The house was still on fire, but it was now on the process of being snuff by the work of the firefighters in there. They proved that they were very efficient in doing their job.
Meanwhile, cops were coming and going, as they were taking testimonies of the ones in there. They started with the ones who were directly involved in the incident, what was basically the panda, the tigress, and the two meta mammals.
Alex was being ask question as they saw him to the ambulance, where they checked on the wound that he had received from gunshots. Luckily, the bullet only scratched at him, and didn't caused any real damage on its way out. He didn't even needed stitches or anything, they only disinfected the wound and bandaged it up.
"So, this is basically all of it, right?" The rhino asked, looking at the puma and at the gazelle that was sitting next to him. Alex was currently shirtless as the medic finished with his bandages, and the puma nodded.
"Yeah, all of it." The puma confirmed, the gazelle nodded in agreement, and the rhino nodded back at them.
"Well, I guess that is all." The rhino said, looking at him, "You know, it is a lot of coincidence that you arrived to deliver the pet just in the moment that a meta mammal was attacking this house, Mr. Hunter."
Alex and Linda both looked at him, as the rhino looked back at them.
"Alex!" Someone cried out. "Linda!"
They both turned to see two familiar forms coming at their direction. Judy was the first to arrive, as she rushed to the ambulance and hopped in with surprisingly speed and agility.
"I heard it through the radio! Are you two okay?" Judy said, looking at them both.
Alex and Linda were confirming to her that they were both fine. That they had not been harm in any way, save for the scratch on Alex's arm, made by a bullet. This caused Judy to be worried, though.
Meanwhile, Nick had just managed to climb up into the van and had arrived at them in time to hear the conversation.
"So this is, like what, the third meta mammal that you find that wants to kill you?" Nick asked, looking at the two of them. "Think that maybe we should put you guys under police protection in case more of these guys appear?"
"Either that or we put them both under watch." The rhino said, as he took a few more notes. "After all, since it seems that the meta mammals are being drawn to them, then maybe we could use them both as baits to catch the next one."
The rhino didn't even waited for any answer from the mammals in the ambulance, before he turned around and started to walk away. The meta mammals and the two smaller cops looked at him as he left, and a silence followed in this.
"He was just joking, right?" Judy asked, the other mammals didn't knew how to respond. The rhino didn't really looked as if he was joking. The way he looked at Alex and Linda right before leaving was quite strange...
"Well, this one here is done." The medic said, "Now, you better not try to scratch, and change the bandages every two days." He said, and Alex nodded, and he soon was reaching out for his shirt and slipping it back to his body, as Judy and Nick both continued to make sure that these two were okay.
"So, they guy really exploded?" Nick asked, looking at them. "As in 'boom'?" He said, making an explosion gesture with his paws, and they both nodded.
"It was what it seemed." Linda confirmed.
"So... did he..." Judy asked, looking at them. As an answer, the two meta mammals shrugged.
"You should keep an eye for him, anyway." Alex said, and the cops nodded. Judy even took it more literally and made a note on it on her notepad.
"So, you guys really saved the life of Kuma Akira?" Nick asked, looking at both of them. "Well, let's just hope that the guy can give you a nice compensation for this."
"So, he is rich?" Lind asked, looking at the fox. "Well, I mean, he obviously is, to live in such a nice place."
"Oh, he has a lot of money, alright." Nick said, looking at both of them. "Of course, as for how he actually makes money..."
"Badmouthing me to my rescuers, Wilde?" Someone said, and this caused everyone to look at the one who had spoken.
The panda with the scar over his right eye was standing on the entrance of the ambulance, his paws behind his back as he walked into the ambulance, looking at the fox.
"You really should let others make their own judgements about me, instead of trying to induce them to take a certain conclusion." He said to the fox, who looked back at him, but said nothing in return, but put his paws up, as if in surrender, but he still had that smirk on his face.
"Mr. Kuma." Judy said, looking at the panda. "Have you already given your testimony?" She asked, and the panda nodded.
"It was taken by a leopard officer who was really polite." He said, and looked at the two meta mammals. He walked to their direction, and stood in front of them.
"So... Kuma Akira, right?" Alex asked, looking at the panda that stood before them, and he nodded.
"Yes. And, you two would be Alex Hunter and Linda Thompson, right?" He asked, and they both confirmed.
The panda stood before them for a few moments, before doing something that surprised them.
"Thank you for your help." He said to them. "I am now in debt with both of you."
Alex and Linda shared a look at this, and they were soon saying to the panda that there was no need. However, the panda continued to insist on this.
"We would have died if it weren't for you." The panda said, looking at them. "If I can repay you in any way I will."
"You don't have to." Alex said, "Seriously, it is okay."
"We are glad we helped." Linda asked, looking at him. "So, how is your friend? You know, the tigress?"
"She is being checked on by the medics now." The panda said, "She sprained her ankle, but they assured it is nothing serious."
"Well, that's good to know." Linda said, looking back at him. "I have to say, you were really brave by carrying the tigress like that. You two must be really good friends." The panda nodded.
"Yes, she is fine thanks to you two." The panda said, looking at them, "By the way, Lien is my wife."
"Oh." Linda said, looking back at him, and so did Alex.
"The tigress is... your wife?" Alex said, looking quite surprised, and the panda actually smiled back at them.
"She indeed is." He said, looking at the two. "What, are you two weirded out by a panda being married to a tigress? Some are."
"Oh, not weirded out." Linda said, "Is just, we didn't expected to find someone... well, like us." She admitted, looking at the puma that as sitting by her side.
The panda looked at the two, and actually chuckled.
"Well, if you would like to discuss the implications of interspecies romance and marriage, I would be glad to give you some advice."
