Zootopia- monsters and animals

*Disclaimer: Zootopia belongs to Disney. I do not own Zootopia or any of it's characters.*

Leon hated himself with every part of his being right now. Currently he was holding a large duffel bag and standing outside of a small, dingy house that had probably seen better days… thirty years ago, maybe.

Karter's house.

The others wanted to come with him, saying he shouldn't do this alone. But Leon had made it clear that this was something he needed to do. He had failed his closest friend and would be the one to inform his family.

This was his sin to bear.

As Leon stood in front of the small door he hesitated. He only knew bits and pieces that Karter had told him but not much else. Would they really accept this? Would they accept that their son, brother, family member was gone? Who would they blame? He felt he was to blame but half hoped they didn't return the sentiment. And what about the looks on their faces as he told them? Anger? Grief? Sadness? There was just so much one animal could take.

Finally hardening his nerve he reached forward and rang the doorbell. For a minute there was nothing, but then his hearing picked up on the pitter patter of small feet running towards the door.

The door opened to reveal a female gopher. She looked maybe a few years older than Karter, probably fresh out of high school. She looked up at him with a confused, wary glare.

Leon mentally took a breath to prepare himself. "Is this the Klovac residence?" He asked politely.

The gopher nodded her head slowly, not taking her eyes off of the young lion standing in her doorway.

"My name's Leon. I'm… I was a friend of Karter's." He explained, trying to hide the grief in his voice.

The female gophers eyes went wide and she was silent for a brief moment before finally speaking. "What… What do you mean was?" She asked suspiciously as fear filled her eyes.

Leon hung his head and shook it. "I'm sorry…" Was all he could manage.

The gopher covered her mouth as tears formed. "No…No! That's not… You're lying!" She shouted angrily as tears fell down her face.

Leon just shook his head and the gopher angrily slammed the door frame with her fist as she cried. Eventually an older looking female gopher came down to investigate the disturbance. It only took one look at the grief stricken lion and her angry, crying daughter to figure out what was going on. She collapsed and began to let out horrible heart wrenching sobs.

Leon hated himself even more as he stared at the two. The pain was so agonizing that he just wanted to run and never return. But Karter had asked him to do this in the event that he died.

Leon refused to deny his friend this one final request.

After a long period of sobbing the two had final quieted down. They invited Leon in so he could explain things to them. Leon could barely fit into the house, it was designed for smaller animals so he had to lower his head and slightly bend his knees as he walked through. As he sat in the living room with the two he noticed the dejected looks they had. Like nothing else in the world mattered anymore.

Leon knew it was time to get this over with.

"I was a good friend of Karter's. Before he… He wanted me to give you these in the event something happened to him." Leon explained as he placed the bag on the table and pulled a letter out of his pocket.

Every single one of them had written a letter. They knew the operation would be dangerous, it was a last will and testament. Along with the letter they had each prepared a duffel bag. Whoever received the letter would receive the bag along with it. Leon had a pretty good guess as to what was in it. Leon tried to pass it to them but Karter's mother shook her head.

"I… I can't, I don't think I'd…" Fresh tears fell down her face and she covered her mouth as she cried again. The other gopher just glared angrily at Leon.

Leon gave a heavy sigh. "Would you like me to read it?" He offered sympathetically.

Karter's mother considered it before slowly nodding her head.

Leon took a deep breath. None of them knew what the others had written. It was strictly meant to be between whoever received it. I guess this would be the exception though. He opened the envelope and unfolded the letter inside.

Leon cleared his throat.

"Hey mom… sis. If you're reading this then I'm sorry to say it but I'm gone. Look I know how you both are, Mom you'll cry yourself to sleep every night for who knows how long but don't. I'm not worth that much tears and grief. Melody, I know you're going to get pissed and rip into the closest animal but please if it's one of my friends spare them, they're going through the same as you… Honestly I haven't really thought of much to say so I guess I should just come clean with it all. When I disappeared I ended up in an underground facility, apparently it was being run by Ogre and I was turned into a G.E.O." Leon heard gasps from both Karter's mom and sister but continued on. "A friend that I'm with is the one that broke me out, I decided to help him because, honestly, I don't think I could put either of you through the grief or pain. The last three months have been crazy and I'll spare you the details but to make things short we finally came up with a plan to hunt him down and kill him. Even the special officers are involved! I know, I know. Dad was the pacifist to end all pacifists and I know he'd be ashamed of this… but it has to be done. This monster has killed and hurt more animals than you can possibly imagine, my friends and I included. I can't just sit back and let that happen anymore. Again, if you're reading this I'm dead and hopefully my friends actually won. If that's the case the duffel bag contains all the money and worthwhile possessions I collected during my time away from home. It should be more than enough to get you guys into a good house, last you for a long time to come and put Melody through college… You're welcome sis!" Melody actually gave a small 'heh' at that. "Anyways, just don't blame my friends. I know them all pretty well, they're a bunch of saps that'll be tearing themselves apart about this for ages, so try and go easy on them when they stop by ok? Not much else to say except this. Mom, I know you get upset easily and cry over everything but honestly you are one of the strongest, bravest animals I've ever known and want you to try and see that in yourself some more ok? Melody, you're headstrong, reckless, insensitive and would probably punch me for saying all of this but someone had to say it. But none of that makes you a bad animal, just means you have some flaws to work out and I know you're a clever girl, you'll figure it out in time. I love you both… be good. Karter."

