Fantastic Foxes of Zootopia: Series 1

by J Shute

Nick and Judy meeting (Fantastic) Mr Fox's family was just the start. From acting hares to mechanic vixens, from an accounting hyena and red panda to two great mice detectives, all will come together to find their place in the city where anyone can be anything. But little do our heroes know about the trials they will soon face. Zootopia-Fantastic Mr Fox-Aggretsuko Super crossover

101. An Anonymous Vulpine 57 (Day 5)

Chapter 57

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Nick and Judy, in the back of Catano's squad car, were approaching the city centre. Judy being stuck back there and not sharing the front with Catano being a good idea was probably the only thing the trio could agree on right now.

The bunny still couldn't help but glare at the back of Catano's head though. She was trembling, dizzy almost, with anger. Who did that cat even think she was, coming in again and again to hurt her friends. Spreading lies and treating them like they were criminals! And now it seemed the whole thing had lapped over to her herself! Why else was Bogo calling them in?

Her head hurt with frustration just thinking about it. Nick, seeing her rubbing her forehead, put a paw around her back and held her closer. He wanted to say 'keep calm' or 'don't rise to it' but he knew that was an age old recipe for trouble.

And that didn't even begin to touch trying to change her mind.

His best bet there, then, was the cheetah in the front seat. "Kii?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, voice clipped.

"I understand that you two got into an argument, and that a lot is going on between you two. And, I know you might not like this request, but I, personally, would deeply appreciate it if whatever is coming up is kept more to the fact side than the feeling side."

…

"My issue isn't with you Nick," she said. "In fact, I quite appreciate that you're not being blindly loyal to her right now…"

Nick's eyes narrowed. "I like to think of myself as a supportive friend more than anything."

"As long as, unlike someone, you know when to call it quits."

The fox felt that this was a good time as any to withdraw from this conversation. The bunny though felt it the perfect time to cut back in. "How many friends have you 'quitted on, huh?'" she asked, nose twitching.

"Right now I'd say about one. And the more you talk, the less I feel torn up about it."

"Well! The more you talk the more I… I… I feel less torn up too!"

An awkward silence filled the car once more as they pulled into the back route to the ZPD. Down into the basement car park, out they got, Nick pausing as he stepped out, ears pricked. "Hey Carrots, do you hear that?"

"Hear what…"

"That chanting?" he asked. "It might be the protest crowd. What are they saying?"

"I… I don't know," she shrugged, not really caring as she followed Kii inside. Rubbing the necklace around her neck for comfort, she got into the nearest elevator and felt it moving up. The jolt caused her to flinch, eyes closed, and for a second she imagined she was soaring up again to face down…

The jolt of it stopping shook her out and on she went with the cheetah. As she did so, she spoke again. "So tell me, what did you tell Bogo? What things does he imagine we've been up to?"

"This isn't about us, not that I'm not going to bring it up."

Nick's head tilted to the side. "Then what is it about?" he asked, as she knocked on the door.

Bogo's order came out and, as she opened it, she spoke back. "The only thing I know that you don't is that he sounded angry."

"And that," the Chief said, his voice rising hard. "Is because I am. You two, get in here now!" Judy did just that, Nick following on. He couldn't help but notice Wolford and Oates there too. "Wilde," Bogo began, "I'd tell you off for not making sure your partner was looking after herself but, right now, I don't care."

Judy's eyes narrowed. "Sir, I do not need to be looked after, I am not…"

"A dumb Bunny?" he cut in, nostrils flaring. "Firstly, Hopps, we're very much going to see about that here. Secondly, you look terrible. If any officer of mine came in looking like that, I'd dismiss them for enforced rest."

Judy blinked. "I… Just because I've been working hard protecting my friends doesn't mean I'm…"

"I don't care!" he yelled, shutting her down. For a moment, the tension of his body released, a look of concern even managing to worm its way on his face. "Have you even seen yourself in a mirror lately? Overworking is one thing, but you almost look like you've been trying to kill yourself." He paused, looking around for a second, before grabbing a small desk mirror and planting it in front of her. It was the size of a dresser mirror for her, and into it she looked. Her fur was… a bit messy. Her eyes were… a bit red and baggy. Her ears drooped a bit and her fingers were twitching a little. She looked up. "Sir, I've been working hard recently. I look a bit tired, that's it, I…"

"Hopps, I don't care. You look like you're killing yourself, and it's clear you don't know your own limits!"

"-With respect, sir, if I'd have listened to people telling me what my limits were, I'd have never even tried for the police academy."

The cape buffalo stared her down. "Why am I arguing with you," he huffed. "After all, given that you may well be spending tonight in the cells, the chances are I can make sure you get the rest you need."

The bunny and fox blinked. "The cells," Nick began. "Listen, sir, I have no idea what you think we've…"

Judy cut in. "I'm pretty sure Catano filled you in on her version of events, but here are mine. I've known and supported a reformed mammal with a troubled past. One who Catano feels needs to be kept on being persecuted! Victimised! She feels I'm a terrible mammal for even knowing her, yet alone being friends! And then, not just happy with hating on her, she turns up to the intended victim of this crime to persecute and humiliate him in front of his entire family!" She slammed her foot down. "All I've been doing is standing up to her mistreatment and bullying of my friends."

"That is not what happened and you know it," Catano cut in, only for a deafening slam to cut them off. Bogo's hoof had smashed down on his desk, with enough force to smash the old pager unfortunate enough to be in its way into pieces.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled, grabbing the ruined electronics and tossing it hard into a wastepaper bin in the corner. "Evidently, none of us are on the same page here. We'll look into this stuff later, if you still have a job at the end of this. As for why one of you might lose it?" He stood up, marching to the window. "Well, hear for yourself." He yanked it open, and in echoed the chanting of the crowd.

Nick and Judy's eyes widened as it came in, now unmistakable.

"We love you Murana, we do…

We love Dark Flame Wolf, we do..

Murana Woflord, We! Love! You!

Oh, Murana we love you!"

Catano's mouth gaped open, her head tilted sideways, while Nick and Judy blinked. The bunny suddenly snapped to attention. "He told them! Wassermaim…"

"Oh no!" Bogo said. "Somehow, they got the entire sound transcript of our undercover operation! They know it all, and for about ten minutes I was terrified we were going to have a full blown riot on our hooves!"

There was a long pause, only the sound of chanting coming in from outside, before a grin began growing on Nick's mouth. "Only they don't care! She's become an honest to god folk hero to them! I don't believe it, Jack was right!"

"And speaking of Jack," Bogo cut in, "where is he?"

Judy blinked. "Wait… You're going after another of my friends too now!"

He stared her down. "Given that you three are the prime suspects for leaking this, YES! Where is he!?"

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The sky was turning orange, the air cooling down and, climbing up the old main route in and out of the city state, a motorbike with attached sidecar raced along, taking the bends fast. The opossum in the sidecar held on, looking around, before giving a signal to the driver. Mr Fox nodded, before turning on his headset. "This is red leader. Do you copy, over?"

Finnick, in his van, glanced over to Jack in one of the adjoining seats. The striped bunny, picking up the receiver, spoke into it. "Tally ho, tally ho, this is… -red herring! Over."

"Got any catch yet?"

"I… -hang on."

He unbuckled himself and dove under the seats, slipping through the access hole and making his way to a newly installed stepladder. Climbing up it, he looked out of the back windows, binoculars in paws used to great effect. "No. Over. You two?"

Back on the motorbike, Mr Fox looked down at Kylie. "Do you see them?"

The opossum glanced around. "No!"

"He says no!"

Back in the van, Jack nodded, only for a slam from the front wall to prick his ears. "Yo Stripes! Border coming up, quick."

"We're about to cross over," he said. "You two?"

"Twenty minutes, but once we merge back on the freeway we'll soon catch right up. Unless of course you see your guys again. How are the others doing?"

"I don't know," Jack began, only for the slam of a fist on the bulkhead to interrupt him. They were slowing down, so back to the front he raced, back in his seat as they joined the queue.

A few dozen miles to the south, another vehicle was slowing down, albeit not for the border. They were still a while away from there, taking the cross country route to their destination and avoiding Predford city. That way though took them through Bunnyburrow, in which they chose to fill up on fuel.

Retsuko had hired a basic four seater car for this, sized for Haida but with small mammal controls, both for her and Skye. Even so, it was still small enough that the vixen could, if she wanted, take over driving manually. Unfortunately that meant things were a little tight for the hyena, who was taking the time to step out of the vehicle and stretch about. Retsuko was with him, while Skye went in to pay..

"Feeling nervous?" Haida asked, looking up at the sky.

The red panda nodded. "Yeah. This is actually something, isn't it. No more passive girl for me, right!"

…

Slowly, the hyena leant down and held her paw. She couldn't help but look back and smile at that, though it kept flickering on and off. Quietly, she talked to herself. "How do they do it?"

"Huh? Who do what?"

"Nick and Judy, those heroes… How do they keep going out there, doing this kind of dangerous stuff, day after day. Do they just get used to this feeling, or were they born different?"

"Maybe they're like me," the hyena said. "A bit scared, but at the end of the day, you gotta do what you gotta do."

"We don't gotta do this, do we though?"

"Maybe not. But we'd be a bit chicken to back out now, huh. It's no longer that young fox we're trying to save, it's the weasel too. Besides, the more of us doing it, the safer it is. There's two of them, and seven of us, right? We can do this!"

"Yeah," she said. "We can! Seven is enough, right…"

"Well, if it isn't, I don't know what number is."