Linda and Alex both thanked him for that. Linda looked back at the panda, and she seemed quite glad for finding someone else who was in an interspecies relationship. Maybe he actually could give her some advice.
Alex, on his hand, was more focus on the fact that the panda was married to a tigress...
"I... think I'll take a little walk." Alex said, getting up and hopping out of the ambulance. Linda and the others remained in place, and Linda seemed to be interested into the panda, who showed an equal amount of interest in her.
As they remained in the ambulance, Alex walked a bit and he looked around. He saw some cops in there, looking around the place. He saw someone who seemed to be of the CSI team, as they looked at the place and took pictures. He also saw many firefighters in there, and they looked to be trying to end the fire in the house, even though by now it seemed to be a lost case, once it was so burn that there was no salvaging that house.
Nearby there was another ambulance, and Alex soon was moving in direction to it, passing through the officers and other agents on his way. Soon, he was right in the entrance of the ambulance, and he looked as the tigress was having her foot immobilized by a hippo doctor, who was giving her some advice regarding her foot and about how she should "take it easy for the next few days".
Alex stood in there, looking at the tigress in there, and wondering if he should actually go in there and talk to her. I mean, he did helped rescue her, of course, but this didn't gave him the right to go in there and start asking her questions. However, Alex had doubts. Doubts that were starting to take a tool at his relationship with Linda. And that tigress was probably the only one that could give him some advice in this.
With this, Alex made up his mind, and he cleared his throat, catching the tigress' attention.
"Oh, it's you!" The tigress said, looking at him in surprised and, to what it seemed to Alex, a certain happiness.
"I... came to check on you." Alex said, looking at the tigress, and she seemed to be delighted to hear that.
"So, are you really okay?" Alex asked, to which the tigress confirmed that she was.
"Only a sprained ankle, but that will heal soon." She said to him, "It could have been far worse if you had not come and stopped these two. Thank you very much."
"Oh, don't mention it." Alex said to her.
"You saved us." The tigress said to him, "My husband and I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you." She said, and then a cawing coming from her side called her attention.
"Oh, of course you helped too, Aki-chan." She said, petting the bird that was by her side in the head, and it cawed in delight. The tigress then turned back to the puma.
"But, you were really brave, saving us both like that." The tigress said to Alex. "We are in debt with you."
"Pease, don't speak like that." Alex said, as this talking was kind of making him blush. However, the puma had come in here for a reason.
"So... the panda is really your husband, Mrs. Akira?" He asked, and the tigress looked back at him.
"Yes, he indeed is." She said to him, "And it is Mrs. Kuma, by the way."
Alex looked at her.
"Oh, right! In Japan they say the surname before the given name." The puma said, and the tigress looked back at him.
"I'm sorry. Where?"
"Japan." The puma said, looking at her. "Is that where you and your husband are from, right?"
"Oh, I see." The tigress said, looking back at him, "You are talking about Japanda, right?"
Ja... panda...
"Yeah, that's right." Alex said, going along with it, and the tigress chuckled.
"It is funny the name that you from the west have for the country." She mentioned, "In the native language and in China the place is called by the native name: Nippon. I guess that the mammals of other places are used to adapting names of things for their own language."
"Yeah, it seems." Alex admitted, and he thought:
And to make it a pun, like they seem to do with everything else here in this bizarre world.
"So..." Alex says, "For how long have you been... you know, together?" He asked, and she looked back at him.
"Well, we have been married for ten years. But, we've known each other since we were cubs." She said to him, and Alex looked back at her, before nodding.
"And... are you two happy together?"
"As much as a couple can be." She said, seeming proud to be able to say that, and Alex looked back at her. He was about to ask another question, however, he hesitated, as he was not sure on either he should ask it or not, once it would be a bit invasive. Also, he was thinking what would be the best way to ask it without sounding improper.
The tigress noticed the change in the puma, and she then asked:
"Something wrong, young man?" She asked him, and the puma looked at her.
"What? N-no. Nothing." Alex said, looking back at her, but he was not sure that she was buying it, and she continued to look at him.
"W-well, is just that..." Alex said, a bit awkward. "You know, you are a tigress and he is a panda..."
"Yes, so?" she asked, looking at the puma, and then, the puma looked back at her.
"Is just..." Alex said, looking at her in the eye, and he then asked:
"Don't you..." He asked, looking at her, "Don't you get a bit worried?"
"Worried?" She said, seeming like she was not understanding. "About what?"
"About... you know." He said, "You claws... and your fangs... Because... you are a predator and he... isn't..."
The tigress looked back at him, with a raised eyebrow.
"Young man, I have the feeling that you want to ask me something rather important." She said, looking at him. Alex looked back at her, and after a few seconds, he said:
"My girlfriend is a gazelle." Alex finally said, and the tigress looked back at him, as she was not understanding it. "And, we have had a really good relationship ever since we began dating, but lately... well, I have been worried about these..." he said, showing his sharp teeth, "And these." He said, showing of his retractable claws.
The tigress looked back at him, and she nodded.
"You are afraid of causing her harm, aren't you?" She said, and Alex nodded at her.
"It is a recent problem." Alex said, looking at her, "I mean... I never really worried about that before, but now all of sudden I am worried about biting her tongue off and swallowing it if we kiss..." The puma said, the mere thought filling him with nausea. "She's been coming at me because of this too, because I don't want to touch her anymore because of my fears."
She nodded at him, "And, you want my advice?"
"Yeah." Alex said, looking at her. "After all, you are a predator who is married to a prey. You probably know a few things about this."
She looked at him, and sighed.
"Pandas are predators, not prey." She said, looking at Alex. "This is actually a common misconception. Panda's are bears, what mean that they are of the Carnivora family and, by definition, carnivores. Still, they can live exclusively from vegetables if they chose to, that and their reputation s gentle creatures causes many to see them as prey.
