(AN/ Hey folks, super quick update, I'm actually at my university's 24/7 library uploading this cos the internet in my house is on the fritz. Thank you to everyone who liked, followed, faved, reblogged and reviewed the last 2 chapters and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too, so without further ado let's get cracking with this chapter...)
Chapter 20 – Let me be good to you
It was just after 4am in Tundra Town when Kit Cloudkicker emerged from a very discreet looking building, to the outside world it looked like an office building but this was just a charade, it was in fact a brothel. Despite prostitution being legalized, regulated and taxed over a decade ago most brothels in the city kept themselves discreet as not to bring down the tone of the neighbourhoods and to keep workers and clients' identities somewhat under wraps. Despite large sections of Tundra Town being destroyed in The Wave this brothel was still one of the most visited in all of Zootopia. Cloudkicker walked over to his snow covered car, unlocked with the fob on his keychain and got himself into the driver's seat, but just as he was about to start the car he felt the cold metal rest next to his throat, he froze in case any sudden movements would provoke his attacker, he sniffed the air and sniffed the air to try and figure out whom was holding him hostage. He didn't catch any whiff of his attacker's natural musk that most mammals gave off but the bear immediately smelt something familiar; a perfume composed of the rarest flowers and sandalwood, it was Shalini perfume, an expensive choice at nearly $1000 a bottle but more importantly Cloudkicker only knew one mammal in the world who favoured that scent. "Hello Ronin." He greeted in a friendly manner, despite having a blade on his jugular.
"Salut Cloudkicker," Ronin replied, her voice oddly chipper in the deadly situation "do you enjoy your rendezvous with your captivating courtesan?"
"How did you find me?" Cloudkicker asked, genuinely curious since he was always so methodical in covering his tracks.
"Well I remember from the few jobs we've worked together that you prefer the services of ladies of the night instead of wooing a fair maiden," Ronin answered in mischievous voice "then I also remembered that you were only into females of your own species."
"You googled 'Sun Bear Prostitutes in Zootopia'." Cloudkicker realised, sounding disappointed in himself.
"Exactement, it was simple enough, when I rang the brothel and requested her the management said she had an all night client starting from 8pm. I hope you don't mind but I climbed the drain pipe and peeked through the window to see if you were really the client…I got to say you are into some kinky stuff." Ronin teased.
"What do you want Ronin?" Cloudkicker snapped, not wanting to discuss what happened in the brothel.
"To voice my disapproval of the last job; you set me up." Ronin stated, her cheerful tone vanishing.
"I thought you would be able to handle Priderock." Cloudkicker dodged, knowing what Ronin's grievance actually was.
"True I nearly had the lioness but you didn't tell me about her friends." Ronin said, pressing the katana just a little harder against the Sun Bear's neck. "You sent me in blind against a wizarding wolf and an immortal warrior, now I know why you didn't go after Priderock yourself, you were afraid of these heroes coming after you."
"We used you to test the water, if you succeeded it would be a win but if things got too hot we would have to come up with a new strategy." Cloudkicker came clean "I'd knew you'd survive."
Ronin was quiet for a few seconds before saying in a simmering tone "…I am a weapon, not a tool. I kill, I'm not a test subject. If you ever pull this stunt again I swear to the gods I will make your death as long and excruciating as possible, do you understand?"
"Yes." Cloudkicker responded, looking in the rear view mirror at Ronin's golden eyes.
Ronin removed her katana from the sun bear's throat and sheathed it back in it's scabbard while saying "I've transferred the money you paid me back to your employer's accountant, it's dishonourable for me to take money for a job I didn't successfully complete."
Cloudkicker knew better than to argue with Ronin on the subject of honour and instead asked "What will you do know?"
"I'm staying in Zootopia for a while, I've already got a few jobs lined up, so if you actually ever have real work for me make sure to call." Ronin answered going to exit the car but then said "I guess I should thank you for one thing."
"And what's that?" Cloudkicker queried, never knowing an occasion when Ronin thanked anyone.
"You've given me a worthy opponent," Ronin smiled, opening the passenger door and hopping out onto the snowy ground "to kill an immortal will be the greatest victory an assassin could ever achieve."
000
Luna was emotionally and physically exhausted after telling Robyn and Aleks what had happened with Little John and Chen, but when Aleks suddenly left the bunker Luna was overcome with despair. She thought that this was it, that this was the end of her relationship with Aleks, the fox she had fell head over heels in love with and honestly he was the first guy she actually been in 'Love' with. Luna pictured herself and Aleks travelling the world together, getting married, having kits and growing old together but now all those dreams were crumbling to dust. Luna had crawled into one of the bunks in the base's dorm and bawled until she fell asleep, whilst Robyn was beside her comforting her big sister.
It was a little after 8am when Luna woke up, her eyes burning from all the crying she had done hours before, she looked over to Robyn who was sat up in her bunk texting on her phone. "Hey." Luna croaked.
