Credit:

* Zootopia characters belong to Disney

* Sonic characters belong to SEGA/Sonic Team

* Phoenix Wright belongs to NAMEO

The bright light from Tailsko's roboticized sight vanished, which made the room return to the normal a little. I blinked to get my eyes adjusted to the room light and sighed, "Whew..."

I laid my shoulder blades on the armrest of the couch, beginning to be discomforted in this position. That made me furrow my eyebrows together and grunt a little. The cup of tea in my paws stirred a little bit as I tried to get myself comfortable laying on the couch.

"Ugh, can you please go get a pillow?" I asked. I glanced at her and gave her an instruction, "I am sure that is in the guest room next to the bathroom on your left after you leave this room. It's at the end of the hall."

She blinked, closing the orange metal-plated eyelids then pulling them up quickly. She kept her right paw between us.

"Certainly, Nick. Do you want me to refill your cup now?" she asked.

I shook my head while I reached for the towel and removed it from her paw. She stood up and turned to the door in one motion, then she left the room. I put the towel on my belly and rested the cup on it. I decided to ignore the soreness in my back for now, while waiting on Tailsko to bring a pillow for me. Not even half a minute later, my phone rang, and I fished it out. I glanced at the phone number, which displayed 'Unknown'. I sighed and pushed a green button to answer. I pressed the phone to the side of my head.

"Ah, hello. May I know who this is?" I asked.

"Ah, Nicholas. It's me - your mother. I take it you didn't save my phone number?" the female voice spoke on the phone.

I sighed, "I want to live on my own, to see how I can proceed without any help. But now, you have found my phone number, so let's... have a conversation."

"That would be a good idea, my dear Nicholas. And let's get to the point - is that wrong?" my mother asked.

I blinked, feeling glad that she wanted to get to the point, "Yeah. There's one thing I want to know... why do I have an ability to take control of another mammalian whenever I passed out?"

"Ah... did I know that you had taken control of one of those harts? Yes, yes, I did. So how was it?" she responded to me using my own method.

While I absorbed this information, I felt Tailsko's free paw lift me from the couch and stuff a pillow between my back and the armrest. I wriggled the bridge of my nose and bared my fangs, "Doggone it, mom! What kind of secrets are you keeping from me this time?"

All I heard was a click from the phone then it went flatline. I quickly pulled the phone from my head and looked at the screen, learning that it disconnected. I had never felt this angry before and I felt an urge to release some noise, ergo I howled at the ceiling. Almost right after my head was in the howling position, I felt a sharp jab on my neck and I went unconscious, and I passed out.

"Uhh..." I groaned, regaining consciousness.

It was late morning by now. I woke up dazed but found myself in better shape. The cup, towel, and phone that I had held were removed, which meant that Tailsko had taken them after I was knocked out. I sat up then got off the couch so I could stretch my body. I turned to the doorway and left the living room. I went to the bathroom, stripped my gauntlet off and closed my eyes. Fifteen minutes later, with Tailsko preparing casual clothes for me to wear, I opened my eyes and emerged from the bathroom landing on my hind-paws. I felt like a fresh todd. I returned to the living room and saw that Tailsko had put down a plate that was loaded with pancakes.

"Ah, thank you for making breakfast. So, while I eat this, I need to talk with you," I said, walking back to the couch, which had returned to its original look.

She blinked and nodded, "Sure. I see that you have a plan for today?"

"Yep. We are going to see my mother to gather more information. And I am sure you already read the recorded conversation between me and my mother from yesterday," I said, sitting on the couch and reaching for the fork and knife.

Tailsko propped her paw pads on her hips and sighed lightly, though it came from her chest, as she replied, "Yes; I am with you for this one. It's bad to keep secrets from someone that you trust so much."

I ate a quarter of the first pancake while she replied. I nodded in agreement, getting a feeling of sympathy from her - that meant someone had kept a secret from her in the past. I cut another quarter of the first pancake and tossed it into my mouth. I chewed through it quickly and swallowed it, not wanting to keep Tailsko waiting. I blinked as I drank the cup of tea to down the sticky part of the pancake to my stomach then I glanced at her.

