Author's Note:

Keep your head down, chin up, ears forward, tail back, eyes open, mouth shut and above all, act casual.

It would have hurt less if every hair on Nick's head was replaced with hot needles (including the ones in his nose and ears). The same, sweet chorus of "lee-la-dee, lee-la-dee, lee-did-diddy-dee-doo…" repeated like a clock's chimes but whatever comfort it afforded did little to diminish the dial tone drilling through his brain. The taste of pennies dominated his mouth when his eyes shot open, the darkness around him blurred only by shifting figures. Where… Nick attempted to discern, paws flailing and grabbing for something to steady himself, head whipping to focus on anything he could. "Come out!" he demanded and rubbed his eyes again, You've assaulted an officer; I have friends in high and low places! the fox managed to think but couldn't utter, beyond incoherent muttering. He fumbled for the stun-gun that wasn't in its holster; he tried to hold up his arms to guard himself but was grabbed from behind instead.

"Hey!" he barked and thrashed, tail striking at whomever locked his arm behind his back and their arm across his chest, and even a leg around his own.

"Cool it, cousin, easy does it," said the somewhat familiar voice of that mysterious tod.

"Open up; there we go…" said the almost recognizable voice of that mysterious vixen.

Nick clamped his jaws tight and growled.

"You're making this harder than it needs to be!" declared the tod.

Good! Nick thought and snarled, eyes and ears still hindered by that constant, head-splitting dial tone. And then he laughed when his belly was tickled, causing him to curl up in an uncomfortable guffaw, only to feel something sweet and hard land on his tongue. Son-of-a-… that's unfair; I call 'foul'! he complained, grimacing and gagging when he felt one paw hold his snout shut while the other loosely cupped his throat… I can't swallow it or spit it out… Nick realized and attempted to flail again, Wait one cotton-pickin' minute, I know this taste…

"Nicky, relax," said a third, wholly unknown voice whose only characteristics were older, male, and in charge, "It's just candy and should clear up the affliction."

Like I haven't heard that gem before, Nick grunted, Still, this does taste a lot like that honey Gideon used in the tea on Sunday… didn't Ruth say it was Night Howler honey? And the pain is a bit more bearable now… Well, there's only one set of foxes that would call this 'the affliction', isn't there? "Okay, let up," he decided, visibly calmer and speaking out the corners of his mouth since his snout was still held shut.

The mysterious tod and vixen sprung away from Nick as he shrugged them off, regaining his composure in dribs and drabs until he could rub his forehead, still suckling on the hard candy. As it happened in the grotto, so did where he stood, the darkness giving way to defined shapes and figures as his night vision returned. This candy is actually pretty good, now that I'm not fighting for my life, he realized.

"Doing better?" the older tod asked, his fur thicker and scruffier around the ears and cheeks, arms patiently crossed as he sat upon a root-bound boulder. The other two, younger foxes (whose scents easily pegged them as twins) were similarly perched on a low branch or upturned root in the middle of what Nick could best describe as "somewhere out in the woods". He was, as they were, dressed in a long coat with some kind of flexible body armor beneath, and a pair of goggles that looked far more cumbersome than fashionable, but rather than worn they were each propped atop their respective heads. What was also painfully obvious was that all three had vibrant green eyes.

"Oh, simply marvelous, I've just been snatched up for the second time this week and almost had my brain bleed out my nostrils also for the second time this week but I must say, you surprised me by accomplishing both at the same time," snapped Nick, securing both thumbs into his police utility belt rather testily, "Also, I'd like my gun and phone returned to me along with a very good reason why I shouldn't bring you lot in for obstructing an officer in the line of duty. You have until this candy runs out to bring me up to speed," he then said, pointing at his mouth.

The vixen fidgeted, "Technically, you just kind of… fell over when we approached. That's why we gave you the candy, it's honey made from Shepherd's Folly-"

"Night Howler," the younger tod explained.

"I know what it is," Nick snapped again and then turned to the older tod, "You. Let's get a straight answer out of you but before that, shall I assume you're all from the Knottedwood?" he then said, "Those 'Savage Greens' of yours are hard to miss."

The older tod patiently blinked and pulled his paw out from his folded arms to gesture, "I'm guessing when you called them your 'cousins' you meant that in the generic 'Hello, my fellow fox' sort of way?" he said and grunted in thought, "Alright, let's clear some air here. These are your blood cousins, Rebecca and Jericho, and I'm your Uncle Cory," he then said with a wry smile.

Nick flicked his tail. "Corbin," he corrected.

Both Rebecca and Jericho burst out in laughter as Uncle Corbin frowned and hung his head, "You're definitely Jacky's son… he told you about me already, then?"

"In passing," Nick dismissed with a wave of his paw, and then leaned back on an especially high, curvy root to cross his own arms, "I'd wager that someone here slammed their tail in the door by not introducing themselves properly," he then said and casually examined his claws, "would've saved us a lot of trouble." Both his cousins stopped laughing to shrink back. "By the way, this candy - delicious though it is - is almost out so let's wrap this up before I get miffed."

"I told you it was a mistake!" Rebecca scolded of her brother.

Corbin seemed speculative before approaching, pulling out both cell phone and police regulation stun-gun from his coat pockets, "These are yours; no damage," he assured.

"A step in the right direction," Nick accepted, likewise approaching to receive the items with a quick check of the sidearm, A little scuffed but it should be fine, and then his phone with its persisting insanity, "And we're still near some iron-roots," he sighed, "Although I really didn't need to look at my phone to know that, did I?"

His uncle's green eyes quirked at the phone and then turned on Jericho, "You; come here," he said with a snap of his fingers.

"Why?" Jericho challenged, even if he did hop down from his tree branch.

"Because you still haven't fixed your container, now get over here and lift your coat," Corbin instructed.

Jericho's eyes darted to Nick, "Like… now? In front of Nick?" he asked. When his uncle's tail whisked threateningly, Jericho did, indeed, approach with his ears pinned back and about faced, groaning under his breath as he reached to hoist the length of his coat, showing off his body armor in more detail, as well as the secreted arsenal of daggers strapped to it. A cylinder of some sort connected to a series of insulated wiring woven up the fabric on his back, and from that angle, it was visibly connected to the headgear.

Jeez, that looks amazing… Nick gawked and as Corbin knelt down to fiddle with the unit (Jericho peeked bashfully over a shoulder at his cousin), the ringing died away even as the last of the candy melted in his mouth, And my phone's okay, for the most part, Nick wondered as he tucked it into a pocket, "That's some fancy thingamajig you got there. What is it, some sort of scrambler? Battery? Wifi router?"