"...Eight," Retsuko said quietly, trailing off. Her eyes were focussed on something in the distance.

"Huh? Eight?"

"Yeah, eight," she said, eyes still fixed. "Like if we had Protein on our side."

"Hmmmm, I mean that would be good, but it's too late now to…" He was cut off as she tugged on his arm, pointing across the street. Haida, his eyes narrowing, made out a shop-cafe called 'Gideon Greys Real Good Baked Stuff'. And there, outside, was a certain kangaroo. A small koala at his side, they were currently shaking paws with the occupants of… "Hey, is it me or is that the raccoon version of Finnick's van?"

"Might be," she said, taking a quick photo snap. "Though I don't know what he'd think."

"Yeah," Haida agreed, nodding his head. "I mean, instead of two vulpine gods he has what? A stencilled racoon head, and… Okay, now I'm confused."

"So am I," Retsuko agreed, as the owner of the van emerged out from behind it to belly-slam Protein in celebration at their meeting. The kangaroo was pushed back, but couldn't help give a loud and excited "PROTEIN" at the giant pink hippo in front of him.

"Why is a hippo driving a giant raccoon van?" Haida asked.

Retsuko paused, scratching her head. "Maybe he shares it with a raccoon… -It looks like they're there with someone else, behind the hippo. Maybe that's the raccoon." She paused for a few seconds, before stepping forward. "Hello! P… -Malcolm! It's me, Retsuko, from yoga! Listen, I know you couldn't help us before, but if you could help us now that would be great!"

The three mammals she could see turned to face her. The koala mumbled a little, before the kangaroo threw his arms wide open, an exasperated look on his face. He looked left, he looked right, before he pointed back at himself. "PRO-TEIN!"

"Okay then… Sorry," she said, "But listen, we could really…"

"Protein. Pro-tein! Protein."

The koala waved his stick in the air as well. "Hunnhunna hunn hunn hunna!"

...

"Do you speak…" Haida began, before a new voice cut through.

"Hey, guys! Sorry my pals can't help, we're kinda busy now. Got some real complex important stuff of our own to discuss. But good luck!"

They turned to see the hippo waving. "Thanks," Retsuko waved back, before turning to Haida. "Well… I hope third time is the charm," she said, as Skye, coming back from paying, opened up her door.

"You done here?"

"Seem to be," she said, as they piled in. Engine on, they carried on on their way.

And so the hours began to tick away. First Jack and Finnick, then Mr Fox and Kylie and finally Skye, Retsuko and Haida crossed the border.

No sign of any mammals following them.

Even so, the bike and van kept their distance. Occasionally Mr Fox would take a turning off, circle around a bit, then loop back on, catching up and passing the van once more.

The issue though was that there was little reason for anyone to turn off until they got to Predford. Even then, once they did, close to half would be taking the same route down south. Things would only become clear when they were on that stretch of mountain road, leading up.

Closing in, Skye suggested something to remedy it. So, with the next turnaround, Mr Fox stayed a distance away from the van, which then, at the last moment, took a sharp exit itself.

A few cars past and a large, white one, turned off too.

Mr Fox yanked out his arm and signalled, he himself turning off and tracking them. On a straight road, he spoke into his microphone and, up ahead, Finnick slammed on the breaks.

The car slowed down but the bike pulled out, Kylie's sidecar almost scraping its bodywork as the opossum stood up and stared inside. He passed the open rear seat's window as Mr Fox raced on, before the vulpine's eyes widened in horror. His paw slammed down on his friend's head… "MIRROR!" and grazed the underside of it instead.

He raced on, overtaking Finnick while plotting his own course on the backstreets to keep the trackers from getting a scent. "Was it them?" he asked.

"Lion. Tiger. I hoped I'm not stereotyping, but I think it was," the opossum said.

"Hear that Red Herring, over?"

"Yup," Finnick spoke, before banging on the bulkhead. "Yo Stripes, what you got?"

Jack, setting up his steps and staring at the drivers through his new binoculars, yelled back. "We got them!"

Far away, Skye called out. "What vehicle?"

"Uhhhh…" he began, before pulling up his phone and taking a snap.

A dozen or so seconds later, Skye received it. "Okay. White Toyote Cowrolla… -Literally the most ordinary thing they could get. Registration 1-8-RGS-9-2. Got it?"

"Got it," the others relayed.

"Right," she said. "Mr Fox, get back on the fast road and zip down to meet us. We'll go up together, while Finnick can draw them past. Over?"

"Over," they relayed, as they carried on into the night.

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"Convenient," Bogo snorted, sitting down.

"Sir, I have known Jack for years," Judy began. "He would never do this. Nor would I. Nor would Nick! Why would we even leak this? You said yourself, with this we were going to be able to make that DA leave his job the quiet way. We'd won. Why would we then go and release it?"

Nick nodded. "That would just be us playing our cards early chief. There's no strategic sense in it."

"As is clear," he began, eyes narrowing at Judy. "Sense doesn't have to play into it. All it takes is for one of you wanting Kurt Wassermaim to be humiliated in front of the entire city, and then…" He clicked a hoof, waving it out to the chanting crowd.

Nick's ears lowered as he looked around. He saw Judy winding up to speak again and put his paw on her shoulder. She began to snap, only for her eyes to fix with his, looking at her and desperately hoping that she'd trust him. Still frozen mid-coil, Judy slowly began to unwind herself, leaving the floor to her fox. "Sir, when I was briefing Jack on what the DFW was, I kept on saying that I was worried that Wassermaim wouldn't go quiet. He'd yell it out, you may well have got your riot! So why would Judy or I risk that if we thought that way?"

"Fair point," Bogo began. "And what was Jack's opinion? Did he think it would cause a riot too? Oh wait, he thought that this was what was going to happen."

Nick closed his eyes, massaging his temples. "Okay, no offence here, but arguably there's someone right here with a much bigger motive to do this. Right?"

"Officer Wolford was with me all day," Bogo said, looking at the wolf, who nodded back. "While also under suspicion, I know he was scared stiff about what would happen if the world thought his wife was this made up boogeymam. I am all but certain it wasn't him"

Judy stepped forward. "In that case, sir, at least give our friends the credit you give your own."

"I would like to," Bogo huffed. "But we have a serious leak here! So, unless this was somehow connected to our mysterious third and fourth parties, I'm going to have to be looking into either you or your friends."

Judy opened her mouth to speak, only to close it again, eyes shut as she rubbed her head. The stress was making her head hurt. Dammit, it wasn't as if they'd seen that lion or tiger around here or there, was it! Which one of them could have done it, and where! Arghhhh… They might have actually got the pair in in the past, only to not because of course Duke had to lie back on that old interview about them and that…

Her eyes opened. "Goat!" Everyone turned to her. "Play the video recording, right when Jack is getting out of the elevator and going to his office!" Bogo paused for a second before his eyes widened. Opening his computer, he scrolled through before turning it around. There was the Jack-cam from that morning, the bunny going along until a goat working for IT asked him to help out. Let him use his cleaners trolley to rest his laptop on, before knocking some items off it, Jack leaning down to pick them up.

Nick looked at Judy. "The goat. -Petey. Is that him!?"

Bogo turned to Oates. "Get the uniform he was wearing at the time." Off the horse went, while The Chief went down, head in hooves. "If it was bugged… -How do they even benefit from this? I thought they wanted the kit inside?"

Nick shook her head. "We think he wants the father's help on something, for some reason. Using this release information as leverage…"

"But in that case," Bogo carried on, "the second someone asks the father for any help, we know who it is. They're not making any sense."

There was a slam as the door opened back up again, Oates clutching the clothes Jack had worn. "Sticky bug on the back of the shoulder. Must have put it on when the striped bunny was bending down, brazen little billy…"

"Get that to forensics, right now," the chief ordered, Oates galloping out once more.

A long silence filled the room. "How he did know…" The chief said, quietly.

"Huh?" Nick asked.

"How did they know when our mission was? How did they know who our mammal was…" He rose up, out of his seat. His eyes cast down on the two in front of him.

"Sir," Judy began, gaze hardening. "You can't seriously be…"

"Calm it Hopps! No I am not," he groaned. "We know these mammals use bugs now. We know they have a bat in their gang!" He paused, looking around, suddenly staring down the walls of his office. "For all I know, this very room is bugged!" He looked down and began tearing the items on his desk off, glancing at their undersides. After a stack of files, a mug full of pencils and a small potted plant were tossed, he paused… Before sweeping everything off in one fell swoop, immediately turning to his drawers, ripping them out and tossing out the contents. "They might be listening in on everything we're saying…"

"Hey, bad guys," Nick said. "You suck!"

"CAN IT WILDE!" the chief roared, Judy especially flinching down in pain. "Now is not the time!" he said, still throwing off items that had managed to land on his desk. "For all I know the entire Precinct is compromised! Damn those two mice, they were right all along. Right now, I need none of Wilde's snark, and none of your oversensitivity Hopps."

The bunny blinked. "Oversensitivity!?"

His face snapped up. "Every time we even ponder whether you or one of your friends might be involved in some way, you start screaming!"

"Sir!" the bunny protested, beginning to drum her foot. "You pulled me in here threatening to take my badge!"

"I…" he began, only to cut himself off, ramming past his desk to unhook his clock from the wall.

"-He is right you know," Catano filled in.

Judy snapped to face her. "Don't you start on this after what you've been doing!"

"What I've been doing!?"

Nick sighed at the sight of them. "Normal service has been resumed."

