Chapter 5:
The truck hits the wall, and I turned to thank Susan and Daniel for the warning, but they had disappeared. I looked around franticly for them. "Judy, can you see Daniel and Susan? I can't find them". "Sorry, Slick, I didn't see them go anywhere." The bassinet with their kits was lying on the ground on its side; all the kits had spilled out and were crying. Judy and I reached for the bassinet and the kits at the same time. We were all confused as to where they had gone. I had a strange memory of being hit by that truck down the road. "Judy, did we get hit…". "I believe so, Nick, but we couldn't have; that truck is down the road." They both look up with a kit in their arms as Bonnie picks up Charlotte. "Bonnie, can you sense your parents"? "Sorry, grandpa, I can't; where did they go"? she starts franticly looking all around for them. Everyone else is just as confused as we are. Only then, a limo pulls up and stops at the curb. Mr. Manches climbs out and opens the door facing the curb.
If you all would be so kind as to enter the car, I will be happy to take you to the place where all your questions will be answered". "Mr. Manches, do you know what happened"? "Sorry, Mr. Wilde, I don't. I was hired to bring you to the place where your questions will be answered. I was told to tell you that Jessica and Thomas Lasater request your presence at their home. I was told you know what that means." "Lasater, we know…". It then clicks in Nick's head. He looks at Judy, and they both nod yes as the whole family walk towards the car. Mr. Manches closes the door on all his passengers, gets behind the wheel of the car, puts it in gear, and drives away. The kits settle down fairly quickly as we drive.
"Dad, the kits are hungry." "Sorry, Davis, they will have to wait; we have nothing to feed them with." Upon hearing that, Three little minds start to vocalize their hunger. "If you look into the warmer in front of you, you should find some milk for them." Says Mr. Manches. Nick opens the warmer and finds three bottles for the kits. He passes one to Judy and one to Bonnie. Her sister is fussing and trying to grab the bottle from her. I get the third lined up with Oscar, and quick as a wink, he pulls the bottle into his mouth. Blessed silence fills the limo.
"So, where are you taking us to, Mr. Manches"? "I am taking you all to "Clifftop Manor." "But that's a very private place. No one goes there". "I have been there several times delivering items of great value to the manor." Why would they have a limo be a delivery truck"? "They told Tundra town limo service that they trusted only us to come to the manor." "Have you ever seen them"? "No, they had servants take the objects from the car. I have spent no more than five minutes on the property at any one time".
Stu and Bonnie, who had been quiet until this point, reached for the bottle and glasses on the side. Nick looks and decided it's a good idea as well. Stu passes him a drink, they clink their glasses together, and Stu proceeds to empty his. "Well, Gosh darn Son, what happened to us? I felt that the bumper hit me in the face, but then it doesn't happen, and Daniel is then telling us to run up the street. I'm just so confused right now." "What about me, Stuart"? says Bonnie. "I was standing next to you, and I got run over by the tire. I felt my life end at that point, and contrary to popular belief, my life didn't pass before my eyes; it just plain hurt." "Did everyone experience getting hit by the truck"? asks Nick. Everyone nods their heads, yes. No one says anything else as they continue down the road. It's quiet in the car, except for the sound of sucking.
Just a mile from the cliffside asylum, we turn left onto the manor road. We wind around the hill past the falls and continue to the ridge's top and a half-mile back from the edge. Mr. Manches pulls the car into the roundabout and parks behind another limo. We all climb out and start to walk to the door of the manor. The door on the other limo opens, and Mr. Big, Kevin, and Fru Fru get out and join us. Little Juju jumps to Judy and curls herself around Judie's thumb. Judy gently strokes down her back as she does so. Juju lets out a happy squeal as Judy does so. No one asks the question on everyone's mind as we walk to the door. (who lives here?)
The door opens, and out steps a beautiful arctic fox, Nick's jaw drops. Judy moves John to her other arm as she strikes Nick on his arm. Nick looks at Judy and gets the death glare. Nick closes his mouth and swallows the sudden lump in his throat. "Well, I see I still have that effect on males, hi Nick and Judy, Jack is trying to round up our kits which have run off into the manor. The butler is helping him. I said I would watch the door for you." Skye opens the door fully, and we all enter. "Mr. Manches, Kevin, if you would like to follow as well, please"? We can see Mr. Manches is nervous about joining us, but he is curious as well. He follows us all in.