"And then... after we talk with my mother, we should go out and search for another emerald, like the one that Sonic and Carrots are holding right now," I replied once my throat was clear to speak.

She nodded, the light reflected off her eyes each time her head changed the direction, then she spoke, "Agree. Just don't get yourself killed. I detest seeing a mother and a son bring a small cold war just for a little secret they hide from each other."

"Hm-Hmm," I nodded, proceeding to take the next bite.

I suddenly noticed that I was the only one eating. I glanced at her without moving my head.

"How do you gather your energy?" I asked.

She glanced at my plate while I chowed down the next bite then she answered, "I had to plug up overnight. And to keep myself entertained, I gathered all the stuff I needed to make a new frame for a tag on my back and I built it while I charged. Hope that doesn't increase your bill."

I swallowed my bite then I responded, "Ah, don't worry about that. Thanks for your explanation, I now know how your... mechanized body works."

"It's known as 'roboticized'," she pointed out.

I nodded as I cut the second pancake into four pieces and picked up one of them. As I chewed on the piece, I suddenly felt a pain in my neck from a sharp jab that I received yesterday. I furrowed my eyebrows together and frowned.

"Hmm... what wrong with my neck? That knocked me down until this morning," I mumbled, putting the knife down to rub my neck with my free paw.

Tailsko put her left forepaw behind her head and 'scratched' there, "That was me. I had to get you to earn a proper rest. Also, your howling was not helping."

"Ah," I nodded then I cracked my neck, working out the soreness. I turned my attention to my breakfast and picked up the knife as I replied, "No worry. It was doctor's orders that I needed to rest. You did right to give my neck a good strike and leave me to rest for the night."

"Indeed, and now that's out of the way," she agreed, dropping her hand from her head. I took another bite.

I frowned as I chewed through the piece of pancake. Once I swallowed it, "How many emeralds are there in total? And are they all green?"

"Seven. And no, they came in seven different colors; one is green. The others are red, blue, yellow, purple, turquoise, and white," she answered.

I nodded - now that answer had cleared the mystery in my head. So now with no new topics for us to discuss, I devoured the rest of my breakfast. Tailsko took the plate and silverware while I drank the cup of tea to clear my mouth and throat. While I waited for her to rejoin me, I took the opportunity to grasp reality. And that included getting the food settled in my stomach. Once she came back, I got up and went with her to put the cup away. We left my home and stepped onto the street as a taxi passed us without any intention to stop. I grimaced as I saw the drive stick their forepaw out and displayed a... well, an obscene gesture.

Just as I was about to call out, I heard the following line; "Hey, Wilde. Fancy a ride?"

I turned to the cruiser that was parked slightly farther down the street and I saw a hart behind the front window. I recognized this guy - it was Phoenix Wright. I ran to the passenger door just before Tailsko opened it and I glanced at him. I smiled as I realized that he was offering us a ride.

"Wright!" I exclaimed, flickering my muzzle with my forepaws hanging in the air.

He nodded with a smile. I started to climb onto the passenger seat with a small help from Tailsko. Once I sat down, the door closed, and then I reached for the seatbelt to click in. I heard and felt the door behind me open and shut quickly - that mean Tailsko got inside. Once I was satisfied with the belt adjustment, i turned my head to Phoenix.

"So, where do you want to go? I kind of need to be around the mammalians outside my home, so I hope you don't mind me barging in," he asked, shrugging slightly on his sentence.

I gave him my mother's home address and he nodded his head, acknowledging that he had the address memorized. After a few minutes of driving, we arrived at my mother's place, then we got out of Phoenix's cruiser. Once I was at the door, I knocked on it so my mother would answer it and we all went inside. She guided all of us, despite the fact that Tailsko was roboticized, to the living room and then we went to prepare tea.

"What's a nice place your mother has here," Phoenix said, complimenting the small house.

I nodded, "She's taken care of this place since I left. That's something worthy of my respect."

"Ah, is that the reason you asked to visit?" he put his hoof behind his head and chuckled nervously.

I shook my head, "That's not the reason. I am here because of something I just discovered... something that had to do with you yesterday."

"Hmm... ah, yes, you happened to take control of my body for a few minutes. That's what my wife recounted," the hart realized of what I was talking about.

