Chapter 64
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AN: Today is my birthday, and to celebrate my first quarter century on this earth, I thought I'd drop the final chapter to season 1 one day early. Hope you all enjoy it, my big author notes, and maybe the odd 'after credit scene' to boot.
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"We're here…"
Nick breathed in and out as he watched Hornaby sweep in and smash through the door. This was the drop point that had been marked out by the pup, the furthest along the chain that they had found. They had nothing else to go on other than one, strange, little quip that the coywolf had reportedly said.
"Once a mammal looked out. I don't know what type. But… But he said that Mr Bunce would be happy."
Who this Mr Bunce was, none of them knew. The same mammal that Kazar had talked about, so long ago? A real name or a pseudonym? Who knew?
The forces were streaming in now and he followed, sniffing around. The old house was just an emptied out shell, the walls bare and air musty. "Down here!" Someone called.
Nick followed on, pausing as he entered a basement. Two things stood out. The first, a large metal door at the back. A pair of mammals opened it up, the sound of running water and a wash of damp mouldy air flowing out. "Overflow channel," one said, stepping in. "Get into these, they could be anywhere in the city."
The fox cursed, or would have, were he not looking at the other object. A flat screen TV, plugged into the wall, completed with a webcam, speakers and, most chillingly, a note.
'I have a message for one Basil and Dave Dawson. Please bring them down, I'd so like to catch up. Sincerely, an old fiend.'
"Trap," Nick said instinctively, holding out a paw. The others stepped back while he stepped in, giving it a deep sniff. Even working a claw in to try and open it up and get a good look, he got nothing. "Or not…" He looked back, waving at them to get back. "Have some guys out in the tunnel and up the top of the stairs. Just wait for us to finish up, or something to go wrong. I'll go get them."
That he did, arriving down with the two mice on his shoulders, keeping a good distance away from the screen. "Well?" he asked.
"Well what?"
"Now what do we do?" Nick asked, only to pause as the screen flickered to life.
The other officers, stationed outside, listened in.
Tried to make out what was going on.
It didn't last long.
By the time it was over, Nick took the mice up the stairs and silently got in a car.
They travelled back to the precinct and, together, stood by Bogo. The great cape buffalo paused to say that Catano was being transferred out to investigate a new case, that of a certain serval who might have recently been involved in a small case of conspiracy. The cheetah also added that she'd had another meeting with a certain young fox, one that had gone well, and that she understood how she'd hurt him, without even thinking. She wished all of them the best of luck.
Nick nodded slowly, saying thank you and wishing her it too, only to add that something new had turned up.
He told, he was dismissed, he went home.
Judy was there, waiting for him, and she held him tight.
He held her back.
They shared a smile, only for his to fade. "There's still so much more to come," he said, looking up into the sky. "So much bad… We end one thing, only to find we're still lost in the middle of it, Fluff. Can we escape it all? Or will we never break free? Will we just hit more and more bad, going on?"
"Maybe," she said, holding him tight. "But together, helping each other, we can get through it." She lightly kissed him on his forehead. "We'll keep on supporting each other. We'll get through it." She snuggled up and held his head tight, the comfort letting him start to purr. "And who knows?" she said, a paw stroking down his muzzle. "Who's to say it's just going to be more and more bad? Maybe some good will get in there too."
Nick yawned. "Maybe so," he said, holding her tight. "Maybe so."
And with that, they fell asleep, together, embraced.
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Across the city, another pair of mammals were letting go of each other.
Ash looked at Kris. Kris at Ash. Paws holding each other, the smaller, older, mammal spoke. "It's good to have you back, little cous'."
"It's good to be home," he said, pulling in for a hug. "Little cous'."
"You keep saying that, little cous'" Ash said, rolling his eyes as he held him tight.
Kris smiled, only to be broken off as an errant aaawww came across the room, his head tilting slightly. Not because he didn't register that their scene was cute… More from the fact that it came from a hyena he'd met on a bus once and who'd then, as he'd just recently learnt, chosen to help out.
Not that he was complaining, now that he knew the full story. Honestly, it warmed his heart to know that this stranger, and his girlfriend, had chosen to try and help him. That, plus some news he'd recently heard that meant he didn't have to worry about a certain someone anymore. He was going to be in a place where he'd be kept safe and get the support he needed.
"Yeah," the red panda was saying. "It makes me so happy to see you two like that. Even if that life wasn't for me, I'm still glad we did it."
"As am I," Dr Silverfox said, walking over. "As am I, forever grateful."
"Hey, well, anything you need," Haida said, flexing a bicep. "I'm still happy to jump in and lend a paw."
The older fox nodded, pausing as they made their way over to the door, Mr Fox waiting there too. Dr Silverfox looked at his brother in law, smug grin on his face, and smiled. "Do I really…"
"-No."
With that he nodded, Ash giving his cousin a pat on the back as he made his way out too. His tail wagged slightly, only for him to freeze, quickly pulling the limb, worryingly light and cold, up against his body, out of view. He slowly began to back away. "See you Ash," he said, reaching for the door.
The red fox held out a paw and stopped it.
"Ash?"
"I'm going to keep looking after you," he said.
"I can look after myself."
"We've been over this, I'm going to look after you."
"Even when you begin to get annoying?" Kris asked.
"Especially when I begin to get annoying," Ash said. "That's how I know it's working."
"I don't think it works like that," he said, looking down, only to look up again, slowly letting his tail wag once more. "But thanks… You're a good mammal, Ash. Thank you."
"I'm just your cousin," he said, "doing what I have to do."
Kris held still for a second before diving in, holding him tight, sniffing slightly. Ash held back, tail around him, before a soft call from his dad split them apart.
Then, a different voice spoke.
"Don't worry about him being annoying," Retsuko chirped, "lots of things are annoying. But do you know what I find helps?"
"Long contemplative meditation and mindfulness?"
The red panda paused. "Actually... just screaming everything out in private and getting it off your chest," she said, pausing for a second and looking around. "-I mean, if people see that they'll ask 'did that make you feel better' and mock you. But it does! And I think I've gone on a bit too long now, and…"
"Don't worry," William said. "With all the mindfulness in the world, I'd say there's a lot of wisdom in that too. Thank you, all of you. I'll be forever grateful for what you did for me and my son."