Which caught the ire of Bogo, currently demounting the pictures on the wall. "I told you Wilde, no snark."

"Sir, that was an icebreaker."

"-And again!" he said, fully turning around, tossing the painting in his hooves to the floor.

"That was me defending myself."

"Why can't you and your partner know when to shut your muzzles!"

"That was me defending myself again!"

Officer Wolford, at the back, felt his ears go down at the sight of the two bickering pairs. Groaning, he stepped in to intervene, only to pause, his nose sniffing something that smelt bad. Turning down, his eyes widened with alarm as the hiss of a smashed battery finally igniting rattled out of the waste paper bin, catching the paper too. "Guys. Fire…. -FIRE!" He looked back to see them still arguing, now with each other, and began looking at it to try and figure out how the cuss he was going to put it out.

And, as he did so, the door to the office opened just a little, two small brown figures walking in. "Guys, we're back from the Ewekraine!" Basil announced cheerfully, holding it open with his back as Dave walked in.

"We bought pizza!" he said, holding the boxes, top one open, up as his husband joined him paw in paw. "I admit they're a little out of scale for you lot, but…"

He trailed off, sharing a look of utter shock and confusion with Basil as their gaze slowly surveyed rubbish strewn, bickering mammal filled, fire burning in the corner, room. They turned to each other and shared a nervous look, before slipping back out the door.

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---

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"This is Red Leader! On the mountain road and in contact with Swift Support. Do our enemies still have your tail, Red Herring?"

Further back, far below where Skye had first made contact the day before, Finnick and Jack were driving nice and slowly in their van, the new car taking its sweet time behind them. "Red leader, this is Red Herring," the striped bunny narrated, sitting back in his seat. "He is well and truly biting our hook."

"-This is Swift Support," came in Skye, smiling. "Just making the turning now with Red Leader. And thank you very much for the new codename. Over."

As she said it, Retsuko turned them off the main road and down onto the road taking them past the lake. Just behind, Mr Fox and Kylie made the same turning. They put on a quick burst of speed, getting out of view of the main road and then hurrying on, the lake coming into view. Here and there on the shores were tents or small campers, a few mammals here and there still out enjoying the evening. It didn't take long for them to pass them, past the small stores where Duke had been spied in a selfie and then across over a small bridge that went over an unremarkable inlet stream. The pair turned right up a narrow road and began the slow crawl up to find their weasel.

"Who's going to speak to him?" came a voice. Kylie.

"Best to be me," Haida said.

There was a pause.

"I mean, I'm the largest," he counted off. "Our species both have sort of bad reps, and we know he isn't a fan of foxes. Neither his cousin or his roommate have ever seen me. I'll just go in, tell him that his cousin got shook down by a lion and tiger after him, so on, so on. I can do this!"

There was a pause. "Sounds good," Skye said, breathing in and out. "Eyes open, we're not far now. A few bends more and…

"-THEY'RE FOLLOWING YOU!"

She yipped from Jack's scream, dropping her phone before picking it up again. "What!?"

"-We just went past the turn off to the lake," Jack said, frantically. "He didn't follow us, they turned to follow you and raced off. We've only just turned around. They're after you! Hurry!"

Skye blinked. "FOOT DOWN!" she yipped, the panicking red panda doing just that. The engine rumbled as they suddenly sped on, making two turns before they slammed to a halt. Skye yipped a little as her crutch bounced off the dash and landed right back on her knee, all while Retsuko stared out. There, below, stood the camper, rubbish pile outside and light on inside.

Haida, panicking, unbuckled himself and almost threw himself down the bank, leaf litter and muck avalanching down wherever his feet landed. Scrambling and arm flailing, he kept himself upright and slowed himself down until, finally, he almost anticlimactically came up to the vehicle at a regular walking pace. Brushing himself down, he looked at the tiny thing, its top just about reaching one-third of his own height, hip level. Even sitting on his haunches, his head would be higher than it, so instead he guessed he'd have to lie down on his front and…

The door slammed itself open. "I'LL CLEAR UP WHEN I PACK UP!" The weasel yelled out, glaring at the hyena. "Now listen 'yeen, I'm tryna rest n' relax before I gotta go back to my dump of a home town. So pack it in, will ya!"

"You're in terrible danger!"

"...What?"

"You've got a cousin, right? Predford city. That's where you hired this from, right?"

"What of it…"

"And you have two guys after you. A lion and a tiger, right?"

The weasel blinked and, were Haida able to see in the low light level, he'd spot his pupils shrinking down. "Just some jerks who…"

"-Who burnt a few of his campers and threatened his son to try and force out where you were. I… -I was just doing deliveries when I overheard it. I'd called the cops, but they were setting off. I went and grabbed my car and raced up here to see if I could save you first, but they're RIGHT behind us!"

The weasel shivered back. "Woah, woah, woah… Time out there." He paused, glaring up at Haida. "Something smells fishy about this…"

"We don't have the time! They were fifteen minutes behind five minutes ago!"

His eyes narrowed. "And how do you know that?"

Haida closed his eyes, paws up clutching at nothing. "I'M TRYING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?"

"How do I know you're not with them, huh?" he asked, getting out his phone and turning it on. It slowly began to light up, illuminating the weasel's displeased expression.

"Why would I warn you about them if I was part of them? Think, Duke, THINK!"

"So I'd go into captivity with no fuss," he hissed, grabbing a matchstick and beginning to chew on it. It fell out though as he saw a string of texts turn up. "Mobsters after you, gave them a false destination, get out…"

"Now do you believe me!?"

"I… -right," he began, darting back in. "Let me just get ready. ID, got. Money, got… -WAIDAMMINIT!"

Haida slapped his head.

"These were sent yesterday!"

"PLEASE," Haida began to beg, as someone yelled from the car.

"They've just turned onto this road! Hurry!"

"Who's that!?" The weasel asked, accusingly.

"My girlfriend! She drove us, okay!"

"Weren't you making deliveries?"

Haida began slapping his head.

"And… -And how would you even know that, huh? How do you know where they are?"

"Because Finnick was trying to lead them away but they somehow know which way we went and why are you being so awkward! I've had nightmare coworkers who are less of a nightmare than you!"

Duke's mouth hung open. "Finnick… -Wait, Finnick Ibn-Zerdain? Cuss me, that's a name I haven't heard for ages. Heck, I thought he changed it when he…" The weasel trailed off, before his teeth gritted. "Oh I get it! This is one of Wilde's pranks, huh! What? Think's I said a few mean things to his little foxy friends after they screw me over on my last day of community service, so he thinks I gotta be well and truly got, huh? Thinks he can pull a fast one on me when I'm just tryna chill out with some me time!? Well, tell that stupid fox cop that I ain't some big dumb weasel yadda yadda he can laugh at! Clear!"

He slammed the door shut, Haida groaning as a yell came from up above. "I see their lights!" Retsuko yelled, as Haida looked around, grimacing. He could see them coming, there wasn't much time left, he looked down at the little camper and came up with a truly stupid idea. "Keep going!" he yelled.

"What?"

"Drive on and lose them. I'll meet you with Duke."

"How…"

"Just trust me!" he yelled, as the car and bike engines started once more. With distance to spare, they took off again as Haida leant down and picked up the weasel sized camper in his paws.

"What the cuss do-ya think ya doing! Stop… AAAAHHHHH!"

Haida ignored the screams and bangs from inside as he rolled the now upside down camper deep into his chest and began to race off into the forest, bangs, clatters and screams coming out from inside with each and every stride. "Saving your life you big dumb weasel yadda yadda!"

Meanwhile, back in the van, Finnick was making his engine scream as he tried to keep up with the car. Jack, on the radio, had just learnt what had gone on. "We didn't see any sign of you stopping," he said. "So they shouldn't know…"

"Fake running off the road when you get there!" Skye said. "Pick them up!"

"Good idea," Finnick said, "we're basically there now. My night-vis can recognise it, but they shouldn't and, WAAAHHHH" He slammed on the brakes as the car in front of them came to a halt, the two ending up practically bumper to bumper. "They stopped! They know, how did they know!?"

"Lucky spotting probably," Mr Fox said, up in the lead. He swung his bike around. "Everyone, follow me. We get them!"

"T-thaaaaat, basicaaaaaally," Kylie added, voice slurred as he was pulled to one side from the swing around. Still mid-turn, he heard something odd. Turning, his eyes widened as he saw a bat, hanging on to the tail end of the bike, flapping his wings and wincing with pain as he tried to fight the force of the turn on his one functional leg. "Bat."

"Not the time for games," Mr Fox said, finally finishing the turn.

"No, a bat!" he said, as he lunged forward, the winged mammal finally letting go and flying off. "It was on the bike."

"What was that?" came Skye's voice from Mr Fox's speaker. Even as she said it, he was speeding up, racing past her and her car as he pushed back down.

"Kylie says we had a hitchhiking bat."

"He must have jumped on when you overtook them!" she yipped. "That's how they know where we were!"

"Worthy and maybe even a little bit scary enemies," Mr Fox remarked. He breathed in and out, unable to stop some excitement escaping into his voice. "Let's do this, team!"

Retsuko, breathing in and out, nodded as she too turned around.

Finnick and Jack didn't acknowledge it though, instead staring wide eyed as the toyote's occupants revealed themselves. On the right, a lion jumped out, racing after Haida and Duke. On the left, up stood a tiger, his eyes focusing down the fennec and hare as he cracked his knuckles and extended his long, sharp, deadly claws.

Out in the woods, Haida's pace was slowing, fast.

He was NOT built for this.