"There's a bundle of ironroot in there, kept alive with soil from the Wood; without the proper containment its magnetic field leaks out, affecting electronics and - in your case - foxes who are especially sensitive to it. It lasts roughly three weeks at an absolute maximum, after that the affliction could easily lead to our deaths," Corbin explained as he stood, and then bushwhacked his nephew's haunches to let him know he was done while turning back towards Nick, "It took us years to develop the means to survive for any appreciable amount of time outside the Wood. What we have on now are easily our most advanced devices."

"So… those goggles of yours act like scuba gear?"

"Not a bad way of putting it," Rebecca responded, pulling her legs up to fold them under her knees, "Any Knottedwood foxes that venture outside are afflicted, like a freshwater fish in salt water. We simply can't handle the planet's magnetic field like other mammals can. Truth be told, it affects all our senses in the weirdest ways."

"Which is why we thought your father and aunt dead when they didn't return," Corbin continued, clearly nursing an old scar, "I'm sure Jacky told you that he was bitter at how your aunt Guinevere and I were chosen to escort Goliath and his daughter instead of him. Goodness knows, he griped to everyone in the village for a whole week before disappearing."

"That sounds like Dad," Nick commented as he hoisted himself onto the root to relax not only his limbs but his head as well, "He's filled me in on the whole Scouts, the Knot, and the affliction, but for sake of argument, there was a legitimate reason he wasn't chosen, though?"

Corbin bobbed his head. "Guinevere and I were being trained to withstand life outside the Knot; we didn't tell anyone on account of how foolhardy and dangerous it was but… for too long we've hidden inside that Wood, longing to leave, developing what limited technology we could to protect us beyond its roots. Jacky swiped a pair of our finest spectacles and just… walked out," Corbin explained first with incredulity and then with such a morbid weight to his tone, "Our best Scouts - the very best, trained for the exact purpose of leaving the Knot - could never venture farther than line of sight of the Wood before collapsing. It got to the point that even trying was too dangerous.

"Jacky and Ruth were always especially sensitive so we figured they might not ever be able to leave… and that maybe Goliath left them for dead since he didn't return, either… or worse, that something happened to his kit. In time… when some of our more sensitive kits found that they could venture out with only the barest protection, we discovered that they were following underground roots," Corbin said excitedly, "they could sense where the ironroot trees were spreading. We were filled with new hope that our lost foxes were still alive."

Nick raised a single finger, "Hold up. You're saying 'developed technology', but how? You're isolated from the rest of the world."

"Not entirely," Jericho answered, "There's a delta where our water supply drains out into the ocean. It's also filled with jagged rocks so it's impossible to traverse except for ideal conditions - tide, weather, what-have-you - but it has a habit of collecting detritus from the ocean currents. It's how we get a lot of our materials. And of course, what Grandpapa brought with him when he crash-landed in that delta."

Grandpa Piberus… Nick thought, "Is he still alive?"

"He's hanging in there," Rebecca said sadly, "Grandpapa stays in bed most days but he's still sharp as a whip. He says he's not going anywhere until he settles his affairs with Uncle Jacky and Aunt Ruth."

Nick couldn't help but snort a snicker, "So that's where Dad gets it from. By the way," he then picked up, "If I've been watched ever since I was a kit, why has no one reached out to my family? I mean, c'mon, thirty years is a long time to hold a grudge, isn't it?"

Uncle Corbin stepped closer to grab his nephew's shoulders, "We only managed to get out to Preds' Corner scant years after they left the Wood and each excursion was a test of our fortitude, staying for a few days, at best, not even half a week's time, since it took so long to get there. We found Ruth and watched as she walked around without any protection and seemed… perfectly fine. Eventually… Jacky came back, met up with her and they got into a… a bit of a spat."

Oof… "That's quite a time to run into them. I only found out about that myself and that is its own anecdote. Just know that they've made up and all's happy-times again."

He sighed with relief, "At least there's that. In our next excursion, we discovered that… Ruth was with kit… and the kit could only be Goliath's," Corbin explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

The city-fox scoffed. "So that was that, huh? 'Foxes mate for life', so long and good riddance?"

"Wag that tongue harder, kit," Corbin shot back with a jutting finger, "The village was torn on whether we should approach her or not… whether it was worth putting our Scouts at risk of the affliction and using our resources to maintain contact…" he then relaxed, "and then she approached us. Ruth came to the Wood looking for medicine to help Esther… and there was Gideon, a kit of the Knottedwood born outside, healthy and strong. We worried if it were even possible! They couldn't venture very far in so Papa went out to meet them. He decided for the rest of the village that we'd find a way to leave the Wood for good, even if it took us a hundred years. Several strokes of genius (and… explosions) later, an especially crazy kit of mine helped develop this headgear," and tapped the goggles.

"The rest of us weren't idle, though," Jericho pitched in, "Do you know about those squirrels that tried to get into the Knottedwood, Nick?"

Nick's ears perked, "I do, the housing development that stopped on account of 'witchcraft'. Please tell me someone sabotaged their equipment?" he smirked, "Maybe show them what some real 'bloodwood witches' were capable of."

Both Rebecca and Jericho snickered, "Some did," she said, "but a lot of it was because of the Knot ruining their electronics. We also found out that us foxes of the Wood are indigenous, so they had no claim to the land."

"Really?" the city-fox then grunted his surprise, "That never got in the papers. How far back do the Knottedwood foxes go?"

"Hundreds of years, actually, maybe more," said Jericho, "They've been there before Grandpapa and even those foxes weren't the originals. You should come to the Knottedwood someday, Nick, we've been developing ways for outside foxes to come in, too. As it turns out, the Shepherd's Folly honey helps with the transition," he explained, bringing out what looked like a wrapped piece of candy from his pocket.

Corbin pulled out one himself, "The bears and hares from the Honey Hills came by after the squirrels left, mentioning that they'd been following the movements of certain bees and tracked them back to the Wood," he flicked the piece into the air and caught it before slipping it back into his pocket, "That's when Charmagne - your aunt and their mother - started bartering with the stuff. It's another way that we've been getting information and materials for our excursions. We asked them to keep quiet about us, though… we weren't ready to come out quite yet."

"I understand; the world is a big scary place and foxes aren't looked kindly upon," Nick reasoned, "All the same, you made it to the city. How?"

"We took the train," Corbin said simply, "Bought tickets and braced ourselves for the onslaught of electrical interference. Which brings me to a very important question…"

"How did Dad manage it?" Nick wryly asked, arms crossed and mouth pinched in a smirk.

"There's a betting pool back at the Wood," said Rebecca as she joined the tods.

Ahh, family~ thought Nick, "Well, he rode the top of the train and took the full brunt of the city's 'aura of death'," he explained to Jericho's wince and Rebecca's dropped jaw, "Fell five stories into a trash heap," he continued, getting a very pleasing look of incredulity from his uncle, "And then proceeded to fight three boars and a sow - equipped and trained to capture foxes, mind you - all while suffering that nasty affliction and courting Mom at the same time."

Rebecca took a seat onto another root while Jericho stared on dumbfounded.