"Mornin' Lu." Robyn replied, her voice gentle and her navy eyes full of concern for her big sister.
"Who are you texting?" Luna queried, sitting up, hoping in vain that it was Aleks.
"What happened at your penthouse is all over the news, Kodi and Kion are checking to see if you're ok, Hannah called earlier too." Robyn explained.
"…Any word from Aleks?" Luna asked, sounding ashamed.
"No, not yet," Robyn answered, wishing she could give a better answer "but it's only been a few hours, you just got to give him some time."
"Time won't help, he thinks I'm a monster and nothing can fix that." Luna pitied herself.
"He didn't say that, he said he loved you before he left." Robyn tried to lift Luna's spirits.
"What about you? What do you think about me?" Luna had to ask, even though she was frightened of what answer may come.
Robyn's long ears went droopy and her voice failed her for a few seconds but she eventually forced out "You messed up, you messed up big time. You disabled a mammal who wronged you and got Little John killed…if you had no regrets about these actions then yeah I would hate you but the truth is you DO regret what you did. You've been trying to mend your mistakes and no matter what you tell yourself; you are a good mammal Luna."
"Robyn…" Luna mumbled, wanting to cry but all her tears were dried up.
"Then I thought what I would've done if I was in your position and more than likely I would've done the same, we're sisters after all and we are alike…I'm glad you told me." Robyn continued, getting up from her bunk and sitting beside Luna, she took hold of her sister's paws and added "I love you Lu, that will never change and I'll never think any less of you."
"Robbie." Luna uttered, pulling Robyn into a tight and heartfelt hug, which the hybrid reciprocated.
"C'mon let me take you somewhere." Robyn bridged, pulling back from the hug "Somewhere I go when I need to think."
Forty five minutes later, Luna and Robyn were stood in Sherwood Cemetery in front of the tombstone they had visited countless times, it was the shared grave of their brothers; Ryan, Ronan and Reginald. "Mornin' boys." Robyn greeted warmly, kneeling down and kissing the marble memorial.
"Sorry we haven't visited in a while," Luna added, also kissing the headstone "things have been crazy lately."
"But guess what? Dad's finally mayor! I'm not exactly sure what he does but I know it's important." Robyn chatted casually to her brothers.
"Robbie?" Luna grabbed her sibling's attention "What do you think the boys would think about what I did?"
"That's a pointless question Lu," Robyn replied, sounding wise "and it's question designed to punish yourself."
Luna shook her head before sighing "When did you become so mature? It's supposed to be me looking after you and yet here we are."
"We're sisters, we look out for each other, it isn't about who's the eldest." Robyn corrected.
"I remember when I found out I was going to be a big sister, it was Bunnyburrow and…" Luna reminisced but was cut off.
"And you overheard Mom, Skye and Aunty Heather talking," Robyn smiled "I've heard the story a hundred times."
"I was so excited, when Mom had her first scan and said that there were four of you I was literally jumping around I was that giddy," Luna recalled in a still voice "but then Mom kept getting pains…I was scared, scared that I might lose another mother. They kept it secret from me you know? About the boys dying before they were born."
"What? I thought…" Robyn gasped, thinking she knew the whole story.
"It was only after Mom gave birth that I was told what was going on, that you were the only survivor. I could tell Mom and Dad were heartbroken but they kept a brave face on and despite losing the boys we still had you." Luna told, her paw touching the gravestone.
"You saw them, right?" Robyn asked, wanting to know more about her brothers.
"It looked like they were sleeping," Luna said truthfully "they were swaddled in little blue blankets, they looked so much like you, all four of you got your looks from the Hopps side of the family. Dad was the most upset, apparently this sort of thing is common with rabbits but not with foxes, it took some words from Grandad Robin and Grandpa Stu to calm him down."
"Is it odd that I feel guilty?" Robyn asked out loud "I know I didn't do anything wrong and yet I still feel this responsibility for what happened."
"I know how you feel," Luna concurred "I kept on thinking; what if I helped Mom around the house more when she was pregnant? What if I didn't drag her to play with me all the time? I'd ask myself dumb questions like that all the time before and after the funeral."
"So what stopped it?" Robyn questioned.
"You did." Luna gave her first smile in hours.
"Me?" Robyn asked back, her nose scrunching up in confusion.
"You were never a crier when you were a baby, you'd fuss but never start wailing. I remember a couple of days after the boys' funeral Mom had just finished feeding you and you were getting sleepy then Mom asked me I wanted to rock you asleep." Luna remembered, subconsciously putting a paw atop of her sister's head and stroking her fur "I was scared that I'd drop you but Mom said she couldn't think of anyone better than a big sister to hold her baby sibling, the moment I held you in my arms all that guilt went away because I realised this was what I needed to be; a big sister not a kid who worries too much."
Robyn radiated a soft smile before pulling Luna into a fresh hug "I love you."
