A little deeper look at a world where the laws against interspecies relationships take a darker and more often enforced turn. One where our favorite pair desperately want to be together and also recognize that the risk is simply too great. One where Nick, knowing himself, takes steps. Steps that Judy of course will not let him take alone, and steps that spread to other, actual interspecies couples to provide an out. An exit option better than what would happen otherwise under law.

So yeah. Have the tissues and the stress ball ready to take out some rage on. MCD kinda implied here. Still. Hope you enjoy.

Oh yeah. It's also a long one. :)

I do not own Zootopia and can make no claim to it or its characters. I at most claim my own OCs.

On with the show.

xxxxXXXXXxxxx

Nick Wilde, Hustler extraordinaire, and more recently in his life, first fox in the ZPD was a mammal in an impossible position. He was hopelessly, utterly, and irredeemably in love with his partner, Judy Hopps. A rabbit. The rabbit. First rabbit in the ZPD. Valedictorian of her class, and the very reason he was still alive, was not wearing a shock collar, and had the job, friends, and respect he now had.

Unfortunately for him, no matter how much he loved her, and the gods themselves knew he did. No matter how much he wanted her, and he was quite sure she wanted him too. No matter what the truth was, and scent doesn't lie. He knew the scent of her arousal, and while bunnies like Judy were always horny, she only had a strong reaction to a few movie stars, and him. The random buck on the street, if anything, no matter how good, how smooth, her scent said not just no, not intersted, but fuck no. It entertained him, being a mammal for whom scent was such a strong part of his vision of the world.

The situation was simple, and brutal in its reality. They could not be together. It was really that simple. The law was very clear on that. Laws that were ancient, evil, and brutal. Laws that were not really enforced, at least by most officers. Yet, they were still on the books, and it would only take an officer from somewhere like the Meadowlands to enforce them. Worse, there would be nothing anyone could do about it. There were plenty of prosecutors in the Meadowlands and other districts that would follow up the officer arresting them.

Once convinced, if they were not killed outright, well… if he wasn't. Then he would spend the rest of his life chained and bound so that he could not move in a cage only slightly larger than he was. She would be forced to live with that cage to ensure he was constantly exposed to her scent, her voice, etc… until he finally died. And that, as twisted and evil as it was, was one of the tamer punishments on order and actually spelled out in the law.

The laws were simply twisted. So they kept things as they were. Friends. Friends that spent their days, and most of their evenings together. Friends that did not go farther than that and maintained separate apartments. The horror and terror on poor Ben's face when they explained that they were just friends, and even if they wanted to be more, they couldn't, and why.

They had sat their friend down in Therus, the cafe they'd helped Fin take over. They were silent partners in the business after all. No. They sat the poor cheetah down with several law books and the internet, and explained it to him. To say he was crushed would be an understatement. He looked like an entire herd of elephants had used him as a Dance Dance Revolution mat.

It was actually Ben that helped Nick get his last line of defense against his feelings for Judy. It was a dose of concentrated Nighthowler toxin. He kept the glass ampule in a small padded and sealed metal carrier he had specifically machined for the purpose. It was NOT something that anyone was supposed to know about. Ben knew. He even understood, and Nick knew it hurt their friend to know the truth. To know that Nick carried the equivalent of a suicide pill on him at all times.

The problem being. Judy had been shot. Small caliber. Just missed her vest and armor, going through her thigh. It really wasn't that bad. But, she was hurt, and so Nick, as her partner, friend, and now roommate, was looking after her. His apartment had been condemned, though as Judy would remind him, it was not exactly an actual legal apartment.

She was recuperating and he had to carry her around. Not that either of them really minded. They were on the couch watching something, or more to the point, it was watching them. She was tough, so hadn't been taking her pain meds as often as the doc suggested. Nick suspected that part of that reason was because they made her… Horny. And pretty much destroyed her inhibitions. Fine, if there wasn't the risk. Fine if he were even a Jackrabbit. But… He was a fox, and so she made due with only an occasional dose when it got really bad, and Tygranol otherwise.

That meant that she wasn't affected by them, but she was more than happy to use the pain as an excuse to snuggle. Nick was strong, but he wasn't that strong. He could never refuse her, and even though he had only spoken his vow to her in secret, they both knew that in his heart he already had. There really were no secrets, not really, between them. The reason he hadn't spoken it out loud in her presence was simple. Judy knew what it would mean if he did, and she knew that she needed only to respond to complete a marriage. It was one of those spots where he simply wouldn't be able to refuse her, and thus the dose he kept on his person at all times.

So, they continued on. Friends. Nothing more, no matter how much their hearts wanted more. Their feelings were clear to them, and everyone around them, but unspoken with a well tried and rehearsed response ready at all times. They were just friends and only friends. They were partners on the force and so living together was simpler. Besides, he, as a fox, had fewer options for decent places to live, in spite of being a cop in good standing. Fox was all they needed and the price would quadruple, if the place was still available to him at all. Along with lots of logical, well reasoned, excuses.

At some point she had managed to get his shirt open and was running her fingers absently through the thicker fur of chest. Hidden in that thicker fur was the ampule in its container. Nick wasn't thinking about it, his head back against the couch just accepting the attention and reveling in the touch from the female that owned his heart. The problem being, in her explorations, Judy found the ampule and its container.

Judy wasn't sure what she had found as she pulled the hard object out of Nick's fur, thinking initially it was an old mat of fur left behind from his winter coat. When she got it free, Judy looked at the small metal container tinted to match Nick's chest fur that was very similar to a small pill container. She noted that it had a texture clearly meant to catch and stay in his fur. Looking it over, she could see it had a removable top. Holding it up she looked up at him in curiosity and slight concern that he would have something hiding in his fur like that. "Nick… What is this?"

Nick had been enjoying the sensation of her paws and didn't notice her locate the ampule container. Looking down, his eyes went wide and he carefully took it from her. Looking it over, then to the worried eyes of his partner. Nick took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "This… This is something you were never meant to see or know about."

Sitting up gingerly, favoring the injured leg, she moved so she was looking at him, the concern and fear clear in her eyes. Not fear of him, but fear of what he clearly felt he needed to keep secret from her. "Nick?"

"Judy. I would prefer to not need it. I don't want to have it. I hate that I need it with all my being. However, there are things more important than what I want, because what I want is not something I can have." Nick turned to face her. "Judy." Unscrewing the top and slipping the ampule into his paw. Judy gasped, paws flying to her muzzle as she instantly recognized what it was. "This is a dose of NIghthowler. It is meant for me. It's a highly concentrated version, and is enough to take down someone like Fangmeyer or Delgato, and probably kill them without very quick access to the antidote. Someone like Lizz or Del, probably 10 minutes or less. For me, maybe thirty seconds, probably less. That's kinda the point of it though. It's basically a suicide pill. For me."