"You made that up," Corbin rebutted.

"Ask him yourself," Nick smugly challenged, "But now that I have your attention and my head is wonderfully clearer, I do have a few questions: Becky and Jerry over here claimed that I was 'Johnson' - as in the urban legend, uncatchable fox, Johnson. Surely that was made up?"

Corbin shook his head. "It's true. I'm sure there are other 'Johnson's out there but you were definitely the seed. I wasn't one of the advance teams that made it to the city but I've read all the reports on that war zone-"

"'War zone'?"

"Another reason why we didn't - couldn't - intervene," his uncle said, "The fragility of that city's peace was blatant; shadow games between the Watch and Pleasure Island tugged at strings that spanned the entire territory. We couldn't say for certain who was on which side until we spotted Jacky and his mate… or as he was then known, 'John Wilde'."

"It was like watching a battlefield through a keyhole," Rebecca picked up, "Snippets of information a month apart… I've only heard some of it myself, before my time as it was, but imagine if we could have used a telephone back then…"

"That's when the name 'Johnson' emerged," Jericho said, "We figured it was code for 'John Wilde' but that wasn't the case, his location was known yet different from numerous Johnson reports. It took ages to piece it all together but our slyest Scouts found out that he was you."

I really am 'Johnson', aren't I…? Nick wondered, brow furrowed and paws folded under his nose with discombobulated concern, Does Magnus actually know that and he uses it as a code name or is he still in the dark? Well, one thing is for certain: Dad is gonna flip when he finds out~

"Jericho tells me that you weren't actually going after Pleasure Island as a kit, Nicky," Corbin added, "I might dismiss such a notion as a bold-faced lie since no mammal would just… find the most troublesome parts of a society and wedge their nose into the very core of it…" he then sighed, "Except I know whose kit you are."

What do you expect from the son of Mr. & Mrs. Foxglove? Nick shrugged endearingly, "By the way, who's this 'alpha-fox' I heard tell of?" If not the thought dead Foxy Loxley, that is.

Corbin's mouth pinched in a grimace as he glanced upwards at the nighttime canopy. "If I hear anyone calling their Grandpapa the 'alpha-fox' again, they'll find themselves in a world of trouble when we get back home," Uncle Corbin warned through his teeth and in a rather generic sort of way. Either of the younger foxes whipped their attention off in completely other directions.

"Aunt Vanessa started it…" Rebecca muttered.

"One or two more questions before I hit the road," Nick keyed in.

"Of course," Corbin begrudged.

"Were there any signs of rabbits around those 'Johnson reports'? Possibly… deodorized rabbits?"

The question struck the three Knottedwood foxes as they exchanged furtive glances. "Has anyone told you how unnervingly like your father you are?" Corbin replied with a quirk of his brow and a smirk on his lips, "That were signs of rabbits, and like your cousins here, their scents were wiped. There's a certain trail of absence that comes with deodorizing; of course, there are other ways to tell a mammal's species. In fact… we heard tell there was a rabbit involved after your Ranger Scouts meeting, Nicky."

A dense silence filled the woods. "And you don't have any other info on that?" he asked of his uncle.

"I sincerely wish we did."

Nick grumbled under his breath and then recalled aloud, "You're familiar with the name 'Magnus'. How familiar?"

Rebecca spoke up as she stood, "We suspect he might have had something to do with numerous events in the past… events to do with Pleasure Island but the best we can figure is that there's a… a Magnus-shaped hole with every investigation."

"Good, good. Follow-up: does the name 'Mr. Never' ring a bell?"

Jericho hummed and pulled a notebook from his coat, "He is… something from 'Underland'. No one's ever made it down there, though, but we don't think he's involved with anything."

They might not know who Foxy Loxley is, then. Alright, I need to scamper real soon. According to the time on my phone, I wasn't out for as long as I feared and if Magnus and Nivins really did leave the train station, obeying speed limits and all that, they can't have been in Preds' Corner very long and I should have time to warn Judy, assuming she's still helping the Knotash evacuation, Nick decided, "Super, listen, this impromptu family reunion has been great and all but this fashionable uniform isn't a costume so I should get back to all that fancy, official stuff I was doing. Last question: where are we?"

"Not far outside of Preds' Corner. The clinic should be…" Corbin began and craned his neck to look around, and then pointed through the trees, "That way, maybe a twenty-minute sprint."

"'Twenty minute sprint', he says so casually," Nick groaned, "Jiminy Cricket, you guys are athletic…"

"It's a dangerous world out there for us foxes," Jericho quipped.

"I guess you'll all be heading out, then?"

"You said that was your 'last question'," Rebecca teased, "but yes, we'll be heading back to the Knot."

"Last official question, Becky," Nick snarked, "If you can stay one more night, I'd like to ask a huge favor."

"I guess we can stay another night, if for family," Corbin abided.

"Funny you should mention that. Please introduce your niece and nephew here to their aunt and uncle," Nick said, hopping off from his root and twisting his torso to loosen up his spine, "That is my favor."

Corbin frowned. "Introduce them… tonight? To Jacky and Ruth?"

"Yep."

Rebecca tugged on his sleeve, "Can we, Uncle Cory? Please?"

Jericho joined in on the other sleeve, "Just a quick stop. You want to hear what happened to Uncle Jacky too, right?"

"Just for a cup of tea," Nick then suggested, grinning. His uncle canted his head and sighed, staring dully at him.

"Alright," Corbin ceded, arms crossed, "One cup of tea," and then smirked at Nick.

"I think we made some progress tonight; that calls for a group hug," the city-fox prompted, making a gathering gesture with his paws. The other three were varying degrees of hesitant (with Corbin being "somewhat" while the twins were "not at all") but they joined into a single embrace. When they broke, Nick handed his uncle a candy wrapper.

"Oh," said Corbin, accepting it and putting it into his pocket, "Where did you find-?" he began to ask and then noticed that Nick was casually nursing a hard candy as he pulled out his phone, "From my pocket, of course. You could have asked."

"There's no fun in that," Nick said and then wiggled his fingers in a wave, "I have work to do and you have music to face. Toodles~"

Corbin softly glared while his niece and nephew giggled behind him, "I should swat your father for making you."

"I'm sure he'd enjoy your attempts to do so," Nick responded as he finished tapping out a text message to Judy and then turned on a heel as he pocketed his phone, "Moonlight's a-wastin'." As Nick disappeared into the dark woods, he could hear the vanishing conversation of his extended family through the boughs and trunks.

"That was fun to watch," Jericho said.

"I can't wait to see you banter with Uncle Jacky," Rebecca added.

Uncle Corbin merely grumbled as they whisked off into the trees.

