it, bunny." Cassie said, falling into step right behind Judy. She sounded genuine about it, and uncharacteristically caring. "You really gonna be okay? You'd not be wearing a different shirt if you weren't trying to hide how bad it was."

"I'll be fine. I'm wearing the shirt because mine was completely destroyed in the fight," the bunny explained.

"Well, Jack no longer gets to have his shirt, and I know we're all enjoying that, so… Yeah. But… It's not too bad? I never wanted you to get hurt."

Judy looked back at the following lioness as she held onto Nick for stability. "I think it's gonna just be some outpatient work," she groaned, hoping it didn't mean another hospital call to her parents. Would they eventually just stop visiting her there? Or maybe family members would take turns? It was starting to feel like a running gag.

"I'm sorry about…" came a soft murmuring from Cassie.

"Don't worry about it." Judy cut her off. She understood Cassie's stress and fear and why she acted as she did. There would be a chance for her to show that was not her usual attitude. This was not the time.

"Thanks," she said, then looked back and nodded to her stern-looking sister who had likely provoked the apology, heartfelt and genuine though it might have been. The other hyenas spoke together in their unfamiliar language, trailing behind. The walk through the forest was, otherwise, not terribly eventual. It was quiet, stuffy, and Judy felt a little sick and dizzy. Her concern was just putting one paw in front of the other more than any dangers that might lurk there for them. Help was close. The helicopter got louder and louder as it moved overhead.

As slow as they were going, it took a while to get to the pickup point. It was a fairly bare, grassy hill on a ridge at a right angle to the one that separated them from the village. It was not nearly as difficult a climb, only a couple hundred meters up to the intended spot and not overly steep. The silver and black helicopter circled the area as they moved into the clearing. Upon spotting them, it came down lower. Everyone held low as Judy and Jacks ears were laid comically flat by the wind from the vehicle when it neatly touched down in the tall grass at the top of the bare hill.

The chopper proved to be full of larger mammals in tactical gear. Two wolves, a tiger, and a lion hopped out and moved into a defensive circle around the chopper. An old goat acted as the pilot. The crew was armed with rifles and took up a perimeter as they ushered the group closer to be inside that perimeter.

The black-furred wolf strode toward the group. "I'm Lieutenant Richter Bay. There's another chopper coming, Officer Hopps!" he shouted to Judy. "That's the one to actually pick up everyone. This one's heading out! Do we have any priority evacuations that need to be aboard?"

"We have a wounded officer!" Nick said seriously, indicating the bunny. He and Bay helped Judy up to the helicopter. She knew better than to try to say she could wait for the other chopper. Nick would never allow it.

"Officer Wilde, right?" asked Bay.

"Yes!" Judy's partner shouted back, "We need to get her medical attention fast! Also, there are bodies in the forest. There's least four, maybe as many as six. I'll fill you in. Please, just… take care of Officer Hopps." Nick then moved away from Judy as they helped her onto a backboard in the vehicle. She wanted to stay with her fox. Was it safe for him? Was the danger over? He could hear him calling out to the other survivors, telling them everything was going to be okay, and that the next chopper would be a transport for them.

A tigress leaned over Judy rather suddenly, startling her a little. She pulled up Jack's shirt carefully, bringing out a first aid kit from a compartment in the chopper. "Hey there, Officer Hopps. Sargent Serena Felis. Big fan."

"Nice to meet you." Judy stated with a weak smile. She wanted to help the others.

"So I gotta ask, and I promise, I ain't gonna say anything to anyone…" she moved her paw a bit as Judy winced in pain.

"Yeah?" she bunny asked.

"Uh, is Jack Savage a real agent, pretending to be an actor… who pretends to be an MIA agent?" Judy laughed at that, and it was agonizing.

"No, sorry. No luck there. He's an actor. He does love adventure, though." Judy smiled as she braced for an IV insertion. There's what she was after. Don't-give-a-damn juice. Serena got her hooked up to that quickly enough. Judy was glad this helicopter came equipped with an advanced med kit.

Serena inspected the wound carefully. "It's not too deep, but it's pretty long. I'm used to seeing this stuff on much bigger mammals, so I mean… that's not too many stitches for you. Gonna be stitches though, I bet. Sorry, bunny. A new scar for the veteran, I'm afraid," the big cat said. "What cut you?" she asked.

"Machete." Judy answered.

"Oh wow, it hit this…" she held up the tag under Judy's shirt. "Oh God." Judy closed her eyes, knowing that Serena knew what she was looking at. If she was a 'fan' the tiger knew exactly what Judy had. But she didn't care about the tiger had discovered. It only reminded her of what she didn't have with her.

"I want my fox." Judy murmured lightheadedly. The IV was quick to mute the agony and she felt sleepy. She didn't want to close her eyes if she didn't know he was safe.

"Your…" the tigress moved aside a little as Nick got onto the chopper. The whine of the engine was audible.

"Fluff, you doing okay?" Nick asked with open concern.

"Oh, your fox," Serena chuckled. The smile on the tiger's face made it obvious she got the insinuation. Judy didn't care to a medicated extreme.

"We're gonna head to the closest city." Nick stated. "The team's heading down to collect our two boar friends. That is, if that rampaging lycaon didn't find them first. They sure didn't stick around after the fight," he explained.

"Don't leave, please." Judy said dizzily.

"She's on IV," Serena explained to Nick. The fox nodded.

"Good, thank you. I know it hurts," he said in a muted tone to tigress. He looked back down to Judy with a smile. "I can't leave, Fluff. It's a real long way to the ground right now," he chuckled warmly. Nick's words shrank away with him. Judy couldn't feel the motion of the chopper at all. Were they flying? How far was it going to be? Were they going to the city they arrived in? The painkillers made everything feel like it was kind of moving anyway. The sound of Nick's laugh and the look of his smile brought comfort to the doe as she relaxed more fluidly on the backboard.

"Do you want me to be the one to contact your parents?" Nick asked. She could barely even hear him over the chopper, and could barely even hear the chopper as her senses slipped away. Better him telling her mom and dad than the hospital again. The bunny slowly nodded. Nick continued talking, but if she could understand him at all, she certainly wasn't going to remember it. She finally closed her eyes. They survived, but what was coming? How much more was there left to do? In that moment, the only question she needed an answer for was:

Was Nick holding her?

The answer was yes.

She let sleep have her.