Judy's eyes were wide, tears pooling as she looked at the ampule in terror as Nick slipped it back into its container and sealed it. "Nick…" The fear was clear in her voice. "Why? Why in the name of all things good, would you have such a thing, let alone hidden in your fur like that?"

She was fixed on it, so Nick reached over and lifted her chin so she was looking in his eyes. "Because, Judy. I'm in love with you. Hopelessly and fully lost in love with you. I keep this." Holding up the ampule in its container. "I have this to protect you. The dose is high enough that it will kill me quickly. It'll kill me in such a way that I can be sure that I can never hurt you. Judy, we know what the laws prescribe, and worse what would happen. If… you returned my feelings."

Nick put his finder to her lips, quieting the protest she was clearly about to express. "Judy. I am only so strong. You know I have already vowed to you in my heart. I do so now again, but to you so you know my feelings." Nick paused and held her eyes with his, waiting till her ears rose to give him her full attention. "Judith Laverne Hopps. I give to you everything and all that I am, was, or ever will be. I am yours in any way you will have me, for now, until death separates us."

Wiping a tear from her cheek and hushing her again. "Now, before you say anything else. You need to understand something. If you dare try and complete the oath so as to take me as your mate. I will try and stop you, and if needed. Well… That is what this is for. I can refuse you nothing. I would try to stop you, and I beg you to keep whatever your feelings are to yourself. If you return my love, don't speak it. If you don't, please don't say, that might actually kill me." A dark chuckle escaping him. "If you were to demand we be mates. By the gods I would try, first to stop you, then to be the best mate I could be. I would do all in my power to hide it from the world. But we both know someone would figure it out, and my life is so much less important than yours.

No!" Silencing her again. "No, Judy. It is. Look. I'm just a street fox that happened to get lucky, thanks to you. I'm estranged from my mother and sister. I'm estranged from my own kits, though I make sure they are all properly supported. It's why you demanded I move in with you and why we are getting the new place.

You, Judy. You are the one that is making the difference. You're the one that has made the difference in my life. If we were to be found out. Well, this would solve that. If something were to happen, then this is the way I protect you one last time. This isn't negotiable." Cupping her cheek, he rubbed his thumb gently along the cheek under which fur hid the scars from an attack by a different fox. "You were hurt by a fox once. I hurt you far worse when I turned my back on you at the press conference. I am absolutely certain that I am hurting you again by telling you my feelings while refusing you the opportunity to express yours, whatever they may be. I…

One thing I have come to understand, especially once I realized I'd fallen in love with you. I will do whatever it takes to ensure you are happy. I also realized that, no matter what I do, I'm going to hurt you somehow. Some way. It is the nature of things because of how our world is. I know what this represents hurts you, but it is not something avoidable. I've thought around the problem in so many ways. Short of packing us up into the wastelands beyond the reach of civil society, this is the only solution I could come up with because of my own weakness. It's what we say. We're friends, and that is all we ever will be. It isn't enough, but it has to be."

Judy nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Oh Nick. I will not say what you know already. Life isn't fair. I guess… I guess I should ask you to help me find a buck. At least then there would be less suspicion."

Nick nodded, the pain clear in his eyes. "Yes. That… That is probably for the best. Speaking of which. When we move into the new place, I will be treating my room as a separate apartment."

The hurt clear in her voice. "Why?"

"Judy, we are closer than just friends. Everyone can see that. We're going to be living together. It won't matter that we have not taken that step to be accused of it. The only answer for that is if I do not stay the night. We have an excuse right now, but as soon as you are back to being able to work, I cannot stay. There are other things. Things I'm not thinking of right now. Things that will come up in the moment. You're injured. That's the only reason I get away with staying over right now. Because of that and the fact my old place was condemned. When we move, there needs to be a separation. One where I clearly leave the apartment and enter one of my own."

Judy nodded, tears threatening at the unfairness. "It isn't fair."

"I don't want to be separate from you, but I have to be. Again, I'm not strong enough, Judy. I know myself. Every moment we are together, I want to hear you say what I know you feel and give in to that. But to do that would be to hurt you most of all. Because to give in. That just starts the clock ticking down like a bomb until I have to use this. It isn't fair. Not at all. But it is what it is. So now you know. Now you officially have my oath. I have hurt you again, because I'm too selfish. Too weak. And… and for that, I am truly sorry."

Clapping his paws together lightly, the vial and container vanishing back into his fur. "Now, it's well past your bedtime."

Nick scooped Judy up gently, as she wasn't allowed to walk and carried her to her room. He helped her get ready for bed. Her sister would be by the following day to help her with a bath. Another point where Nick knew he was not strong enough. Yes, he knew she trusted him, that didn't matter. She's said she didn't fear him and wasn't worried about him. Nick on the other hand was worried about himself. He was only a fox, and she had a family that could and happily would help. It saved him, them both really now as he thought about that evening's revelations, from a temptation he knew he wasn't strong enough to resist.

After putting her to bed, Nick puttered around, cleaning up before curling up on the couch. Once Judy heard his breathing shift fully to sleep, she carefully stood and hobbled to the door looking out so that she could see him. She watched him for a long time, memorizing every crease, every strand of fur. How he breathed, and how adorable he was when he curled up into a fox sized ball, tail wrapped around and covering his muzzle.

Whispering, Judy spoke. "Nick. I love you more than you can possibly know. You are my very reason for living now. Your life is as important to me as mine is to you. So, I swear to you just as you have to me. Nicholas Piberius Wilde. I am yours. All I am. All I ever have been or ever will be, is yours. I accept you as mine and give you myself in return. I love you, Nick. I really hope you know that, even if you will never let me say it to you where and when you can hear it consciously."

Judy hobbled back to her bed with tears staining her cheeks and soaking into her pillow. The fox a few feet away owned her heart and had for a long time, but she knew he was right. The world would not let them be together. Worse, what they would do to him, no matter her claims to not being forced or any of that dung. No, they would torture them both, if they didn't just kill him out right, which would kill her, she knew. She felt her heart shatter as she realized. Her joke about him helping her find a buck. It wasn't really as much of a joke as she meant it. And with that realization. Judy Hopps heart shattered fully and she cried until she fell asleep.

xxxxXXXXXxxxx

Nick dragged himself into the males locker room. He'd prefer to wait until he got home to shower, but today… Today required him to shower at the precinct. He hadn't been sprayed directly. No, Judy had that honor, and Fangmeyer was currently helping her. He expected the rabbit would have a red tinge to her fur once the tomato juice and descenting creams did their work. She wouldn't smell like much of anything, let alone herself for at least a week. That was however very much preferable to the alternative.

No, Nick had missed the direct hit Judy took, but he did spend time in the cruiser with her, and the skunk, who added several felony assault charges to himself with that little maneuver. He had also gotten a little bit on his uniform. The uniform was evidence, thankfully, but the scent was still clinging to his fur, and so a shower was in order. He was actually glad for once that foxes had such a strong musk, his normal shampoo would be more than sufficient for the job.