Okay, yes, he'd sometimes thought that he should hit the gym. -He was really, really wishing he had now! But it also didn't help that the camper was heavy, and obnoxiously bulky. It wasn't something you could just tuck under your arm or something.

He'd told himself this was a very stupid idea, hadn't he!?

And now, looking back, he saw…

He ground to a halt, eyes fixed on the outline of Finnick's van. "Yes! They came to pick me up. They…"

And then he saw the car in front of them, and the hulking figure making its way down. Panting, he turned and made a dart back down towards the lake. Come on, he could lose them! Maybe even loop back to the van. As long as he could get enough distance between him and not make too much noise or…

The sound of the camper engines starting roared out. "What are you doing!?" He turned it around, facing down through the front windscreen and staring right into the eyes of the very angry weasel. "I'm trying to…"

Its high beams blasted on, blinding him. "AHHH!" he cursed, pulling the whole thing up against his chest, casting his gaze out into the forest.

He couldn't see anything!

The lights had wrecked his night vision.

-And they'd lead the lion straight to him. He could hear him off in the distance, getting closer, the hyena beginning to panic. -Get back to the van. And if the weasel was using those high-lights to stop him navigating, then he could use them as a torch and hoist him by his own...

A merciless shredding tore at his chest, like masking tape being ripped off and dragging pawfulls of fur with it. He screamed and pushed the camper away, its front wheels now spinning without care in the wind, tossing out pieces of his clothes they'd ripped off. Inside, Duke was cheering, honking the horn in celebration. "I'm trying to rescue you!" he yelled, slamming its rear on the ground and diving down with his paw. He was going to tear that idiot out and carry him in mammal! For a second, Duke looked scared, only for Haida's fist to bounce painfully off the windscreen, barely making a crack. "ARGGHHHHH!"

He couldn't help but glare at the cheering weasel through the blast of the high beams, raise his paw, and then watch in satisfaction as Duke's smug smile was wiped from his face. Haida smiled, and then he felt the claws around his throat.

.

.

---

.

.

"ENOUGH!"

The entire office went quiet, Bogo's roared sounding out.

He breathed in and out, anger in his eyes as he surveyed the scene. Judy was flinching down, cradling her head, wobbling around slightly. Nick had flinched back. Catano looked away shyly.

A loud whoosh drew Bogo's ire, only for the great cape buffalo to hold back as he saw Wolford using a fire extinguisher on the waste paper basket. "Why are you doing that?"

…

"To put out the fire."

"Ask a stupid question," he muttered. "-What fire?"

"Your pager battery… ignited."

The Chief nodded, slowly turning around to look at the mess that had been his office. "Annoyingly," he muttered. "I am self aware…" Walking over, he turned over some of the papers. "I can't trust my officers. I can't even trust my own office." He pulled his chair out and sat down, head in his hooves. "Is this what they wanted, all this time? To throw us into chaos?"

Nick nodded. "Maybe not just us…"

The Chief looked up. "Well. Go on…"

The fox closed his eyes. "Just thinking, I expected that leak to cause a riot or something out there. Maybe they did too?"

Wolford walked over. "To borrow an internet thing from my kids: Step one, cause a riot; step three, profit; step two?"

Nick shrugged, paws up. "Borrow another internet thing from your kids. Some mammals just want to watch the world burn."

The Chief huffed, holding his horns. "That's sounding strangely more appealing by the day." He looked up. "Wolford, you can go. I'm sure your wife wants your support."

"Thank you, sir," he said, leaving the room, only to pause. "Sir, the detectives are back."

He breathed in and out. "Any breakthroughs on their encouraged holiday?"

"A few interesting observations," came a call from Basil.

He nodded. "Right. You can tell me everything while I clear up this mess. And help me figure out how to stop small mammals like yourself bugging us… -You two were righter than I ever feared."

"Why, thank you sir," he said, Dave chipping in.

"Indeed, though that is a bit… worrying."

"Very," the chief groaned. He slowly turned, facing down Nick. "I have two, very simple orders for you. One, make sure that bunny of yours doesn't kill herself."

Judy, flinching down, turned up. "Sir…"

"CAN IT!" he yelled, making her flinch down again. "Hopps, I am deeply concerned for you, but that concern is being replaced more and more by irritation at your stone-faced refusal to listen. I hope Wilde can get through to you, though even now I'm fearing I'm giving him an impossible task. No, two of them…" He looked between Judy and Catano, then turning back to Wilde. "Sort out whatever is splitting these two apart."

Nick nodded. "I'll try sir."

"You will," he said, "because the last thing I need is a three way battle between a fox, bunny and big cat. Dismissed, all of you."

.

.

---

.

.

"Finnick," Jack said, worrying. "That's a tiger."

"No crap!"

"What do we do?"

"... Fight!"

"Fight? It's a TIGER! And not a Tasmanian cop out, the real Bengal deal!"

"Well I have a bat on my side," the fennec said, grabbing his wooden baseball bat and jumping out. His pads hit the tarmac and he put two fingers in his jaw, giving a sharp whistle. "Hey! Stripey-boy! Down here!"

His gaze snapped down and a smug smile grew across his face, one of his fingers going up to scratch the side of his mouth. "Oh… Trying to play in the big mammal leagues are we?" he asked, the corners of his mouth rising. Finnick matched his gaze, though his eyes flicked briefly over as he saw Jack in the driver's seat, pulling his van into reverse.

Well, he didn't need stripe Bun anyhow. "Playing in the kick your furry butt team!" the fennec said, baring his teeth. Yeah, he could do this! Quick whack down between the legs always worked! He charged forward, screaming, bat raised, only for the tiger's claws to come swiping down. He pulled the bat around, bracing it with both paws, his claws digging in, and then almost getting torn out as the glancing sweep almost dragged him away.

He was on his front, on the ground, and the tiger...

-He pushed himself into a roll to the right as a clawed foot smashed down where his head had been. Breathing fast, this was harder than he'd thought. Racing forward, more stomps down, one on the left throwing him to the right and one in front of him causing him to jolt back, paws scrambling in the air.

Landing back down he dove forward, scurrying onward and using his claws to dig in for extra traction. Left-right-left-right-roll over to avoid that foot! Go for his tail and... -he was turning around, he couldn't get behind him!

-New plan!

He dove down underneath the tiger's car to catch his breath.

-Okay, maybe this big cat had some skill!

"I do find it quite endearing how large the ego's of you little ones can get," the tiger chortled. Finnick felt himself snarl, but his jaw dropped as the shelter above him rose up and away. He looked up to see the tiger standing there, holding the whole back of his vehicle up to expose him. In the night, his grin grew, he thought he'd won, the idiot! Just because he could tip the car up didn't mean he could get Finnick, did it!?

And looking down, the fennec saw something that put a smile on his face. His van, charging up fast. Oh, if she was to die then ramming a tiger was the kind of way she should! Just keep him distracted… "Yeah. Now what!? How you gonna get me. I'll tell you Tony, this plan ain't grrrrrreat!"

The big cat's grin grew slightly.

"-What now, pussy cat!?" Finnick cheered, waving his bat in front of him.

The tiger's right paw let go of the car, his left trembling a little as it took the full weight, and dove down into his pocket to pull out a tranq gun, Finnick's eyes widening in fear as he pulled up his bat for cover. "Well. I'd suggest this," he said, shooting Finnick and then turning around, dropping his car as he heard the fennec yip. His legs coiled and he charged Jack and the van head on.

Inside, Jack's eyes widened as the snarling face raced up to meet him. Flicking on the brakes, the wheels squealed and protested as the tiger went down on all fours and then leapt up, sailing over him. The shake of him stopping was met with the pounding of something heavy on the roof. "Finnick?" the hare panicked. "FINNICK!?" He pushed himself into reverse, not even sure if it was the right thing to do. This was not a fun first time driving! Still, he could tell something was off. The vehicle felt different. Heavier. Slower. It twitched and swung around as something big moved up top.

Two feet swung down, the windshield crumpling in where they hit, a spiderweb of cracks covering Jack's view as it buckled. Looking up, he saw the shattered visage of the smiling tiger looking down, taunting him as he prepared for his next swing in. Looking around, shaking, he pulled down a switch hard.

Outside, the tiger twitched a little as a jet of water splashed against the side of his leg, the wipers sweeping out to bump harmlessly into them. He chuckled, bending down to grip one, twisting it and staring into the striped hare's face as the plastic cracked and tore off.

Jack watched helplessly as the big cat pulled up the mangle ruins of his ace in the hole, ever smiling and ever staring, before chucking it over his shoulder. Paw up, he gave his fingers a flex and pulled them into a fist.

Jack pulled the brakes on again, the force yanking him back into his seat, the tiger pausing a little but otherwise unaffected as they ground to a halt. He looked down, rolled his eyes, and recoiled his fist as he was back cast in light. Looking down, Jack smiled as he saw Mr Fox on his bike charge into view, a branch held out like a lance and then thrown. It sailed up and slammed into the back of the tiger's head at speed, making him flinch down. Jack fired up the wipers again, the water jet bouncing off the crumpled windscreen and spraying into his face. Racing into a reverse once more, the tiger began to slide off only to dig in with his claws, a very angry look on his face. But then, up ahead, Jack saw Skye and Retsuko driving in, the terrified looking red panda pulling the wheel around and coming in for a direct collision.

Her lights filled up his sight, the tiger turning around just as she slowed down, the moving impact merely jolting against Finnick's van and then pushing it along just a bit faster.

The tiger's tail caught between them.

