AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the EXTREMELY LONG absence, but things got really sour and bad last year and the beginning of this one, but I'm still alive and kicking! I'm determined to get this story complete, so don't worry about me abandoning it, because I won't. Also, I'll try to extend a bit more the chapters, since the previous one were quite short for my taste. I just need to organize well my schedule and things will get better once that is settled. Now, without further ado, ON WITH THE CHAPTER!

Chapter 3: Needed preparations.

Usually, we all say that time goes by a determined pace depending on the mood. For Nathaniel's case, time went flying, and faster than what he originally thought. He, alongside Isabelle, had to prepare the town for the welcoming of Mayor Grizzelton from Zootopia. And even though he took the preparations needed, he still felt a bit insecure. Even though New Leaf was a peaceful town, it still wasn't perfect. That is, if you were thinking like Nathaniel. The pressure on the commentary that Grizzelton is going to give about the town was his biggest test yet. The nervousness that Nathaniel was showing didn't go unnoticed by Isabelle, who was standing right next to him in front of the train station. Nathaniel then felt something grab his hand. He turned his head to his hand and then looked to who was holding him, Isabelle. She might be shorter than him, but not THAT short. After all, Nathaniel was only a 12 year-old boy. She was gripping his hand, but not so tight, giving him a reassuring look.

"It's ok Mayor, everything's going to be fine", she told him in a comforting manner.

"I hope. I mean, I almost feel like if the freaking PRESIDENT is coming here. Who knows how demanding Grizzelton is when it comes to town inspection? I feel like we should've done more to the town before his arrival" Nathaniel responded. At this point, he felt like hyperventilating with all the worries that were gnawing him.

Thankfully, Isabelle saw how Nathaniel was getting, and boy she was SO NOT going to let her Mayor hyperventilate, not only because Grizzelton was coming, but also because she worries for him and his well-being in general. So she used her free paw to caress Nathaniel's arm, managing to grab his attention.

"Mayor, I know that you want to leave a good first impression on Grizzelton, but worrying over this won't help on anything. We prepared the town as best as we could, now we just need to wait for him. I'm sure he's going to say lots of good things" Isabelle comforted him, all while giving him that reassuring smile of hers that Nathaniel just loved.

And that appeared to do the trick, since Nathaniel started to calm down. He took a few breaths and then said: "Ok. Ok. I'll try to not worry so much. Thanks"

"Anything for you, Mr. Mayor" Isabelle beamed. Nathaniel never knew how or why Isabelle was that one mammal that knew how to calm anyone down no matter how worried they were. He sure was lucky to have her as her secretary, although that title just doesn't fit her anymore. She was more like a friend…. a BEST friend, now that he thought about it… Yeah, that was the title that best fitted her. I mean, what else should he have called her?

A few seconds passed, and the railroad bells rang, meaning only one thing: Grizzelton has arrived. Nathaniel and Isabelle stood firmly in their place, and although both of them showed their serious and confident face, they had their nervousness deep inside, and Nathaniel's was big. Once the train stopped, the doors of the wagon were opened and Grizzelton stepped out of it. He then looked at Nathaniel and Isabelle and was quite surprised when he saw the former. Why was he surprised? Two reasons. One, he never saw an animal like Nathaniel before, at least that's what he assumed what he was. Furless, short and wore something on what he assumed were his paws of his hind legs. And two, he was REALLY young! Grizzelton might not have a clue as to what species Nathaniel is, but he could tell that he was only just a kid. When he heard his voice through the telephone back in Zootopia, he assumed that Nathaniel was a young adult with a bit of high-pitched voice, not a CHILD! How could someone so young be capable of running a town? Looks like nature will never cease to impress him.

Nathaniel, however, looked up to Grizzelton and felt quite intimidated by his appearance. Big, large and serious. He has met with bears before. In fact, one was a villager of the town, but the ones he met with before looked really nice and friendly. Grizzelton, on the other hand, looked nothing like that. The nervousness and worries that Nathaniel had in the back of his mind were starting to return to the front and to be expressed in his face. He tried to push them back, but to little avail. And the look that Grizzelton was giving him wasn't making things better. Heck, Nathaniel was quite sure that the expression that Grizzelton had was the same as his, minus the nervousness. He was feeling a lump on his throat and he swallowed it back, but the sound of him swallowing that lump was a bit loud, exposing his nervousness. Uh-oh, there goes his attempt on leaving a good first impression!

Isabelle, on the other hand, had a mix of Nathaniel's and Grizzelton's expressions. She had the same surprised expression as Grizzelton and the same feeling of intimidation as Nathaniel. However, she was calm and capable to only show the firm and confident look that she has had since entering the station. And once she heard Nathaniel swallow his throat-lump, she took that as her cue to talk before he hyperventilated internally from all the nervousness and anxiousness that were starting to get the best of him. "Good morning Mr. Grizzelton. Let me introduce ourselves. This is Nathaniel, the mayor of New Leaf. And I'm Isabelle, his secretary", she said while stretching her paw out to him.