One last set of waves and goodbyes, one last look and the door was closed, Kris walking back in.
Into his father's arms.
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They talked the rest of the evening. A takeout meal from a good restaurant was a special treat. As the evening went on, Kris stepped into the shower, turning it up hot. Close to scalding hot, but he needed it, he needed the warmth to soak into him.
The minutes ticked by and, eventually, out he got. He felt a chill begin to crawl up and in as he shook himself off and turned the fur dryer on. Getting too cold, he stepped in, letting the warm air slowly dry him.
Taking out every last wisp of water.
Letting the warm air just heat him up.
Out he got, putting his clothes for the night on, feeling worryingly thin. There was a spare bathrobe, so on that went too. It helped, slightly.
His father was waiting there, outside. "You're wrapped up."
"Y-yeah," he said. "Just don't want to get cold or…"
He was broken off as his father held his paw and spoke gently. "We're in the rainforest Kris, you'll cook."
"I just don't want to get cold," he said again, faster. His father looked on, ears folding down.
"Okay then," he said, holding Kris' paw and leading him over. "Shall we meditate, together?"
"Yeah," Kris said, his eyes lighting up.
And so they went, and so they sat down, and together they closed their eyes, breathing in and out. Through all the trials and the pain and the sorrow, William Silverfox was able to feel at peace. His son was back, by his side, he could hold him and help him and love him. He let his mind flow back and forth, like waves on a beach, and he felt okay.
Kris' eyes were closed beside him, only to open. He looked around, breathing in and out, before closing them again.
Breath in, breath out, he tried it again.
He slowed down, he calmed, he tried to let his mind be at peace, letting the river of the world flow past him.
Only for the current to be too strong.
He shook his head and opened his eyes again.
His father sat by him, peaceful, and looking up to him Kris took a deep breath and tried again.
Breathing in, breathing out, trying to reclaim the peace that he'd known.
Slowly he shook his head, eyes open, and stared out.
Trembling, ears folding back, he let his tail curl onto his lap and looked at it.
The fur on it was no thicker than that on the rest of him, but the absence of its weight felt forever wrong. It was messy, unkempt, shaggy, ruined, even if it would grow back. His paw lightly stroked it and he felt a tremble run through him, the memories of what it felt like when they…
He closed his eyes, breathed in and out, and pushed to still the swirling waters in his mind once more, smoothing out the ripples, slowly getting there, and...
A large breath in and out coming from his side, he turned to see his father relaxing and stepped out of his trance. "Feels good," his Dad said, looking down and holding his son's paw. He leant in for a kiss on the side of his muzzle. "Everything back to how it was. And what isn't will grow back. Everything right again, isn't that right my brave little boy."
"Yeah," he said, agreeing.
…
"Kris?" he asked, his voice off a bit.
"Dad?"
The older fox sighed, glancing down, then sitting down, looking across into his son's eyes. "Is everything okay?"
"I can handle it father, I…"
"I didn't ask if you can handle it," he pressed, paws out on his shoulders. "I asked you, is everything okay?"
The younger fox stared back, silent for a second or two.
"Kris," his father said, sighing, sitting down and unable to meet his son's gaze. "When your mother died… before your mother died… I always had it in my mind that I wasn't raising a child, I was raising an adult. And so I did my best, all your life, to teach you, to educate you, to raise you into the smart, mature, thoughtful, talented kit you are, but… -But hearing you earlier, crying about how the awful things they did to you didn't matter, when they'd done those things to that pup instead, I… -Part of me fears that I forgot you were a child and as a result, you never really got to be a child. And that you didn't just miss out on a lot because of that, it reached the point where it's harming you."
"How can it harm me?" Kris asked. "I… I stood up to the storm, I pushed through it."
"And if you remember martial arts, you need to roll with the punches," his father said, shaking his head. "I don't know. Your mother would, but I don't. Kris? Please, I know I raised you to be this amazing mammal, I know I taught you to be who you are. But you don't have to be this ubervulpes supporting everyone else. You can remember that you're still a kit, and I'm still there for you. I'm always there for you, and will never feel shame or fear or that I've failed, if you want to be a kit or need me or whatever. It's as that wise red panda said, sometimes you do just need to get it all out, and if I raised you to fear doing that then I evidently failed and I'm sorry. I'm truly, truly sorry."
"Dad," Kris said, slowly, thoughtful. He looked down, then up again. "I supported Matt as it was the right thing to do…"
"-So not because you wanted to?"
"But… Ash is now saying he's going to support me…"
"Because he wants to," his father said, sighing. "Did you want to support Ash? At first? I know he was tough on you at the beginning, and…"
"No," he said, breathing in and out. "I didn't… But I'm forever glad I did. I wanted to support Matt Dad, it was the right thing to do… It gave me something to do… And if it made you proud, of course I'd want to do it. Y-you are, aren't you?"
There was a pause, before the older fox smiled. "Of course I am, Kris."
The younger fox's poor tail gave a happy wag. "Dad, if I got to change anything about how you raised me, I'd change nothing." And he leant forward for a hug, his father hugging back.
"But please, if you want to let it out, like that clever red panda suggested, I'm here. I'm always here."
"Thanks," Kris said, smiling, but letting that smile waver a bit. "I'll… think about it."
"You do that," he said. "And remember, I'll be proud whatever. So don't think about me, think about you. You're my little kit, and I'm your dad, now and forever."
Kris didn't answer, but as they got up, he held his fathers paw and came in close.
Together, they retreated to their rooms. Before he turned the light out, he paused, holding a picture in front of him and letting a tear trickle down from his eye. "He's back, Roz. Our little boy is safe again. And I know there's probably all sorts I'm getting wrong, but I'm doing my best. I'll always do my best. I promise. I love you."
And with that, he felt sleep finally take him.
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"Huh?"
He heard sniffing.
His eyes opened as he smelt his son and he saw him there, above his bed, trembling. "Kris…"
"I…" he began, voice weak and pulling at his father's heartstrings. "Sorry," he shook his head, starting to step away. "I…"
"Kris, please. You're still my little boy. Let it all out."