Nick was fully soaked and scrubbing his head one last time to get the last of the shampoo out, so he missed the small clinking sound as the ampule container fell from his water and shampoo slicked fur. Mike picked it up and was looking at it as Nick finished.

Seeing what Mike was holding, Nick swallowed and held his paw out. "Hey, thanks for finding that. I'd have freaked out."

Mike handed it back to Nick as they both moved to the fur dryers. While Mike hadn't been on scene, he did have to process his and Judy's uniforms, so he'd opted for a shower as well. "What is it?"

Nick paused and looked up at the wolf. Looking around and listening for anyone else. It was mid-shift so there was no one else in the locker room. "It's… It's basically an insurance policy."

Mike looked at Nick with suspicion. "Against what?"

Nick considered the ampule for a moment then looked off into space. "Against myself." Pulling himself back to the moment, he looked up at Mike and then shook his head, tail drooping. "Mike, I… It's Nighthowler, and is meant for me. It's basically a suicide pill. If accusations against Judy and I ever get to the point that some prosecutor tries to use the laws against us. I have to have a way to protect her. If I die, there's no case. If I'm dosed with Nighthowler, there is even less of a case against her."

Mike frowned. "Nick, that's crazy."

Nick closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and looking up at the wolf. One of the many mammals he now considered an actual friend. "Is it though? Is it really that crazy? That beast that transferred over from the Meadowlands to fill in while Bennett was out on leave. Where is he now? He's on desk duty in the smallest, and coldest station in Tundratown. Why? Because Bogo couldn't fire him, couldn't even technically discipline him. However, having him set up a small station in Tundratown. One that is not properly sized, isn't properly insulated, etc… Well, it's technically a promotion, right? Now, do you know why? Why was he promoted?"

"I…" Mike cocked his head to the side. "Actually. No. I've heard rumor that he killed some mammals, but that would normally result in an IA investigation and suspension if not firing, depending. Though I might take the suspension over where he is now."

Nick nodded. "Yeah, he killed some mammals. And there was absolutely nothing anyone could do about it or to him for doing it. It was absolutely and completely legal. In fact, his actions were within the actual prescription of the law."

"Nick, that makes zero sense."

Nick paused and turned to face the wolf fully, looking at him, then shook his head as he walked towards their lockers. "Mike…" Sighing tiredly. "He killed a mother, father, and three kits. Soon to be four, because she was pregnant at the time. He got away with it because she was an antelope, and he was a leopard. The kits were a girl, two, and boys five, and six years old. She was four months pregnant with their third boy. According to the law, the kits had to be put down, and he being the responding officer was required to do it. As for the parents. He was authorized to shoot them too, if they interfered. Dying however was probably better for them, considering the punishment that would have been required if they had gone to trial."

Mike physically recoiled. "That's insane. The law says no such thing."

Nick looked up at Mike sadly with a sigh. "It actually does. We don't enforce it here in P1, and most don't. They're old, archaic laws, but they are still on the books, and there are five different prosecutors, all sheep I might add. Go figure. But there are five of them that regularly prosecute interspecies couples using those laws."

Mike watched as Nick stared at the little container, and then slipped it back into his now dry fur. "But…"

"No buts. It's the law. Technically, we as officers could be prosecuted for failing to enforce those laws. Stripped of everything we have earned and essentially black listed, legally. They actually have provisions for that in those laws. Thankfully they have enough sense to not pursue that, as the PR nightmare would likely force the laws repeal. Perhaps that would be better though. A few of us take the hit to get those laws overturned. Would be worth it. He got in any trouble at all because he did that while working here, in P1.

The family lived in the Rainforest. Some Karen had called in a domestic disturbance. There wasn't one, it was just some specist old hag trying to get the family in trouble. She got them killed. Their killer. He has twelve enforcements of those laws under his belt. This incident was the twelfth. Of those other 11, 10 of them went the same way. Him murdering kits, then the parents. The 11th went the way of prosecution. Look up the statistics from the Meadowlands. Look up what they did to them because they didn't have any kits, and didn't realize that there was a law against their love."

Nick opened his locker and started to dress in him spare uniform as Mike just stared at him. Once dressed he looked over the wolf again. "Look it up yourself. Now, if you will excuse me. I need to see how Judy is doing."

Mike watched the fox walk away and felt the realization hit him like an elephant sized truck. Nick would only have such a thing for one reason. Because it was needed to protect the one he loved from him, should someone try and enforce those laws against them.

Two hours later Fangmeyer found him in his cubicle. "Hey, what's up?"

Mike looked up a mixture of rage, hate, and fear in his eyes, cheeks stained with tears. "Oh gods, Lizz. We need to talk to mom. Tonight."

Lizz nodded. "Okay. I'm unclear on the problem."

Mike picked up a large folder full of reports and linked prosecutions he had printed, handing it to the tigress. "Here, read this while I drive."

By the time they pulled to a stop on the Wolford family compound, Lizz's own cheeks were streaked with tears, and the same combination of rage, hate, and fear filled her as well. Turning to him. "Mike. Does this mean we have to separate?"

"I don't know, kitten. I don't know. That's what we need to talk to mom about. We're going to need the pack lawyers to look things over. If there is a way, we'll find it, but that might be where we end up. At least for a time."

Lizz nodded. "These laws are evil. That someone could get away with murdering kits like that. I want to go find them and rip their damn throats out!"

"You and me both."

Getting out of the car, they headed towards the house. "How did you even start researching this?"

"Nick. He has a vial of Nighthowler on his person at all times. Calls it an insurance policy, against himself. Because he isn't strong enough to refuse her, that being Hopps, anything."

Lizz paused. "Oh gods. They know about the laws. They… He is prepared to take himself out to protect her."

Mike nodded. "I think I might take a page from his playbook."

"You will do no such thing!"

The door opened to reveal Mike's mother. "Michael. Elizabeth. So good to see you both. The lawyers are here on your request, though I don't understand why. And what will he not do?"

Lizz looked to Mike's mother, the fear and horror in her eyes clear. "He will not be having Nick help in procuring a lethal dose of Nighthowler to keep on his person as a way to protect me."

Victoria flinched back with a deep frown. "Why in the name of Luna would he need that? Wait, Nick? As in your Second?"

Lizz held up the folder. "It's why we asked for the lawyers. Let's talk inside."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "If it is about the fact that you two are together, we know about that."

Mike nodded with a frown. "That's part of it to be sure. However, there are some laws on the books that we did not know about. Laws that are apparently still enforced by some of the more specist members of the ZPD, especially out of the Meadowlands. Laws that let them get away with. Well…"

Lizz spoke up with venom in her voice. "Let them murder innocent kits and get away with it. Like he said, we need to see the lawyers and find some loopholes."