The entrance foyer is opulent but not overmuch. The entrance to Mr. Big's home is more so. A red fox in a maid's uniform walks towards us. Nick and Peter both get a punch to their arms as their mouths drop open; Judy and Vivian smile at each other. The maid walks with a sway to her step that says, "Watch out, predator on the hunt." Both Peter and Nick put a claw to their collars and pull at their suddenly restrictive collars.
"Welcome everyone to clifftop Manor; I'm Mavis; I work for Thomas and Jessica." Just then, a cleaning robot scurries up to Mavis, looks at her, and hurries off in another direction. "Sorry about that folks, I have now been informed Jack has rounded up his wayward kits and will be joining us shortly." We all give her puzzled looks. She shrugs, "if you will all follow me, diner is served." Nick speaks up, "Can I ask why you sound like or home A.I."? She turns, "I sound like your home A.I. Because I'm Mavis 1.0 and your home A.I. is Mavis 2.0". Nick gets a look of disbelief on his face. "Thomas and Jessica will explain all after dinner." She then turns and starts walking again. Rick and Ava look at her as she walks away and discuss how it was possible. They come to no firm conclusions as they all follow her.
We are all led by Mavis to the dining room. It's relatively big, but there is only one table in the middle with place settings all around for us all to sit. Judy moves one of the tiny place settings beside her for little Juju, who wanted to sit beside her godmother. Oscar, John, and Charlotte had fallen asleep at this point and were laid to rest in a bassinet with some of Jack's kits, who had fallen asleep as well. As we all sit, trays of food are brought for all from the kitchen on little robots. The robots lay the meals in front of everyone. When the covers are removed, everyone gasps; it's all our favorite individual meals. Grandma started to cry, "How did they know? I have not eaten this dish in over forty-years". With that, she digs in, and a look of bliss crosses her face. "I swear it's better than my mom made." Peter is kind of shocked Vivian never talks about her family; all she has ever told him is they are all dead. She has never told him how they died. She continues to cry as she eats her meal. Mavis comes back in as the meal is being consumed. "I'm sorry everyone; Jessica and Thomas are unavoidably detained. They said they would be here for the concert".
There is light dinner conversation around the table. Nick talks with Mr. Big about his business ventures. I.A. informed dad that his relationship with Mr. Big was now off their radar. He had no more criminal activity that they could find. As far as they were concerned, he was just a business mammal with a checkered past. Kevin and Mr. Manches were sitting behind Mr. Big and were engaged in conversation as well. They were uncomfortable with that but were willing to talk. It was hard for them; they were used to being seen but not heard. The meal comes to a close with all our favorite individual desserts as well. Mavis returns, "If you would all follow me, I will take you to the ballroom where the concert is to be played."
We all follow her. Some use the facilities; all the kits are woken up to use them as well. We are then led into the ballroom to some very comfortable chairs. A male fox is sitting at the piano, and Mavis goes up and kisses him on his cheek and sits beside him at the piano. We all settle down in very comfortable chairs. Mavis and the unknown male red fox begin to play the piano. A screen to the right of them is backlit, and two silhouettes slowly walk from the sides. They are carrying violins. We can see it's a fox and a rabbit, what we can't tell is if it's Daniel and Susan. They put the violins to their chins and begin to play. The music, oh, the music. We had never heard anything like it. It had us all laughing, crying, and just sitting there in awe. They played this strange music for almost a full hour when the screen started to go up as the light behind them slowly dimmed. The screen had reached their heads as the music came to a close. And the backlight went out. It was hard to see their faces when a spotlight illuminated them.
"Mom," screams three little voices as they bound out of their places and rush the stage along with Bonnie. Everyone sat there in shock. That was the first word any of the three had uttered. They jump at their parents, and all four are squeezed between them. "Pay up, Daniel, I was right." "Gladly, love." He leans in and gives her a very passionate kiss. We all chuckle as they hold their children between them. Daniel stands up as Nick gets close to him.