Alex and the tigress looked back at each other for a while. Then the tigress said:
"But, I think I can give you some advice, since you actually want it." She said, seeing that the puma was getting a little disappointed. "Maybe I can give some to your girlfriend as well. What does she thinks of these worries of yours?"
Alex looked away at this.
"She... doesn't know that I worry about that."
"She doesn't?" The tigress said.
"I am afraid that she will agree if I tell them to her." Alex said, and the tigress continued to look at him.
"You are afraid of her being afraid and leaving you." She concluded, and Alex nodded.
"Well, then here is my first advice." The tigress said, causing the puma to look at her. "You need to tell her that you are worried about it."
"I... I am not sure." Alex said, looking down, the tigress looked back at him, and she continued, in a gentle tune:
"I have been together with the same mammal for a very long time." She said, looking at him. "And one of the most important things that I learned is that in any relationship trust and honesty are essential. If you have something that is important in your life, you need to let your partner know. Either be it something about your family that brings you shame, some great dream that you are willing to share, or even something that worries you and makes you fearful for the future, you need to let your loved one know."
"But what if..." Alex tried to say, but the tigress interrupted him.
"Do you love her?"
"What?"
"Do you love this gazelle?"
"Of course I do!" Alex said, and the tigress looked back at him.
"Then you need to let her know what troubles you." The tigress insisted. Alex only looked back at her, and he still seemed unsure.
"Back when we met, Kuma had a lot going on." She said, seeing how the puma was. "About his family, about what they did. I knew that something bothered him, and I often asked him about it, but he always avoided answering. He was afraid that, if I knew all, I would leave him. By keeping those things from me, he was creating an abyss between us. If this had continued, I am not sure if our relationship could have progressed any further."
Alex looked up, and she looked in the eyes of the tigress.
"The abyss was only closed after he finally took the courage to tell me everything." She said, looking at Alex. "To be completely honest with me about everything."
Alex looked at her, and he saw in her face that she was serious.
"Of course, some of them things that he told me surprised me. Scared me, even. But in the end, I loved him dearly, even with all of the darkness that came with him." She said, looking at the puma that stood before her. "Because to truly and fully love a mammal, means to accept every part of them, even the darkest ones."
A silence followed these words, and Alex looked at the tigress as he took in what she had just said to him. Alter a while; the silence was broken, and by the tigress herself.
"I am asking you this one more time." She said, looking at him. "Do you really love this gazelle?"
"Yes." Alex thought without a second thought.
"And does this gazelle loves you back?" She asked, and Alex answered, just as sure:
"Yes."
She nodded.
"Then you must speak to her about your worries. Otherwise, they will create an abyss between you two that will become impossible to cross." She said, and Alex looked back at her, at these gentle and kind eyes, which for a moment remembered Alex of a familiar pair of eyes that he knew earlier on his life.
Shaking the thought off, Alex simply nodded, and thanked the tigress for the advice. She simply smiled back.
"It was my pleasure to help, Hunter-san." She said, and Alex nodded, however, the puma then remembered that he didn't had truly introduced himself.
"Wait, how do you know my name?" He asked, and she smiled back at him.
"A puma that can fire lighting from his paws? Of course it could only be Alex Hunter." She said, and Alex now felt silly for asking. "You are quite a celebrity, Hunter-san. My son is a great fan of yours."
Alex would have said something in return, but then, he heard a familiar voice calling for him.
"It's Linda. I gotta go." He said, and the tigress nodded.
"Please, remember my advice."
"I will. Thanks." He said, and he exited the ambulance. Linda and the other three mammals, including the panda, were out there, apparently looking for him, and the cougar was quick to rush to their side, saying that he just had to "clear his head a little bit".
"Once more, I deeply thank you for what you did today." The panda said, looking at the puma and gazelle. "If in any moment you need help with something, please, don't hesitate to come to me." He said, looking at them.
"Otousan!" Someone suddenly cried, and it was a young voice. Everyone turned to look at the source of it, to see a little red panda followed by a pair of short female deer.
"Sasuke!" The panda said, quickly hurrying to the three mammals, and kneeling once he reached the little red panda, scooping him on his arms in a hug. Soon, the giant panda and the little red panda were speaking to each other in Japanese.
"Who is that?" Linda asked, and Nick was the one who answered.
"His son."
Linda and Alex looked at him, and then back at the mammals of two different species.
"Yes, he is adopted." Nick quickly answered, already knowing that they would probably ask this.
"Well, it looks like he cares a lot about his son, by the looks at it." Alex said, as he saw the giant panda carrying the younger and smaller mammal in his arms, as they now were moving to the ambulance, apparently to reunite with the tigress. "And about his wife as well."
"Yeah, that's Kuma Akira for you." The fox said, "One of the more ruthless criminals of Zootopia, and yet a family mammal above all else."
Linda and Alex took a second to process what the fox had just said.
"Wait, he is a criminal?" Linda asked, and Nick nodded.
"Yeah, he is." The fox answered with a neutral expression on his face and his arms crossed as he spoke about it casually. "Kuma Akira just happens to be the local Yakuza boss."
Saying that Linda and Alex were both surprised would have been an understatement.
"How do you think he has this big house and a lot of armed guards?" The fox said, gesturing around, and the two meta mammals were at loss of words for a bit.
Alex, on his side, was just remembering what the tigress had said about her husband, and about the "darkness that came with him".
"Hey there!" Someone said, preventing them from dwelling further into what they had just learned. They looked over to see the familiar forms of a tigress and a wolf. Alex couldn't help but notice that this tigress looked different from the one that was the panda's wife, as Mrs. Kuma had a petite figure, being around the same size as Alex himself. Meanwhile, the approaching tigress was big and strong, and she was easily taller than Alex. She was also clearly taller than the wolf that was coming by her side.