"I love you too." Luna hugged the younger Wilde back and felt safe in the knowledge that her sister's feelings for her had not been soured by last night's revelations. The moment was however ruined by Luna's ringtone, she grunted before ending the hug and retrieving her phone from her coat pocket and read the phone screen; DR. THRASH CALLING. Luna had no idea why her therapist was calling her out of the blue but she answered the phone anyway "Hello."
"Luna, oh thank goodness you're ok." Dr. Thrash's voice sound relieved over the phone. "I read the news on BarkFeed this morning and I couldn't believe it."
"I'm fine, just a little shook up is all." Luna glossed over.
"Why don't you come down to the office and we can have a quick chat? It's better to talk about these things before they fester." Dr. Thrash invited.
Luna's mind automatically jumped to the situation with Aleks, maybe Thrash could offer some advice to her "Sure, I'll drop by in around half an hour."
000
A few miles away from Sherwood was one of the most expensive rodent sized properties in the entire city, to a normal mammal, say the size of sheep, the place would fit in a bed, a desk and not much else but for Olivia Dawson the apartment was a spacious multi levelled bachelorette pad with a swimming pool, gym, lab, home cinema, one room covered in wall to wall speakers specifically made for rocking out, four bedroom, three bathrooms, a living room, dining room and a kitchen. She had bought this place just after she hit eighteen, she had dropped out of college after one of her professors said she'd never amount to anything, less than three months later she had set up Dawson tech and had secured her first three contracts, netting her more than $30 million and ever since the business had just grown and grown. Olivia used to like her alone time in her spacious apartment, it would give her time to unwind or think up new inventions but all she wanted to do lately was spend time with a certain someone. And right now she was with that certain someone, sharing a bubble bath and resting on his muscled chest.
Blake had a blissful look on his face with his eyes closed, he then said "Y'know I was always a shower kind of guy, but you may have made me a bath convert, it really is relaxing."
"I have this habit of reading a book in the bath with a few cold beers nearby, it's the perfect way to unwind after work." Olivia confessed.
"I'll have to give it a try." Blake chuckled "So what time have you got to head into work?"
"I'm not going in today," Olivia sighed "I want to make sure Luna's ok."
"I couldn't it believe it when you called me last night and told me," Blake sympathised "these Drowned whack jobs are sick."
"…Thanks for coming over last night, I kind of wanted you close." Olivia thanked, sounding a little shy.
"I'm your boyfriend, of course I'll come over if you need me." Blake assured, entwining his paw with Olivia's.
Oliva chest warmed at this sentence, like a flame of love was burning just a little brighter, she was getting more and more accustomed to these romantic feelings. The brown mouse leaned her head back and looked up at her boyfriend's chilled face, her paw reached up and traced the thick scar than ran from his right cheek down to his neck "How did you get that?" she asked inquisitively.
Blake breathed in and said "I fell on some broken glass when I was a kid, pretty dumb I know."
Olivia felt there was more to the story but she could also tell that Blake wasn't lying, she shook off her suspicions and complemented "I think it looks sexy."
"I thought the whole 'Girls dig scars' thing was a myth." Blake replied with a grin.
"We both know I'm not a normal girl." Olivia sniggered before her voice mellowing and saying "So I kind of want to ask you something important."
"Oh?" Blake sounded, looking down at Olivia's cute face.
Olivia had grabbed her tail and was playing with the piercing near the tip in a nervous manner "So, I uh, well I told my Dads about you." She revealed with jitters.
"Really?" Blake sounded surprised, knowing that was a big step in Olivia's case "How did they react to the news your dating a rat?"
"My Dads aren't speciest…that's all me." Olivia replied sheepishly.
"Well you're not anymore, stop beating yourself up about it." Blake instilled. "Anyway what did you want to ask me?"
"My Dads are over the moon I'm finally in a relationship," Olivia revealed in awkward voice "so they really want to meet you, so I was, um, wondering if you would come for dinner at my parents' place next Friday?"
"That sounds great." Blake answered happily.
"Really? You will?" Olivia asked twice, wanting confirmation.
"Sure I'd love to meet your folks…wait there not going to do the whole overprotective Dad thing, are they?" Blake asked jokingly.
"I doubt it, they've been pushing for me to get a boyfriend since I was teenager, I wouldn't be surprised if they gave you the ok to propose to me." Olivia answered casually but then she realised what she said and began blushing under her fur.
Blake noticed Olivia's embarrassed look on her face and couldn't resist taking hold of her by the waist, lifting her so their faces were level and whispering "You're cute, you know that?"
"Hey don't ca-" Olivia began to protest but was silenced by Blake's lips pressing against hers, soon enough the mouse forgot why she was peeved and got lost in the captivating kiss.