Daniel brings his dad into a fierce hug, "God, I missed you, dad." "Now, son, you only saw me a few hours ago." "To you, dad, yes, but to me, it's been an eon." "what do you mean, son? And where did you disappear to this afternoon"? Vivian looks at them both with a puzzled look and takes in his ear notch and her tattoo. When a light comes on in her head, "NO, You can't be." "We are, grandma." With that, she screams and bolts from the room. Grandpa doesn't know what just happened, but he takes off hot on her tail. "Daniel, what just happened"? "Nothing, dad, but grandma's past has now caught up to her." "What do you mean, her past"? "Sorry, dad, it's her story to tell, not mine." "would you all like to go on a tour of our archive"? "I'm curious, son, when did you have time to acquire an archive"? "All will be explained in time, dad. Time being the operative word."
Susan and I juggle our children and our violins as we all walk to the archive. "Daniel, may I see that violin, and when did you learn how to play one"? asks dad. "Well, let's see, Susan and I first started to play one back about Six-hundred and ninety-two." "Daniel, this violin is a Bruckheimer. It's worth a fortune. There are only a few left in the world; most are in museums. Where did you get it"? "Well, dad, we made our violins at Wilhelm Bruckheimer's workshop; we apprenticed under him as violin makers. But to make one, you had to learn how to play one, so we did." "Daniel, you're not making much sense at the moment." I know, dad, after the tour, we will start at the beginning."
"Mavis, can you open the door of the archive"? "Right away, Daniel." The floor seems to fall away, and a set of stairs appear in the floor in front of us. "And that's another thing, who or what is this, Mavis"? "Mavis is an A.I., and she runs the manor." "Then who is that maid that met us"? "That is Mavis as well; the maid as you put it is the avatar for Mavis; they are the same individual." Ava and Rick look at each other. "I'm so getting a headache right now."
Sorry, dad, I know it's a lot to take in; try living all we want to tell and show you". "Daniel, if you don't mind, I will skip the tour. I have seen it all before. I thank you for your hospitality, and if Fru Fru would like to see the archive, I will send the car back tomorrow for her". Thank you, sir, for coming". "Ah Daniel, it was no problem, I quite enjoyed the look on your fathers face, that alone was worth the price of admission." "Dadddy, I want to see this archive you have talked about." "Go my girl enjoy it, I will send the car back for you tomorrow." Fru Fru throws her arm around her father and hugs him. She then moves out of Kevin's paws and sits on Judy's shoulder with little Juju. Kevin and Mr. Manches leave with Mr. Big.
Just before we start down the stairs, Vivian and Peter rejoin us. Grandma had been crying hard; we all could see the tracks of her tears. "I'm sorry everyone for running off like that. I was just a bit overwhelmed by my memories". "She grabs me in a fierce hug and whispers in my ear. "Thank you, Daniel, or should I say Steven"? "Grandma, why ask questions you already know the answers to"? "Your right, grandson, now would you mind filling in the blanks on what happened, and how all this is possible." "We will grandma, but for now we are going on a tour of our history." We all descend the steps into our archive.
Now the first thing you need to know is Susan and I are over a thousand years old, well to be precise, we are one-thousand and forty-one years old. At the looks of disbelief, we smile. "Son, how can you be one-thousand years old? It's just not possible." "It is dad," I touch his head and replay our first meeting with Ockny. Susan plays it for the rest of them.
"So, you two, I have taught you everything I am willing to; at this time, I'm very proud of you both." "Thank you, Ockny; we will be the best that we can be." "Oh, I know you will be, I'll be watching. As a final gift to you both, I'm taking you off the wheel of time." "What does that mean, sir"? "It means that you won't age and die. You can still be killed, but death won't seek you out." "We are immortal"? "In a manner of speaking, yes, but as I said, you can still be killed."
"Wow, Daniel, that's quite the gift." "Yes, dad, it is." "So, what happened today, and how did you save us all"? "When we saved you all today, we rolled back time to before the accident; consequently, you all have two memories of that event. One where we all got hit and squashed by that truck, and a later one where we all ran up the street to safety. We learned this ability in the last coma, but we were forbidden to go back in time. We stepped on "Father times" toes to save you all, and as punishment, he sent us back in time to learn how not to interfere with time. We were sent back to one year before the great accord was signed.