"Oh, you two." Alex said, looking at the two, and so did Linda.
"Fangmeyer! Wolfard!" Judy said, looking at the two, and they soon were standing right before the mammals.
"Hey, Hopps." The tigress said, looking down at the bunny. "So, you heard the call through the radio?"
"We came in here as soon as we heard Clawhauser." The bunny said, looking up at them. "Were you two really the ones who first made the call?"
"We sure were." The wolf said, "We saw smoke coming up from the house and we knew that there was problem. That's why we called dispatch and went to check."
"Good thing you did." Linda said.
"Was it?" The wolf said, looking at the gazelle with a certain doubt. "Because we didn't really managed to do anything with the bull. It were you guys who did all of the work."
Linda kind of felt like saying something, however, she had to admit that it were really her and Alex who did most of the things in there.
"You... really helped." Linda said, "You are the cops, after all."
"Yeah, cops that did nearly nothing at all." The wolf said; still seeming quite upset with this. "Not only we did nothing against that bull but we also didn't managed to capture the cheetah. The guy escaped before we could do anything."
"Oh, come on, you helped." Linda said, looking at them, "Kind of... You did called for reinforcements, didn't you?"
"Yeah, that we did." Fangmeyer said, and Wolfard was able to agree with it, even though he still looked quite upset for not having done anything really meaningful in the moment of action.
"You two did very well to call reinforcement." Judy said, looking at the two, "Just as protocol says. It was really lucky that you two were in here right in the moment." She said, and the two shared a look.
"Yeah... lucky." Fangmeyer said, looking at the bunny and as she and the wolf traded looks. Nick noticed it, and he looked at them with a raised eyebrow.
"So, what were you two doing in here, anyway?" Nick asked, looking at the two. "And without your uniforms?"
For a moment, the two mammals looked like they had been caught. However, someone helped them by saying:
"They were minding their business."
Everyone turned to see the familiar form of Chief Bogo approaching.
"Just like you should, Wilde."
"Chief Bogo." Fagnmeyer said, and the buffalo soon was walking to all of them.
"I heard that there was a situation, and I decided to investigate myself." Bogo said, looking at them, "So... anyone can fill me up on what has happened in here?"
Truth was; Bogo had decided to come in there once he heard that it were Wolfard and Fagnmeryer who asked for reinforcement. He had immediately thought that it was something involving the two meta mammals, and so he had decided to come and investigate himself.
Well, he wasn't wrong, as the things that the mammals in there told him pretty much confirmed that it was another incident involving a meta mamma. This time some bull that could create flames from his body. Just another thing to add to the list of strange happenings that have been happening ever since Alex Hunter appeared in Zootopia.
"And you have not managed to capture the bull?" Bogo asked, and the answer was negative.
"Last we saw he was inside the mansion." Fangmeyer said, "Thompson flung him there with her mind."
Linda nodded, smiling a bit sheepishly.
"Right before exploding?" Bogo said, and the ones around confirmed.
"We will need to wait for the firefighters to finish their job with the place before we can see if there is even anything left of him." Wolfard said, and Bogo nodded at this.
"Keep an eye open, in any case." Bogo said, and he looked at them. "So, you said that he explode right after injecting himself with something in a syringe, right?"
"Yeah, that's right." Fangmeyer said, "His fire became much stronger, and then he exploded."
"An explosive shot, huh?" Nick said, looking at them. "What, was it rocket fuel or something?"
"Have you found the syringe?" Bogo said, and the cops answered negatively.
"The guys are looking around for it, but I am not sure that they will find it." Wolfard said, "It probably burned along with our darts when we tried to fight the bull."
Bogo looked at him, and he nodded, looking around. Wolfard then turned his gaze to the meta mammals.
"So, any chance that you might know what was it that he injected himself with?" The wolf asked, and the two looked back at him.
"Not really." Alex said, looking back at him, and then, he thought about it. "But... there is someone who might know." He said, and turned to Linda, looking at her. The gazelle seemed to have read his mind, as she was quick reaching out for her phone and started to dial.
Jeff was on his desk. Well, on the desk that they had just gave him today. It had three computers in it, each one with a different thing on the screen. Jeff was a fast worker, as he was able to work on different files way faster than the average worker was, and he was even able to work on two different computers at a time.
It was something impressive to see, as he was able to work with one hand on each computer while his eyes focused on all of the three screens at once. He was just in the middle of working on two different documents while he read a third file on the third computer.
Everyone looked at the mouse as he worked in a way that made the others feel dizzy only from thinking about doing it, but that to him seemed as easy as writing the groceries list. The mouse was truly something, and everyone who had met him could see that. Including the guys of management.
There was some talking going around that the new mouse would soon be getting a job in the upper management. Some said that they would create a new position on the company only for him. Some even said that he would soon be becoming the new owner of the company.
The rumors were going around on this week that the mouse had been in there, and they seemed to get stronger as everyone heard just how much things the mouse had done ever since he started in there, just one week ago.
The guy was a genius.
Also, there was the fact that he was a really good conversation and a super nice guy, and because of that everyone liked being around him. Something quite rare in a company like that.
Truth was; Jeff had indeed received an offer of a permanent position on the company, as well as a sizable salary for his work in there. They were really insistent in it, and the guys around the place really liked to have him around.
It almost made Jeff feel bad that he would be leaving by the end of the month.
Suddenly, the sound of a ringing phone distracted Jeff for a moment. He was good at multitasking, but he did had his limits. So, Jeff had to stop working on one of the files in order to reach out for the phone on his desk and pick it up.
"Jeffrey Small here, who is talking?"