Finally he yowled, his smugness burnt away into a fury he let loose. He gave a mad swipe at the other car's windscreen, then another, then another, paw bouncing off of it again and again. Finally, taking a second to think, he jumped up, his feet poised to smash through like a sledgehammer.

Retsuko braked, hard.

Jack kept on reversing.

He fell into the middle, rolling over his head before landing on all fours, a feral growl coming out his throat.

Glancing in his side mirror, making sure he was still on the road, Jack paused as he saw something wrap around it, holding tight. Mr Fox pulled his bike into a power slide, donutting around the tiger as Kylie fed out the wire. A loop went around the tiger's legs, then another, then another. The van began pulling the tiger along the road, dragging him down with it.

The mirror tore off, leaving Mr Fox and Kylie to keep on wrapping him around and around. Stopping, Jack pushed the van forward again, driving up to face against the tiger. He was caught, sandwiched between two large vehicles and legs wrapped together with rope. Mr Fox and Kylie let go and slid to a stop, the three of them corralling the mammal in.

He panted, heaving with every breath, before taking a final breath in and composing himself. "This has been amusing," he said, a sneer growing on his muzzle. "But I think this joke has been going on quite long enough. You really think you can beat me?"

He turned, staring down Mr Fox, who stood up to meet him, teeth snarling. "Yeah. I think we can." Kylie stepped out of his sidecar and flanked him to his side. The door to the other car opened, Retsuko, shaking slightly, stepped out to hold the other exit, baring her claws. Inside, Skye took over the controls.

"Okay," Mr Fox said, pointing at him. "Who do you work for, why is my nephew and brother in law important to you, and how wrong has this little escapade gone for you?"

He yawned. "Can you honestly only think of stuff that droll and unoriginal?"

Mr Fox flexed his claws. "You're not in a position to be snobby about our questions. You should think about answering them. I don't think you know how savage a crazy fox can be. And right now, I'm feeling confident."

"Really now?" he asked, turning down and fixing his eyes on Retsuko. "Do you feel confident?"

She shrank back, trembling, but looked on and nodded. "Yeah… I'm not alone."

"Oh, but you are!" he mocked, leaning in. "Tell me, little girl, where is your hyena friend?"

She blinked, beginning to tremble.

"You and your delightful menagerie are all here. But it was only him against my almost equal partner. Do you really think he stood a chance?"

She began stepping back, breathing harder and harder.

"You're all nothing but nobodies playing the hero," he mocked, hopping forward and leaning down to stare at her. "Except your hyena… -lover, ooohhhh... He was a nothing," he mocked. "Just like your fennec fox. He really thought he could face me, with a baseball bat? A baseball bat!? Please," he shuddered, almost irritated. "Give me some strength."

Jack began to shake. This tiger didn't sound like he was merely buying time. Something in his gut told him that he had something else going on. Dammit, he needed something to even the odds further. He dropped down, darting into the rear and picking his way through the stuff on the floor. "Come on," he muttered, looking around. Did Finnick have anything else to fight with? A slingshot or something!? You couldn't fight with animal pyjama's or a broken planetarium after all. It didn't help that the light in here was so bad. He wasn't a fox, he didn't have night vision! Why couldn't the light be from anything brighter than a… Jack's eyes widened in the shifting, moving light, and a smile grew on his muzzle.

Outside, the mood was tense. The tiger kept on staring down Retsuko. "You didn't think about it, did you?" he asked. "The danger he was put in. How dumb mammals like him, like you, think you're heroes. Think you can win. Do you think that's what he was thinking, as my partner tore him to death? Clawed out his eyes? Choked him? Put his tranquilised body face down in the stream? He doesn't like hyenas. Do you know that? Do you know what's going on with him right now?"

Retsuko began trembling, closing her eyes as tears began to seep out. "SHUT UP! HE'S OKAY! HE'S OKAY! HE WILL LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY!"

"Stop picking on her and face me!" Mr Fox ordered.

"Honestly your hyena friend should have stayed in the kitchen," the tiger carried on, "I…" He cut himself off, hissing as the pain of razor sharp teeth cutting into his tail blazed out. He snapped around to face the guilty party, a small opossum letting go and stepping back. Kylie glanced at Mr Fox.

"I… -I thought that was an appropriate contribution…"

"You did fine," Mr Fox assured, turning back to face down the tiger. "Now I have your attention…"

"-In which case, let me get yours," the big cat said, reaching down, claws out, and slicing through the ropes holding his legs together. "I think I've humoured you enough." He raised his clawed paw. "Now it's your turn to humour me," he sneered, a white light casting his side. "It seems like my partner is back. I'd have let you go and called it a day, but right now I'd say you've convinced me to stay. Let's see which of you are going to join your hyena and fennec friend today."

The mammals stepped back, the door of the enemy car opened, a sobbing Retsuko flinched back, paws on her heart in fear and horror. "Oh Haida…"

.

.

---

.

.

"Right," Catano said, tail swishing as she stepped out of the office. "No time like the present."

Nick looked at her and shook his head, paws up, only for Judy to jump in.

"Okay then," Judy said, snapping out of her slouch. "You keep humiliating my friends, you keep acting holier than though, you can't recognise how you're being manipulated…"

"-And rather than you concede that I have a point, you keep on saying I'm not right in the head or anything," Catano spoke, snarling a little. "Why am I not allowed to come up with my own opinions about these things, huh?"

"Because those opinions are wrong and they keep on hurting mammals."

"Says the bunny who keeps on defending someone who ruined the lives of who knows how many sheep…"

"Who's changed! Who's redeemed herself…"

"-Something she could never do!"

"And we all know the main reason mammals are focussing on sheep right now, is to distract from the pain this DA is hitting foxes with! Isn't that right, Nick?"

…

"Nick?" Judy asked, turning around to look at him. The fox had a grumpy look on his muzzle, and kept turning between the two of them.

"One," he said, finger up. "Putting you two in the same room is not going to solve this. From now on, I'm to go between, okay. Two." He looked down at Judy. "You've been working yourself to your limits. I know why. But Judy, I'm genuinely worried for you now. Besides, this overwork is probably why you're so emotional right now…"

The bunny looked up at him, red eyes quivering. "Nick…" she asked. "I thought you trusted me."

"On this matter? No, Judy. You not knowing when to quit is not a good thing!"

"I…" she began, gasping. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Why do you think you know what's best for me?"

"-Not nice, is it?" Catano asked, crossing her arms.

Judy snapped to her, Nick facepawing as she did so. "This is completely different. This isn't me going around, getting misguided by mammals like Wassermaim, getting…"

"Maybe I'm not misguided."

"Your theory with Ash was, wasn't it?"

"I had a suspect, I looked into him, I ruled him out," the cheetah said. "Policework one-oh-one. I am not misguided!"

The bunny turned, looking at her, and her eyes narrowed. "Okay, maybe you're not. Maybe it's good old fashioned speciesism, rearing its ugly head."

.

.

---

.

.

The hyena froze, the full beam of Duke's camper's headlights shining up into his face and the tight grip of claws around his neck. "Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised," came a deep, disdain filled voice from behind. "To mess something up so pathetically can only take a hyena, can't it? Powers of retention as wet as a warthog's backside, vacant expression in your eyes. But I guess I can also blame whoever thought of making you this essential. Tell me, which idiot was that?"

The grip tightened, Haida letting the van slip from his grasp. Even though he was breathing in and out through his mouth, his nose could still pick up the scent of lion. Of course… lion... His breath was getting ragged, his body trembling, and his nerves began to boil up. A slight hyena chuckled bubbled out, then another. The grip tightened. Another whoop escaped up, and with his next breath another. More and more, every breath was a scared, fearful laugh.

"You see, what uselessly thick, stupid, incompetent mammal would be happy about their failure? Or maybe it's that your brain is so smooth you really do find this funny." The grip choked him further and the laughs began to fade for lack of air. "Good. It seems you finally get that this isn't a laughing matter. I don't think it is." There was a pause. "Did you know that I'm descended from royalty?"

…

"Or should have been. The incompetence of your species let me down there. So," he said, "I think that this is an honest repayment. I could dart you, put you to sleep and leave you here, but I think I'm going to enjoy this."

Haida's mouth and throat kept choking, laughs stuck below and air above. Things began to go blurry, the world fading, the trees spinning. He had to do something… He had to fight…

Back…

The world shook to the right, and his legs almost buckled. He forced one forward, began stepping around and pushed back a little. The lion gave him some space but then held firm, his grip unstopping.

Haida's feet kept reaching until they caught on something.

He levered it down, hooked his foot around the back and pulled it forward. The camper was yanked underneath him, digging into the soft earth as Haida's foot pushed down, pulling him over it, before slamming into one of the lion's legs.

He flinched, his grip tightened, and a paw grabbed one of Haida's ears. "Now I'm going to enjoy this to its fullest," his hissed. "Start regretting the biggest mistake of your life, hyena. So much for that, and so little time left tooooAAAAARGGGGHHHHH!"

He screamed out, his voice rising with the roar of the camper engine, Duke inside slamming down on the throttle. The spinning wheel tore into the lion's foot paw like a sander and, before he could push it off, Haida slammed his foot paw down on it again, putting his weight into it.

His grip tightened, before he threw Haida off. The hyena gasped for air, uncontrollable whoops and chuckles coming out with each sharp outbreath. Falling down onto his front paws, his leapt around and then jumped up, letting the fast reversing camper race past underneath him and pull into a J-turn. The door opened and Duke pushed his head out. "GET ON YOU DUMB YENA IDIOT YADDA YADDA!"