The street cleaners merrily hummed along the more developed roads of Preds' Corner, a quaint wedge of country life that three decades prior could hardly be called "civilization". The inhabitant families in the modern era were a far cry from the sparse denizens dispersed across a wide, flat space or crammed against an encumbering swathe of dense forest, stretching several miles before terminating at a sea cliff. In many respects, the Preds' Corner of yesteryear was a time capsule to life before normalized indoor plumbing and electricity. There were few contributing factors to its sudden surge in population and development, chief of which that it was the birthplace of world-famous chef, Remy Linguini (whose Ratatouille restaurants speak for themselves, as well as the "Anyone Can Cook" book and identically-named scholarship for culinary advancement; one noteworthy winner of the scholarship was Gideon Grey, to kick-off his education as a pastry chef), a farmhouse attic where three generations of rats formed a microcosm society. Both the attic and farmhouse stand no longer but Mr. Linguini deemed it appropriate to open up on the site a Ratatouille restaurant dedicated to the more rustic, homestyle cooking "like Ma used to make" (which the residents still consider "fancier foods").

Zoologists the world over have uniformly but independently arrived at a yet disproved hypothesis that any collection and development of civilized mammals will inevitably - some argue "unpreventably" - also house a microcosmic society of rodents or other such small mammals, depending on the size of the mammals doing the development. One case of note, "Hendronier v. Ganzt" was about a village of raccoons living in the crawl space of a house being renovated by a family of bison; it was a horrendous legal battle since the raccoons, technically, held claim to the house but the bison held the deed to the land; both were notarized and official. Zootopia was one of the few cities in all the world (even in its own nation) to establish a system of laws designed to handle the "inevitable" conflict of property ownership within other properties and it is that system which allows districts such as Little Rodentia, Horseshire, and Knotash to operate with autonomy inside the city's territory (so long as the city's laws are adhered to first and foremost). These areas, in effect, acted as their own kind of time capsule for the cultures which shaped them.

"…And that's why both Battles of Beruna are believed to be not only a thousand years apart but largely territorial disputes," explained the history buff, Bo Briar, as he walked down the newly cleaned sidewalk of Preds' Corner, waving at the occasional befuddled but endearing look of a resident predator, newly returned from the community's cruise to check on up on things, "Historical scholars will likely never come to a conclusion as to whether the first Battle even happened-"

"What with the gaps in recorded history, and all," inputted Woolipedia gorger, Judy Hopps, likewise waving at the occasional befuddlement as she sat atop Bo's broad shoulders and steered him using his ears. The boy bunny hardly felt her weight or even the bag of comic books slung across his back as he held her ankles securely and kept up a brisk, steady pace. In the year-plus-some-months that they've been together, Judy took it upon herself to hone Bo's farmyard muscle and the brawling he learned from the hares at Honey Hills using her own training at the ZPD academy (and what regimens she could find on the Internet).

It was always a dream of Bo's to be a bunny just like Captain Warren but both the National Guard and Armed Services sequestered rabbits into squadrons specializing in communication rather than combat. Instead, he sufficed to join the Burrow Watch and maybe, just maybe, become a champion of the Mammalian Martial Arts tourney and show what bunnies were made of. His training for such a lofty endeavor hit a plateau until the Sunday prior when he and Nick just so happened to stumble on famed (and retired) professional trainer Phil Octaves in Preds' Corner, for which the boy bunny was quite psyched about (especially when they passed Phil's bar that very night). "The eternal quandary of scholars everywhere," Bo lamented and then continued, "Even so, Beruna set crucial precedence on wartime conduct for not only the armies but the commanders, as well. For example…"

Judy enjoyed when Bo talked about history or the Hexward Tenets because it was the clearest and surest she'd ever heard his voice be, rather like a professor to his students. She knew if the Lapis Scholarship wasn't so narrow on its requirements, he would have pursued his passion and likely become a teacher rather than a nutritionist. Regardless, Bo's schooling helped him develop a way for rabbits with muscular hyperatrophy - like himself - to digest and build muscle without the use of temporary fixes like steroids (for his allergy to them made their use an impossibility); if only it were ingestible. The unfortunate (repulsive) texture and taste of his concoction made it as unpalatable as any meat product, thus nixing even the slightest help it could provide. It was also fun to listen to him talk because his body became much more relaxed and allowed Judy to better "steer" him while sitting on his shoulders, by use of his ears and pressing her ankles on his chest. Rather like operating heavy machinery. It was an act they developed to entertain the younger Hoppses and gave them a fun sense of synchronicity.

"Here we are," said Judy as they approached the front door of the semi-lit Brambles Notary & Records and then made a faint screeching noise while tilting back on his ears, as though braking in a car.

"This place still gives me the creeps," Bo admitted, shivering if for only an instant, "I hope it doesn't hurt Jaguardo's business when it's found out that the Gravedigger was in there…"

"A clever cat like him will find a way around it, no doubt," she postulated and then remarked of the exceptionally fancy car sitting out front, "Mr. McTwisp must have brought the entire office over from Knotash."

The broad, brown shoulders shrugged after Bo's "rider" dismounted as he offhandedly and jokingly mentioned, "'City-bunnies'; that's all I gotta say on the matter."

"Fair point," she added, "Even so, this should just be a statement, so what else…?"

"…Juju?"

The uncomfortable freeze of looming terror shot from the fluff of her tail to the tip of her ears as they directed towards the building (to which Bo's own shorter ears likewise pointed, if with less conviction as they searched about for what might have startled her). "Bad," Judy promptly decided and grabbed Bo's wrist to yank him away from the front door… only for its smaller cut-out to open and bathe them both in fluorescent light, holding them in place with a cordial groan of discovery.

"Miss Hopps!" greeted a bunny who was surely one of McTwisp's assistants, if her dress suit and trimmed, spackled fur were indications of any kind, along with a smile both bright and sincere as she welcomed them with a gesture, "And Mr. Briar? Please do come in, you're right on time."

Judy's shocked expression and posture shifted to a polite smile and stance (and Bo's followed soon after) as she pinched both sides of her skirt for single, simple curtsey, "Well, 'punctuality is the politeness of gentlerabbits and ladies alike', you know," she quipped, and while she was the first through the door, Bo kept close at her side with a succinct sweep of his ears.

"Is something the matter?" the assistant inquired after she closed the door, coming around to stand before them with paws calmly folded, the welcoming smile dropped to a placid concern (although her own ears swiveled about in response to Bo's). Aside from the clinic, the general store, and the restaurant, the notary office remained one of the most up-to-date buildings in Preds' Corner… at least the reception area did. One of the most recent standardizations was the tri-level counter, along with the more modern predator-species customizations, like at the clinic. Such customizations were modified for the convenience of rabbits, though, so all was brightly lit for the temporary office set up to receive Ms. Hopps (and Mr. Briar).

"No, not at all," Judy fibbed as she clapped Bo's shoulder to let him know that nothing was the matter, "It's just been a long day, is all."