000
In the dark and damp refuge that the Drowned called home, the three leaders of the cult were stood in the doorway looking over their new recruit as she ate her breakfast. Kiara had been cleaned up and was actually wearing proper clothes instead of rags, these garments were actually some roughly sewn together elephant sized clothes meant to fit the giant but much slimmer lioness. "I still think it is unwise to have her not go through the regular 'Program' our new initates go through." Beshte voiced his concern, the hippo looking over at the child-like monster.
"You saw those rags she had on, they had bullet holes in them, I don't think injecting her with drugs would work anyway." Bunga countered, the honey badger still awestruck by the giantess.
"Brainwashing her via rapid image exposure won't work either, we have to be smart about this." Fuli stated, her arms folded across her chest "If we play our cards right she could be the Wave's champion."
"Well you're the one who studied psychology, what do you suggest?" Beshte asked.
"Kindness, if we can convince her that we're her friends and we want to help her, she will want to join our family." Fuli explained "I'll take care of this personally, she seems to trust me the most."
"So what do you want us to do? Try and capture Wilde and Big again?" Bunga asked, itching for a new task.
"From our sources in the police and the ZPD they are both heavily protected, it would only result in more casualties if we go after them again." Fuli answered, before pulling out a slip of paper from her robe and handing it to Bunga "This is a list of mammals on the sex offender register, both of you pick one and bring them here to join Samson Missadd in the tank. We'll hold another sermon tonight and the Wave's will shall be done."
"The Wave's will shall be done." Bunga and Beshte chanted before leaving Fuli alone with Kiara who was still eating her very large breakfast., which mostly consisted of fish.
Fuli walked over to Kiara, making sure that she was in the Lioness' eyeline as not to startle her, the cheetah then greeted in a gentle voice "Good morning, it's good to see you have a healthy appetite."
Kiara stopped shovelling food into her mouth and timidly responded "I…I haven't had real food in a while."
"Well you can eat all you want here, you need to build up your strength." Fuli said, leaning against the table Kiara was sat at.
"Where are we?" Kiara asked, looking around at the wrecked expensive furnishings, the hastily repaired electrics and rows of slot machines in the corner of the large room.
"This used to be one of the most luxury casino boats in the world but the Wave claimed it and now it is the home to my family." Fuli explained, reaching out and spinning the roulette wheel in the middle of the table.
"You mentioned family before, were those two mammals you were talking to your brothers?" Kiara asked, tilting her head.
"Yes, all of those who are members of the Drowned are my family, we stick together and help one another." Fuli spun a lie.
"Is that why you helped me?" Kiara asked, sounding anxious.
"Of course, we help mammals in need…mammals who have been treated cruelly by the rest of Zootopia." Fuli said, purposely sounding vulnerable.
"You've been hurt too?" Kiara reacted, also seeming sad.
"All of our family has been shunned by the rest of society. While the rich, privileged elite shelter criminals and killers we are forced to live on the scraps…but the Wave helped us." Fuli baited.
"The Wave?" Kiara fell into the trap.
"The Wave was sent to test Zootopia, so that only those worthy and strong enough could survive, the Wave washed away the evil from Tundra Town, Little Rodentia and Sahara Square. But the unworthy still rule over this city and they come after my family night after night." Fuli fake cried.
Kiara's fragile mind had fallen for the trick and sympathised "I'm so sorry…do you think those are the same mammals who tried to hurt me?"
"I'm afraid so." Fuli ensnared with her crocodile tears before putting her paw atop of Kiara's gigantic one "But me and my family will make sure they'll never hurt you again, you could be part of the family, you could be our sister."
"Family…" Kiara uttered, a look of relief appearing on her face.
"We'll protect you and when you regain your strength you can help guard the family, you'll be our champion." Fuli charmed "What do you say?"
"I won't let the bad mammals hurt anyone else." Kiara answered, her broken mind unable to see she was being manipulated.
"Thank you." Fuli smiled softly hiding her smug satisfaction "But we should really give you a name."
"Mammals call me a monster." Kiara lamented.
"You are the furthest thing from a monster," Fuli cooed "I mean look at you, you're beautiful and your fur so white like a lily, that's it! Lily, the flower of the Drowned."
"Lily," Kiara smiled again, looking at her reflection in some broken glass on the floor "my name is Lily."
000
Luna had dropped Robyn back at the Wilde family home before driving the short distance to Dr. Thrash's office in affluent treetops area of Savannah central, she parked her Bugatti in the private parking lot beside the small office building that seemed to be fully occupied by different kinds of therapists and counsellors. Luna was thinking about what she was going to tell Dr. Thrash as she made her way up the few flights of stairs to the office, she walked into the reception area and could see the usual female wolverine secretary at her desk, she spotted Luna and said kindly "Head right on in, hon, he's expecting you."
"Thanks." Luna responded, her voice still sounding down. She opened the door to see Thrash sitting in usual chair, however the racoon had a more caring expression on his face today "H-hey." Luna opened.