They entered the residence and after grabbing some food, met with the lawyers. The lawyers, the pack Alpha's, and the legal aides were all horrified and disgusted by what they found. The worst part being, unless Mike and Lizz never left the compound again, their relationship until the laws were repealed, was over. There were no loopholes other than the protection of pack law which isolated the compound and a few other locations from those laws.

Just to move between those location, they would have to do so in secret. A plan was quickly put together. They would be moving the next day to one of those locations, and should the worst happen, they would be moved in secret to one of the Packs ancestral preserves outside the city.

xxxxXXXXXxxxx

Mike looked up as the fox entered Therus and approached. "Nick."

"Hey, MIke. What's up?" Nick had a smile on his muzzle, but it quickly faded as Mike looked at him. "The dose you will need will be much larger, but it can be in a micro-injector. Make it a bit easier on you. I get to either bite or crush mine in my paw."

Mike gave Nick a haunted look. "We have a plan. The ancestral preserve outside the city, but… I asked mom, but only Lizz and I would be protected. I… I'm sorry, Nick."

Nick nodded, the poor wolf looked completely defeated. "I knew that already. I would have asked, but thank you for checking anyway. I'll have it for you in a few days. It'll be like mine. Designed to keep in your deep fur." Nick turned and moved to head out then paused. "Whatever you do. Don't get her pregnant. They have to reach adulthood in order to be safe, and even then, if one of those prosecutors want to, they can sue to force sterilization. They can also never take a mate of their own due to the laws."

Mike nodded in understanding and Nick left. He sat in the booth for a very long time. Long enough that his legs were stiff when he moved to head home. Upon arriving, Lizz looked up from the couch. "So?"

"A few days. You?"

"Judy was a little shocked but understood. I think she'll have one as well when she delivers mine. I wonder where they get such things, but at the same time, I don't want to know."

"Same."

xxxxXXXXXxxxx

Nick and Judy entered the Big compound to the nod of one of the bears. They parked in one of the covered spots and got out, welcomed into the home by an arctic wolf. They were led to the library where Mister Big and FruFru were deep in discussion.

"But daddy, they cannot possibly be asking for such a thing."

"They are, and while I suspect I know why, it is not for me to ask."

Judy spoke up. "It is something we ask from you, because it is not something we can get legally, but it is something we must have." Looking up at Nick. "Call it our Rameo and Juliet situation. If he ends up having to use his, I will follow him. We are in our hearts, even if we cannot in life."

MIster Big nodded. "I thought as much. Your idea, Nicholas?"

Nick shrugged. "I procured mine a long time ago, but for that reason. The new one I have asked for is for a friend. He has better options, but decided he needed it in case they got caught out in public and cannot get to safety. Advantages of being a wolf from a large pack."

Judy nodded. "My friend wants one for the same reason I do."

Mister big nodded and motioned for Koslov to hand over a small case, the content of which was a very small vile for Judy, which she quickly vanished into her own fur, and a pair of auto-injectors and secure containers like Nick and Judy's to keep it secure in the fur for Mike and LIzz.

Kozlov looked and nodded grimly. "Is NIghthowler, yes?"

Nick nodded. "It is. At these concentrations, it is more effective and certain than nearly anything."

Kozlov nodded. "Then this is something I shall need."

Nick nodded. "When you consider the dose. I recommend two or even three times what would be considered nearly instantly lethal. It's the only way to be sure and the last thing you want is to survive long enough for them to hit you with the antidote."

xxxxXXXXXxxxx

Judy groaned as the masseuse, one of three arctic vixens that worked at the Mystic Springs spa, worked her over. "Oh, gods. That feels good."

Bonnie Hopps groaned in response. "Yes."

Judy tensed up and grabbed the paw of the masseuse as it pulled away with a small metal container. "Give me that!" There was a deep threat of violence in the tone that had them quickly flinch back, dropping the vial. It bounced off their foot and rolled under the table. Judy was in hot pursuit, but froze as her mother picked it up.

Looking at the small metal container. "Judy, what's this."

"Mom. Just… Give it here. That is not something you need to know about."

"This looks like… This looks like what Janet has. Judy?"

"Mom… This is not the time or place for this conversation."

The vixen cleared her throat, and when Judy turned to look at her, fear in her eyes, watched as that fear changed to surprise as the vixen removed a similar container from her own deep fur. "This is for my sister. She has one, and we each keep one for her in case something happens and she can't get to it or it is taken from her. My mate and my sister's mate keep one as well, for the same reason." Looking at the vial like she was seeing it for the first time and considering it. "We had worried for so long about the laws and what would happen. Then these started to become available. It's… It's a horrible thing, but better than the alternative. One of us is always with her, no matter what. Me, my sister, or one of our mates. Same with her mate."

Bonnie looked at Judy as she took the vial from her and vanished it back into the fur of her chest. "Oh no… Bun bun."

Judy frowned, glancing at the vixen and nodded with a weak smile. "There is a whole underground demand for high dose Nighthowler. It isn't for any kind of new attack though. It's for mammals like us. So we can be prepared ahead of time… Should the worst happen. I think that is part of the intent of the horror show of that set of laws."

Judy turned to her mother who had tears in her eyes. "Mom. Don't. I am sorry you had to learn about this, like this. But don't. There is nothing that can be done. You would have to invoke full burrow isolation and sovereignty. That would prevent the farm from selling crops. It would prevent and break any pending marriages. It would force every rabbit in the burrow to make the choice to stay or turn their backs on it and find a new burrow. No. This is the answer. The only answer, and yes, I can guarantee that Gid has one. Nick and I got it for him."

Bonnies paws flew to her muzzle. "No. But…"

"It isn't Janet, but it doesn't really matter who, or what. The laws are what they are, and they are federal. Unless you know a way to magically make them all rabbits, there is nothing you can do."

Judy stepped over to her clothes, pulled a hundred from her wallet and added that to the tip jar. "Now. I think I have a few fresh knots that might need some work. Just…"

The vixen nodded. "Of course. I was just shocked to find it. I apologize"

Judy and Bonnie laid back down, and while the massage left them generally relaxed, the bliss of before just would not be reclaimed.

xxxxXXXXXxxxx

Nick and Judy were pinned down. Dead end alley to one side, their cruiser protecting a second side, and a dumpster pushed from the alley for cover on the third. A nice protective triangle that would do them no good, no matter how long they held out. They could not call for backup. If they did, they'd just be putting their friends at risk, because the officers, all sheep and goats out of the meadowlands, were trying to take them alive. To make examples out of them. They had said as much.

Nick looked past the dumpster and flinched back as another tranq dart hit the side of the dumpster. "Any luck getting Mike or Lizz?"

"No, but I did get MIke's mom. They're moving to locate and get them moved. So what are we gonna do?"

Nick looked again. "It's all cops known to have acted on the laws at least a few times each. They have two of the prosecutors with them that I can see." Glancing back towards the other officers. "I… Judy."