"WHAT!?"

"I'M SAVING YOUR LIFE!"

He took off, pushing back across the rocky surface, and Haida ran after him. They were coming up to the slope at the base of the road, and Haida leant down and picked up the camper as a roar came out from behind. He turned to see the lion charging forward on all fours, or rather three of his fours given his newly injured rear foot. All the more reason to run. They got to the road, Haida putting the crumpled camper down and giving it a push as it accelerated. He ran as fast as he could, then jumped on himself, sitting on his haunches. Foot paws and rear on the roof, hand paws gripping on tight to stop him tilting off. The camper strained and complained from the weight on in, all while a roar rang out from behind. The lion was charging, getting closer… closer… "He's gaining!"

"NO CUSS! DO SOMETHING!"

Looking around, Haida outstretched his paws and tried giving the camper a push forward. It did little, it almost tipped him off, but it did speed them up. He looked behind. The lion was closing, but starting to fall behind. "We're getting away!" He gave a hyena whoop again, only this time from joy! They were doing it!

He looked ahead, pausing as he saw the lion's car coming up, left by the side of the road. He might get in there and chase them down! He cringed. Come on Finnick you crazy mammal, please be nearby!

His eyes opened as he heard something crazy, but not Finnick. He looked down to see a bat flying down by his side, gripping the side of a camper and pulling out a knife, aimed right at the front tire.. "No you don't!" he yelled, paw coming down to swipe it away. The bat threw the knife towards its target as Haida swatted him away, the blade hitting the tire and bouncing off… Only for the road to start coming up, the tiny camper's balance knocked off by Haida's lean. He held out a paw to catch himself, before the sweep of the road caught him and flung him in a painful roll. A blast of pain hammered into the side of his jaw, stings of agony lightning down and, as he ground to a halt, a paw came up to feel his stinging snaggle teeth. "One…" he huffed, slowly getting up. "Two… Three… Oh…" Shaking, he pulled himself to his feet. "If you were gonna hurt that much, could you AT LEAST HAVE THE DECENCY TO BE GONE AFTER!?"

"SAME FOR YOU!" came a roar, Haida looking up to see the lion running around the corner, murderous eyes burning on him. He stepped back, turning and leaping onto the stranded car for some form of vantage. He was trembling. This wasn't a lion he was facing, it was a monster. A monster that leapt up, paws on the bonnet pulling him up and then reaching out, claws extended, sweeping down like four merciless scythes.

Haida tilted his head, pulled back, and letting his instincts guide him jumped and bit down, clamping the paw in his mouth. The lion let out a feral scream that Haida barely heard over the tectonic cracks of bones snapping from his bite. The force of the swing pulled him on and over, his whole weight easily held by his jaw, mouth flooding with blood as his teeth stretched cathartically with the force applied. He felt the bone ends sliding up against them and the flesh forced to carry the load giving away as his feet kicked into the air. A glance up with one of his eyes saw the other claw stooping down on a terminal sweep and he let go, bending his body and landing on the slope hard on his feet. The land gave away beneath him and he tumbled down over and over, his back slamming into a tree and bringing him to a stop.

The lion roared, snapping his attention to him. Clutching his mangled paw, he trembled, almost looking on in disbelief. Haida looked up, the terror slowly draining before filling with something else. He couldn't put his paw on it. Was… Was this what being a true predator felt like? He smiled some more. He wasn't prey, he was a hunter. He could fight… He could win! After the long pull up the first hill of the coaster, he was roaring down and on now, the thrill of the hunt coursing through his blood.

Blood…

Part of him was still disgusted by the fact that blood of another mammal was in his mouth. Yet the coppery tang, the way his teeth had stretched, the burning fire around him. It was like he'd been given the key to a whole new perspective of life, one wild and merciless yet, once tamed, unlike anything else.

By all rights, he should be terrified, horrified, disgusted, yet here and now he wasn't. This was how Nick and Judy did it when it mattered. They pushed through the eye wall, and embraced being in the eye of the storm.

He wiped the blood off his mouth and called out at the shaking lion. "Seven hundred and seventy tons per square meter. Seventy six MEGA pascals of force. One thousand one hundred pounds per square inch! And I'm only a boy!" The lion, pushing through the pain glared at him and began to growl. "No wonder the vainest species on the planet has it in for us!" And then, he reached back into his mind and roared out a pledge that all self respecting hyena's from whatever culture or language they grew up in, learnt by heart. "Damu ya Shenzi, fisi ni kewli! Nyuma ya Kalani, hadithi yako inaishi!" The ancient tongue first, then the new. "Blood of Shenzi, hyenas are true! The house of Kalani, your legend lives on!" He opened his paws out wide, digging his claws in and letting out a pair of battle whoops.

The noxious miasma of shock and disbelief at being bested by a hyena that had clouded the lion had their spark and exploded into a mad roar. Even in his new adrenaline fuelled battle rush state, part of Haida flinched from that. He stood his ground though, watching on as the lion reached down with his left paw reaching for something.

-Tranq pistol.

Haida pulled himself back, keeping part behind the tree. If he was hit, it was over. If the lion missed, he survived. The weight of the binary was glazed over, Haida just readying himself to come out on top. The lion, left paw shaking, waved the pistol around, trying to get a good shot. "Hey!" Haida jeered. "You're a great shot, when your good paw is working!"

He pulled the gun up and Haida pulled himself around the tree, expecting a dart to come whizzing past. It never did.

A scream rang out, followed by some jabbering, and the lion yelled. "I'M BUSY!"

Haida peeked out to see him glancing down at two figures by the car. Duke had the bat in a choke hold. "LISTEN HERE!" the weasel yelled. "CHECKMATE! YOU WANT YOUR BAT ALIVE, YOU DO WHAT I SAY!"

"A weasel," the lion said. "A weasel!? That hyena is embarrassing enough, but a glorified tube!?"

"WHO'S GOT FLY MOUSE HERE IN HIS GRIP!" Duke boasted, pulling the whimpering bat in front of him, pulling out his wings to cover his long body. "NOW, YOU DO WHAT I…"

He was broken off as the lion launched the dart. The whizz of it flying through the air was broken off by the grunt of it hitting Duke, and the scream of the bat as it pierced through the thin membrane of his wing.

Duke collapsed on the floor, the lion groaning as he walked over to him. "Oh stop crying!" he hissed, as he pulled it out. "Look at this paw!" The bat didn't stop, cuddling the small hole. "You're even lower than he was," he said, kicking Duke's limp form across the road. "Guard him while I deal with the other vermin."

"Who are you calling vermin," Haida spat from the roadway. The lion turned to face him, the two glaring at each other. The feline was larger, heavier, but had two injured paws.

"I'm going to give you the first honest day of hurt in your life."

"Yeah. But I'm going to win in the end."

They stared at each other, growling and cackling as they faced each other up. The bat began jabbering, and the lion yelled. "Will you be quiet for once!"

The jabbering continued, and he stomped. "WHAT!?"

"Dis, Lion," came a deep voice. The lion looked down to see Finnick running out under his legs, jabbing a tranq dart in his thigh and then jumping up, bat in paw, and swinging it into its target as if it were hitting a home run. "RIGHT IN DA BATTERIES!"

The lion winched down, paws over the region, before spotting Finnick winding up for round two. He kicked up, launching Finnick straight into Haida's chest. A paw came down to pull out the dart and throw it away. The lion, trembling, looked up and snarled before taking off in retreat into the forest.

Haida looked over and waved his paws out before giving out a long series of whoops.

"YEAH!" Finnick called. "HA-HA! WE DID IT!"

"Yeah," Haida did, as his feet buckled. He collapsed to the floor, panting in and out, and the tang of blood in his mouth caused him to retch.

"You okay, Yeen?"

"Y-yeah…" he said, breathing in and out. "Yeah." Standing up, he looked at his paws, another wave of excitement hitting him from the other side. "Oh my god… Oh my… I… I..." He broke off into another round of uncontrollable whoops and chuckles.

Finnick, looking on, paused, his ears picking up another sound. Looking over, he saw the bat trying to drag away Duke's limp form. He raced over, bat in paw. The bat looked up and tried to flee.

Bat met bat.

Bat won.

The fennec waved off the screaming mammal and grabbed Duke, pulling him back over to Haida, the hyena trembling but mostly controlling himself. "Hey," Haida said. "Where were you?"

"Tiger battle," he groaned. "Tried to dart me, I tried to block with my little friend." He held up his bat, chuckling as he saw the new scratch in it. "Bounce. Hit my ear."

Haida looked up, seeing the small hole punched in the thin centre. "Went through."

"Yeah! Made me real doozy for a bit, but I'm okay!"

Hyena nodded. "So where were you when…"

"In there," he said, knocking the car. "Looking for a gun or somethin'"

"Did you find one."

Finnick shook his head. "No."

"Any clue to who their boss is?"

"No."

"Anything?"

The fennec smiled. "Well, I did find these," he said, holding up the keys.

Haida smiled too. They jumped in and raced down, not getting far before pulling up into a tense standoff, their friends against the tiger. The big cat looked at the car, smiling as he thought he saw reinforcements arrive. The grin faded though as the hyena got out, and someone's voice filled the night.

"Oh Haida…" Retsuko trembled on seeing him, alive but…

Everyone else turned to him too. Most didn't notice the claw marks on his neck, instead seeing the blood around his muzzle and the grit, filth, torn clothes and messed up fur on one side. He looked more savage than anything they'd seen during the nighthowler crisis.