The assistant smiled again and nodded, "Thank you for coming out so late, Ms. Hopps, I understand what a hassle this must be…"

A soft, friendly moan dismissed the worry. "Not a 'hassle' at all, really. Where is Mr. McTwisp?" Judy asked, even though her ears already pointed towards one of the meeting rooms beyond the reception area, for paper-signing and date-stamping that would take longer than the few minutes provided by any over-the-counter business (mortgages, and the like). It was that very room to which they were both ushered. Clearly, McTwisp's team was present not simply to handle whatever it was that involved Judy but to wrap up the bookkeeping for all business affairs Knotash had in Preds' Corner, for the other sharply-suited rabbits were quietly busy with paperwork on their temporary desks.

"Right this way."

Judy held Bo's paw, squeezing it to either assure or be assured… and he squeezed right back. She pressed in a bit closer to his side but not too close, since he still had his Burrow Watch utility belt on and the walkie-talkie was rather bulky (it was designed to broadcast from just about anywhere in Bunnyburrow, after all), not to mention the regulation civilian stun-gun that Bo kept largely because he had to, terrible shot that he was. Before the single door into the meeting room was opened, he looked to Judy with concern and inquiry… she nodded and held his paw a bit tighter as they walked in. Bo soon discovered why Judy felt not only apprehensive but downright indignant.

Mr. Nivins McTwisp sat at one end of the short (and low) table, a feature easily adjusted to the sizes of those using it, with his tablet standing erect on its folding keyboard along with some assorted paperwork spread out before him. His demeanor was - as either Judy and Bo often recognized, what little they saw of him - of the utmost professional cordiality and the pinnacle of "bunny business". McTwisp was an old rabbit with plenty of life still in him as he handled the affairs of all of Knotash on a macroscopic level as a sort of arbiter, and the sort of individual that one just felt they knew of without actually meeting him. It was not him that caught Bo's breath in his throat or curled Judy's toes as she prevented any foot-thumping, though.

It was Magnus, who stood so casually away from the table, an ear turned towards the door at the entering rabbits and smiling oh, so comfortably. He had no obsidian glint or bristled fur or even a squared shoulder; not a single fear or worry, that much was crystal clear. Magnus ended his call as politely and swiftly as he could before slipping his phone into a jacket pocket to smile still, if sadly at the younger bunnies present, "Thank you for coming, Judy. And Bo! Goodness, it has been a while, hasn't it? Could we get another chair for Mr. Briar?" he requested of the assistant and approached the front of the table with its single seating arrangement, "I'll admit, I wasn't expecting you both to be here."

"Uncle Magnus, hello," Judy forced out, forcing also to not grind her teeth at the thought that the rabbit in front of her was even tangentially associated with her family. When she, Bo, Lanny, and Gideon were helping the Burrow Watch and the returned predators evacuate the Knotash rabbits before the deadline, Gideon had approached her with… disturbing news. According to him (and he wouldn't reveal how he knew, only that his sources were very good), Magnus had a history of hurting mammals; of connections with Pleasure Island. She, of course, knew about the deepest evil of Underland's darkest bowels. In any other circumstance, she would have demanded proof and evidence and all the things that came with a just and fair mind. But she trusted Gideon, trusted that he wouldn't tell her something like that unless it was - to the best of his knowledge - true.

"Mr. Hopps, good evening," Bo joined in, his voice much less strained than hers since his knowledge of Pleasure Island was peripheral at best, "I'll be acting as Judy's emotional support," he then plainly stated, "along with all responsibilities and associations that entail."

"Anything you have to say to me can be said to him," Judy declared, looking directly at Magnus, "I have nothing to hide or hold back."

Magnus sucked his teeth and knitted his brow, "Well… neither do I, that's why I wanted to come out with all this, get it into the open," he then resolved, "Quietly, of course, that's why we're in this room."

"Very well; the record shall state as such," McTwisp calmly responded, tapping at his keyboard, "Good evening Judy Hopps, Bo Briar. Please, have a seat," he instructed as his assistant brought in the second chair and then closed the door's smaller cut-out on her departure.

"Before this whole… thing begins," Magnus said as he half-sat on the corner of the table nearest them, "I want to apologize for what Grav did on Sunday, Bo, there's no excuse for it. I'm glad to see you're up and about, though!"

Bo pursed his lips and sighed through his nose, "It's in the past," he tersely replied as he pulled out Judy's seat for her and then took his own (setting the bag of comic books nearby).

Magnus nodded and rubbed his paws a bit before returning to sit near McTwisp. "Alright, I'm ready," he assured himself.

"Ms. Hopps," Nivins began, "Judy, we are gathered here tonight in extraordinary circumstances. This weekend has been a tremendous series of unprecedented events for not only the Tri-Burrow Reunion but rabbits everywhere. As you know, the Lapises and the Hoppses have always been excellent warren mates, ever since Knotash's first established families… ever since Bunnyburrow's, for that matter. It is disheartening when two families of such renown… go at each other like this… especially if they are both a Hopps. I know Otto Hopps and Reginald Hopps have had their… disagreements in the past but a strong peace kept not only these families but rabbits all over the Tri-Burrows together, so when I see one Hopps call on a Lapis to go after another Hopps - an old friend - I feel it necessary to do everything in my power to mediate. We, as rabbits, live by our solidarity… by the bonds we make with each other.

"As it stands," he continued, his eyes leaving the stoic Judy and Bo to consult some paperwork, "the Felix deemed it necessary to bring in Ms. Esther Grey from Bagh & Little to assemble a case against Magnus Hopps which I and my team combed through minutely. And while it is excellently drafted, Judy, there's no-"

"What!" she shouted, paws slamming to the table as she rocketed from her chair to jab at a startled Magnus, "You can't just dismiss everything we have on him! There's a paper trail of his activities that reach the moon but you're telling me none of it sticks?"

The coffee-spotted rabbit cleared his throat significantly. The albino rabbit set down the paper he picked up to instead smooth it out as he turned towards his associate to speak discreetly, "I didn't want to believe it but she reacted exactly how you said she would."

"Overlook it, for now," Magnus beseeched behind his paw, "She's young and influenced, is all, I know she can handle this. Just… give her another shot, okay? For me?"

McTwisp sighed and nodded, "You've always been magnanimous, some say even too much but so be it," and as he sat up, he gestured to her chair after picking up another set of papers stapled together, "Please take your seat, Ms. Hopps, and I would appreciate no further outbursts."

Judy experienced simultaneous sensations of fiery hot and icy cold, quivering from the tip of her (then) curling finger as she practically pushed herself back into the chair. Both paws folded on the table as she breathed to steady herself. Bo's foot slid under the table to touch their toes together and so hers rested atop his. "My apologies," Judy then said, once more a paragon of etiquette, "Please, continue."