He looked down and then pulled himself under the covers, latching his father tight. William held on to his shaking, sniffing son even as his claws dug painfully into his back. He didn't care, he just let his paw cradle Kris' head underneath his chin and held him close to him. "Let it all out…" he told him.
"I had a… -I'm scared…"
"I'll keep you safe…"
"I don't like how I feel…"
"I'm sorry."
"I want to be okay again."
"You will be."
"I want my mommy…" he sobbed.
"Oh Kris."
"I want my mommy…"
"I want her too," he sniffed. "I miss her every day. But she had to leave us… And we've only got each other. So we'll hold onto each other. I'll hold on to you, and I promise, I'll never, never let you go."
Kris' sobs calmed and, as his father stroked the back of his head, he calmed down. He closed his eyes and breathed out. "When the road runs down," he softly sung, "by the butternut grove… To the old bill skinners stream…" He smiled as he felt his son's grip relax. "Do tell at the noonday bell, it's time for a summertime dream." He stroked his muzzle. "In a lunch pail town in a one-horse way, you can live like a king or queen." He felt his son's poor tail relax. "Let's steal away in the noonday sun, it's time for a summertime dream."
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"Kris," he whispered.
…
He held himself close.
He wasn't going to let him go.
Because who knew…
Who knew when the next wave of bad would come.
Come for them to roll with together, and survive.
He was his son, and he was going to protect him for as long as he could.
And savour every moment, good or bad, whenever it came.
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They woke up early the next morning.
Too early.
William felt himself jolt with fear as he felt Kris start to toss. He told his son not to worry, he was there, they were home, it was just his phone ringing.
Checking it, his eyes widened. Looking back at his son, curling up in on himself, he told him he needed to get up.
They had to go somewhere.
He almost backed out when he saw his son shake his head, but he held his paws and he helped him through. He wrapped his arms and tail around them and guided them out as they hailed a cab.
The lights of the city, caught in the morning twilight, sailed past in a blur.
He was certain his son drifted off again once or twice, only to wake up once more.
He certainly had to rouse him as they arrived at his cousin' house. Nick and Judy were waiting there, having been called. Jack and Skye too. Even the red panda, hyena and fennecs. All had helped, all had stood up for their family.
It seemed all were invited.
And so he guided Kris in, pausing as Ash came up, trying to take over.
He let him take half of the duty as in they went. All of them were there.
One opossum.
One bunny.
One hare.
One red panda.
One hyena.
Two fennec foxes.
Two red foxes with soft platinum pelts.
Four red foxes with red fur.
Three of them todds.
One a vixen.
Eight fantastic foxes.
All knowing mammals who, through whatever storm, would come to help each other.
Support each other.
Spare the same to others, and who knew that others would spare it for them.
As they were good mammals.
And in this world, be it full of grey, black or white, or mammals trying to find the right way, or waves of bad that they had to stand up to face or roll with to avoid being broken. Whatever it might be, there they knew that they could get through it, as they could trust and confide in both themselves and others.
And here, now, after a storm of bad, a warm ray of good was shining down.
Sitting down, Kris looked on at another mammal. Who they would help and love, and who in time would pay it all back.
A ninth fantastic fox.
Fur black, eyes closed, his tail thin and wiry just like his, but wagging carefree.
He couldn't see, but as his mother handed him over to Kris, he stirred before settling down.
The young silverfox held him close, let his paw stroke the back of the new foxes head, and felt the light grip of four tiny claws grasp at his nose.
The silverfox let a smile grow and grow on his muzzle.
It was going to be hard.
He'd been hurt.
He'd survived.
He was still hurt.
He'd get better.
Given time, they were all going to make it.
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AN: Aaaaaaaannnnnnddddd breath out.
Okay, I said when I started this all that this was going to be my longest and maddest undertaking yet…
I did not expect it to be this long.
Or this mad.
Hehehehe…
Okay, elephant in the room. I think I said this before, 'An Anonymous Vulpine' was meant to be the third act so to speak of series 1. We got the crew fully united, and then they had a trial to face, to test them to their limits and see if they could hold it or not.
And given that the entire third act of the movie had the gang having to try and rescue Kris from captivity, a version of that seemed like the natural choice.
It was something very different from what had gone before… And to be fair, I get that. I understand that many readers will have preferred the previous episodes to AV, in some cases to the point where they dropped the series entirely. And I think that just comes down to how we write, what we want, what our style is.
I love fun worldbuilding slice of life.
I love it when the hammer drops and things get serious.
And from the things I've read, I tend to find that the hammer dropping is made all the more powerful by falling in love with the characters and having the slice of life before hand, to let you bond with them, learn to love them, etc. I think a very good example of this in another fic is in Fire Triangle (my fav fic), where the first attempt had the hammer dropping straight away, and it didn't work. So the writer, Merc, chose to restart and do a Bunnyburrow arc to let you get to know and fall in love with the characters in a casual setting (a BB arc, like Anon Vulpine, got BIG) before the hammer then drops later. And it works great. And funnily enough, having read a lot of his pre-zoot slice of life stories of furaffinity (which are amazing), I have the feeling that I'd of loved it even more if those were integrated in too.
But of course, by that point, others may well have fallen in love with it being such good SoL, and not like when the hammer falls and these characters are put to the test.
The thing is, this structure really plays into something that I wanted to explore with this fic, and that's the idea that 'the conspiracy' doesn't just resolve and start around the main characters. Rather, it's like the old analogy of boiling frogs in water. Slowly raise the temperature, and they won't now they're being cooked. I wanted to write a fic where they do figure it out, but it's when the water is very, very hot… And consequently you needed a long lead-up, and hey! Slice of life stuff comes into play.
So, that was the theory.
What happened next?
Two interconnecting things, me trying to make this more interesting and bloat. Lots and lots of bloat, to the point where rather than being the third act, it might as well have been it's own season.
Interesting, the very, very first outline of this all had it as a very typical Zoot story, in that the DA was secretly a super evil purity style pred hater and the gang had to work together to expose him, and Beavis (as I eventually kept, though for a fair while I was thinking of not going through with it) was connected to the ranger scouts.