At the sound of Isabelle's words, Grizzelton, who was lost in his thoughts about Nathaniel, shook his head and so did Nathaniel, who was lost in his nervousness, and then looked at Isabelle. One thing was for certain, Grizzelton sure needed to ask him some questions before they begin with their inspection of the town. He then knelt a bit down to Isabelle to grab her paw and shook it. "Good morning Ms. Isabelle, and to you too, Mr. Nathaniel." He then extended his paw to him.

Nathaniel then proceeded to extend his hand to Grizzelton's paw and shook it. "And to you too Mr. Grizzelton."

But before Nathaniel could speak, Grizzelton spoke first: "Sorry if this may sound rude, but I've got one question: Just WHAT type of mammal are you? I've never seen someone from a different species like you before"

Nathaniel could not believe what he heard. Grizzelton has never seen a human before. Now it was his turn to be surprised. But of course, you can't stay surprised forever, so he shook that emotion away and proceeded to answer his question.

"Ok, and don't worry. You see, my species is known as human, but we were actually originated from a group of other mammals known as primates. After millions of years, a small group of that species evolved into mine, and during some years we thrived around the world". At this point, Nathaniel's voice went somber "But then a global natural disaster occurred and left us near extinction. There are only a few hundred of us left in the world now." Nathaniel has lived the moment when that happened and it's still fresh in his memory. He was surely lucky to have survived throughout these years and to have found Rover, who gave him his helping paw and gave him a new life. And though he was sure some others survived, he still wasn't sure where they were exactly. Isabelle saw how he started to get and comforted him by holding his hand and stroking it gently.

At the sight of this, Grizzelton knew he touched sensitive grounds, and when that happens, you know that you should stop. At least he knew the origin of Nathaniel's species and a bit more about the past, so that question was more than enough to satisfy his curiosity. "Oh. I'm sorry Mr. Nathaniel. It was dumb of me to ask that" He said in an apologetic voice.

"Don't worry, about that. It's ok" Nathaniel responded with a small smile in his face.

"Anyway, let's leave that aside and have a look at the town. That way, we can determine to see if the town is apt to have Bellwether here for your proposal on converting her to the good side." Grizzelton then mentioned the two to lead him the way to the town.

/

Once they stepped outside, what Grizzelton saw was a lot of green space with a few urbanistic areas. There was a small police station, a café, a fountain, and a well. He also saw lots of trees with different fruits and lots and lots and LOTS of flowers blossoming all around the houses of the town. While Nathaniel and Isabelle were guiding him around the town, he saw the villagers. There was a blue mouse with a multi-colored checkered shirt talking to a Lion with a red shirt. And just then he saw a squirrel with big pink cheeks and a blue shirt with a red vest over it, walking to him and his two guides. "Hi Mayor! Who is your new friend?" the squirrel asked.

"Oh, Hi Cally! This is Grizzelton the mayor of Zootopia. We're showing him the town" Nathaniel responded while bowing down to shake Cally's paw

"Wait, he's Zootopia's mayor!? Oh my gosh, I'm sorry for not introducing myself properly, Mr Mayor!" Cally said while hugging her tail in a bashful manner. "My name is Cally" She then extended her paw to him

Grizzelton, kindly, knelt down to shake her paw, "Hello, Cally. And it's ok. It's a pleasure to meet you"

Cally then looked at her watch and saw that it was almost 1pm "Oh my gosh, look at the time! Sorry, to be leaving so suddenly, but I must go", she said in concerned way

"Where are you going?" Isabelle asked

"I need to catch this bug for my collection, and I have 15 minutes left to catch it before it's gone for the entire day! Bye now", she said while taking out her bug catching net and sprinting to the place where her supposed bug will be.

"Tell me mayor, is your town the 'nature friendly' type? Because I'm seeing a lot of vegetation", Grizzelton asked.

"Why yes, yes it is" Nathaniel said "This means that we also have quite an abundance on insects, depending on the season, that is"

"Interesting…" Grizzelton said. That last word was giving Nathaniel the chills. He was reviewing, and maybe he was doing so while he was walking around the town. He saw town hall, the layout of the town, the locals, the shops, the houses, everything.

They then showed him the beach, where he was quite surprised. He didn't know that the town had a beach! In the beach, Grizzelton saw a small port where a boat was towed, with a turtle with a weird-looking mouth was resting. Alongside the shore line, he saw lots of coconut trees and an occasional wooden table with a beach chair and umbrella.