"Hey, Small." Said the voice on the other end of the line, "Dude, I got someone on the line who insists to talk with you. They say that it is important."
"Really?" Jeff said, still reading the document and working on one of the computers with only one paw, while the other one held the phone close to his head. "Did they gave any names?"
"Yeah, they did. Linda Thompson."
"Yeah, she is a friend of mine."
"Want me to tell her you are busy?"
"I told her that at this time I am at work, and she would not have called unless it was important." Jeff said, "You can pass her to me, I'll talk to her."
The guy on the other line hesitated a little bit, but he eventually agreed.
"Hello? Jeff?"
"Hey, Linda." The mouse said, "So, how are things going? Some problem?"
"Yeah, you could say that." Linda said, as she held her phone, which was on the speaker.
"Look, I am here with Alex and some cops and... we just had a meeting with some dangerous guy." She said, as the others stood around the gazelle, looking at the phone.
"We just met a bull who exploded." Wolfard said to the phone, and the mouse on the other end of the line answered:
"Really? Well, that is interesting." His voice was calm, as if this was absolutely no surprise for him at all, "So, I guess that you guys should start by telling from the beginning, only so I can get the whole picture."
Soon, they were doing exactly that. They were speaking to the phone and putting Jeff on par of all that had just transpired. Bogo didn't really liked for them to share information like that, since it was certainly an ongoing case. However, they were sure that Small would be able to help, and Bogo himself believed that as well, so he was inclined to allow it.
By the end of the explanation, there was a silence on the other line.
"So, what do you think?" Alex said, and that was when Jeff's voice came:
"Adrenaline."
"What?" Bogo said, and then the voice of the mouse came again on the other end of the line, explaining:
"The syringe most likely contained adrenaline. Or a substance of similar properties."
"Adrenaline, like what they give you on the doctor when you are having an allergic reaction?" Nick asked.
"Like what you feel pumping in your veins when you are at a rollercoaster?" Wolfard said, and that was when Jeff confirmed.
"That's right." The mouse said through the phone, and it sounded as if he was ready to make an explanation. And he did:
"Our powers are related to our limbic system, the part of the brain that control emotional reactions." The mouse said, "However, the essence of our powers also lies in the adrenal cells, the ones that produce adrenaline. I have a theory that it is because our powers are an evolutionary tool for our survival, and as such, they are affect by the instinct of fight-or-flight. Such instinct is the reason why adrenaline exist, as it prepares the body to fight or to run away from danger. Because of this, high levels of adrenaline have the effect of increasing our powers. If a massive amount of adrenaline was suddenly introduced into the body, it could very well cause the powers to increase until they get out of control, like they did with the bull."
Everyone took in what the mouse had just said.
"So, something similar happens to all meta mammals when they get a shot with adrenaline?" Bogo asked, and the voice of the mouse once more came from the phone:
"That depends on the ability they have." Jeff said, "And it also depends on the amount of adrenaline injected into the body. For a reaction like that, I suppose that the bull must have injected himself with a massive amount of adrenaline. There is a chance that he might feel tired and spent by the time the effects wear off."
"Assuming he even survived." Bogo said, looking at the destruction that had ensued.
"Yeah, assuming that." Jeff admitted, "But, you would still do good to keep an eye open in case this bull appears again. It could be that he was the kind of meta mammal who is immune to their own powers, even when these are overcharged. Be on guard until you find proof that he died."
"I intend to." Bogo said, looking at the phone. "Anything else you might want to tell us?"
"Keep a look out for the cheetah." Jeff said, "If he and the bull are really together, then they probably were sharing a place during their stay in Zootopia. However, since it seems that they plans went sideways, the cheetah will either lay low for a while or try to leave as fast as he can. I feel that he will try the second option, once he managed to mess with Kuma Akira, the Yakuza boss of Savannah Central. There is no way this can end well."
"Yeah, I'll say." Bogo said as he once more looked around. This was surely not how he expected the day to start. He was already seeing a bunch of paperwork to be arriving at his desk due to this. Especially since it was clear that this subject had to do with Kuma Akira. The panda surely was problem.
Things always got complicated whenever it involved one of the four crime bosses of Zootopia.
"Well, that is all I can say for now." Jeff said to them, and he sounded apologetic, "I'll have to end the call now, I am in the middle of two important documents that need to be finished today, and I am reading the preliminary version of the a new manual, and I have to focus on this. But, if you need anything else, don't hesitate to call me. Bye."
And, just like that, Jeff hang up on them.
The mammals around looked at the phone for a few moments, before the eyes turned to Linda and Alex.
"Yeah, Jeff is like that." Alex said, in answer to the looks that they were giving them. "At least this time he said why he was hanging up on us before doing it."
"The guy really needs some lessons on socializing." Nick said, and Bogo was force to agree with the fox.
"See if you can find the syringe the bull used and confirm what Smalls just said about the adrenaline." Bogo said to his officers. "And don't let anyone of the press know about this."
"Yeah, we better avoid the press." Alex said, "We just got started in our new job, and we are doing very well by avoiding the attention while we still can."
"Then you should avoid going through the front." Nick said to them, "There is an army of reporters out there who want to know all of the details of the 'mysterious fire' that destroyed Kuma Akira's house."
"Crap." Alex said, and then someone said:
"You can leave through the back."
They turned to see Kuma coming at them, his red panda son on his arms and his wife coming by his side with the help of a crutch.
"It is where the employees come, and it is away from the main entrance, so I assume that these news vultures will not be flocking in there." The panda said, and the two shared a look. "You two should be able to avoid them completely by going through there."
The two agreed, and even thanked the panda for the suggestion, to which he said it was the least he could do for them after their bravery.