The thing is though, 'very typical Zoot story'. Maybe this is just from all the stories I've read, and I certainly explored it in a few of my musings in this latest chapter, but you do regularly get a sort of fandom canon turning up in this kind of thing. Sometimes it's all preds that are hated, sometimes it's a smaller group of species and sometimes every species tends to get on singing kumbaya just screw dem foxes. And, likewise, you tend to get a very defined cabal of enemies. Often a cabal of fox or pred hating prey, often sheep, plenty of (often very good) fics had gangs of them or stuff sitting around together.
So I decided to play with the meta a bit. If that's what the fandom thinks, then maybe that's what a large proportion of the population thinks, and then I can explore the implications of such. Maybe Kurt isn't your black and white prey who simply hates predators, instead he's his own style of renegade with his own agenda, that's sent him wrecking-balling through everything. A full on post-truth villain, which at the time felt like a really interesting thing to write and explore. And maybe Honey's wacky-zany anti-sheep stuff, of comic legend throughout the fandom, actually has really bad consequences…
And I'm certainly hopeful you all found it entertaining. At the same time, I hope I didn't go too overboard the other way… You've all heard of 'go woke go broke', but you could just as easily have 'get based, finish last place'. Acid rain is bad and all, but the answer to it isn't a spraying dose of alkali rain (ironically one of the morals of my story).
As for Catano… Hooo boy, hehehe. You know that scene in Ash's room? Originally I had that in by itself, then I imagined it would hit harder if you knew said character before. And what do you know, Kii is an available character. But the more I wrote her, the more it felt stupid to throw her all away for that one scene (indeed, for a long while I was thinking I'd be getting rid of it).
Regardless, seeing as we were dealing with messy stuff, I thought it would be interesting to see her, perfectly reasonably, split apart and get 'the wrong' opinion from Judy. Showing how all this truth and post truth stuff can rip people apart…
And how getting to the basics, talking to each other, can be the way to fix that.
And so, I began expanding it all out in the fic. And naturally, this made the fic longer. A lot longer.
Did it all fit together and work as well as it could…? Hmmmm, maybe it did, maybe it didn't, maybe it depends on who you are. I am but human, I am but a writer.
I'm also not completely tone deaf. In canon, it was clear that at least some mammals didn't like foxes, and there is certainly a subtext to be read in all those fanfics I mentioned before. A subtext I was inverting to some degree. So I needed to show that yes, there were still mammals who did not like foxes, and Sarrahson was very much that. Non-typical, a bit different and unique, but still very much there.
And, going on as I wrote it, and given that I was borrowing more and more from irl cues with the anti-sheep stuff, a certain series of irl events… Made me feel that I needed to tread even more carefully with that subtext. I'm of the opinion that it's best to show the different sides of the argument, at least giving them room to breath and make a case in good faith, even if your opinion lies to one side. So that's where D-Baa Dude came from…
Which, okay, I enjoyed writing that.
I REALLY enjoyed writing that 10k long parody of (insert popular DK-streaming left wing youtuber here).
There's a common saying, 'the point of the second draft is to make it look like you knew what you were doing the first time around.' Well, if there's one thing I'd change immediately, it'd be replacing the early mentions of Pounceheart (always an off screen character) with D-Baa Dude. A few things would need to be rewritten, but it would just work so well.
Anyway, he went in, as did the little arc with Mickey… Again for the same reason.
So, that padded out Day 4.
But Day 3 was also very much padded out too. I'd always intended to throw in Jimmy, Carla and the Lang's as a shout out to the awesome Berserker88 and his fic Born to be Wilde (having missed out on fitting a certain pairing of his in 'So we're inters now'). But Murana and Max Thrash? Well, I needed a way to give the reader some catharsis with Kurt. I didn't want him to just get dumped out without a job, I think you'll all agree he needed to fail, to be hurt, in a certain way or other given what he did. So that the very shortcomings of his own ideology and actions are specifically what bites him in the tail and hurt him in the worst way possible. I don't know quite when or how I thought of this, but once I did it fit in and it just worked. So in they went.
Oh, and given Darkflamewolf (Murana's owner) has now started releasing her awesome 'Legend of Ahya' book series… It's a proper non-fandom genuine crossover now!
Anyhow.
And then, the big padding for Day 3.
I read Fire Triangle, by Merc Marten, which is now my fav fanfic series.
And I wanted to at least raise some more awareness of it, point a few people its way.
Also, Conor Lewis and Vern Rodenberg are great characters.
I wanted to try writing them.
I did enjoy writing them.
No, I loved writing them.
But, arguably, it was unnecessary. Arguably a lot was. Arguably I could go through and really pare this fic down and turn it into a much leaner thing (starting with, as said, fully replacing Pounceheart with D Baa-Dude). Would that have made it better or worse?
I don't know. You tell me.
Do you like lean cut or fatty cut? Is there a right answer?
But, in all seriousness, this experience has certainly told me one thing about myself. I do thrive on character interaction. I love writing characters meeting, exploring each other's viewpoints and discussing them. Etc, etc. But, it does present a problem. Sure, I can keep introducing more characters, and once you reach a certain amount you get to what I call 'critical mass', in that their own quirks and interactions and personalities are a big enough source of drama and conflict to keep the plot going on without new external influence... But the more you do that the harder it is to give them all their own moments to shine in the narrative, and the harder it is to wrap all their plotlines up.
It's something very much for me to keep in mind for my future endeavours.
Particularly the upcoming season 2.
Yup, that'll be coming out.
Originally, there was going to be a season 2 and 3, but given the length of anon vulpine (which should have been its own separate season in hindsight) I'm going to try and condense it down.
As you've all seen so far, things have been moving in the shadows (that was something I planned for a long time, to show that the characters don't just stumble onto the grand conspiracy like in many fics, but instead it's going on around them all, unnoticed, even shrugged off in the background long before they become aware. They're frogs in the water, not noticing it getting hotter).
These things will be pushing into the fore in season 2 which, while dealing with Kris'ongoing character development, will also feature a lot more action and excitement.