"Good Morning, Luna." Thrash replied.
Luna was about to sit in one of the comfy armchairs when she heard the door close behind her, she turned around to see someone she didn't expect; it was Aleks, he looked like he hadn't slept, his fur was messy, his eyes were puffy from crying and a sombre expression was rested upon his muzzle. "Aleks!?" Luna gasped, dropping her purse in shock "W-what are you doing here?"
"I came to talk to your therapist, I got him to bring you here." Aleks informed.
"But…" Luna was about to babble when Aleks shot forwards and enveloped her in a hug.
Aleks held his lover tightly, the stress that he was feeling was slowly fading as he subconsciously marked his mate, rubbing his fur against hers and leaving his musk on her "I'm sorry for running away, you needed me and I abandoned you, I'm so sorry Luna." He said in an emotionally pained voice.
"Why the hell are you apologising? I'm the one who dropped this bombshell." Luna replied, she had never felt so happy to be marked.
Aleks released Luna from the hug and took hold of both of her paws before kissing her gently, when the kiss ended he said "I thought a lot about what you told me, when I ran away I did it because I was scared, not of you, but because I felt I knew nothing about you, the real you."
Luna was beginning to cry again, "You do know the real me." She said with a quivering lip.
"Luna, Aleks came to me because he loves you and he wants to help you," Thrash interjected "now please let us help you."
"W-wait, I need to know something first!" Luna panicked before locking her amber eyes with Aleks' icy blue pools behind his glasses "Do you hate me for what Andraste did to Chen?"
"No, I could never hate you." Aleks answered truthfully "Do I think what you did was wrong? Yes, of course…but you can't keep punishing yourself."
"Someone has to, if I had it my way I'd be in prison for what Andraste did." Luna confessed.
Thrash shook his head at the fact Luna was separating Andraste as a separate identity once again but instead of calling her out on it he said "Luna to move on we must own our mistakes, be we mustn't let our mistakes own us."
"What do you mean?" Luna sniffed, looking over at her therapist and friend.
"For the last four years you've let this mistake control your life and your mental state, it's time for it to end." Thrash declared.
"We're sorry about this Ukochana." Aleks said before nodding at Thrash, the raccoon took this signal, got up from his chair and picked up something hidden behind it, it was Luna's violin case.
Luna's weeping amber eyes focused on the violin case "Ho..how did y-you get that?" her voice trembled.
"I called in a favour at the ZPD, I said I needed to get some clothes from my wardrobe, I grabbed your violin when no one was looking." Aleks explained.
"But why did you bring it here?" Luna sniffed, wiping away some more tears.
"You said last night that you pushed all your guilt onto Andraste, if that's the case then you should be able to play that violin, it belongs to Luna Elise Wilde after all." Aleks said, his voice serious.
"What? But you know why I can't play it…" Luna mumbled, avoiding eye contact from both Aleks and Thrash.
"But you keep on saying Andraste was the one who injected those air bubbles into Chen's IV, so why should you feel bad?" Thrash forced.
"Stop it." Luna pleaded, backing away from the pair of them.
"Just play one song, it's not so hard." Aleks pressured.
"Aleks, don't!" Luna begged.
"Play the violin Luna!" Thrash yelled.
"I CAN'T!" Luna screamed "THAT'S LUNA'S VIOLIN, NOT MINE…." Luna fell to her knees and began to sob "Luna disappeared that night…I'm Andraste."
Aleks helped Luna to her feet whilst saying "Listen to me; you are still the person you were before Chen, you are kind, determined and loving, you are not the demon you make yourself out to be."
Thrash sighed before saying "You've back yourself into a corner with this, convincing yourself that Andraste is the bad guy and Luna is good but that only made things worse. You keep on torturing yourself with the question whether you are Luna or Andraste when the truth is you're both."
Luna just continued crying into Aleks' chest whilst Thrash opened the case and took out the violin and bow before holding them out "Be who you want to be Luna, not who you think are." Thrash spoke.
Luna who was still latched onto Aleks, peeked at the violin, it looked unchanged in four years, age had not corrupted it one bit, she knew both Thrash and Aleks were right and yet there was this poisonous though in her head saying that she didn't deserve to be happy again, to play that violin again. But she was sick of these thoughts, she knew playing the violin wouldn't magically fox all her mental health issues but it might be a start, Luna didn't realise but she had let go of Aleks and grabbed hold of the violin and bow. She was little shocked when she came out of her daze but it felt good to hold the instrument once again "…What should I play?" she asked, her anxiety bleeding through her voice.
"Anything you want." Aleks encouraged.
Luna rested the violin under her chin and thought for a moment, she needed to play something simple, she thought of the first song she ever learned as a five year old 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' she drew her bow across the strings with ease, even though the tune was simple the simple act of playing her violin was liberating. As she continued to play the song she looked at Aleks and Thrash both looking at her with warmth in their eyes but Luna also saw someone else, the illusion of her younger self smiling up at her as if approving of her playing. The song ended and Luna exhaled a long breath before getting wrapped up in another hug from Aleks "I'm so proud of you." He said before kissing her on the cheek.