Soon, the two meta mammals were going through the back entrance, which was really far from the main entrance, and much simpler when compared to the front gate. As Kuma had said, there was absolutely no sign of any reporter on the other side, as it seemed that all of them really had focused on the main entrance, and this left the path completely clear for them to go out unnoticed.
Alex and Linda were relieved that they were able to get out of there in one piece and avoiding all of the circus. They only wanted to get home, however, they knew that they had to get back to their job first. They still needed to go back to their boss, since he was surely still waiting for them to return from their little trip.
They were in quite a rush to leave before any stray reporter just happened to catch them leaving. In fact, they were so focus on it that, as they left, they failed to notice something:
There were hoof-shaped footprints on the soft soil on the outside of the gate. And they were partially scorched...
"Crap." The cheetah said, as he continued to walk from side to side.
"Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap!" He said, kicking a nearby closet, making it rattle so much that it nearly fell to the ground.
"How can it have gone so wrong!?" The cheetah said, groaning to himself.
The plan was supposed to be perfect. They were supposed to take control all in one day. How did it came sideways so quickly?
At one moment they had the upper paw, and he had that arrogant panda on his knees before him while he had him at gunpoint. The next one, he was fighting a murderous peacock, the cougar from the news was shooting lightnings at them, and his meta mammal bull henchman was thrown through the air before he exploded in flames.
Now he lost his advantage. Lost the guy who could help him take the city. And the panda would surely be out for his blood after that.
He could probably be sending a henchman after him right now, or even hiring a professional assassin to do the job.
The cheetah stopped pacing back and forth. And then, he rushed to a nearby bed in that old place that he was staying. Reaching out under it, he pulled out a luggage. He tossed it into the bed and slammed it open, and immediately ran to the closet that he had just kicked. Throwing the doors open, he picked up the few possessions that he had brought with himself to the city, and started to frantically shove it all into his luggage.
All he was thinking now was to leave the city as fast as he could.
However, even this single thought was interrupt as a loud sound filled the old abandoned house.
The cheetah nearly jumped out of his fur as he heard it, as he knew that this was the sound of the old door slamming open.
Oh, great Savannah! Were they there already? Had they came to kill him? Did Kuma found him so fast? It were the cops?
All of sudden, the cheetah saw himself cornered, and he did the only thing that he could think at the moment: jumped to the nearby bedside table and opened a drawer, he pulled out the gun that had in there and quickly loaded it with bullets.
He grew more frantic as the sounds of steps were coming on his direction, followed by the sound of a heavy breathing.
Closer.
Closer.
The cheetah was now in blind panic, as all he could picture was a huge figure with a heavy machinegun aiming for his head. The steps and breathing were close. They were right behind him!
He let out a growl as turned around and fired a single shot. The sound of gunfire filled the abandoned place, followed by a loud curse.
"What the fuck, Pawell!?"
The cheetah blinked, and he saw the one in who he had just shot.
"Horns?" He asked, and the bull looked back at him, snorting.
They looked at him for a few moments, before the cheetah let out a sigh and looked at the bull.
"Stuart, you're alive!" He said, sounding really relieve for seeing the bull.
"Yeah, that might change if you keep shooting at me!" The bull said, sounding quite annoyed. The cheetah, Pawell, looked at him and then at the gun at his paws, as if he suddenly realized what he had done. Good thing that he had not been able to aim properly due to the panic, and completely missed.
"You left me behind, you stupid cat!" The bull said, glaring daggers at the feline, who flinched at this.
"W-well, sorry for that, I thought you had died." He said, sounding like he was trying to justify himself to the bigger and stronger mammal. "I mean, I saw that big explosion and all the fire and I thought you..." He was saying, but stopped as he got closer and got a better look at the bull. He saw that he was naked, save for what seemed to be an old sheet that he caught on the street and that he was using around his waist to cover himself.
"Where are your clothes?"
"They burned." The bull said, stepping closer to him, and this allowed the cheetah to take an even better look at him. This made Pawell let out another curse, as he looked at the bull, and saw that the left side of his body seemed that it was burn pretty badly. The fur on the left side of his head, neck and his left shoulder was gone, completely burned away, and the exposed hide beneath it looked like it had suffered third-degree burns.
"Holy crap, Stuart!" He said, looking at the bull and at the nasty burns that he got. For a moment, they both looked back at each other in silence, before the cheetah tried to reach for the burns with his paw.
"D-do they hurt?" He said, about to touch them, when the bull harshly slapped his paw away.
"Yes!" He said, and walked past the cheetah.
"Did the puma and the gazelle did that?" He asked, but he was ignore, as the bull stopped before the bed, looking at the open luggage in there full of stuff that was shoved in there in a hurry.
"Are you planning on going somewhere?" He asked, turning to the cheetah, and he looked back at him.
"O-oh. That?" He asked, seeming like a kitten caught with his paw on the cookie jar. "W-well, I thought that, since things went sideways, I thought that maybe I would leave the city before Kuma sent someone after me."
"You were going to run away?" The bull said, glaring at the cheetah, who cowered away from his gaze.
"I-I thought that you were dead!" he said, sounding apologetic, "But hey, you are alive! A bit toasted, but alive! Now we can both leave the city together!"
"Do you really plan to run away?" The bull asked, stepping further in direction to the cheetah. "After all that talk about creating your own territory and making a name for yourself, you are just going to run away after things get hard?"
"Dude, we nearly got toasted!" He said, looking at the bull, "The idea of going there and seizing power from Kuma went sideways."
"So you are going to skip town and try it another one?"
"Yeah, that is kind of the plan." He said, and the bull glared at him, "What? It is the best thing to do now! The cops will be aware of us, not to mention that Kuma will be out for blood after we set his house on fire!"
The bull snorted, glaring at him.
"Scared pussycat."