And new characters and crossovers.
Because come on, what do you expect?
I mean, I was able to cut Bojack Horseman from it, which was originally planned… Though tbf, given where the final season went it's more that it cut itself out…
This has all been a long, long thing. I hope to have the first chapter of season 2 out in a few weeks, so keep your eyes out. Commitments might well mean the ongoing update schedule is slower, but we'll see.
For now though, thank you for so much with following me, commenting for me, in some cases enduring me on this long, long journey.
I'd like to thank the ongoing support of some of my frequent commentators:
Berserker 88, who also let me use his Zoosona Steven Stinkman and his Born to be Wild characters: Jimmy Frost, Carla Hyenandez, the Lang family (also thanks to MindJack for Felix Dire there) and Vexey.
X-uve: commentator extraordinaire.
Aomagrat, Stefcw, Maldevinine, Robert Escher and
Dobanochi and Maxojir: Woohoo, you made it!
The great fella's of the ZAA server not included up above.
Especially to Merc_marten: Greymuzzle ficwriter extraordinaire and generous enough to let me have a dabble at writing his OC's Conor Lewis and Vern Rodenburg.
Darkflamewolf: For letting me use Murana Wolford.
Drummermax: for letting me use Max Thrash. If you do pick up fics again and reach here, I hope you very much enjoyed it. There's plenty more to come.
And to all those left who've made it. Thanks very much and, if you've lurked for this long, I'd love to see a review dropped for the first and final time.
As an author, I hope that you have felt it very much worthwhile.
Thank you.
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Nick, Dave and Basil stood in the basement, eyes fixed on the screen, so recently flicked to life. On it, written up every so finely, was a title card for all to read.
Hello old friends.
Nick snorted. "What a strange coincidence to find you," he said, only for the text to change.
Apologies for this taking so long. You know how it is though. You get some little nugget of an idea in your mind, and you decide to pursue it. Only for that pursuing to take a lot longer than you ever expected. But, I am glad to announce that my little diversion is over.
Are you ready to go back to the classic stuff now?
"Show yourself," Dave said.
…
"Come on, I know it's you!"
And then the screen flickered to life and a saxophone began playing a familiar pop tune. And, framed against a red curtain by a circular border of blue, stood a pallas cat, singing. Dressed up in a black cabaret suit, red rose in lapel, black homburg with white lapel on its head, behind the microphone.
The female cat sung. "We met upon the stair… We spoke of was and when… Although he wasn't there. He said I was a friend? Which came as a surprise... " Her voice rose as the camera closed in on her face. "I spoke in-to his eyes… I thought you died alone…"
"So did I, Felicity," Basil spoke.
"A long long time ago…"
"And where's your lover," Dave said, "show yourself."
"Oh no," cut across a male voice, and both mice took a sharp breath in and out. "Not me."
Off came her hat and there he was. A brown rat, dressed impeccably, just like her. He stared into the camera and smiled. "I never lost control."
Together, they sung on. "You're face… to face… With the man who sold the world."
And so the music played on, the rat slipping down the cats should and onto an outstretched palm. Over came her other paw, a finger out and, together, they waltzed.
Nick looked down to the mice on him. "Goes without saying but that's…"
"So it is," Basil said, breathing in and out.
"And we're just going to have to let him show off to us."
"Hang on," he said, standing up. "Hey, Ratty! You big fat rat!"
Nick looked on confused, but then double took the screen. A large subtitle had appeared. 'I expect that was an insult. Consequently, you are muted for the duration of this splendid performance.'
"After all this time," Dave pondered. "He still knows us."
He still did, he still sung, pulling his voice out for a rousing rendition. "I searched foreign lands," he swooned. "For years and years I roamed. I gazed a gazely stare. We walked a million years. I must have died a long… a long, long time ago"
"Who knows..." they carried on, together, the trio giving them their time. Together they sung, together they finished, before bowing down. Finally, the rat smiled. "Gentlemammals, gentlemammals. I'd like to thank you for being such a fine and wonderful audience. Indeed, I could have asked for no better for my, official, homecoming." There was a pause, then a snigger. "Though I expect you'll be glad for me to come back, as your liberator."
"Liberator?" Basil asked.
"-Yes, look at this city," he said, waving his paws about. "Aren't you sick of this? Sick of the ambiguity, the politics, the nuance and the greyness. I am here to bring back your good and your bad. I am here to unite this city," he smiled. "And to entertain you. You can all go on an action packed fruitless chase against me. Isn't that what you all wanted? Doesn't that sound fun?" He shrugged. "Well, if not, tough luck old friends," he said, a malicious smile growing across his face. "As you don't have much choice anymore, do you?"
"It seems not," Basil said. "We'll have no choice in beating you though. You can't keep this up forever."
"Ha-haaa… I don't need to," he boasted, looking forward. "Oh you poor, ignorant mammals!"
"What did you find?" Dave asked. "On your travels, that needed that fox's father on your side. Don't think we don't know about that, or that you failed there."
Finally, his grin faded. Eyes narrowing, he took a breath in and out, before shrugging. "Why do I care if you know that?" he asked. "I mean, I could keep myself quiet, but I thought it was about time to break the bad news for you." He smiled once more, paws waving out. "Ever heard about boiling a frog in water? You warm it up with them in it, so they don't know what's going on until it's too late. Well, my dear mammals, this pot has been boiling for a long, long time. Haven't you seen it?" he asked. "Felt it going on, my mammals at work, the water getting hotter." He looked in and let his eyes narrow. "I have allies, friends, an army now. And this isn't some gangland spat for me, this is something else. I win, I win forever. Do you know why? Do you know what I found on my travels? What I uncovered, layered throughout history but rationalised away, ignored, hiding itself at the same time?"
"What did you find?" Basil asked again.
"That the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist. There was no god, friends. Only the devil, until the devil fell. And now, everything is in place for me to take up his mantle, and the world will know that I exist."
"Oh great," Nick snarked. "We're up against a loonie."
Basil marched forward. "You forget one thing, we'll catch you first."