"That was a lot harder than it looked." Luna confessed, her paws shaking.
"It's a big step Luna, you should feel proud." Thrash complimented "But there is one more thing Aleks wanted to discuss."
Luna looked at her lover and asked "What is it?" fearing he was still unsure about their relationship.
"You are good with that bow," Aleks responded, pointing at the violin bow in Luna's paw "but you're also good with another."
"What happened last night will never happen again." Luna said quickly, assuming Aleks disapproved of her vigilante antics the night before.
"Are you sure about that? You handled the Drowned easily and you haven't been in action for four years." Aleks replied.
"What are you saying?" Luna asked, utterly confused.
"What I'm saying is that the city needs you right now and not just as a surgeon." Aleks stated.
"What!? No, Andraste is unstable, she can't be trusted." Luna garbled.
"If you helped your sister in her fight I know you would be ok, you've grown since Chen, you're a better mammal now…the choice is yours and I'll support whatever option you choose." Aleks offered.
Luna looked at the violin bow in her hand and imagined her archery bow gripped in her paw, the city was a war zone, it was crying out in pain and she could help it but there was still that fear of letting her rage consume her, she knew she had to make a decision but right now both prospects seemed terrifying.
000
"Ok kids quiet down," Marian announced "we've got an important operation and you need to focus." It was just after 4pm and the majority of Team Ceartais had finished school for the day, Robyn and Hannah were glued to each other, Kodi seemed more concerned with washing and tuning up Bella and Kion was texting on his phone while Marian, Robin sr. and Olivia looked at the youngest members of team with disappointment.
"Guys!" Olivia barked, nearly dropping the cherry lollipop out of her mouth "Pay bloody attention, will ya'?"
"Sorry Olivia, it's just I haven't spent any time with Robyn today." Hannah faked apologised, nuzzling next to the more shy hybrid.
"Ugh," Olivia groaned, before looking over at Kodi who was still washing Bella and griped "Kodi it's a truck, not a supermodel!"
"Don't you say that about my Bella," Kodi acted aghast before stroking the side of the truck and spoke to her "don't you listen to that mean little mouse, you are a super model."
"I am flattered Mage but you should listen to Spitfire, she is the team leader and technically my mother." Bella replied which caused both Hannah and Robyn to snigger.
"Fine." Kodi huffed, throwing the sponge he was holding into a bucket and walking over to the rest of the team.
"Thank you." Olivia said to Kodi, before looking to Kion who was still texting on his phone "Hey Kion, stop texting, it's time for the mission briefing."
"Sorry, it's my roommate, I'm just saying not to make me dinner since I'll be working all night." Kion apologised genuinely.
"Wait your roommate makes dinner for you? That's really nice of him." Robyn commented.
"Well, uh, it's not a he, my roommate is female." Kion admitted, but he instantly regretted it as soon as he saw the mischievous looks appear on Robyn, Hannah and Kodi's face.
"Your living with a girl!?" Hannah gushed, rushing over to the lion "Are you two dating?"
"You player," Robyn kidded, playfully punching the feline in the gut "so what species is she?"
"Is she a wolf? You think you can hook me up?" Kodi nudged his taller friend.
"Wait, no, me and Jasiri aren't dating!" Kion expressed, sweating under his fur "Look she's just my roommate, besides she's a hyena and I don't think she's interested in me."
"Her name's Jasiri? Oh my god that's so pretty," Hannah giggled "I bet she's beautiful too, all female hyenas are!"
"Wait you said you think she's not interested in you, does that mean you're interested in her?" Robyn gave a very toothy grin.
"Ok Big Guy, give us the truth are you and this girl more than roommates?" Kodi dug for information.
"I, uh, well you see…um." Kion was struggling to speak, he needed a distraction, something to deflect the attention, he looked at Olivia and felt a surge of guilt for what he was about to do, he pointed a finger at the Scottish mouse and blurted out "Olivia has a secret boyfriend called Blake!"
Everyone froze for a moment before turning to look at Olivia, even Robin sr. and Marian seemed surprised at this news but Olivia seemed furious at this exposure "You bastard! How the hell did you know that?"
"I may or may not have heard you talking to him on your phone last training session…sorry." Kion confessed intimidated by the savage look in the wee mouse's eyes.
But before Olivia could fire back, Robin Senior cleared his throat before saying "Observation deck, now, if you're not up there in twenty seconds I'm getting my bow out."