"No way out, huh?"

"Nope. This isn't something we can win."

Judy pulled her container from her fur and looked at it. She considered it a moment, then removed the glass vial from inside it and moved to slip it into her cheek. Nick stopped her paw, holding his up as well. "Judy. I say we go out in a blaze of glory, and maybe take a few of these beasts with us. But before we do that, I'm going to find out what rabbit tastes like."

With that Nick pulled Judy into a deep kiss. When they pulled apart, both their eyes were full of tears as they slipped their dose of nighthowler into their mouths in a spot easy to crush the vial when the time came. Pulling their lethals they gave a mutual grim nod.

Judy spoke up, her voice cold. "Prosecutors first. They'll all be wearing bodyarmor, so headshots. Zombie apocalypse time?"

Nick nodded with a dark chuckle as they prepared to end their lives, both taking what little solace they could knowing the other knew their feelings, and they got to share at least the one kiss. Nick threw a large mammal flash-bang out amongst the other officers. After it went off, the waited for the reactionary flurry of tranq darts to ping off the dumpster before they moved out.

All five prosecutors were actually there. Four of the five died to a bullet to the head, the fifth survived, taking the bullet to their neck, though it left them partially paralyzed. Of the ten officers, six died, with the other four taking a shot or two to a limb. Delgato had arrived on scene and took a round to his leg, his partner taking one to his shoulder.

Nick and Judy found their end leaned against each other in the middle of the street. Their last moments recorded by a ZNN news crew. They shared a look, a deep kiss, and then with tears clear in their eyes, seeming to crunch on something. They convulsed for a moment, and then nothing. Mike and Lizz because of the warning managed to get out of the city and to the pack lands.

xxxxXXXXXxxxx

Delgato sat in Bogo's office angry and confused. "Adrian. Make it make sense! According to the lab tox screen, they had Nighthowler in their system. A dose strong enough to kill them almost instantly. They shot me! Both of them! They shot my partner! Who was just a trainee!"

Bogo nodded. "Yes. They did you a favor. Both of you. They took you out of the equation so it couldn't be questioned that you might have tried to support them."

Delgato glared at Bogo more, the confusion at that statement clear on his muzzle. "That… What?!"

Bogo sighed tiredly. "They were trying to arrest Hopps and Wilde for violations of the decency and species protection acts. Instead of allowing themselves to be taken and legally tortured for the rest of their lives, they clearly decided to go out in a blaze of glory. When you showed, they had to eliminate you from the equation. So they shot you, and your partner. No one will question if you would have stood with them or the Meadowlands officers. Because, they shot you. Neither of those shots were especially damaging, but it eliminates the question.

In the long run, they did us a favor. They took out all five of the prosecutors that have gleefully prosecuted mammals with those laws. They also took out the worst offenders when it came to cops that enforce the laws. Sadly, we cannot mourn them, we cannot celebrate them, and any acknowledgment of them can only ever be personal and done in private."

Bogo reached into his desk and set two very small metal vials and two larger auto-injectors. "I'm going to entrust these to you. I need you to get these out of the precinct and to Big. Get a massage with one of the arctic vixens triplets at the Oasis. Let them find these in your fur. They were the spares for Nick, Judy, Mike, and Lizz. Can you do that?"

Delgato recognized what the items were with wide eyes and nodded. "Oh… Oh gods. By Mufassa… They were… Then that whole thing was about…" Del deflated, ears folding flat to his head. "Yeah. I… I really need a massage to relax after all this."

Bogo nodded as Delgato disappeared the items into his mane and left his office. He then opened his desk drawer and looked down at the two smaller than normal badges resting there. He wondered if he would ever again have a pair of officers as effective as them, especially as he had lost a second pair for much the same reason. Though thankfully, they were just hiding, likely for the rest of their lives, in the Wolford pack ancestral lands. His drawer pulled open a little farther to reveal a second set of larger badges.

After looking them over for some time, Bogo closed the drawer with a deep, pained sigh and glanced up at the tip of his left horn. An artificial cap that had been there for nearly fifteen years. A cap that now hid his own version of the very same thing he had just had Delgato smuggle out of the precinct. It wasn't for him, at least not yet, but it remained there should he ever need it to help one of his officers.

He wasn't sure how to make it happen, but things needed to change. He figured that an angry clan of rabbits and a pack of wolves with their next alpha in forced hiding might be a good place to start. He needed to arrange a meeting.

xxxxXXXXXxxxx

It took a few weeks for Bogo to arrange the meeting, the entire time he was putting off the press stating that there was an ongoing investigation and he could not comment as it implicated both the law and officers at multiple precincts, even reaching into the prosecutor's office.

Bogo looked across the table to the four rabbits and two wolves on the opposite side. "Mister and Missus Hopps. Who else have you brought?"

Stu nodded a grim look on his muzzle. "These are my son Jason and his mate, Angeline. Jason is Judy's littermate and like us seek a resolution to this situation that cost us the life of our daughter and risks several of our other kits."

Jason nodded, an angry glint in his eyes. "What could you possibly have to say to us? Planning on further dragging Judy and Nick's names and legacy through the mud? As if the politicians and press hasn't already done enough."

Bogo frowned and looked down at his half eaten salad. He'd ordered it before his guests had shown up because he knew he wouldn't be eating after they arrived. "Had I any other options this would not have happened at all. I keep a vial of the same thing they took in that last moment so that, should I have to, I can protect one of my officers. I do not enforce the laws, I do not promote them, and the last officer that did so while stationed in Precinct One is currently slowly dying of frost bite in a small outpost in the mountains of Tundratown. It is… technically, a promotion. Though last I heard, his wife found out what he had done to get said promotion and has since divorced him.

Now, as to the reason I have asked you here. I will finally be holding a press conference tomorrow. I have no choice but to do and say certain things." Looking at the Wolfords. "Your son and the Tiger I know you consider a daughter, will be disavowed. I don't have a choice as I have to protect all of the ZPD, not just them."

Turning his attention to the Hopps. "I have much worse news for you. Not only am I going to have to disavow them, because of this, I have to push a policy of enforcement of these laws. I don't know how to get past it. I hate it. I don't want to do it, but it's been made very clear to me by the ZPD lawyers that if I do not, then I and every officer that may have ignored an interspecies couple, who didn't arrest them under those laws to be subject to the absolutely barbaric torture proscribed. Myself and every officer would be subject to the enforcement section of said laws.

The writers clearly expected the unpopularity of the law and included sections to punish officers, lawyers, etc… that refuse to enforce it. That doesn't mean I will not be using that press conference to express my personal position on it, but I needed to warn both of your families of what is coming."

The Hopps looked shell shocked. Bonnie wiped a tear. "So… What? You will be stripping her of all the awards, all the accolades, all that?"