As Leon finished reading the letter he noticed blotches on the paper. He was crying. He quickly cleared his throat and wiped his face before carefully folding the letter and placing it on top of the duffel bag. He looked up to the two gophers to see fresh tears in their eyes, they weren't sobbing, just crying.

"Did you guys win?" Melody asked after a long silence.

Leon nodded. "Yeah… we won." He said simply.

She nodded. "Good." Melody said fiercely.

Leon got up and was walked to the door. As he stepped outside he turned around to face them.

"Karter died a hero. He fought and fought hard. He didn't back down once." Leon stated as he faced them.

Karter's mother wiped her tears and nodded. "I know… I'm like his father, I hate fighting and violence in general. But this… even if I don't agree with it all…I'm proud of him for standing up for what he believed in." She said with conviction.

Leon gave a small smile at that. Before he left he gave them a piece of paper. "It's the phone number for the special officers in charge. Since he helped the police the funeral will be conducted by them and they'd like him to be buried along with past fallen officers. But as his family you get the final say and input to how it's done and where he'll be buried if that's an issue. Just call and they'll explain all the details." Leon explained as Karter's mother took the piece of paper and nodded.

She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist catching Leon by surprise. "Thank you for doing this." She whispered gratefully through her grief.

Leon just patted her shoulders comfortingly as he accepted the gesture.

After he had left Leon made his way over to the park, it had started raining now and it was only getting worse but he didn't care. He sat down at a bench and did the one thing he hadn't done in years.

He buried his face in his paws and cried.

After Leon had let everything out he decided it was time for him to do one more thing, something that was long overdue.

He walked through the city streets, not caring that he was practically drenched at this point. Leon knew his destination and refused to stop until he made it there. It took him fifteen minutes until he finally stood in front of a café called 'The Den.' it catered to predators, mostly felines like him. With a heavy sigh he opened the door and a bell chimed. It was pretty much empty. A Bengal tigress passed by him, smiling as she looked him over but he ignored it, he wasn't here to find a one night companion.

He went to the front counter and sat down at a round leather seat. He waited until a server came out. She was a leopard who wore the standard outfit of the café, black t shirt and jeans. She looked fairly young, maybe a college student.

"Umm excuse me?" Leon said as he waved to the server.

She smiled at him brightly. "Hello sir! Is there anything I can get for you?" She asked cheerfully.

Leon scratched his chin sheepishly. "Ummm I was wondering if Laura was here or Kathy if Laura's not available." He asked nervously.

The leopard frowned as if she was thinking about something. "Well… Kathy left already but Laura should be in the back getting ready! Do you need me to grab her for you?" She asked.

Leon nodded. "That would be appreciated, thank you."

Leon sat in silence as he waited. This had seemed like a good idea at the time but now he was having second thoughts. He didn't know how ready he was for this. This was something he hadn't thought about once since he joined up with everyone. He thought about leaving until a lioness who looked like she hadn't aged a day past twenty stepped out. Leon gulped as he stood up. He looked away to avoid any eye contact.

"Umm hi… I-I don't know if you remember me, I mean I probably look different now…" Leon started but soon felt the lioness throw herself against him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Leon?" She asked shakily without letting go or caring that her uniform was getting soaked because of him.

He nodded as he wrapped his arms around her. "Hi mom." Leon whispered.

She let go of him and grabbed his face with her paws. She had tears in her eyes and looked at him like she was searching for something.

"Look how big you've gotten. Your mane is growing out." She said. A shaky smile spread across her face and a small laugh followed.

Leon gave her a soft smile. "Tends to do that when you get older." He joked lightly.

She smiled and shook her head as tears rolled down her face. "Look at you! Baby you look so grown up!" She said excitedly as if she didn't know how else to react.