The rookies all shared a look of fright before racing up the metal staircase to the surveillance hub. Less than two minutes later all the ceartais members were sat around the meeting table ready for the mission details. Olivia who was standing on top of the table began the conversation "Ok, thanks to Scarlet and Mage's work we've uncovered that the Drowned are targeting a Drug Lord who's operating out of a rodent only burlesque club, the task is simple we find out who the drug lord is, find evidence against him and pass it on to the ZPD so they can arrest this guy before the Drowned do their own form of 'Justice'."
"But if this a rodent only place, how are we supposed to infiltrate it?" Robyn quizzed.
"You guys are going to be scouting around the club for any signs of Drowned or other criminals whilst I'm in there getting intel on the Drug Lord." Olivia explained "Also if things go tits up, I'm trusting you guys to have my back."
"So what, are you going to pose as a punter?" Kodi wondered how Olivia was going to sneak in.
"There isn't a lot of female punters in this joint," Olivia carried on her explanation "plus I need to get to the VIP area, so I'm going to disguise myself as a performer, the rumour is the best performer of the night is the personal waitress for the VIP area and that's going to be me."
"Wait, you're going to do a burlesque performance?" Hannah scoffed.
"Yes, you're not the only dancer on the team, twinkle toes." Olivia barbed back.
"But your forgetting the most important part," Marian smiled, knowing full well what Olivia's talents were "this is a classic burlesque club which means you'll have to sing as well."
"Well then you're screwed, no offence but a Scottish accent singing isn't very alluring." Kodi laughed.
Olivia rolled her eyes before taking in a deep breath and singing sweetly in an American accent "A long, long time ago I can still remember how that used to make me smile and I knew if I had my chance that I could make those people dance and maybe they'd be happy for a while."
"Whoa." Robyn expressed.
"You can really sing." Kion smiled.
"And in an American accent as well." Hannah noticed.
"Of course I can do an American accent," Olivia cut in, speaking like a local Zootopian local instead of her Edinburgh twang "I lived in the states since I was four."
"So why do you sound Scottish all the time?" Kodi pondered.
"My Dads encouraged me to keep it, they say it reminds them of my birth parents." Olivia reasoned, returning to her more comfortable Scottish accent.
"Anyway back to the plan," Robin sr. said, reigning in everyone's attention "Olivia will do her song and hopefully be selected to be the private waitress for the VIP room, she'll learn what she can and at the end of the night leave like a normal employee. The rest of you will be manning the two exits, one is the main entrance; Hannah, Robyn I need you two on the rooftop overlooking the entrance. Hannah will be sniper support and Robyn will be the muscle if push comes to shove."
"What about me and the big guy?" Kodi spoke up, pointing his thumb at Kion
"You'll be on the service entrance side, if Olivia needs to make a break for it, you need to cover her." Marian informed
"But none of us can provide covering fire." Kion voiced his concern.
"…Maybe I could suit up?" Robin sr. suggested with a shrug.
"No." Marian said flatly "We'll just have to do the op without a second sharpshooter."
"You haven't asked all your sharpshooters." A confident voice chimed in.
Everyone turned to the doorway of the observation deck to see Luna leaning in doorway, her amber eyes blazing with determination. "Luna?" Robyn gawped.
"Does this mean!?" Olivia squeaked excitedly.
Luna walked in and said in a sure voice "If you'll have me, I'd like to re-join the team."
Everyone was stunned by this, no more so than Robin sr and Marian, both of them got up from their seats silently with blank expressions on their faces and walked over to Luna, Robin sr. was the first to crack he began to cry before hugging his eldest grandchild and saying "Welcome back, Luna."
Marian was also teary eyed when she joined the hug, adding "You're back where you belong."
Luna hugged her grandparents back, safe in the knowledge this was the right step for her to take.
000
It was just after 10pm and the rest of the team ceartais were in their positions as Olivia approached The Rose Thorn's main entrance, there were two mouse bouncers stationed at the door who were intimidating enough to control the line of punters wanting entry into the classy club. To look at Olivia now you wouldn't recognize her, her fur was completely white thanks to same dye spray that Bullet used, she added a little red lipstick to her lips to make her look more seductive and her body was covered by a big black trench coat. Of course all her multiple piercings on her ears, tail and eyebrows were on display but that wasn't so uncommon among gothic looking mammals, Olivia walked over to one of the bouncers and said in a perfect Zootopian accent "Is this where the dancers enter?"
The bouncer looked at Olivia up and down and gave a sleazy smile "What's your name hot stuff?"
"Miss Kitty, I'm booked for the 10.30 slot…I think." Olivia said, portraying herself as a ditzy airhead.
The Bouncer checked the clipboard he was holding and smirked "Well we do have a Miss Kitty scheduled but how do I really know you're her?"
"Hmm," Oliva pretended to be stumped "well will this prove I'm a dancer?" Olivia opened her trench coat to reveal the very seductive outfit/underwear she had on, it was a classic looking black Basque with frills that hugged her figure and showed off just enough fur to get folks excited, her toned legs were covered with fishnet stockings.