Bogo nodded, clearly unhappy. "I admit to not thinking she could make it as a cop. I was frustrated at myself for my lack of vision, but also quite happy to know that not only was I wrong about her, but I was wrong about him as well. That I have to do this, after their deaths, to protect themselves from horrors that Howlywood couldn't come up with for a horror movie. I'd resign if I thought it would do any good whatsoever.

I did however have another thing to ask you. Disrupt the press conference. Lots of righteous anger. But whatever you do, do not bring anyone that is in an interspecies relationship. There will be way too many officers there that will happily, if they are lucky, to kill them, and will be able to do so legally. It's why Judy and Nick did what they did. In my opinion, they did the city a service by eliminating a number of the officers that happily enforced these laws. But we need a political movement, one that is a merger, a united front between prey." Indicating the Hopps with a hoof. "And predators." Indicating the Wolfords with that same hoof.

A deep voice from below table level spoke up. "You can count on the entirety of the fox skulks in the city and beyond." Fin hopped up onto the table. "Nick had been working to have Judy officially recognized as a fox, something that if he had been able to get it completed, would have protected them and allowed them to be together. Within the fox community, that is not something without precedence. There are several species that are counted, legally, as foxes. The approval was delivered last week, quite literally just as they were fighting those cops. Maybe it will help. Maybe not. But as far as foxes are concerned, in spite of her long ears and short tail, Judy was considered a Fox at the time of her death."

Bogo frowned, and then grinned evilly, pulling out his phone and dialing a number. A moment later a female voice answered as he put it on speaker. "What's up sweet buns?"

Bogo flinched. "You're on speaker with the Hopps, Wolfords, and… a Fox."

Fin spoke up. "Finnick Dessertail. Friend of both Nick and Judy."

The voice sighed. "I am sorry. You have my deepest sympathies, but these laws are embedded deep."

Bogo nodded. "That's what I was explaining and how it really limits what I can do, and prescribes things I must do that I find absolutely abhorrent. However, what if we can show proof that Hopps was legally recognized as a fox by the fox community?"

There was silence for a moment and then a dark chuckle. "If you could do that, then you can turn this entire situation on its head."

Fin spoke up. "The actual documents were delivered yesterday, but they are backdated to when Nick started the process two years ago."

From the phone. "If you can prove that those that went after them knew about this incoming documentation, then that switches things. That means they were trying to enforce these laws in fact against those same laws. Not only would that make Nick and Judy fully justified in defending themselves, but it means that you don't have to disavow them or any of that."

Bogo nodded and turned his attention to those at the table. "Well… I think." Glancing to Fin. "If you show up with a bunch of foxes intermixed with rabbits, and proof that your daughter was a recognized fox. You need to blindside me with it." Giving the Wolfords a look. "If you can provide the same proof for Lizz. I know you can work fast. Don't know if you can work that fast."

Victoria growled. "Watch me!"

xxxxXXXXXxxxx

The press conference actually got delayed by three days, and not actually due to Bogo, the Hopps, the Wolfords, and the fox communities planning. No, there was a full blown and actual riot. A group of prey supremacists had marched on city hall, though they never got there. Mammals from all walks of life blocked their way and shouted them down.

Sadly, one of the supremacists was driving a large mammal vehicle and decided to run over the counter protestors in the way. It wasn't just a slow motion push with the car that might have resulted in some minor injuries, bruises, and such. No, they hit them doing fifty. Thirty died and dozens more were seriously injured. With the supremacists cheering this on, the counter protestors were set off. No camera caught who threw the first punch, or the second. Most argued that it was the supremacists in the form of a car literally running down mammals that did it.

In the end, the supremacists were decimated. A good third of them were killed in the melee, the rest were injured, most very badly. The only mammal that might have been charged with a crime, given the evidence, was the car driver and he was pulled from his car by the mob. DNA had to be used to identify them.

For Bogo, this meant he had to give remarks on the riot as well as everything else. As it was raining heavily, the press conference that was originally going to be held on the front steps of the precinct was moved into the lobby. For this, Bogo was happy. It allowed him to restrict how many of the problematic officers from the Meadowlands he had to let in. The front desk was retracted into the wall below the large ZPD shield, with Ben moving into his actual office as head dispatcher. The raised platform of the desk acting as a dais, with retractable stanchions creating a cordon for the press up close and as many spectators as could be fit, providing walkways on either side

Bogo looked through the cameras as the press and spectators gathered. This would be broadcast throughout the city as well as on things like the massive screens that welcomed mammals to the city and usually had advertisements and Gazelle on them.

Ben looked up at his boss. "Hey, if things go well, we may finally get rid of those laws."

Bogo nodded with a grim look. "Maybe, but not soon enough. Far too many have been lost. Basically murdered. I include Hopps and Wilde in that number. They did what they did because the alternative would have been worse, and there was no way they could have known about the foxification of Hopps at the time. Not that I think the prosecutors or judge would have listened until months after they were being subject to the torture under appeal."

Ben nodded as he turned back to the dispatch screens, using the system to redirect several officers around a traffic backup. "Then we just have to live our lives going forward as they would want us to. To make the world a better place. You and I both know that, if their deaths lead to the repealing of those laws and the world being a better place for it, then that would be enough."

Bogo nodded as he turned to head towards the gaggle of reporters. "Maybe."

xxxxXXXXXxxxx

Bogo stood at the podium and glared down at the reporters as they shouted at him. A collection of screens had been lowered, tied to a projector he controlled, to supplement his remarks.. "I have literally all day." After a few more minutes the press went quiet. "Thank you. To the spectators. You will notice that there are officers stationed around the periphery. You are free to feel however you feel and speak your mind after you leave, but just as I will not tolerate pointless outbursts from the press, neither will I from you. Disrupt this and you will be ejected."

After glaring both the press and spectators down for a few more seconds, Bogo gave a snort and put on his glasses, glancing down at the papers on the podium. "Okay. Questions will be answered at the end, if I feel like it. Any shouted questions in the middle of things will be ignored. Repeat offenders will not be called upon once we get to the actual questions section. The more interruptions, the less likely I will feel inclined to take questions.

To start with, I will address the riot that took place two days ago. If we as a city are being honest with each other. While I hold the supremacists in contempt, they have just as much right to their opinions and to speak as any other mammal does. It was however also the supremacists that changed the dynamic from both sides airing their voices and disagreement, to something violent. This shift occurred when the driver of the car, identified as a sheep by the name of Henry Sherrinton, not only drove his car into the crowd, but did so at a speed that can be interpreted as nothing but an intent to kill. Had he survived, he would be charged with dozens of counts of vehicular mammalcide, attempted mammalcide, assault with a deadly weapon, and a laundry list of other charges.

Given the chaotic nature of the riot that followed, there will be no charges brought against any other mammals. It is impossible to tell who threw the first punch, be that with a hoof or a paw. There is no way to tell who was directly, or indirectly responsible for a given mammal's death or injuries beyond those caused by the driver of the car. It was clearly and unquestionably a tragedy due to the significant loss of life, but there is simply no way to charge anyone.