This single two-word sentence was enough to have an impact on the cheetah, who looked back at the bull.
"What did you just said, dude?"
"You are a scared pussycat." The bull said to the cheetah, as they now glared to each other. "One little problem and you are running away with your tail between your legs."
"One little problem?" The cheetah asked, looking at the bull dead in the eye. "We just got tagged by a puma that could fire lightnings and a gazelle that moved you with her mind!"
"You knew that there were others like me around." The bull said to him. "You knew that there were some of them in Zootopia."
"Yeah, but I didn't thought that we would run head on in two of them!"
"So now you are giving up?" The bull said, looking back at him, "Will you just turn tail and run for your dear little life, to another city where there won't be such a big challenge?" He looked down at the cheetah as he spoke that. "If you are going to run anyway, why don't you just run back to hug your father's leg, you little daddy's boy?"
The cheetah growled at him.
"I am NOT a daddy's boy!"
"Then why are you acting like one?" The bull said, looking back at him with a sneer. "Running away at the first problem instead of facing it like a man! Only cowards run away at the first little thing! Cowards and little daddy's boys who can't stand to face the real world! Are you one of these things, or both of them?"
"I still have a gun in my paw, you know!?"
"Then why don't you use it!?" The bull demanded, "You might also use your balls, unless you plan to get them removed before you go crawling back at your daddy!"
They looked at each other for a long time, and the bull finally snorted, as he sat on the bed, sighing as he finally could rest his legs.
"I'm staying." The bull said, "I cannot leave now. You are free to run away and go apologize to your daddy and go back to doing whatever he tells you to, if you want."
Silence reigned following these words. The cheetah glared at the bull, who seemed more worried in passing a hoof gently over his burned hide, and flinched each time.
"Fine." The cheetah finally said, and he walked around the bull and into the luggage. He grabbed the things he put inside of the luggage, removed them, walked with them back to the closet and just dumped it all inside, right before he walked back to the bull and was now standing before the bull with his arms crossed.
The bull only looked back at him.
"What?" he said, looking back at the cheetah, "Was that supposed to be a point or something?"
"So, we are both staying." The cheetah said, looking back at him. "What are we doing now?"
"Well, I should be the one asking you that, shouldn't I, boss?" The bull said, although he did spoke the "boss" with a little of sarcasm.
"After all, you are the brains around here, right?"
The cheetah looked at him and, after a moment, he sighed and put himself to think.
"Okay. So, the plan of going straight to the big boss has failed. We didn't get a deal, we didn't get to steal his place and we even made him our new enemy." The cheetah said, thinking about it, "This means that we maybe should try being subtle. We lay low for a while and then we make our next attempt by being more careful, maybe trying to slowly rise up and undermine his kingdom until we have built up enough strength to face him and the cops. It will take a longer time, but it is certainly the safest at this point."
"So, we playing safe?" The bull said, and the cheetah looked back at him.
"Better than running away, don't you think?"
"Not by much." The bull said, and he groaned as his burns hurt as he moved. "But, you are the boss. I am fine with this plan, as long as I get the chance of settling things at some point."
"Settling things?" The cheetah asked, looking back at him, "What, you didn't liked Kuma escaping?"
"Forget that panda." The bull said, looking back at him.
"I want Alex Hunter and that gazelle."
Alex and Linda had just arrived back at the work. Once in there, they resumed what they were doing, and they were sure to reassure Lambert as he constantly asked them if everything was okay, and if he should be worried about some shady individuals coming to their work to get some satisfaction.
They did their best to tranquilize the sheep, and so, they were able to resume their work, as if nothing had happened, and they continued in it the best they could.
However, Alex was finding himself in deep thought during most of the day, as he kept thinking about what Mrs. Kuma had told him. About honesty. About being truthful with Linda. The woman sounded like she truly knew what she was talking about, and that much Alex truly knew.
He still debated the pros and cons of doing that. He knew that, in the case Linda agreed with his fears, she could start being afraid of being near him, and this could lead their relationship to end. However, he also knew that, if he did not opened up to her, she would still grow distant from him. Worse, she would think that it was because that he no longer loved her at all. This was somehow worse.
Alex debated with himself during the day as they worked, and even on the way back home, he continued debating this, only to finally make up his mind once he passed by the door, and Linda was now closing it.
"Huhh, Linda?" He said, as soon as they walked inside, causing the Gazelle to look at him after closing and locking the door.
"Hmm?"
"Can we... can we talk a bit?"
"Oh, you want to talk now?" She asked, and she could very well have sounded condescending, however, she didn't. This was just an honest question, and Alex looked back at her.
"Yeah. I want to talk." The puma said to his girlfriend. "So, can we have a word? Please? It's important."
Linda looked at him, and soon, she was sitting on the bed with him. Alex took a few moments to find the right words to say.
"Linda... I know that we have not... well... we have not been getting... intimate..." He said, fighting his blush, "Ever since we got in Zootopia."
"Yeah, we haven't." Linda said, "Mostly because you seem not to want to." She said, and Alex nodded.
"Yeah, about that..." He said, looking back at her. "But, I want you to know that, it is not because you bother me in any way."
He said, and he reached out to hold her hoof on his paw.
"Linda... When I first met you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman that I've ever seen." He said, looking at her in the eyes. "And I still think that. Your eyes. Your fur. Your antlers. You are the most beautiful woman in the world, and I cannot say how lucky I am for having found you, and for having you in my life."
Alex was being honest as he spoke that, and he looked deep in her eyes as he did.
"Is that so?" Linda asked, looking at him, and she then asked:
"Then why are you pushing me away now?"
Alex looked back at her, as she asked:
"Why are you acting like you don't want to be near me anymore?"
Alex looked back at her, and he knew that this was an important moment, and that there was no going back now.