"Thank you," McTwisp abided and nodded, indeed appreciative of her more… demure disposition, and so himself visibly more relaxed, "As I was about to explain, there's no doubt that it is excellently drafted but there are processes for such situations, protections erected for the exact purpose of safeguarding Knotash denizens from any erroneous legal action. If there is reason to believe that any such rabbit isn't 'above board', as they say, then we will proceed accordingly and ensure that reparations are sufficiently met. We've dealt with bad apples before and have cooperated wholly with the city's justice system. It's what allows us to operate as well and as peacefully as we do."

"I think I speak for everybunny here when I say that I don't want to empty the warrens with this," Magnus said, to which Nivins nodded in agreement, "I always do what's best for Knotash, for all bunnies, so to have these sort of… allegations leveled on me is… it's hurtful. And from my own niece, even, whom I welcomed into my home and provided everything I could-!"

"Magnus," McTwisp calmly interrupted with a raised paw and a glance.

"Sorry," he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose before beseeching her, "I know I wasn't able to see you during the day, Judy, but we would have seen each other that evening-"

"I was abducted!"

"Judy," McTwisp again interrupted, less calmly.

"You were a guest," Magnus argued, aghast, "If I 'abducted' you, would I have given you full run of the house? You swam in the pool, played tennis, walked the gardens, led a class through the art gallery, and even gave a private tour of the artifact room! You wanted for naught but yet you thought yourself a prisoner?"

"In a gilded cage," Bo rebutted and earned for his input a concurring point of the finger from Judy as she addressed the older rabbits in the room, "You knew she wouldn't do anything that put her in a bad light in front of every other rabbits in that Manor, just like you're doing now."

"Bo," McTwisp further attempted with increased agitation.

Magnus groaned and buried his face into both palms to shake his head, ears flopping about. "'Gilded cage'?" he repeated and rubbed his eyes, "I should have listened to Clea when she warned me about you, Judy, I should have listened but I didn't and now not only is my son hospitalized because of you-"

"Hey!"

"But now you're doing everything you can to ruin me… and for what?"

"You tried to kill a lot of innocent mammals with that Night Howler drug of yours!" she declared, voice echoing around the room, "Not to mention the terror that those poor bunnies live in under your roof. They're all prisoners, just as much as I or Graham was!"

Magnus slumped back in his chair, no longer worry-free or even fretting, but… profoundly disappointed, "And there it is…" he said to Nivins.

"Another nail on the head, Magnus," McTwisp admitted, the disappointment in his voice all the heavier, his pink eyes not leaving the two younger rabbits, "I'll not even humor that latter accusation with a response, Judy, but midnicampum holitcithias extract was made an illegal substance after the events of the Pred-Scare and this entire business with its pollen only worsened its status," he explained and pulled up a sheet, "The whipped cream from the sheriff's office here in Bunnyburrow showed no signs of the toxin from yesterday's test. While Magnus did arrive at the sheriff's office on Sunday night to pay Grav's bail, there was absolutely no indication that the evidence locker was broken into and even if it were, there is nothing to tie its production to Magnus, only to the late Tad Wooler and his cousin Dent. That said," the albino rabbit continued, "a proper investigation will be conducted by the ZPD but before another outburst is had, rest assured that this process is for your own sake, Judy."

Judy gawked, "My 'own sake'?" she disbelieved.

"Yes," he continued, "I shall reiterate that this case is an excellent draft but Ms. Grey is a defense attorney, not a prosecutor, so something of this magnitude will need to go up to the DA, first and foremost. Without the correct processes, this case and your reputation would likely be discarded outright."

Magnus grunted disapprovingly, "Now wait a minute, Nivins, let's not do anything drastic," he said, "There's no need to drag Judy through the mud on this, she's still my niece after all and a lot of rabbits in the city look up to her."

Judy wondered if she could prevent her fur from bristling. "Then what's all this about?" she demanded, gesturing to the papers and the room and just… everything.

"Because my reputation is important, too," Magnus beseeched once more, "Midnicampum holicithias is no light matter, as I'm sure you know, so something like this," he said and gestured to the case, "could ruin me, it could ruin my whole family for generations. I have a lot of other families riding on me, as well, bunnies working at my plant that rely on the Hopps name. Look," he continued and stood up to walk around the table, despite McTwisp's behest, and knelt near Judy with his elbow on the table, "I don't want anything from you, Judy. You can keep the dress, it's yours," he then sighed tremendously, "and I'm sure… I'm sure you didn't mean for Grav to wreck his car… it was wrong of me to accuse you of that, and I'm sorry… So, here's my olive branch. Please, just… drop the charges? Let's just… both walk away from this. Okay?"

Violet eyes stared in some degree of surprise, disbelief, and bemusement. "I don't know what your game is, Magnus, but it's not going to work," Judy decided with all due conviction and then turned to the albino rabbit as her uncle lamented quite audibly and then rose to his feet, glancing only momentarily as he returned to his seat, "I'm sorry if it seems uncouth or unbecoming but I cannot back down from this and I will not drop the charges. You're right about one thing," she then continued while pointing at the coffee-spotted rabbit, "I am looked up to by lots of rabbits and my integrity is as good if not better than yours. And that's not me saying it," she explained, "ask the Felix!"

A weary silence engulfed all present rabbits. "Your integrity is extraordinary, Judy, however…" McTwisp began and pulled from his briefcase a single slip of paper to present it across the table. Judy accepted it and promptly drained all the blood from her face and ears.

Not an ounce of hesitation was shown by Bo - for in all things was Judy open to him, just like he was to her - but as he leaned over to also glance at the piece of paper, she flinched and folded the paper to hide it from him. The suddenness of the repulsion shocked them both as their eyes met and though they were mere inches apart, the gap suddenly felt like miles as his brow furrowed and face fell with dismay, as though shunned and cast out. The brown rabbit backed off to deflate into his seat, gaze averting to anywhere but her, ashamed that he might be a nuisance.

Her chair softly scraped as she scooted it closer to Bo's, her foot then touching on his to relaxing the curling of his toes. Above the table, she leaned in and presented the piece of paper.

"The writing is definitely yours," McTwisp explained after a pause, "and according to that note, you owe 'one get-out-of-jail-free card' to a Mr. Duke Weaselton, and it is to my understanding that he boasts an actual criminal record that 'reaches the moon'. Perhaps you, the first rabbit police officer in recorded history, would like to explain yourself?"

Whether it was Bo gripping her forearm or his toes beneath her foot, or even that he remained at her side after reading that note, Judy felt the color return to both face and ears. She sat up, dark-tipped ears springing to full attention as Magnus's phone rang with an awkward groan and grimace to follow.

"Terribly sorry," he pleaded and discreetly checked the screen, grunted, and then requested, "I really should take this…"

"Perhaps a short recess?" Bo immediately suggested.