There were almost a dozen mammals killed by knives, all of which were wielded by supremacists. Supremacists that were subsequently killed themselves. The same goes for the three supremacists that had guns. The counter protestors could legitimately claim self defense and fear for their lives once the supremacists started shooting. Just as the one that survived is claiming self defense as the counter protestors attacked them as a reason for opening fire. As there is no camera coverage to show which happened first. The supremacist opening fire, or them being attacked..

Frankly, there is a significant amount of blame to go around on both sides. But if there is a match that lit the fire, it was again the supremacist driving their car into the crowd. This is clearly far from an ideal outcome, but the fact is. The driver is dead. There are dozens dead, even more injured from various weapons, including claws, hooves, and actual weapons. As the mayor said yesterday. We as a city need to turn our attention to licking our wounds and trying to move past the hate that created the situation in the first place.

On that note, I need to turn this to the original purpose that this press conference was scheduled several days ago to address, and then postponed due to that riot. The reason that riot happened at all. Why the supremacists felt they needed to march. Why so many mammals that so vehemently disagree with them felt the need to tell them how they felt.

That being the televised deaths of Judith Laverne Hopps and Nicholas Piberius Wilde. It has been determined that they used an extremely high dose of concentrated Nighthowler to end their lives." There was a brief gasp and a few shouted questions that were quickly glared down. "It appears that they had prepared ahead of time. Not for what happened specifically, but any similar situation.

I find myself in the unpleasant position now of being forced by law to make statements and take actions I find personally abhorrent. For those that are unaware. There are laws against interspecies relationships. Laws that require officers of the ZPD to take very specific actions. Actions that the officers Hopps and Wilde fought with took on quite a regular basis.

Those actions include the arrest of interspecies couples, or as those they fought preferred, if the couple resists, to put them down. The terminology in the law is in fact to put them down. As in kill them. This includes any young they may have. Yes, those that Hopps and Wilde fought were seeking to arrest or kill Hopps and Wilde, under the belief that they were a couple in violation of these laws. Given their use of tranq weapons until Hopps and Wilde commenced to fight back, it is clear their initial intent was to arrest them.

The punishment upon conviction for being in an interspecies relationship is legal torture the likes of which would make the most horrific serial killers suggest that the punishment was a bit much. I know this because the notorious killer, the Predator, who was a fallow deer I'll remind you, and who tortured his victims to death claiming it improved the flavor. He was presented with the punishments as specifically described in these laws and he recoiled.

That punishment is both physical and psychological. It always includes a punishment that forces the members of the relationship to die slowly, close to each other, but unable to do anything but watch and hear the other suffer.

That is the fate that any interspecies couple faces if they are ever found out." He stared into the camera. "Think about that before you out your family member. You are killing them via a legallay sanctioned and proscribed torture. We have confirmed that the same vials of Nighthowler used by Hopps and Wilde have become the constant companion for most interspecies couples. It is a way to avoid the nightmare that awaits them otherwise.

Given all that, I am advising the city, as required of me by these horrific and evil laws, that all officers of the ZPD are undergoing training to ensure that they know these laws and are prepared to follow and enforce the laws, including those against interspecies couples. I do not like it. I in fact hate it. The laws are patently evil, but the supreme court as it currently stands have held them to be constitutional, despite the fact anyone that reads them knows they are not.

As for Officers Hopps and Wilde, as well as Elizabeth Fangmeyer and Michael Wolford. These mammals, as required of me by law, are disavowed by the ZPD. In the case of Fangmeyer and Wolford, who have been confirmed in a relationship, are hereby placed on the ZPDs most wanted list with a reward for their capture of one hundred thousand Z's. This is as required by these laws."

Bogo saw the shocked and horrified looks on most of the mammals present, noting a few with more complex looks as he continued. "All four are hereby stripped of all honor, award, medal, and accolade they have have previously received or might have been in the running for. …"

Bogo paused as the Wolford Alphas, a dozen foxes, and at least twenty rabbits led by the Hopps Clan leaders entered the building. "Victoria, Arron. Mister and Missus Hopps. I will be with you shortly. There is a statement I am required to give by law."

Victoria growled, pulling all attention to her. "Stuff it, Adrian." She was clearly enraged. "You have put a bounty on the head of my son and his mate, my daughter-in-law, who is a recognized member of the pack, and by extension a certified and recognized wolf. So think carefully what you are about to say!"

Bonnie spoke up. "The same goes for my daughter and Nicholas, who was an official member of Clan Hopps."

One of the foxes, a melanistic red, and clearly a lawyer stepped forward around the crowd and up to Bogo. Pulling a sheaf of papers from a pouch on his briefcase. "Chief Bogo. You are hereby served with this proof and documentation that one Judith Laverne Hopps was fully acknowledged and recognized as a fox effective more than a year prior to the incident. There is evidence as well that the senior prosecutor of the Meadowlands, one District Attorney Jerrald Herdson, was aware of this fact and the pending delivery of these documents providing her the needed proof of her status of a fox.

Given the actions taken by the prosecutors and officers out of the Meadowlands, at the direction of DA Herdson. It is clear that they were trying to arrest and charge Nick and Judy, or kill them, which they were successful in doing, if indirectly, before the documents could make it to them. GIven this situation, this recognition has been extended to all acknowledged and listed members of the Hopps Clan.

Following that." Pulling a second set of documents from his briefcase and handing those over to Bogo. "These here log Judith Hopps, Nicholas Wilde, and Elizabeth Fangmeyer as members and wolves in good standing of Wolford Pack Zootopia and Wolford Pack more generally. As such, and given that these demonstrate that Elizabeth was so recognized months ago and this was known again to DA Herdson. Who at the same time he sent officers and prosecutors out after Hopps and Wilde, also sent officers after Michale Wolford and Elizabeth Fangmeyer. Officers that violated Wolford pack sovereign pack lands in an attempt to capture the aforementioned mammals."

Bogo took the documents, which were folded and clearly formatted for someone his size, and reviewed them. Even knowing it was coming, there were a number of revelations in the documents that had his eyebrows raising and made it unnecessary to fake his shock. "Well, this will require immediate investigation." Looking up. "Delgato." Holding over the paperwork. "Confirm this, and if you confirm, get a warrant and arrest the DA and anyone else still alive that was involved."

Bogo turned to the press. "If these accusations against DA Herdson and the officers out of the Meadowlands prove true, then the actions of Hopps and Wilde were fully justified as self defense and they will be reinstated. As for Wolford and Fangmeyer, if this is proven, I will rescind their disavowal and being a recognized wolf, Fangmeyer and Wolfords relationship would no longer be illegal and they could therefore be reinstated as well. All of this requires investigation and confirmation before any actions can be taken."

