A/N: Amid this pandemic, when the tethers of life feel about to come undone, the desire to write returns to anchor me in place. I hope all of you are staying healthy and safe, and find a small bit of reprieve in reading all manner of fanfics - even ones as 'cheery' as this.

Chapter Six – Taken Captive

- THE PRESENT –

The night was full of whizzing slips of light and sound as bullets streaked back and forth between the two sides. Nick had left his post, racing to Judy's side as a row of figures emerged from the south just as she predicted. He had fired again and again, dropping two men and injuring a third as they advanced on her. When he'd emptied his last round, he had thrown the gun aside and launched himself at the nearest enemy, tackling him to the ground and biting at a gap in his armor, sinking teeth into soft neck with a ferocious growl.

Judy had exhausted her weapon and dropped to all fours, scurrying forward to check the pockets of those Nick had debilitated.

Shouts and gunfire echoed behind them as the humans surged into the main tent, but the pair of former police officers stayed focused on the conflict at hand. Nick throttled the being beneath him, crunching down until the thrashing of limbs stopped, and leapt for the arm of another, filled with rage and a need for vengeance no words of reason could have abated.

Judy slammed a new clip into her gun and retrieved another side arm, firing for unprotected legs over chests. She had learned a lot about the defense of her enemy in the last year, knowing they protected their vital torsos more than appendages. Two figures cried out and dropped to their knees as she hit exposed thighs, and one managed a strangled yell.

"It's them! The two who founded the Coalition! Grab 'em!"

Judy's eyes widened as more figures sprung from the shadows, advancing on her with a wide net. She cursed, whirling her weapon around and loosing a new volley of bullets.

The fox heard her swear and looked up from his mouthful of elbow, barely registering the panicked shrieks and struggles of his victim. He spotted Judy edge back, firing wildly as a group descended on her. He closed his jaws viciously, hearing the satisfying snap of broken bone, before opening his mouth and abandoning the flailing monster who'd attacked his home without provocation. "Judy!" He cried, dodging a human female as she lunged for him. "Hold on!"

Deep voices sounded around him as he half ran, half-crawled towards her.

"It's definitely them," one sounded. "Tranquilize the fox before he reaches Diaz. He's on a spree; their predator class can't help themselves once instinct kicks in."

"Do we have to capture him alive?" Another voice countered. "Are these two that important? We've already seized a number of their fighters – can't we just take the female?"

"You heard our orders. These are the ones who started this whole mess – they found the Genesis Database. Non-lethal measures only."

Nick reached Judy's side, snarling at the pair holding open the net. "Get away from her!" He growled. "You can't have her!"

Judy pulled her gun's trigger, and it clicked loudly into the night, empty and useless. "I'm out!" She yelled, casting the pistol aside and pulling the second, newly-retrieved one out. "Get out of here Nick," she said, firing anew. "Go check on the others."

He stayed at her side, rising up. "Like hell."

They faced the net together, and never saw the harmless looking darts fly through the darkness, sinking into the fur of their necks and making the world blink out of focus almost immediately.

- TEN MONTHS AGO -

"Come on Judy," Nick tried to open his bruised eye, already closed and starting to swell. "Is that the best you've got?"

Judy straightened, wiping at a line of red threading from her mouth. "I don't know Nick – how easy do you want me to go on you? So far, everything I've hit has been pretty soft…."

The fox scoffed in the afternoon light streaming from a set of non-boarded up windows in the abandoned, school gymnasium they were training in. "I've just been going easy on you—."

"Uh-huh," the bunny raised her fists once more, ignoring the blood on her knuckles. "Your sad little tail says otherwise," she jutted her chin to the low appendage, sweeping the floor in instinctual nervousness.

Nick loosed a growl and lunged forward, baring his teeth. His tail arched, declaring its feint. "It just knows you're a sucker," he snarled, snapping at the air above her head. He reached for her and she ducked low, sliding around and aiming a kick at his knees. Though she could never be as strong as him, she had made up for it in their two months of training, utilizing agility, speed, and her opponent's natural inclination to underestimate as she had in the police academy. Her strike was true, and Nick crumpled to the floor, slamming down on wood floors that had long since lost their polish.

He roared and swiped wildly, grabbing for her ankle and yanking her down beside him. She landed with a painful thud and he was over her in moments, pinning down her limbs and growling near her neck.

"And you're dead," he spat thickly, pushing her wrists tightly to the ground. "Again, Carrots."

"Alright! Enough!" A deep voice called, followed by the creak of moving wheels. Bogo rolled forward from his place near the bleachers, glowering over. "You've both made your point."

Nick's grip instantly eased, and Judy took the opportunity to give his chest a shove as she got to her feet.

"Everyone should be training like this Captain," Judy said, dusting herself off. "Not just prey," she sent Nick a sharp look. "We're all targets, and none of us are faring well."

Bogo nodded, surveying the empty gym wearily. "You're right Officer Hopps," they hadn't given up the titles of their former lives, unconsciously clinging to the order and control they'd once had. "But this… this resistance you're insisting on just won't happen."

"Why not?" Nick took a step forward, leaving Judy's side. "We can fight back sir, we can slow their conquest," his hands turned to fists. "And save a lot of mammals in the process."

Judy reached out and palmed his elbow, fighting down the sudden well of tears choking her throat. She thought of the recent attack on Bunnyburrow. Farms, homes, her entire family… wiped out in a single afternoon. "Maybe…," her voice hitched, and she swallowed, trying to strengthen it. "Maybe we can even stop it."

Nick cupped his hand over hers, squeezing gently. Her loss was unfathomable – locked tightly away in the light of day. Only he knew its extent, spending his nights cradling her as she wept, incoherent in his arms. They had ignored Bogo's advice to leave the city, seeking refuge in the ruins of an apartment complex in Tundra Town. It had fared better than other districts, certainly more than their own demolished neighborhoods, its climate a rare boon. They had spent the last eight weeks eking out an existence together as desperation struggled to claim them.

Judy didn't look over at him, knowing the compassion and pity she would see in his face. "We can do this," she repeated, emboldened by her once-partner. "We can make them hurt for trying to wipe Zootopia away."

Red fur shifted beside her, and Nick's hand lifted, grabbing up her shoulder. "We're known throughout the city sir," he said. "Even still."

Bogo glanced to the chrome wheels at his sides, squashing down his own feelings of helplessness. "So?"

Nick clutched the rabbit tighter, knowing she was no longer able to speak, repeating the newsfeeds of her home in flames anew. "So, we can be the bridge for predator and prey – we can be the symbol to unite everyone," Judy went weak against him, and he held her tall. "We can start a coalition – a rebellion sir. But we'll need your help."