"Stu, do you have a picture of the stone of the accord"? "Bonnie,"? says Stu turning to his wife. "I swear, Stu…". "Sorry, folks, these new-fangled gadgets just confound me sometimes." Bonnie takes his phone and scrolls through the pictures tell she comes to the ones of the stone. "Right, if you have it, do you have one of the fox and bunny signatures"? Bonnie holds out the phone and shows the picture around. "Right, does it look anything like these"? A light comes on to illuminate a picture and a painting. If you look close, you can see Susan and I's fist initial chiseled into the stone." Dad being the skeptic, "Daniel, that's just coincidence that the fox has a "D" and the rabbit has an "S." "No dad, we were there, check your feelings dad, have I told you a lie so far"? dad just hangs his head. "No, you haven't, son."
"Then shall we continue? This painting is of Piberius Wilde, and before you ask, I did paint this, and dad? We are the direct descendants of Piberius, and he did kill twenty wolves before he was brought down." With thoughts, we show everyone what happened on that day so long ago. Even the ungifted of our party, we don't show the kits, don't want to traumatize them. Scott and Justin recoil at the fighting we were doing. We get looks of awe from the rest. "Son, I know you are telling the truth, and all I can say is I'm sorry." He grabs me in a hug. "It's ok, dad, we all make mistakes. I've made quite a few over the years. We came close to losing our lives many times over the years." "Daniel, is that signature and date on the bottom of the painting correct"? I smile at him, "Sure is dad, why"? "Because son, that painting is worth a fortune. Did you paint many more"? "About a thousand more dad, most hang in museums around the world. I gifted three to the natural history museum, and some are still in private collector galleries." And some have been destroyed in museum fires."
"The rest of the paintings in this room are all the descendants of Piberius. He had two sons, but they most of the time, had one male heir apiece. Lots of Females, but mostly ever one son. And yes, you had an uncle, and his son is your cousin." "I have a cousin,"? "You do, dad; he will be here on Saturday for a family get-together." "Wow, I never knew I had relatives." "Well, John, your dad, had a falling out with his brother about two years before you were born, dad. And John never told anyone about his family, did he, grandma"? "No, Daniel, John never told me about his family, the same as I never told him about mine. We never pried into each other's background." "Right shall we carry on everyone"?
"Now, the next thing we would like to show you is in the next room." A light comes on, but there's nothing in the room. Susan and I just smile as the cloak drops on our Pegasus ship. William and Rick both rush in to lay paws on it. "Guys, our Pegasus is a millennium old; it has served us well over the years. We got out of many close calls because of that craft." In size, it's about half the size of the Pegasus-one. "Daniel, how did you make it appear like that"? ask William. "We didn't make it appear; we just dropped the cloak." With that, the craft disappears again. William still has his paw on it and moves it around on the vessel. "How did you create the effect"? "It's a little complicated, but in essence, the light is bent around the craft and projected away from the craft on the opposite side. If you look closely, you can see a bit of shimmering in the air. The faster the craft moves, the more pronounced becomes the effect." "So, what generates the effect"? Why that would be my design on the "graviton coils." "Can you show me Daniel"? "Later, William, we have much more to show you all."
We go to the next room. There is a whole slew of paintings on the wall. "Now the first painting is of Sir Richard Cresta and his wife Vivian, and the second one is of Sir Rodney Cresta and his wife, Marion. I told their story in about two-hundred A.T.A., and somewhere along the line of telling and retelling the story, it morphed into the story we all know and love today." "And what story would that be, Daniel"? asks dad. I smile at him, "Why that would be Robin-hood, dad." "He was real"? "Yes, he was, but the true story is much different from the fictional one. The rest of the paintings are the descendants of Sir Richard Cresta." Vivian looks around the room and stops in front of one of the paintings. "Daniel, is this painting of who I think it is"? "It is Grandma." "I thought you said you weren't allowed to interfere with history"? "We did, Grandma, but only when it benefited Zootopia or allowed us to be born." "Mom, why are you crying"? asks Nick. "Son, I have a lot to tell you, and I'm sure you're not going to like it. Heck, even I don't like a lot of it myself." Dad, to change the subject, and seeing some scrolls off to one side, asks about them.
"And what are these scrolls over here"? "Why the big one is a copy of "The story of the one true God." I did that copy in A.T.A. thirty-two. I copied it from a scroll that a missionary of the one true God had brought with him to teach the people of the Gloucester area." "And this other scroll"? "Why that dad is the true history of Sir Richard and Sir Rodney Cresta." Nick lays his paws on the case of the scroll of the one true God. "Can I read this some time"? "Sure, dad, I have printed copies upstairs. I can let you have one to read." "Thanks, son, I believe I will."