With that, Bogo ended the press conference without taking any questions, not that the press tried to ask many. Far too many of them were rather shell shocked. Plus they had other mammals to ask questions of. The Hopps. The fox lawyer who apparently represented and spoke for the entire fox community of Zootopia on the matter. As well as the Wolford Alphas. They also needed to speak to lawyers to find out just how bad the treatment of arrested interspecies couples actually was.

xxxxXXXXXxxxx

Over the next week the press had a field day revealing the horrors of the law. Worse, they tracked down and spoke to families that had turned in members for being in interspecies relationships. It was almost universally a sentiment that they knew it was illegal so figured the cops would arrest one of them. That they might get some jail time. They would then go on to describe the absolute horror inflicted upon their family member and their mate.

No one interviewed believed at the time that the fear and terror that would be inflicted was possible, or could be even remotely legal. The protests that broke out brought the city to a halt. Especially after one reporter managed to get an anonymized interview with an interspecies couple.

xxxxXXXXXxxxx

The reporter, a deer with a ten point rack, looked into the camera, a spotlight on them. "Hello Zootopia. I'm Jason Egerts. Special ZNN reporter. Given the revelations from Chief of Police Bogo's press conference a week ago now, and the revelations about what interspecies couples seem to be under the constant threat of. We have sought out and found just such a couple willing to provide an interview, so long as they are anonymous.

As such, they are going to be kept in the dark, their voice ran through multiple filters, and even some digital blurring of their forms within the shadows. I will of course also not be referring to their species, nor by their actual names, but as John and Jane."

Turning to face the two mammals sitting on a couch across from him and completely in shadow. "John. Jane. Thank you for being willing to meet with us and answer some questions. Hopefully clear up some of the misinformation and confusion. First. There is the discussion that Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps not only prepared ahead of time with what amounts to suicide pills, but despite their positions as officers of the ZPD, helped others obtain the highly illegal doses of Nighthowler."

The deep, digitized voice of one of them spoke. "They did, and it is a horrific thing. Yet at the same time, it provides a piece of mind for those of us in a relationship. The sad part is, Nick and Judy had never entered into a relationship. The kiss they shared during the firefight that cost them their lives. That was as far as anyone knows, their first kiss."

A slightly higher and feminine voice spoke up. "I can confirm. I knew Judy. We spoke on a few occasions. Because of their positions in the ZPD, they refused to allow themselves to give into a relationship. I envy their strength, though Judy would say that we were stronger because we were willing to find our happiness despite the risks.

She stated that, because of their jobs with the ZPD. If they did, and were found out. The punishments would be even worse, by law, than that a normal couple would be subjected to." The shadow moved and leaned forward slightly, setting something on the small table. A light then illuminated a small vial of dark purple.

Jason looked at that with shock, and a hint of fear in his eyes. "Is that?"

The female voice continued. "It is. It's my spare. We all keep one or more of those on our person now. The dose is enough to kill me several times over, and is more than enough to kill my mate if needed as well. As you learn from the law, what is proscribed to be done to a couple such as us is pure horror the likes of which Howlywood wouldn't consider for a horror movie. There are at least three couples currently housed in the Zootopia Penitentiary undergoing those very tortures. One of them was held down and forced to watch their young being executed.

Their young. A ten year old, a six year old, and twin two year olds were put on their knees and shot in the back. They did not die right away. No, they bled out on the street unable to reach their parents as their parents were held and forced to watch. It is all on the body and dash cameras of the officers that did it. Actions that they cannot be prosecuted for. The couple is still alive. They are actually forced to watch that video once a week, and that is again something required by those laws."

The male spoke up. "So you wonder why we have these vials? We call them a final act. That couple. They were arrested and prosecuted before these were available. As you suggested. Preparing ahead of time, in case the worst happens. To be captured is a fate worse than death. I considered Nick a friend. He obtained the vial initially as a last ditch way to protect Judy. If he died, the law wouldn't let them prosecute her. While her career as a cop and all that might have been over. She could have returned to her family.

The laws are very specist, as it states that if it is a predator-prey relationship, if the predator is dead, or is killed, then the prey must be fined, stripped of titles and all that, but otherwise left to, and I quote the law here, live with their shame. There is no shame in being with a predator as prey, or with someone of a different species more generally. But we must be prepared."

"I see. I… That's… I want to say that it is not true, but…" Turning to face the camera. "We have independently confirmed the story. We have confirmed that the parents mentioned are bound in such a way that they cannot move, are near each other, but can never touch. They are kept from speaking, though they can scream. They are forced to watch the murder of their young at least weekly, along with other physical tortures I will not describe here. To call it horrific is… an understatement."

There was a commotion behind the camera and suddenly the room was flooded with light revealing the fact that it was actually a live transmission and that the couple was a male kudo and a female lynx. There was a shout of, "ZPD, everyone freeze!" Followed by. "You disgusting inters are under arrest! You think what is being done to those others is bad, yours is going to be so much worse!"

The couple wasn't paying attention. They were sharing a kiss and then with a quick motion, captured by the camera, slipped a purple vial into each other's mouths, bit down and kissed again. A moment later they both convulsed violently and collapsed.

Jason was screaming in rage. "What the actual fuck are you doing?! You just murdered them!"

A sheep stepped into frame wearing a ZPD Meadowlands uniform, kicking the lynx in the head. "Disgusting inters. Better than they deserved." Turning to Jason. "As for you, reporter. You best not publish this." Turning to the camera and looking for a way to turn it off.

Jason laughed darkly. "One of their requirements for the interview was that they be anonymized, and that it be a live broadcast. Say hi to the audience at home, officer."

The officer swore, pulled his weapon and shot at the camera, knocking it over but not actually killing the feed. The live audience got to then see him turn the gun on Jason and shoot him three times. They then were treated to the discussion between the officer and at least three others on how they were going to explain things. Then shooting the couple several times so they could claim they resisted.

The protests from the citizens bordered on a city wide riot. As it was Meadowlands officers on camera shooting the reporter and essentially forcing the couple to commit suicide live on TV. The Meadowlands precinct found itself essentially under siege to the point it could not function. The mayor and city council moved to repeal the laws regarding interspecies couples, and when it became clear that they were actually cloned from a federal version of the laws. Even if that federal version was if less specific. They passed laws revoking the city and county's version and made it so that they considered themselves a safe zone. Meaning that as far as the city was concerned, those laws could not be enforced within Zootopia city or county limits.

The city attorney stated that it was likely a fight they would lose against the feds if they chose to pursue it, but they could at least tie them up in court for a few years. However, the clear murder of the reporter and discussion on camera by the Meadowlands officers to cover it up, forced the paws of the federal legislature, and by the end of the year, the federal version of the laws were also repealed. Following that, a strong species blind civil rights law was put into place. One that federally confirmed the rights of same sex and interspecies couples. The law was called the WildeHopps act.