Leon nodded and let out a heavy sigh. "Mom… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for whatever worry I've put you through and I'm sorry I didn't come home. A lot of things happened and." Laura raised a paw to stop Leon.

"Leon. I know you. You wouldn't have done that without a really damn good reason. Look its slow right now. How about I get you a towel, something warm to drink and a spare shirt? You can explain everything to me afterwards. Ok?" She said as she smiled warmly at him.

Leon just smiled and nodded his head.

After Laura had gotten him a towel and one of the cafes spare shirts, which was a bit tight, she asked if he wanted a drink.

"Coffee? When did you start drinking coffee?" Laura asked incredulously.

Leon gave a small laugh. 'When I found out hangovers are a real bitch.' He thought to himself. "Kind of started and got used to it." He lied.

She just nodded as she poured him a cup of coffee. Leon added some sugar and cream before taking a generous gulp. He felt much better with some dry clothes and warm coffee.

Laura gave a small smile. "You got really big you know. You've got muscle." She said as she poked one of his arms.

Leon smiled and nodded. "I know." He sat the mug down and stared at it. This was going to be difficult. He had no game plan, his feet just moved and his mind said ok.

"Are you ok? You seem… sad." Laura said as she rubbed his back sympathetically.

Leon gripped the mug with both paws as he thought of the day's events. "Well… I just finished visiting my best friend's house… and met his family… to tell them that he died." He whispered.

Laura covered her mouth with her paw while she gently placed the other on his forearm. "Oh baby, I'm so sorry to hear that." She said sympathetically.

Leon nodded. "It's fine. I'll manage." He took a deep breath. "I had to tell them what happened, minus some of the more… disturbing details. But I think I got the point across that he died a hero. I think it gave them some peace." He said simply.

Laura nodded as she listened to her son. She hadn't seen him in four months and he had gone through something so horrible. She hated that she wasn't there for him, to help him through it, but was proud at how well he was dealing with this on his own.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did he die?" Laura asked cautiously. She was hoping she wasn't stepping over any boundaries.

"Well, to be honest. It ties in with why I didn't come home." Leon stated as he continued to stare down at his mug. "Me and my friends went through something really bad… We were kidnapped and were planning what to do next. We settled on our goal and eventually the special officers got involved, it became a big operation. He died during it." Leon explained.

Laura stared at Leon in stunned horror as he explained this all so casually. "You… You were kidnapped!?" She asked shakily.

Leon nodded. "Yeah… by Ogre." He stated.

Laura had to resist her urge to start crying right there and then. Her son, her baby boy, had been kidnapped by one of Zootopias worst monsters since The Clipper. How scared had he been? What had been done to him? How had he survived until this point?

"There's more." Leon continued, breaking Laura away from her thoughts. "Me, my friends…we were all changed. Honestly it still scares the hell out of me but I think I've mostly accepted it. I had too. I had to use it to fight during the operation." Leon explained, still remaining calm despite how he felt.

Laura clued in to what he was getting at. "G.E.O.s" She stated in disbelief.

Leon winced but after a short period he nodded. "Part of the reason why I didn't come home. I didn't want you to be scared. I didn't want you to hate me for this." He explained sadly.

Laura quickly grabbed his shoulders and turned him in his seat before wrapping her arms around him. "I would never EVER hate you. I brought you into this world. Raised you and took care of you. I don't give a damn what anyone says, you're always going to be my baby. I don't care if bones do come out of your back or whatever." She stated fiercely into his ear as she tightened her hug.

"Muscle." Leon said.

Laura pulled away and frowned in confusion.

"Muscle, my armament type is muscle." Leon explained sheepishly.

Laura blew a raspberry. "You know what I mean, smartass." She said with a small grin.

Leon nodded. "Hey mom, I know it's sudden but… can I ask something?" He said as he turned to her.

She nodded. "What is it baby?" Laura asked.

"Can… Can I come home?" Leon asked. His voice was barely a whisper as he looked at her with near pleading in his eyes.

Laura's heart broke as she looked into his eyes and saw the fear and pleading in them. "Oh Leon, you don't even need to ask. Of course you can." She said, trying her hardest not to cry again.

Leon gently pulled her in for a hug, she wrapped her arms around him and rubbed her paws along his back soothingly.

Leon closed his eyes and let himself enjoy this one moment. After all the fear, anger, violence and horrible grief he had gone through he was finally experiencing some peace. His mother still loved him and that was all he needed to know.

"Thank you." Leon whispered as he hugged her just a bit tighter.