McTwisp looked between the two of them - giving Magnus a momentary, withering look - and then nodded, "A four-minute recess shall clear our heads, I think," agreed McTwisp, permitting Magnus to answer his still ringing phone with a wave of his paw before addressing his own phone as though it were an intercom, "Please bring in some water."

Judy's eyes never left her uncle as he stood and turned, phone to his ear, voice too low to make out any words. After a bottle of refreshment was offered to each rabbit at the table, she pulled Bo in closer and whispered behind a raised paw in the same lower-than-audible tone she reserved for private conversation amongst her fellow bunnies (and Nick)… and then "whispered" a bit louder, "…And so long as we're at the Bramble's Notary, there's not much else we can do except stay put and weather the storm, no matter how much it might sting," and winked, pointing at herself.

"And will it sting, here at the Bramble's Notary?" Bo asked after his eyebrows arched.

"It will sting, here at the Bramble's Notary," Judy confirmed.

Silver trickled through the wind-tickled leaves, the forest peacefully whistling a lullaby with the bugs in its bark and foliage. Clusters of stars buzzed with each wing beat of the fireflies disappearing behind trunks or rocks as two, larger bodies wedged themselves through the accommodating tangle of backwater wilderness.

"Wow, this place is amazing," Lanny awed as he slipped through what gaps were sizeable enough for him to do so (or compliant enough under his strength), "I thought the Rainforest District was something but there's always the hiss of a sprinkler or a lingering whiff of exhaust. But this…"

Gideon ducked under an arch of twisted root before clambering up onto another one until he was about chest height to the lion and walking along a thick-roped mesh with his arms and tail spread out. "I been coming in here ever since I was kit; could always go through without any trouble," he then sniffed the air, "Y'know, there was that rainstorm a few weeks back, so one of the ponds must've filled up."

"'One of the ponds'?"

"Yeah!" the fox answered, "There are grottos all through this forest, big-'n'-small, so they fill up into pools and ponds when we get lots of rain; cool, fresh water, perfect for a soak. I'd go for a dip whenever I saw one… with my shirt on, o'course, jus' in case anyone showed up. Not many others could find 'em like me, though, so I was pretty safe in that regard. Some real good-for-the-soul stuff," he then seemed a bit brighter, "Maybe from here-on-out, I won't bother with a shirt no more."

Lanny looked at the fox's back. The fact that Gideon was in Pred Therapy stayed on the forefront of his mind like a gash on the forehead (even his 'Dawson' was dumbstruck). He didn't know anyone that went through it; other lions knew, those at the docks knew of such mammals. And then Lanny did know someone that went through it and he still wasn't sure how to process the information. "So, umm… You go through here all the time, then?"

A shrug preceded his answer before he twirled about and plopped himself down to gaze at the fireflies. "I used to before my bakery opened up, then it's jus' a morning walk. Always felt welcomed here, like there was no one to… ya'know, judge me," Gideon said, rubbing his knees a bit, "I could jus' let myself be me, let my mind wander… revisit dreams, is what it felt like," he then chuckled, "Always did have an overactive imagination. Started ever since I was… gosh, three, I guess? That was my first one, when I met a big ol' lion in the woods just off our field."

The current, young lion blinked as he, too, sat down. "'Met'? Don't you mean 'saw'?"

"Well, I was three," Gideon reminded, "who knows what I was thinkin'. Essy came and found me, though, and swears up-&-down that no kind of lion was anywhere in the area."

"You do understand that I, as a medical professional, harbor concern about these visions you're describing, right?"

The fox smirked, "Uh oh, I think someone's jealous that I'm thinkin' about other lions."

Lanny also smirked and then flicked a finger against Gideon's temple to make him grunt in mild discomfort, "Shush, you. After hearing about Night Howler's prolific presence out here in the country and what Madge told us about similar substances elsewhere in the world, I can't help but worry about what else is lurking in these woods. I've seen plenty of mammals crash from Pollen, you know; it's not a pretty sight."

With a rubbing of his noggin and a groaning of disapproval, Gideon blinked and shook his head to recalibrate himself, "I think you done knocked a screw loose, Lan, because tha's some kind of them 'visions' you mentioned," he said and pointed at a figure only a few feet away, "Ain't that Nick done up all fancy in his cop suit? I mean, it can't be, he's s'posed to be in the city."

Crimson eyes followed the crimson finger to a crimson canine, indeed, "done up all fancy" in a ZPD uniform. "Whoa, I see him, too…" he said and reached out to lightly grab the impatient frown, the entirety of his paw engulfing Nick's head, "He's so real…" The instant his mitt lightly fluffing the older tod's face, both Lanny and Gideon flew back (the larger of the two striking his head against a particularly sturdy branch).

"What are you doing out here?" Nick demanded, arms crossed and eyebrows knitted, tail puffed quite angrily, "Do you realize that I heard you guys from a half-mile off? I doubt I'm exaggerating!" When either attempted to respond, Nick barked over them, "I expected better from both of you! What part of 'you probably have assassins out for your head' did you fail to comprehend?

"I'm especially disappointed in you," Nick then accused of his shrinking cousin, "Weren't you just on the darknet? Weren't you just shot at by the Gravedigger? Didn't I just escape being kidnapped? Didn't Judy just escape being kidnapped? What would've happened if I had to face your parents and my parents and your sister (who is also my mate) with the news that you got yourself killed within spitting distance of home?

"And I'm especially disappointed in you, too!" Nick then accused of the frozen lion, "You'd think a lifetime of dodging the Lookers would instill enough caution in you to not go bumbling about in a dark, unknown forest scant hours after the worst assassin in modern history just painted a target on your back! I can't even imagine the volcanic conniption-fit that Madge would have at me if anything happened to you."

A cricket made its presence known in the silence to follow.

"Stretch…" Gideon began apologetically, "It's hard to take you seriously right now, you have twigs in your fur, and I'm pretty sure one of them has bird-doo on it."

"How'd it feel to be the adult of a situation?" Lanny asked after a calming exhale, carefully plucking a particularly disgusting stick to toss it.

"Why do you think I'm so upset right now?" Nick grumbled as he brushed foliage from his pelt, "All of my points are still valid, so… both of you march your tails back to the clinic… and you're grounded. No… video games or… I don't know, hijinks for a week."

"Sheesh, dad," groaned the lion.

"Seriously, though, you're both idiots for wandering around like this. Why did you even come out here?"

"I wanted to introduce Lanny to everyone, and then I remembered how nice these woods are at night and I guess I got carried away with 'em," Gideon confessed as he guided the other two out to a clearing and back the way they came, "But why're you out here, huh? I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."

Nick groaned and huffed as he made some comment under his breath about the frequency of his lengthy excursions through the country and the resulting grooming of his fur, "Long story short, I dropped off Doug with some other officers of the ZPD and when I found out that Knotash was bringing in heavy equipment to Preds' Corner, I opted to investigate. Turns out Magnus is out here." Both Gideon and Lanny choked on their shock. "My sentiments exactly; and exactly why you both should be somewhere safe. I don't know why he's out here but before I could figure it out, I ran into some of our cousins."