We enter the next room, and the light comes on. There are thousands of watercolors on the room's walls; many are prominent business mammals of the time, some of which show everyday life for the community. "Daniel, did you do all of these as well"? "Yes, dad, I did. When we left the Cresta manor, we walked to Gloucester, but we were run out of town like we were a couple of witches. Once out of town, we continued down the road, and after several days on the road, arrived in Newport. As a scribe, I was welcomed into the town. I was swamped for over a month, copying, writing, and reading letters for many folks. Most people could not read or write, and because of this, scribes were sought out over all the continent. A ship came in from the east with a papaya paper cargo. He hoped it would be in demand as it was an outstanding paper. But the locals had all the wood paper they needed. No one had any use for it except me. "No one wanted foreign paper, but I knew it would last longer than any paper made locally. It was acid-free paper. So, I bought all of it and all the inks he had on board. It set us back all most all the gold we had, but it was worth it. After everything settled down and the work dried up to a trickle, I started to paint in watercolors. I sold most of the watercolors I did, and the rest I kept for posterity sake." "And this is just what you kept"? "Ah, Yes? Many of the museums around the world were gifted with my landscape paintings. "So, how many did you do all together"? "I lost count a long time ago. Time to move on."
"Now, the next room is our hiding period; we were a couple of beggars on the street." "How is that hiding"? asks dad. "Dad, we were hiding in plain sight, most mammals of that time were blind to beggars like they are today, and if we didn't get out of their way fast enough, they kicked us out of the way. Susan and I were bruised more than once." "Why were you hiding"? "Dad, it seemed like every time we went to do something, the outcome for Zootopia changed, and that was what we were trying to avoid." "Soon we were allowed to join the society, by soon I mean it took about a hundred years. We never had more gold than we could afford to have, so we were never in the elite of society." "Why not"? "Well, dad, we soon learned that it was better to do it from the shadows to effect change. Most of the bad in society come from there, and it was easier to bring light to the shadows than to expose shadows to the light." "Not much has changed since then, huh"? "Not really; the hardest part was figuring out when and where to interfere, and when just to hold Susan and softly cry as the bad happened." There wasn't much in the room, just some cast-off relics and artifacts from that time frame, which now were worth a fortune.
"This next room Is Susan's room. It dates from about One-ninety to two-hundred and fifty-two." "My turn Daniel." I wave her forward. "Now, everyone, this room is unusual, I always believed I had no artistic flare, but when I laid my paws on a piece of marble, I could see what that piece wanted to be, so that's what I sculped." With that, the lights come on. There are gasps from everyone at all the marble statues in the room. Nick goes in and lifting a small one, looks at the bottom, and nearly drops it. "Susan, you did all of these"? "Yes, dad, I did. I love working with marble."
"Good grief, I can't even begin to calculate the worth of this room." "well, dad, in today's market, it would be worth about five-hundred and fifty-million-dollars. But this is my private collection, and it's not for sale." "How long ago did you do this one, Susan"? asks mom. "I did that one about two-years ago. There is one similar in the Hamburg museum. It's entitled "captive," and I made that one in two-hundred and ten." The statute in question is of Nick and Judy. Judy is pulling Nick down by his tie and is aiming to kiss him. His paws are in the middle of his back. The one in the museum is in the same pose, but the fox's paws are tied behind his back, and instead of the tie, she is pulling him down with a noose. "Well, it sure does capture how I feel about your father." With that, she goes to dad and, pulling him down by his tie, plants one on his muzzle. Bonnie snapped a picture of it. The statue was in the background of the picture. "when I do sculptures now, I mark on the bottom, "Done in the style of S.K.W. by J.L." they are sought after by collectors as well. Some even fetch as much as some of my earlier works." "Shall we move along, everyone"?
"There is a big blank in between this room and the next. The next is our Violin room." The light comes on, and Susan and I walk forward, place our violins back on their stands, And close the cases. "So why is there a blank space of about four-hundred and fifty years"? asks dad. "Sorry, dad, we can't tell you at the moment, but rest assured it will come out in the future. Now we played in several orchestras in this period, we weren't renowned, but we were outstanding. We created the piece you heard tonight, and many folks loved it, but we were trying not to get noticed. Let's move on, shall we"? Besides the violins, there were several paintings of the opera house where Daniel and Susan performed.