The tiger especially took a look at him and groaned. "Oh, how irritating. The one species my partner assured me he could always deal with… -Humour me. Are you a full blooded Kalanist or not?"

"Maybe not before," he said, stepping forward. "But now?" He let loose a long cackle. "Long live the king!" He gave a hearty kick to the ground, all while the tiger turned to face him.

"Indeed," he said, smiling. "Let the real king of the jungle win!" Claws out, he turned to face Haida, the hyena taking a breath in and out to steady himself.

"Finnick?"

"Yeah," the fennec said, up on his side. He tossed Duke over to Mr Fox who caught him, before bringing out his bat. "Ready."

"To die?" the tiger asked. "No. Quite a droll proposition for myself." He looked down, smiling. "But I do hope you're ready."

"PLEASE!" came a shout. They looked over to Retsuko. "Listen, tiger. You lost. Go! Let us go. None of us needs to get hurt!"

He chuckled to himself. "Oh, so quaint and innocent. You can try and flee, if you want. It won't go well though. After all, what weapons do you have?"

"A lava lamp."

He blinked. "A Whaaaa…."

He flinched as the eponymous item smashed into his eyes, the tiger letting out a feral scream as his face and eyes were covered in hot wax. Finnick and Haida charged, running forward, batting his knee and punching the back of his head before running on. Mr Fox tossed Duke over to Jack, who threw him in the van as Finnick leapt in. Haida meanwhile grabbed Retsuko and held her tight, turning back to Skye's car only for the tiger to tumble between them.

"BACK OF THE VAN!" Finnick yelled as he began turning the van around. "Stripes, open it!"

He was already starting to drive off, Haida running after. The back door opened and he leapt in, red panda held against his chest.

Mr Fox and Kylie raced on after, Skye in hot pursuit, leaving the tiger behind.

.

.

---

.

.

"What?" Catano asked. "Now I can't even suspect a fox without being speciesist? News flash Hopps, didn't I interview the Calrama's at the start of this affair?"

"Yes you did," Judy said, agreeing. "And just how much worrying did you do about it, trying to coddle them, trying not to offend. Tell me that, huh?"

"I… I was polite," she said.

"Something that you didn't extend to the foxes just then, did you?"

"Given that that vixen was immediately hostile, it would have been hard."

"And what about Dominic Calrama?" Judy carried on. "Did he welcome you in? Or was he just as rude and aggressive?"

"I…" Catano began, before remembering back. Her knocking on his door, him asking if she had a warrant, her saying no and then his response. 'Then cuss off. You hear me? Cuss off.'"

"Or was he trying to shame you," Judy carried on. "Or guilt you all the way through about how predator mammals judged him or something?"

Her explanation of it being a fact finding mission. 'You say that, but I bet you have all the facts that you need already.'

Catano's pause was pounced on by Judy. "So, not that different after all. Yet, while you've been all worried about sheep ever since, when it comes to foxes…"

"-You don't know what went on between me and him," the cheetah said, stepping forward. "First off, I had no warrant then, it was just asking questions. I also told him that I could quite easily take him down to the station to answer them, hence it was easier to do it in his home. Did I threaten to do that to anyone there?"

Judy paused, pulling back.

"And, once in, he was open about still loving his sister while being aware of the terrible things he did. He acknowledged that there was a solid reason to investigate him."

"Did you humiliate his daughter?"

"I didn't have a search warrant," she cut in.

"Did he let you talk to her?"

Catano closed her eyes. "No, but…"

"See…"

"Stop comparing these two events, they're completely different," Catano cut in.

Judy glared back. "And why are they? Huh?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Because I had no warrant from the first and was just doing some fact finding interviews, whereas in the second I had a specific place to search and the warrant to do it."

"Sure, say that," Judy carried on. "What about in the school? What about how you've been treating and viewing Ash, as compared to Maisy. When you've talked to and interviewed them both. How you've been treating a fox against treating a sheep? You've always been thinking the best of her and worst of him, haven't you?"

A flick pulled up her face and she looked away.

"Haven't you?"

Catano shrugged, threw her paws up and turned. "Well, sorry for judging the only one I saw watching speciesist stuff worse than the one tearing herself up about being born that way. I could go on, but you probably won't listen."

"I might, if what you were saying was worth listening to."

"Well," she huffed, "given that you've said you won't listen to me, no point arguing with that then." And with that she turned and walked off.

"Ha. Can't handle the truth, can you?" she asked, paws on hips. She wavered a little to one side, a foot going out to steady her before she turned around. "Typical, running away rather than admitting they were in the wrong, isn't that right Slick… Slick?"

Nick just looked down at her, a hard look on his face. "We're going home," he said.

"I…" she began, before thumping her foot. "Look, I just won that argument. I knew I could and I did. Do you still not trust me?"

"Well done, you showed her," he said, rolling his eyes. Judy's nose began twitching, hard. "Now, let's go home, and get you some rest."

"Stop treating me like I need to be cared for," she said, turning and beginning to march over to the stairs. "I'm a grown bunny. I can take care of myself, thank you." She paused slightly as she reached the top, leaning against the side for a second.

"Dizzy much?"

She turned, looking up to Nick, the fox following her. "I thought we'd finished that conversation."

"Different take," Nick began, "you ran away from that conversation rather than admitting you were wrong."

"I was going away from someone who was not going to change their mind."

"I'm sure Catano would say the same thing."

"What? Nick, those are two completely different situations."

"Oddly enough, she said that too."

"Nick! Why are you taking her side?"

"I'm not," he said, facepawing. "I'm trying to find a way of sorting out this stupid argument between you two, in which I think the both of you are right and wrong. After all," he said, looking down. "Didn't a certain bunny say that everyone had the potential for redemption?"

Judy looked back at him and breathed in and out, cradling her head. It was hurting. "I did… If they change… If they really try to…" She broke off, feeling an ache in her chest. Her paw went to rub it and she felt the world tip slightly underneath her. She looked up to Nick, his eyes widening as they and him seemed to float about, before the world began tipping up and vanishing into darkness.

.

.

---

.

.

Everything was black, dark, and then he began to hear some stuff. Began to feel the rattling and shaking beneath him. Slowly, his eyes opened and, looking up, he made out the dim figures in the dull light.

"Stand still Haida. Please."

Eyes opening wide, Duke looked on as he saw a red panda tending to the hyena. She'd been going around with a damp towel, slowly trying to clear up the mess of fur on his one side, not that he was making it easy. "It's fine. I can handle it, Retsuko."

"But I mean… Your paw…"

"Honestly a windscreen is much nicer to punch than a brick wall. And I have experience there."

"Haida…"

"Seriously, I'm good."

"No. You're just all messed up, I can't just sit here while…" She trailed off, her mouth trembling as she began to look at his throat. "H-H-Haida?"

"Yeah," she asked.

"What are these?"

"These?" he asked, as she slowly guided his paws up to a set of marks on his neck. "Oh, those…" He trailed off a little. "That lion had the jump on me. I was trying to convince the weasel to come with me, and the lion came up and was choking me out." He gave a long shiver. "I… Yeah, that part was scary," he said, breathing out. "I tried running the camper into his leg, and I think he decided that he was actually going to kill me then, or… -But then that weasel slammed his foot down and sanded down his foot paw! We then escaped together, he gave me a lift down to the car! The bat attacked, I fell off, but then I got on top of that car and when that lion swiped I bit his right paw! I totally wrecked it! He couldn't even clock that a lowly boy 'yena got the better of him."

"Yeah," came a new voice, chuckling. Finnick. "And I then whacked him in the batteries and used the tiger's dart that went through my ear to stick him in the leg! He knew he totally couldn't fight after that, so he ran off!"

"Hey," Haida said, "you were great, but don't downplay that weasel. He grabbed the bat and held him hostage. He was reading out demands to that lion!"

"And only went and got himself darted for it," Finnick waved off.

"Can't blame him for that," Haida said. "That lion had no chill, he shot through the bat's wing to get Duke! Even then, he brought us the time to get into position, and before that saved my life with his camper."

"Yeah. After screwing us over for being awkward. If he'd have come along, we'd have none of this fighting anyway."

"Well," Haida said, looking up and scratching the back of his head. "Can't blame him, he thought we were the baddies. Once he clocked it though, that mean little mustelid went on and saved our hides."

"What, you his fanclub now?" Finnick asked, only for a red paw to push him away.

"No. I am," came a new voice. Duke looked up, blinking as he saw the red panda looking at him, before jumping down onto all fours and racing over. Before he could react, she'd gripped him tight, holding him close in an… unexpected… hug? "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she sniffed, holding him tight.

Duke, at first wiggling slightly, managed to chill himself down as she began rubbing the back of his head. She… liked him? "You're welcome…" he said slowly. "I guess." He supposed this was nice.

Maybe there wasn't a catch.

She slowly let her grip go slightly before pulling him over to an airbed, a bark of protest coming from Finnick. "Hey, only two mammals get to sleep on there, and you two ain't neither of them."

"Let him have it," she said back, putting Duke down, head resting on one of the pillows, before tucking him in. "There. I… I'm not sure if I can get much, or if you need anything…"

"Just tranq wear off," he said, pulling a paw out and giving a wave down. "Nothing I ain't cold turkeyed through befores."

The red panda sighed. "I don't know if there's anything to warm turkey or anything."

He managed a chuckle. "Thanks. Never been offered it, so don't know… Guess I'm thirsty though."