"Oh really?" he asked. "Better hurry up then. Time is running out. Tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock…" And on he went, finding more and more joy in it, as was his paramor. And soon they were laughing, laughing at them, and with that the screen faded, leaving the trio alone.
And with that they left, to inform Bogo of the news.
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The koala looked down worried.
Sure, Jack giving him a chance to put on a little matinee had allowed him to put on some good, old fashioned family fun.
But now?
He was back.
And for the first time, he played out his performance on the stage.
The small mammal paced. Sure, arguably it was gripping, emotional, he was terrified for the fates of the characters.
But you weren't supposed to go to the theatre to be terrified, where you?
You were supposed to go there to have fun, see joy, just pure happiness.
This was a mistake.
Oh why did he literally sign away his rights to make corrective edits to his work.
If he didn't know any better, he'd have said he'd been hustled.
He remembered it now. That fine fox coming in, giving an excellent bid on his old sarcophagus antique (in fact so good he gave it away right there and then), then remarking that this old cut out that Jack had agreed to buy was also worth a fortune.
Then again, maybe that fox was just out of date.
The cut out may well have been worth something once, only for it to fall out of favour after the lead character did something… well… a bit naughty.
Anyhow, that was all in the past, this was the present, and…
Were they applauding?
They… were!
And Jack looked so happy.
"Hmmmm, maybe you found a delightfully rare niche to exploit, Jack," he said. "I'm proud of you."
"I don't think he can hear you, or care," his financier, Eddie, spoke from his side.
"Well, I suppose this is his day," Buster said back.
Eddie nodded slowly. "I'm going to make money on this one," he said, looking down. "How do you do taxes? I've never got to this part before."
"You know, neither have I," he said, beginning to shake. "How do I tell this to Judith," he asked. "How to bankers react to you having money…" He paused, breaking off. "I just need a little time to think."
"See you when you eventually return," the sheep waved off.
Buster said thank you as he stepped down the stairs and into the lobby. You know, maybe this was just jitters from having something new and unexpected happen? After all, surely this, having a super well received performance at his theatre, was what he'd been planning and hoping for all this time?
Wasn't it?
Yeah, that was right. This would help them out just swell.
And who knew?
Maybe it would mean loads of people would then turn up when one of his own, really good, plays went on.
He pictured that and smiled, all was good.
"Hello again."
Opening his eyes, he smiled. "Hello again you two. It has been a long while. My word, what happened to your paw?"
"I'd rather not talk about that," the dark furred lion said, putting his good paw over his second one, looking more like a boxing glove with how much plaster it was wrapped in.
"Indeed, just like I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to talk about that scar over your eye."
"Quite vehemently not," he said, as his partner, a rather large tiger, stepped forward. His own, uninjured paw, out, he patted down on the koala's head quite hard.
"My little marsupial chap, would you please direct us to that little antique we put a bid on. We'd quite like it, and I'm very certain you would want to go back to your insignificant eucalyptus munching life."
"Ah," the koala said. "You do know this is an auction."
"Yes," the tiger carried on. "Which is why we're coming in the night before it ends to raise up our bid if needs be."
"Oh, that won't be necessary," Buster said proudly. "You see, someone put in such a splendid bid, I sold it there and then!"
The two big cats looked at each other.
"And then he donated it to the city museum or something. So, happy to say, you don't need all the stress or bother."
"Our boss wanted that thing, very much," the lion snarled.
Buster shrugged. "Ah, I guess he doesn't know the rules of auctions then," he said, wondering over a statue made of two yellow figures. "Though, if you do want to get him something, may I recommend these guys. They're exceedingly delightful."
The big cats gave each other a glance. "I think there is something he might like, given all this," the lion said, glancing down.
A toothy grin grew across the tigers face, as he turned to face to koala as well. "Oh yes, I think there is."
"Well, that's fantastic! What is it?"
They both stared at him, and spoke, together. "You."
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"HE WHAT!?"
He stared out into the distance, almost dropping the phone. Instead, finally, he spoke. "You're right. Bring him to me."
And with that, he turned off the phone and looked out across his lair.
He wanted to scream.
However, he had his appearances to keep up, and still had other items of interest. One's he'd get his paws on, oh so very soon.
He turned down to a computer screen and turned it on, connecting through the webs of the dark net, until a grey canine face, fur between the ears spiked up, was in view. "Tell me, how long before the item arrives."
"Yeah, well…" he began, a dark, rich, voice sounding out as he looked up and around. "The big boss says a week or two, maybe three or four, got to keep up appearances and all. And before you say anything, you're aware this is kind of a one time thing, y'hear?"
The rat sighed. "Fine. But hurry if you can, things have gotten... tighter. My goat will pick up as arranged."
"Yeah, yeah, sure thing Mr… What was the codeword you used again? Boggis… Bunce…"
"We never really bothered to use them much anyway, kind of got forgotten amongst other stuff, best laid plans and all that. Indeed, I would know. Just call me by my real name. Professor Padriac Rattigan."
And with that, he cut out.
And far away, on the other side of the screen, the wolf's ears rose as he heard the sound of steel raking against steel, his boss approaching from the shadows.
"Is it as I suspected?" He spoke, a rustle and breeze of air coming from him as he gazed on.
The wolf shrugged. "I dunno boss! Could go either way, really…"
"Then we'll have to go closer. Confirm. And if we are right, we can usurp everything he's trying. He thinks he knows what he's messing with," the figure said, fire in his eyes. "We both know he knows nothing."
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"So, I guess it's a happy ending, right?"
Two smaller figures looked up at the larger one sweeping in. One of them, a female, shook her head. "You know they're still out there. They're only just beginning. I don't know what their gang wants with those artifacts, but it's not good."
"Oh I know," he said, leaning back. "But still, it's not long until that thing Fly-boy told me about gets here. Thought I might as well enjoy that grace while it lasts."
She nodded. "But if we miss that exchange, we're out of options."
"Maybe not," came a voice from her side.
"What was that?" she asked, looking down.
He smirked, looking up. "Maybe there are other options available," he said. "Others willing to help us, fight for good and all." He paused, looking down at an old picture of a weasel. "Who knows? Second time might be the charm."