"Wait… you don't mean from the Knottedwood, d'you?" Gideon disbelieved.

"I most certainly do. They've been keeping an eye on things from afar but couldn't interact because they have to stay close to ironroots or else get that nasty affliction Dad described. And they can't use smartphones which is the real tragedy. Don't worry, I directed them to your parents' house so they should be available to chat when we get back," he assured, "They brought me back here after I collapsed so to alleviate the affliction I just had. I cleared a few things up with them before getting back to my policing duties and then ran into you two chuckleheads."

"All the way from the train station to here?" asked Lanny.

"I suspect because it's close to the Grey house and the clinic," Nick answered, "They couldn't bring me back to the Knottedwood so either of those places would be the safest to leave me in case I didn't recover." When the lion softly groaned with acceptance, Nick continued, "I need to get a hold of Judy but she hasn't answered my cautionary text about Magnus. Where is she at?"

The three exited the forest on approach of the dimly-lit clinic teasing through the trees, and when they did Lanny's head lifted and craned about. "Wait… where's my truck?" he demanded rhetorically and then took a few fevered steps closer to the emptiness outside the back door of the clinic, "It was right there," he insisted, "but now it's gone! Someone took my truck!"

"Alright, Lanny, relax, let's have a look at this," said Officer Wilde as he quick-stepped closer to examine the ground, "Right around here?"

"Yeah, thereabouts," Gideon confirmed as he reached up and comforted the lion with a pat on the thigh.

The taller fox hummed as he took out his phone and crouched down, taking pictures, "No signs of upturned gravel around the tire impressions… if you've still got your keys then whoever took it picked the locks on the door and put likely put it into neutral to roll it… that way," he directed with a finger as his eyes swept the ground, "No doubt to keep it quiet before hotwiring it and driving off."

Lanny's mitts rubbed over his face and through his mane, "What else could go wrong…" he groaned and then checked his pockets, "Yeah, I still have my keys," he began, and then clapped his other pockets with increasing concern, both paws finding his wallet and keys but not "My phone… where… Did I drop it…?" and then craned his neck over a shoulder to address the woods.

"I don't remember you ever pulling it out…" Gideon considered, "No, wait… you got that text when we was attachin' the camper shell on your truck-"

"The one from my roommate in the city," Lanny remembered with a snap of his fingers, "That's right, I read it and then put the phone down… and then we attached the shell; so the phone was in the bed, thus stolen along with my truck," he realized with ever-inflating dread until it was much too much handle and knelt down to pound his forehead into the dirt.

"Is the GPS on?" Nick casually asked while typing out a text message.

Lanny wasn't quick to answer, "It… is…"

"Then we can track it," the taller fox assured and sent off his digital missive, "Technically speaking, I'm outside my jurisdiction and this specific crime should be handled by the sheriff's office. That said," he went on, "I can still ask my buddy Finnick to track the GPS on your phone by giving him your phone number. All we need to do now is find ourselves local law enforcement and we'll be hunky-dory."

"Like Gabe Catmull," Gideon suggested, "I think I heard he's come back to the Corner, to welcome his fam'ly from the cruise."

Nick groaned high. "I think Gabe has a few… things to work through right now."

The maned head rose in a gasp, "Bo's a deputy, we can tell him!"

"And he's with Judy!" Gideon added, "They's at the Notary meetin' with that Nivins McTwisp fella."

Nick's skeleton about lept out of his pelt, only just biting back a yelp. "No! Nivins is a turncoat, he's on Magnus's side and if Judy and Bo are going to meet McTwisp, then they're going into a trap! Bangs," Nick then said, "you go tell Madge and keep safe. Freight, you're with me."

"Why can't I come?" Gideon demanded.

"Because you can't throw a car through a brick wall," Nick retorted, gesturing to the then standing lion and his towering physique, "Listen, Psychopath Sr. is here, in Preds' Corner which makes everything about this place dangerous. We can easily assume that he's got ears and guns around every corner. I need you to bring Madge up to speed on the situation while me and Lanny barrel headlong into certain danger."

"Didn't you just chastise us for doing that?" Lanny argued.

"There are lots of places you could get dropped on and tranq'd out in the woods. Here on the street, Mr. Alpha Lion, you have the distinct advantage of being large, loud, and very scary. Bunnies are less likely to even look at you if there're fewer places to hide. Alright?" Nick punctuated, "Time is of the essence and you're a lot faster than I am at distance."

Lanny huffed. "Alright, let's do this," he decided, grabbing a suddenly flailing Nick around the waist and tucking him under an arm before pointing Gideon to the clinic, "Madge should be in either her office or the break room."

"Alright," the farm-fox agreed, gulping back his stutter, and as he turned towards the door he called over his shoulder, "You both better come back after this, and bring our bunnies with you."

Nick saluted from his less-than-becoming position of being carried like a package but his and Lanny's respective tails whisked off as the larger, tawnier predator knelt down and broke into a run.

"Hold tight, Carrots, cavalry's coming."

Author's Notes:

["lee-la-dee, lee-la-dee, lee-did-diddy-dee-doo…"] was first introduced as a special knock that Nick shared with his parents in the earlier chapters of Trustworthy and was referenced by Esther, in chapter 18, as a lullaby Ruth sang to her and Gideon to help with their fox-flu headaches. It was used again in chapter 22, when Nick was flung head-long into a grotto and suffered from what is now known as "the affliction" caused by ironroots on foxes who are sensitive to them; it was in that scene which Nick sang the lullaby to himself to quell the agony.

The "gilded cage" is a reference that Bo and Nick had back in Brave, chapter 19, as a method which Magnus utilized to keep Judy in check during her abduction, effectively forcing her to act in a way befitting of a rabbit in good standing while constantly observed by admirers seeing her as a good role model. The freedom to roam about and all the activities which Magnus mentions come from Brave, chapter 22.

Zoologists are the parallel to anthropologists in this world.

"Remy Linguini" is a combination reference of Remy and Alfredo Linguini from the movie Ratatouille, as if the name of the restaurant and the book, "Anyone Can Cook".

Judy and Bo's act with her riding on his shoulders is mentioned in Brave, chapter 15, while the steering aspect is demonstrated with Nick in Brave, chapter 19.

Phil Octaves (from Trustworthy, chapter 20) is a goat and a reference to Philoctetes (or "Phil") from Disney's Hercules; as in the movie, he trains "heroes" for the MMA (Mammalian Martial Arts) but was considered a "cursed" trainer due to all of his rookies making it to the finals but encountering unfortunate circumstances that prevented them from fighting. Bo's dream to fight in the MMA comes from Trustworthy, chapter 10.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!