There was a pause, Retsuko turning to Finnick. The fennec scowled. "Oh no, Duke gets none of my drinks, y'hear."

"You know," she said, paws on hips. "I know Fenneko likes a bad boy with a black sense of humour, but I don't think that steps over to her liking someone who's just plain mean."

"I'm not being mean, I'm just remembering who this mammal is and what he did," Finnick said, glaring over at Duke. The weasel blinked.

"What?"

Retsuko stepped in front of him. "We can deal with that after. For now, just give him some water or something."

"Can't."

"Why not?"

"Because your yeen BF used it all to wash the lion blood out of his mouth." Finnick said, stomping the ground. "He was okay with it but oh no, you demanded it."

"It was gross," she said, "and imagine if a cop pulled us over!"

"Unlikely…"

"What if they called," she said, pointing out. "Or if a cop just saw the front windscreen."

"That's why we're taking the back routes," the fennec said, finger up. "'Sides, Jack's driving with the small controls right now. Does he have a license? I think not. Bloody mouth in the back is the least of our worries."

"And when we get to the border?"

Finnick's paw was held up… Then he let it down again. There was a pause, the red panda turning to Duke. "Your passport… You don't have it!"

The weasel blinked, bringing up his phone. There, inside the inner slip, was the document. "I grabbed it while…" He closed his eyes. "What's goin' on?"

Retsuko paused, looking at the others before walking over. "We'll explain in a bit. Just get some rest, I'll get a drink, and…"

"Oh no," Duke said, his voice rising. "Tell me right here an' now big ears. What's goin' on?"

Finnick paused, turned, and his teeth bared, a growl coming out of his mouth. He grabbed his bat, and thrust it into the weasel's face. "I tell you what!" he barked. "The day after you have a spat with a nice young fox, someone calls the cops on him! Someone calls the cops, saying that he's got nighthowlers in his locker. And guess what, the cops come, and a young kind silva fox gets hauled off to the kiddy pen. Remember that Duke! Remember that place. And you went and threw a nice young fox in there! And don't you deny it! While lookin' for you we heard your little cousin say that you said he waz gonna be getting it. So, we're taking you back to the big Z, where you're gonna be hauled by yer scruff to the cops and tell them everything you did! Y'hear!"

Duke just looked on, mouth agape. "What?"

Finnick dropped his bat, took a step forward and socked the weasel right in the jaw. He screamed, knocked down, as Retsuko grabbed Finnick and threw him away. "Leave him!" she shouted, turning back to Duke, holding up her phone. "Here. Here's the…"

He picked it up and began reading through the article, his mouth slowly trembling. "What…?" he asked, hollowly, before looking up, looking around, paws beginning to shake. "Y… You'z thought, I…"

"No cuss, Colambo," Finnick spat.

"But…"

"None of that pity crap, y'hear," he yelled. "We heard it from your cous, we know you dealt in howlers, we know you got a thing against that kit cuz Nick and Judy saw the both times! Out with it…"

Duke paused, blinking. "T-that kit!? The wet sandwich?"

"Yeah! The one you told your baby cuz would be getting it!"

"I… That was his schoolmate saying he'd be getting whoopie cushioned or something, I…" the small mustelid was lost for words. "-Yeah I yelled at him as he was a suck up to two jerks, but I'd never stitch him up!" He got out of the bed and wandered over to the glaring fennec. "Finn… We were locked up together… Y-you know how much I hated it there. You knows how nasty it was! I'd never, not to another kit, not for nuthin'!"

"I remember you being the squawker to the screws!"

"I was just try'n to survive!" he begged. "You don't really think I'd…" He turned, looking at them each, eyes wavering. "There's a driver… And how many others…"

"Seven," Finnick boasted, "on our road trip. A bunch more at home!"

"You all…" Duke just flinched back, paw on heart before he tripped over his tail and scurried over into the corner of the bed, wrapping the blanket around him.

There was a long pause as a few whimpers began to come out.

"Yeah, that's your reaction when yo' busted!" Finnick spoke, jabbing a finger forward. He looked up. "'Yeen. Find a cage to hold him in, or just keep guard. Hear."

"Hear…" Haida said, hollowly.

The van quietened down, just the sound of the engine and rattle of wheels filling the quiet.

A light bang rang out, the trio looking over to see where Duke's fist had rapped against the wall. It did so again, then again, then more and more.

Retsuko walked forward.

"Leave him," Finnick ordered.

She ignored the fennec, gathering the weasel up in the blanket and holding him to her chest. His fist whacked again and again against her, not that she minded. Instead, she just kept stroking him. His fists slowly cut out. "Why… Why are you doin' this, huh? Don't… don't yer think I'm scum of mammality like the rest of 'em. Lowest of tha low! Worth… worth nuthin!"

"No," she said, looking down. "I'm sorry, I… Back then, when we saw that brave young kit being hauled off. We wanted to help him. It was all unfair, we just wanted to help him! And… And you… You seemed like the biggest culprit. I'm sorry we hurt you like this, I'm sorry we thought so little of you. Just… Just we were clutching straws. We were trying to do something, as we didn't want to just be strangers letting a good mammal suffer."

…

"I didn't… I'd never…"

"I believe you," she said, holding him. "That's why I'm doing this now, I… I don't want to be a stranger just letting a good mammal suffer."

Finnick spat on the ground, only to pull back slightly as the red panda gave him the most terrifying death glare he'd ever seen. "Woah, okay…" he said. "Your opinion, but I still pin it on him. I know him way more than you, and he ain't a good mammal."

"I don't care," she said, keeping her gaze fixed on him. "I don't want to be mean to him. I don't want to have to be mean to you, too."

There was a long pause, the can carrying on.

"I believe you too," Haida said.

"Oh come on," Finnick began, "he…"

"I heard him," Haida cut in. "When I was trying to convince him to come. He thought I was a prank sent by Nick, and said 'what, he couldn't let me insult a wet sandwich without pulling a prank'. If he'd have done this thing, do you think he would have said that on clocking this. Heck, wouldn't he have just run?"

Finnick paused, finger up, slowling. "Maybe… -maybe he was bluffin' or somethin'."

"No," Haida said, pulling over next to him. "I think he didn't do it too."

…

"Th-hanks," Duke said, choking up. "I…"

…

"So what… You thought I sneaked in and planted it in his locker. Huh, I'd have thought you'd think I screwed it up somehow."

"You did," Finnick said, crossing his paws.

"Huh?"

"Whoever did it, aka you, got it in the locker below the one of the fox who was called on. You got his couz."

"Cousin? Wait, was that the other fox there? This… this is messed up mam. I mean… Then why were the lion and tiger after me!?"

"Long story," Haida huffed. "We don't really know ourselves. Just, we think they think you did it, and they want the kit in jail so they wanted to get rid of you."

…

"They wanted me, before all this. Wanted me to start stealing howlers for them," Duke spoke, paws covering his face. "I said no! Just my luck it all comes back to…" He trailed off, groaning.

"You know them?" Retsuko asked.

"They… they must have been the ones who… but why, I…?"

"I mean, you can tell the cops, that can…"

"I can't!" he groaned. "I already did, but I was mad at Wilde and Flopsy, so I changed the species!"

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I'm a dumb weasel yadda yadda and I wanted to screw with 'em! And now, I tell the truth, they throw me in long term."

"You do that," Finnick began. "First time you…"

He was cut off by Haida, slamming a paw down in front of him. "Leave him," he said, turning back to Duke. "I mean, it doesn't make any sense from what I know for them to do it in the first place. Why come after you? We always thought they saw this, then jumped on. Though, if it was them," he smiled. "Makes me all the happier to know I busted one of them up for life!"

"Haida…" Retsuko whimpered.

"What?" he asked.

"Please, don't be like that."

"Be like what?"

"You're…" she sniffed. "Before you arrived, that tiger kept going on about how you'd be dead or hurt, and I was scared. I was scared for you! But then you came and… you're… you're even scarier, with your scars and talking about biting someone's paw off, I…" she sniffed. "You're acting different now, it's…"

His jaw opened, trembling. "I am? Retsuko, I… I…" He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, I…"

"Hey, no need to feel sorry," Finnick cut in. "Look at you boyo! Big fighting yena! Everything you wanted, no more getting pushed around. Don't let her push you around!"

He broke off, glaring at him before taking a breath in and out. He looked back down at her mate. "Let's… let's talk about this. Not now, but soon. Let us both think on it, 'kay?"

Looking up, Retsuko nodded. "Sure…" she said, sounding not entirely herself. "Sure."

The hyena sat back down and huffed, before giving her a look. "If you want to keep tidying me up…?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling a little. "Sure."

So they did. Finnick, making sure the back door was secure, swapped himself out for Jack on the driver's seat. They hadn't gone far, given the inexperienced driver taking his time. In any case though, they slowly pushed on, winding down the roads as they went.

Duke was mostly silent, not wanting to speak.

Closer to the border they stopped, letting Jack pull out to be with Skye in her vehicle (which she assured Retsuko she could quickly facelift up before handing back to the rental place) while the weasel and hyena moved into the front seats.

Finally, they arrived, handing over passports and explaining away the broken windscreen as the result of a falling branch. They were warned to get it repaired pronto, as they eyes turned to the middle member of the group.

"We were travelling back in from a trip, found this guy hitchhiking and picked him up," the hyena explained, pointing at the weasel.

There was a pause, the guard looking at Duke. "Duke Weaselton?"

"Yes," he said.

"Could you come with us please, you're wanted for questioning at the ZPD."

He went in without a word said.