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"Got him?" the lion asked.
"Secured," the tiger said, moving over to the driving seat. The lion though hung out, standing by the car, bitter visage looking at the mound of plaster surrounding his shattered paw. He really should have just chosen the hook option. "I said secured, the kind of which we will be in prison if you do not hurry up."
The lion hissed.
"Oh dear," the tiger swooned, mockingly. "Does it hurt?"
"There's an itch."
"Well," the tiger carried on, "out of all the ways to go to prison because of you…" He trailed off, a dark anger rising in his voice. "That is the most likely to make me want to shorten your life sentence significantly."
"I…" the lion began, starting to move in, only to pause. Eyes fixed, he snarled.
"Oh what is it now?"
"The hyena," he spoke, looking out the alley and across the road. There, far away, he walked.
"On your own time," the tiger warned.
The lion paused, before glowering out into space. "My own time indeed, but I have the most ingenious plan. The boss wanted leverage, right?"
"Right…"
"Well, I'm certain that hyena could be used for it. And then I get to deal with him after."
"And how do we abduct him in broad daylight?" the tiger asked, pausing as he heard a muffle from behind him. "Quiet please hostage, criminals are talking."
"We don't," the lion said, "instead we stick on a tracker. Follow him. Hit him when he's alone."
The tiger raised an eyebrow as the lion left, moving out the alley. The hyena was already walking away and, to his worry, right towards a bus station, and an approaching bus. He had to do this. He was going to pursue that filthy mammal no matter what, through hell or high water, to capture him and to submit him to his revenge. He thought of the pain he'd cause him, a thousand times worse than what his paw had suffered, as he ran out fast, fingering a spare tracker and racing out into the road to…
SCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…
"Oh," he managed, before being bowled over the top of the small-mid sized mammal pickup truck he'd stepped in front of.
Grinding to a halt, its driver, a young vixen dressed in punk gear, complete with torn black jeans and a spike collar, withdrew her arm from in front of her face and slowly leant out and looked back. Her grey dyed fur, full of patches where the colouring had somehow washed out to reveal the natural red underneath, put her paws up. "I…. I…. -Not my fault, okay!?"
…
"Owwwwwww…."
The tiger walked out of the alley and began dragging the lion back in, sparing her a glance and a courteous smile, wink and nod. "Not your fault."
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"You know, this is very strange."
"What is?" the vixen driving, dressed in her army greens, asked.
His lupine passenger, in his own uniform, glanced back. "I mean, haven't you spotted something odd, about where we are?"
"What about it?"
"I mean, the korean peninsula, as far as I recall, is a hot summer humid continental climate."
Adjusting her glasses, she raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"Well…" he began. "Is it me, or does this look much more like a meditaranean climate zone?"
She shrugged. "Well, this area is known for being surrounded by hills and having a unique microclimate…"
"About that," he said, as they pulled up and got out. He pointed to the cliff formations. "I went on a hiking holiday north of Malimoo once and I swear that place looked just like… that…"
He trailed off, eyes fixed on something else, the vixen pulling her tail around and raising up her pen, lightly biting the end. "Anything the matter?"
"That's a helicopter."
"Hmmmm," she said, giving a little shake. "Extraordinary." She let her tail fluff out behind her. "The army tends to use them."
"But it's airlifting a desk."
The vixen looked up, spotting the chopper fly overhead, a desk carried underneath it. "Ah, must be tuesday."
The wolf nervously looked down, concerned, at her as she frowned.
"-Also means my office will be missing its back wall…"
The lupine's concern increased, while an older otter in a colonel's uniform walked past, before barking out."-Horse Hockey."
The lupine jolted up, before immediately raising his paw. "Sir?"
The colonel otter looked up, then glanced down. "Your people are here, Lieutenant."
"Thank you sir," the vixen saluted, as he went past.
The wolf blinked. "I'm sorry sir, horse… hockey?"
The otter pointed over to a hockey court where a bunch of equines were playing. "Over there, boy. I think you need your eyes tested son."
And off he went, the wolf looking around. "I think something needs to be tested."
"I'm certain you're a little disorientated," she explained, as she led him on. "But I'd like you to know we run a tight ship here."
"Inclusive too I see," he said, pausing as he saw a black hare in a skirt.
"This is a kilt!" he yelled back, as the vixen carried leading him on. "Tharn it, my people's native dress, but every week I get offered a section eight. Do you want me here or…"
His voice trailed off as the vixen past a feline with a cross lapel on his uniform. "Joculations," she greeted.
"Ah, joculations," he waved back.
The wolf gave him a smile and a wave. "Seems nice."
"He is," she brushed off. "Unless you cream his corn. You don't want to see him when he's acrimonious."
"Uh-hu," he nodded.
"Now, you're…" She paused, looking down at a trash can, and odd beating sound coming out from inside, and knocking it. "In today, Wag?"
There was a pause as the lid lifted, a coyote's head poking out, the sound of his tail knocking against the walls all the louder. "Stay quiet, there are subversives everywhere," he said.
The wolf blinked, before looking down to a piece of trash he had in his paw.
"-If you stick that in there, I can give you ten years in Lemmingworth."
The vixen leant forward and pushed down the lid again, giving it a light tap. "On we go," she said, leading the now thoroughly confused wolf on.
"I'm sorry… Is this a different army to the one I joined?" he asked.
She let a little grin grow across her muzzle. "Why do you ask?"
"Because this feels less like a functioning army base," he said, pausing to make way for a fennec fox clerk running past, a bunch of papers held in one arm and a teddy bear in another. "And more like some kind of comedy program." His gaze wandered over to a tent, a rather angry looking female wolf storming out. The doorway was quickly filled by the faces of a hyena and a horse with a large blonde facial mustache, both in kimonos, waving her away before breaking down in hysterics.
"I'm guessing they stole her tent again," the vixen mused.
"That's not helping," her wolf huffed, as they passed a jeep parked over a rather angry major stuck in a foxhole, then began making their way through a massive pile of boxes. "Do I want to ask?"