"Now, grandpa and Davis, I believe you will get the biggest kick out of our next room; this is our almost medical wing." The lights then come on in the room. They illuminate all the medical quackery devices that were ever built and used on mammals. "As you can see, some of them did work, but not as intended. This electroshock device didn't help anybody, tell someone figured out it could restart a heart; thus, the first defibrillator was born." "Oh, God, grandson, you have the first working defibrillator"? "Well, working is a bit of a misnomer; it worked but didn't become well know; tell a Frank Partridge redid it, and if you look to the right, the first hospital one is over on the left of that isle. It's a little beat up, but it was in use for almost twenty-years at Hamburg memorial." "And what does this strange device do"? asks Davis. "Why that is the first X-ray machine invented, by a Wilhelm Rontgen about one-hundred and fifty years ago. It wasn't very powerful, but all welcomed the benefits of seeing inside the mammal body without cutting them open. No more having to do exploratory surgery to find out what was in our bodies. But enough of this, you both can explore this room to your heart's content tomorrow. The last room we want to show you is down this way."
"Now this room Rick and Ava should get the biggest kick out of; this is our science Room." The lights come on and illuminate all the science gadgets and equipment. "We bought most of this stuff at surplus outlets. Most of it is brand new and never been used. That big block over on the left is a fifteen-megabyte hard drive. It's used but still works and is hooked up to that other block, the first solid-state computer. It couldn't do much more than a modern calculator can do. Just look at the size difference." The hard drive is eight-feet by eight-feet by six-feet and weighs approximately seven-hundred pounds. And the computer, screen, and keyboard is a six-foot-long console by four and a half feet tall and three feet deep. "Daniel, is that a replica of the first satellite"? "No, dad, that is the first satellite. When it went dead in space, and before it dropped into our atmosphere, we rescued it." "So, you guys have been to space"? Asks William. "Yes, we have brother, and we know you have been there too. We have been to the moon and back as well. If you look in the corner, you will find five drums, and in those sealed drums are moon rocks and dusk. Yes, before you ask, you can have them for study, but I feel you will be heading there yourself soon." William blushes. "So, how's the Pegasus-Two coming along"? "Good should be ready…. Right I forgot, no secrets in this family." We all just laugh. Dad looks at his watch; it's late.
Well, son, as interesting as this all is, we have to get up early tomorrow for work." "No, you don't, dad. You booked the next two weeks off as unpaid. If you need the money, we will give it to you." "Son, your mother and I have all the money we need, and when did we book this time off"? "About a year and a half ago, H.R. wasn't happy, but they told you they could work around it." "Wow, it's amazing what I can do in my sleep." "Sorry, dad, but we felt you needed to see all this." "I'm not upset, son; you were right. This is totally amazing. And I would love to explore it for the next two weeks."
"Doctor Davis, the same goes for you." "Daniel, I'm still just an intern." "Ah, in fact, you are a full doctor. These next two weeks was your time off before you start your new duties at the hospital." "Wow, you do a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff, don't you"? "Well, as founding members of the hospital, we have a little say in how it's run." "So, you pulled strings"? "No, we didn't Davis, the whole board has been watching you for the last year, and we all felt you deserved the promotion to full M.D. at the hospital." "What can I say but thanks."
"As for You, grandpa, the founding members of your hospital have requested your presence for the next two weeks. The administrator agreed with us. You have worked there for almost twenty-five years, and in all that time, you took only about two months of vacation time. The administrator was more than happy to grant our request." "Well, it seems I have no choice, I'm not mad about it, but as the park incident, I'm not happy." "Sorry, Grandpa, I know you asked me to explain myself better, but if I did, things would have taken a turn for Zootopia, and Susan and I couldn't allow that. you don't have to stay; you can go if you want to." "Daniel, I said I wasn't happy, not that I wasn't willing to be here." "With that, he grabs me and gives my head a noogy. I reach around and hug him; he hugs me back. Everyone else laughs.