"Now this is quite surprising, your town really has gotten my attention" Grizzelton said to Nathaniel

"Why, thank you." Nathaniel responded. Maybe things will end up good after all!

"But I still need to give my final review on the town" Grizzelton finished.

And like that, all of Nathaniel's good hopes were starting to drain.

"Alright, let's head to town hall and hear your review" Isabelle said.

"R-right, let's go" Nathaniel added. That last sentence of Grizzelton was something he really wasn't expecting.

/

Once they got inside Town Hall, Grizzelton started to give his review: "Alright Mayor, from what I saw, your town is more of a vacation hotspot. There are interesting things to see and lots of insects and other activities to do for entertaining purposes. And the police station looks kinda out of date. If we give you Bellwether, it will be like setting her free. And we can't do that." Grizzelton said.

Yup, this was just what Nathaniel was expecting to hear, even though he didn't want to. But that's when Isabelle came in and added her counter argument: "Thanks for your sincerity mayor, but there are things that we can give Bellwether to do around town to transform her back to the good side. If you excuse me, I'll be right back" Isabelle then got up from the meeting desk and went to her office, grabbed a stock of papers and some books. She then returned and placed the items on the desk. She then started to explain what was written in those papers "You see, our town has recently been having a weed problem. So far, only the mayor and other two villagers are pulling the weeds out. And our villagers usually have some requests and other things that need to be done for them, like giving gifts, handing over letters, finding lost things, and catching for them fish and/or bugs. Those are things that we can give Bellwether as punishment in case she misbehaves."

"Wait, misbehave? Just what exactly are you planning to do to her?" Grizzelton asked

"I'll be giving her lessons and teaching her on how to be a good assistant mayor and a good role model in general. That's where the books come in" Isabelle then showed him the books, with one conveniently titled 'How to be a good assistant mayor' "And I'll be giving her the lessons" Isabelle finished

Grizzelton was looking at the books and at her. He could see that she had what it takes to give lessons and teach in general. But there was still one question bothering him. "Ok, but what if she tries to escape?"

"That's where I come in" Nathaniel said. "We have a way to stop her in case she tries to go through the train station and if she tries to use the sea, we have a net that prevents boats from going too far away without a previous authorization. And there are usually villagers that are night owls, so they can be informing me or the police station when she is escaping"

"Alright, but I still feel uncomfortable about your police station, mayor. I feel it doesn't have the means necessary to take this task" Grizzelton said. His worries about Murphy's law applying to the town were really high.

"If that's the case, then we can upgrade it to meet your needs" Isabelle said. She really wanted to bring back the good Bellwether, and she was willing to do everything in her power to make that happen.

"But Isabelle, it will take us nine months in order to do that. That's three quarters of a year!" Nathaniel said.

"Alright, it's settled then" Grizzelton said while standing up. This surprised both Nathaniel and Isabelle "I will give you that time for you two to fully prepare the town and your lessons to have the procedure done to Bellwether. And in the due date, I'll come back and check on the police station to see if it's ready, deal?"

Nathaniel was left speechless. Grizzelton was actually giving them more time to prepare the town and fulfill Isabelle's need to help out her old friend.

"Deal!" Isabelle chimed in. Nathaniel jumped a bit at the response, and then added "Sure, deal" he then extended his hand to Grizzelton, which he took in his paw and shook it. The deal was settled.

After Grizzelton left and went back to Zootopia, Nathaniel let out a sigh. "Well, that wasn't so bad"

"See? I told you everything was going to be fine" Isabelle said, making her previous point clear.

"Yeah, yeah. You were right, as always. But now we have to get to work to get the new police station ready, and going to take quite a while" Nathaniel said, and groaned "Man, these are going to be some long nine months"

"Yeah, but hey, it's for the better good, so the reward is going to be worth it!" Isabelle said, being a bit annoyed for the amount of work that was awaiting them, but determined to get some good end results. "So tomorrow, first thing in the morning, we start this!" Isabelle said in determined manner.

A totally unenergetic and lazy "Woohoo" was the only thing that came from Nathaniel's mouth. They were in for some long work hours.

/

While Grizzelton was on the train, he was thinking on how everything will end.

"Well, if the Mayor says that he can update the police station and has the security measures ready, then I suppose I can trust him, and his assistant mayor looked like she knew what she was doing and her determination was clearly demonstrated. Her spirit is something to truly admire."

"But just in case, I will bring to the town two of the city's cops to help check on her. And I for sure know who those two will be"

And so, Grizzelton went back to Zootopia, ready to call in the mammal that helped stop Bellwether.

AN: Soooo, what do you think? Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Like and review please! And sorry for making you guys wait because of my personal problems. I hope you still have patience me. And now to wait for chapter 4's release... hopefully soon enough. Until we meet again.