After a few moments, he finally said:
"Because I am afraid."
Linda looked at him, confused.
"Afraid?"
"Linda, I am a predator, and you are a prey." He said, looking back at her. "Just like you have hooves and antlers I..." He hesitated, and he then brought his paw up.
"I have these." He said, flexing his fingers, and unsheathing his claws.
Linda looked at them, and Alex then took his paw to his mouth, and pulled his lip to the side, revealing his fangs.
"And these..." he said, and then he and Linda sat in there, looking at each other for a few moments.
"And... are you scared of these?" Linda asked, and Alex looked back at her.
"They scare me because they can easily hurt someone else." He said, looking back at her. They looked at each other for a few moments.
"I realized that a while ago, when we tried to... you know..." he said, referring to their last attempt of "getting intimate", and Linda remembered that, just like she remembered how Alex suddenly stopped.
"While we were... getting ready, my claws unsheathed. I didn't wanted them to, but they just did." Alex said, looking away from her. "Then all of sudden, it was as if I realized that I had claws, and fangs."
Linda continued to look at him, and the puma looked back at him.
"All of sudden I was aware that my claws could scratch your skin, and that my fangs could hurt you as well." Alex said, looking back at her. "All of sudden, I became aware that I was a predator."
Linda looked back at him, and he finally rose his head to meet her eyes.
"Linda, you are the single most important person of my life." He said, looking at her, "I can't stand the thought of anything happened to you. What if my claws unsheathe at the wrong moment? What if I end up clenching my jaw in the wrong moment when we are kissing? Linda, what if..."
He stopped, and he looked at her in the eye. She looked back at him, and the puma could do nothing more than look down.
"What if I hurt you?"
That was it.
Alex had just said the thing that worried him so much and that made him shy away from touching Linda every time that she tried to get close.
The idea of accidentally hurting Linda was something that scared Alex to the very core. He didn't thought he would be able to withstand the guilt. It was already hard to live with the guilt of...
Suddenly, Alex felt something cup his chin. He was made to move his head up, as Linda was now making him look straight into her face.
There was no fear in her face. No anger. No pity. Only a gentleness that Alex had often seen on her face in other moments when they he needed her to be there for him. That was a pair of gentle eyes that he was used to see.
She then leaned forward, and she kissed him.
Alex was surprised, and he didn't reacted. She continued to kiss him, and the kiss deepened. Alex could feel her tongue on his lips, trying to gain access to the inside, where his teeth were.
"Linda..." Alex said, breaking the kiss.
"Shhh." She said, gently holding his head in place with both of her hooved hands.
"Linda... what if...?"
"What if a meteor hits the earth or a volcano erupts?" She said, looking at him in the eyes. "Yeah, if we spent all day worrying about that, no one would ever get anything done."
"But..." Alex tried to say, but she silence him with a single finger on his lips.
"Alex, you are a kind and caring person." She said, looking at him. "I learned that within a week after meeting you, and until now, I haven't had a single reason to think otherwise. I still don't have any. So, you have claws and fangs, right? Big deal. It is not like they would make you any more dangerous than being able to shot lightning from your hands."
Alex looked at her and, despite seeing the logic on what she was saying, he still couldn't help but feel worried, and Linda seemed to notice it.
"Alex, you will never hurt." She said, looking at him in the face. "I know it."
With this, she kissed him again. Alex let himself by kissed and, this time, as he felt her tongue against his lips, he (hesitantly) allowed it entry.
Soon, the two mammals were moaning as they kissed each other, and as they both laid on the bed, they slowly were removing articles of clothing...
At that moment, all of the worries were all but forgotten. The claws and fangs. The thin walls and peeping neighbors. Any worry that they could have about the future now that they were turned into animals and living in this strange world.
All of that had been forgotten, as all that there were now were two mammals who deeply loved each other.
Far from the apartment of the two, in another part of Savannah Central stood another building that looked a bit rundown, pretty much like Grand Pangolin Arms. It looked like a humble construction, with five stores high and with wide windows.
Right in the last floor of the building, there was a hall that led to a single wooden door.
On the glass of the door, you could read: INQUISITOR GAZELLE.
A figure approached this door, and opened it, revealing that it led to what seemed to be a big office area filled with desks and with mammals working. Some of them seemed to be working on their computers, while others were on the phone, apparently making calls and talking with someone about something important.
One of them, a donkey, looked up from his desk as he heard the door open, and he saw the one who had just entered.
"Hey, Jules!" He said, and the mammals who entered looked back at him. The ibex looked back at him, and walked to his desk. He was still wearing a camouflaged clothing, and he still had leaves glued to his horns.
"Hey, Gill." He said, and the donkey looked back at him.
"So, how was your day?" The donkey asked, looking at the ibex, and noticing the familiar gleam on his eyes. "You got something, didn't you?"
"Oh, you can bet I did." Jules said to him, and the donkey looked back at him, "And I am going right now to show it to the boss."
"You sure it is something?" The donkey asked him, "It is not like that time when you thought there was black mold in a local school that turned out to be some of moldy sandwich, is it?"
"Definitely not." The ibex said, "With these pictures here..." he said, showing his camera, "And what I saw, there is no way that I mistook something."
"Wait, so you actually did it?" The donkey said, looking at him, "Did you actually found some evidence against Kuma Akira?"
"No." The ibex said, surprising the donkey.
"This... might actually be better."
So, this chapter is done.
Sorry if there is any mistake in here, is that sometimes it escapes proof-reading, and I am not the most patient person when it comes to revision.
Also, sorry if the ending seems a bit rushed, I get in kind of a hurry when I am really close of finishing something.
Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed the story. Please, Read & Review, and no flaming. But, any constructive criticism is welcome.