"As for you, Jack and Skye, you have the next two weeks if you want it. Just tell your boss that "Boris and Natasha" request your presence, Code: Blue ninety-two alpha." "Are you telling us Daniel that you are Boris"? "What do you think, Jack"? "Wow, they were the most elite set of undercover operatives in the whole ZCIA, but they retired about ten years ago." "The code name and code are still active, Jack, and I'm sure your boss will give you the time off; just talk to him, tell Director Sheffield we said hi." "This just keeps getting stranger and stranger." Just then, all the kits start to fuss.
A little voice we had never heard before pips up, "Mom, I'm hungry, and if you don't feed my brothers, they may eat me." Both Oscar and John growl at her and swipe at her with their paws. Everyone laughs again. "Well, I can see it's kit bedtime. We have prepared rooms for everyone so just follow us, and we will lead you to them." I throw Charlotte high in the air; she screams as she comes down. Soon all the kits are asking to be thrown in the air. I get dirty looks from several adults in the group; I smile. Bonnie is a little jealous at all the attention I'm giving Charlotte but settles down when I show her the gym in the house. We continue to the bedroom wing of the house.
We show everyone the bedrooms they can use and take our kits to the master bedroom. "Bonnie, the door to your left is your bedroom, or you can sleep in a pile with the rest of us." "Ugh, no thanks, Oscar's paws taste terrible." Oscar just gives her a dirty look. "As for you three, how long have you been able to talk"? Oscar and John hang their heads so we can't see their eyes. "Well, to be truthful, I'm the only one who wants to talk. My brothers don't want to at the moment. So I will be the spokes mammal for all three of us." "Is there a reason they don't want to talk"? "Well, it was a bet. The first two to talk had to keep the third warm at night by being on top, but now that we've all spoken at once, our bet is defunct." We laugh at them, and Susan uncovers her breasts and teats to feed them all. They latch on and suck for all their worth.
"Oh, Nick, this is just so strange; how can our children be so old"? "I'm just as lost as you fluff. They do tell a good story, though." "Nick, I know it's more than just a story. Did you feel the fighting they have done over the years? What else did they have to do to get back to this time frame"? "I'm sure in the next two weeks we will get more answers to that question. Meanwhile, it would be a waste of a private room. Why don't we take advantage of it"? Judy moves onto Nick's chest and cuddles down. "You old horn dog, is that all you think of"? "I don't think so, but I'm sure you have no objections." "I don't kn…". Says Judy as Nick nibbles at the base of her ears.
Our friends were not aware of what was happening the next morning when the tune started to play. Our family knew and were out of bed and in the hall before the song ended. Our friends soon joined us with their kits. Mavis had brought the coffee, juice, and tea service to the end of the hall, and many helped themselves. "Damn it, Daniel, aren't we allowed to sleep in once in a while"? "Sorry, dad, but our DOJO awaits." Some grumble as we all head for the gym. Everyone gets in line. "Hey, you three, where are you going"? Our kits stop and look at us. "Get in line with the rest, please." "I told you it wouldn't work," says Charlotte as she punches both Oscar and John's arm. They get in line, and we all start the routine.
By the end of sparing practice, we are all tired and sweaty. But the biggest surprise for everyone else was when Brian and Mavis came in and started to fight. They fought faster and harder than any of us ever could, even Susan and I. We haven't taken them on in a long time. We don't want to get hurt. Mavis had been teaching us some new moves. She had an advantage. She had all these old videos of the different fighting styles and had been teaching us "Dim Mak." The art of pressure points on the mammalian body. This was a new study for us. We had only been studying it for about twenty years. Being able to see in our bodies helped us to understand foxes and rabbits. Over the years, we experimented with other species and learned most of their pressure points as well. They were paid handsomely for their participation.
The morning swim was fun, and the kits all screamed as they went down the water slide into the pool. It was a fun time when the horn goes off, alerting us all to breakfast. We all have a hard time getting our children off the slide and into the body blowers. Soon we are all eating breakfast.
After breakfast, I ask, "So where in the archive should we start today, family"? "Daniel, if you don't mind, I'm going to sit this one out today. I don't think I'm up to it." "That's ok, grandma, take all the time you need." Grandpa wraps her up in a hug. Grandma leans into his hug and sighs. Rick and Ava corner Mavis and start asking her questions. Mavis laughs, "come, you two, we are going to my computer room to talk." With that, they all get up and leave the room. The rest of us all head for the archive.