This exposure caused the punters into the line to whoop and cheer before the bouncer smiled "Ok hot stuff, head on in, look for a bat called fidget he'll get you backstage."
"Thanks sugar." Olivia giggled, before sauntering into the Rose Thorn.
Olivia walked past the cloakroom and into the main room of the club and it was like stepping back in time, all the furniture and decorations seemed like they had been taken from the late Victorian era, the chatter of punters and smell of alcohol filled the room while a Kangaroo Rat girl was performing a classic striptease on stage. Her eyes scanned the room soaking in all the details, there was about 120 rodents in the room excluding staff, she spotted three fire exits, three bartenders and two heavies guarding a staircase to the VIP area. "Hey toots, you Miss Kitty?" A gravely voice enquired.
Olivia looked to the where the voice came from and saw a bat in a tacky pinstripe suit with an obvious peg leg, he was grinning up at her with yellow stained teeth, she suppressed her disgust at the rancid smile and replied "And you must be Fidget."
"You're due on in just under thirty minutes, I'll take ya' to the dressing room." Fidget said, hobbling in front of Olivia and guiding her to the staff only section of the club but just as they were going to enter the door, the smash of broken glass caught both her and the bat's attention.
What Olivia saw next shocked and befuddled her; two drunk mice dressed as fishermen were being dragged out by security with one of them ranting in an Irish accent "That scumbag cheated me out of twenty bucks!" but Olivia knew these mice were not sailors, they were pantomiming being inebriated, they weren't even Irish and through their poorly made disguises she could clearly make out the faces of her fathers; Basil and David Dawson. Olivia hid her face as to keep her Dads from noticing her. Why were they here? Why her two gay dads be at a burlesque club in the first place? Why were they in disguise? All of this just send Olivia's mind in a muddle she didn't need right now, she needed to focus on her mission. When another patron threw an empty beer glass at the restrained Basil and David it missed and hit the Kangaroo Rat girl on stage, striking her on the head, she screamed and stumbled to floor
The VIP guards rushed at the glass throwing moron and dragged him to the same exit Basil and David were being forced out of whilst giving him some punches to the face for good measure. As the stage manager helped the Kangaroo rat off stage Fidget turned to the utterly confused Olivia and said bluntly "Looks like your starting early toots."
"O-oh, right." Olivia breathed, the mouse reached into her pocket and produced a usb stick before saying "My song is on this."
Fidget took the usb stick and handed over to one of the stage hands who raced over to the sound station, Olivia made her way onto the stage still wearing her coat and avoiding the broken glass on the wooden boards, she stood in the centre and waited for the music to start. The tease of piano keys came from the speakers and Olivia began to sing with a voice like honey…
"Dearest friends, dear gentlemammals
Listen to my song
Life down here's been hard for you
Life has made you strong
Let me lift the mood
With my attitude…"
The first verse enraptured the all male crowd as they looked at the beauty singing, the beat kicked in and well as the trumpets and Olivia began to strut around the stage…
"Hey, fellas
The time is right
Get ready
Tonight's the night
Boys, what you're hopin' for will come true
Let me be good to you…"
Olivia let her coat drop to unveil her very revealing outfit to the cheers and applause of her captive audience, she twirled around and suggestively danced as she continued to sing...
"You tough guys
You're feelin' all alone
You rough guys
The best o' you sailors and bums
All o' my chums
So dream on
And drink your beer
Get cozy
Your baby's here
You won't be misunderstood
Let me be good to you…"
The music built up and Olivia removed the frilly underskirt that covered her skimpy knickers with a quick swipe of her paw which caused the crowd to whoop like crazy…
"Hey, fellas
I'll take off all my blues
Hey, fellas
There's nothin' I won't do
Just for you…"
The instrumental bridge of the song came and Oliva danced on the stage charming everyone in her room with her heart pounding dance, some of the punters reached up on the stage and she playfully shoved them away with her foot…
"So dream on
And drink your beer
Get cozy
Your baby's here
Hey boys, I'm talkin' to you
Your baby's gonna come through
Let me be good to you."
The song ended and the audience erupted with rapturous applause, Olivia feigned bashfulness as she mouthed 'thank you' to the punters and blew kisses at them, she was exiting the stage where another act was ready to come on when she spotted the second thing in five minutes that sent her mind into a panic. She spied over at the staircase to the VIP area where two bouncers along with Fidget were leading a mammal up the stairs, Fidget had a gun pressed into the back of the prisoner as he ascended into the VIP area. Olivia noticed the Rat right away "Blake?" She whispered, a million and one possibilities were running through her head and none of them were good.
(AN/ DUN DUN DUN! Luna's back on the team!? Why were Basil and David in disguise!? Why is Blake being held prisoner!? Next time on Star of ceartais; Olivia learns some disturbing truths, Andraste meets her match, Sasha gets in trouble and Jasiri gets romantic advice from an unexpected source. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Review and C YA SOON!)