"Five-hundred thousand tongue depressors. In any case, I promise we can get very dramatic when required." She stopped, frowning a little as she turned back to her charge, his eyes fixing back onto the storming off wolf. "Ahem, you and a Miss Howlihan will have plenty of time to get acquainted going on," she said, pausing as a pair of local soldiers, a golden squirrel and a hedgehog turned and saluted her. "At ease, Kumsaegi, Kosumdochi." They lowered their paws and she turned to point at the fennec fox, still jogging away. "I forgot to give Radar this," she said, handing over a document. "Worker schedule for repairs to our DMZ defenses. Be a good spot and hand it over."
They nodded, saluted, and began to take off, only for the wolf to speak out. "Hang on…"
"Yes?" they asked.
"Is this… normal?"
There was a long pause, the pair looking at each other, smiles growing on each other's faces, before they turned back to him. "Aaaaah," the squirrel said. "We get it."
His companion, still smiling and nodding, switched to a head shake and a frown. "Nooooo… We do not."
"Neither will..." the vixen said, pointing off at the vanishing fennec. They took off as she led her lupine charge inside. He paused though as he saw the squirrel and hedgehog sneak to the side a bit and bring the papers out, scanning through them with an object in paw. He opened his mouth to speak, only for a red furred paw to pull him in. Making sure the door was closed, she looked up to him.
"They were spying!"
She gave a little chuckle, holding up her tail and giving the edge a little twiddle. The wolf gulped a little. "Once Colonel Wag gets out of his bin, I'm sure he won't mind you taking over."
"But they were copying critical orders, they might be North Korean spies, they…"
"Oh don't worry," she said playful, turning and walking through the next set of doors. "There's no maybe to it."
"Oh… Good."
"They are North Korean spies."
"Wait what?"
He looked on, gobsmacked, as she walked up to a table and leant over, cradling her muzzle in one paw. "My deary, discovering them in my first year was what put my career on the path it was now. Even if, in truth, their subterfuge was completely obvious even to a preschooler."
"But… then why are they out there finding documents like…"
"Because we want them to," she said, leaning forward. "After finding those two, I pitched a simple idea. Knock them off, they'll get replaced, potentially by far more competent mammals. Instead, use them to flood the enemy with an endless stream of misinformation. Such as that schedule I just let them look at."
"I…" the wolf began. "Wait? This entire place is a ruse?"
"Yes," she said, "but keep it quiet, will you. I've got a good thing going here, and I wouldn't like it to end."
"Indeed," came a new voice, the vixen turning around and saluting. The bear general nodded at her to be at ease. "This has been one of the most successful intelligence operations in the history of the army. The northies hold those spies so highly, they even made a children's TV show about them." He gave a chuckle, looking down at the vixen. "Indeed, were you actually from the States, you'd have done your country proud."
"Wait," the wolf asked. "You're…"
"Zootopian, technically," she said. "Those few who want to join up there tend to go with the UN, but I chose to serve in the same force my father did."
"Indeed," the bear said. "This is old Jo Swifty Autumn's adopted daughter. With us to follow in his footsteps."
"And make use of the better career progression, of course," she smirked.
The bear gave a hearty laugh and sat down. "But changing your surname so you can still claim it was all you. Still, no mammal deserves to be called Vixen more than you, am I right?"
She gave a little chuckle, and a nod, as his happy visage faded.
"Enough of that, though." He turned to the wolf and pointed at him. "You'll be taking over her duties here given her upcoming reassignment. Not that long ago, our two little visitors left the country on a trip during their time off. There was a lapse in their monitoring and we lost them. By happenstance though, she's learnt about where our two little visitors went off to on their little sabbatical." His mood turned grim. "What they were doing in Zootopia, I don't know. But, given their home countries relationship with the mysterious arms dealer 'ELSA' and the now confirmed intelligence that he's heading there, it can't be good. Consequently, we need a paw on the ground to further our own interests." He pushed forward a set of documents. "Lt Vixen, we'll be working on getting you high clearance for the task ahead. Build a team, investigate, and do us proud."
"Yes sir," she saluted, marching out. Quickly scanning through her briefings, she let the corner of her mouth rise up as she reached for her phone. She had a sister to call. To tell her the good news, and ask about a very, very interesting striped hare she'd been talking about.
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Knock-knock
"Un moment."
"Madam Inspector, quelque chose d'urgent est survena."
"J'ai dit un moment," she spoke, putting her files away in the safe and locking the door.
Her eyes were unable to not linger on the small grey cut-out, stuck to the inner side, thankfully cut off as the door shut.
Even when they were enemies, she'd kept it there. A token of when he'd first 'visited'.
Standing up, she walked to her door and openned it up, letting one of the interns hand her not one but two beige folders. On both, stamped on, were the words 'Urgent: For Insp C Fox only'.
She nodded and took it in, closing the door.
Down on her desk it went as she opened it up, bringing out her reading glasses as she scanned through.
The room was silent of words as she did so, though the sounds of the city outside more than replaced it. The peeling of a bell in the distance, the staccato of moped scooters, the cries and calls of mammals going about their day to day lives in the city of love below.
From the many pictures on the wall, one could think that she shared in it's amore. Her red figure, pictured against one in grey. But they were all old.
The youngest seven years, with a ring laid against it.
A lot had passed.
A lot had faded.
But, finishing the first and then starting to scan the second, her eyes widened as something even older showed that it very much hadn't. Her paw shot out for the phone. "Chief?" she asked, operating in his favoured language.
"I… Inspector."
"We have two fiendlish alerts. Both in Zootopia"
"Two?" He paused. "Dear god. What levels are they."
"All you need to know is that one is top level."
The phone went silent.
"Chief Barkley?"
"Inspector Fox, get over there right now. And do whatever has to be done. Do you understand?"
She nodded, leaning down to grab a red and yellow shock pistol from the floor, flipping a switch and feeling it warm up once more. "Yes I do Chief," she said, hanging up. She held up her weapon and studied it. "Well, old friend, it is you and I once again." She hooked it in its holster and stood, staring out the window, paw holding the frame time. She looked up into the cloudy sky, the clouds swirling, and firmed her muzzle. "For all that you were, I swear to you. Your life will not have been in vain, my dear Sly."