I nodded, then I slightly turned my head to glance at my mother. She carried a silver platter with a tea kettle and a several cups on it. She set the platter on the table nearby and then poured the tea into cups.

"Boys, please be dears and have a seat?" she encouraged us. We obliged and sat at the table where the tea was prepared.

She pawed a cup of tea to me and Phoenix then she sat down with a cup in her paws. I grimaced as I stared at the up in my paws - it felt like I wasn't in the mood for it today. I put it down and shifted my attention to my mother, keeping my demeanor the same.

"So, mother... why didn't you tell me about this?" I asked to start the conversation.

She opened her eyes and glanced at me with her green eyes as she replied, "Because you left me before I got a chance to tell you about it. And then you disappeared on me."

"So? Carrots managed to track me down during the biggest case in history. If she can do that, surely you can do the same. You should've heard of me on the news when I became a cop," I pointed out.

At the corner of my sight, I noticed that Phoenix was surprised at my response to my mother, but he decided to stay quiet. It was as if he did not want to interrupt the family quarrel. That was a smart choice for a bluff lawyer, like him. My mother blinked and shook her head, which refocused my attention on her.

"You know better than this, Nicholas. The news would never include our species and would dismiss us as disgraceful, while they gave all the credit to your partner, who you called 'Carrots'. So, I had no clue of your whereabouts," she produced a counterargument.

I opened my mouth and held my left paw in the air, readying to shake a digit at her but I didn't. I still berated at her regardless, "You're my mother and you know better than this. I had to tell that tiger cub the truth while he was much younger than I was when I had my face being alieniz- I mean, muzzled. So why were you waiting until it was right after I was muzzled and after I left here?"

She looked at her cup and sighed. At same time, the hart lifted his hoof into my sight, drawing my attention.

"I think your friend wants to tell you something, Wilde," Phoenix explained the reason of his interruption.

I turned my head to Tailsko, who had a holographic map in front of her. She was facing the wall to my left with her right side to my mother. I returned to the sitting mammalians and nodded to the male.

"Thank you for letting me know," I replied, getting off the chair.

I walked to Tailsko and lay my left forepaw on her right shoulder to get her attention.

"The emerald has been traced. It's the red one. So, we better get to go and fetch it as soon as possible," my double-tailed vixen explained to me.

I nodded and patted her shoulder twice then turned to my mother and the hart. I sighed, "Mother... we will talk more about this later."

I fished out my cPhone and turned it on. I entered a text message app to Finn; 'Hey, bud, can you come to ma's house to pick me and a fiend up, please?'. I sent it to him, shut the phone down, and pocketed it.

I shifted my focus to the hart, "Wright... thanks for the ride. I will take it from here as I just texted Finn. Until then, keep my mother company, ok?"

"Sure thing, Wilde. You take care," Phoenix called out.

I turned to Tailsko then we walked out of my mother's house. My partner glanced at me, trying to suggest something to me. I realized what she meant and fished out my cPhone again. I typed the following message; "To my big Chief, my friend got a trace of the Emerald, so I wanted to let you know that I am heading there to fetch it. Feel free to track me down and get us out of the tree if there's trouble.' and sent it to Chief Buffalo Butt. I put my cPhone away. After a couple minutes of waiting, Finn's van pulled up next to Phoenix's cruiser. Only just as I was reaching for the door, I heard my phone beep with a message. I fished it out and looked at it, learning that the Chief wanted me to be careful. I typed the next message; 'Sure thing - my friend here would do all the heavy lifting. She's roboticized and is safe to do the work.' and sent it to him. I pocketed the phone then opened the door for real.

As I got on the seat and shut the door, I heard Finn startled with the following word; 'Ack!'

"She's with me and she's the reason we traced the emerald. So please listen to her for the directions," I urged my old friend.

He nodded and focused on the road. He started to drive with Tailsko giving him directions. I rested my right elbow on the windowsill as I reflected on my discussion with my mother. It seemed that I had taken the discussion hard. My mother decided to wait until I was old enough to take in the news and I hose a bad time to run away from her. I sighed and put my muzzle on my right forepaw as I looked through the passenger window. We were turning left at this point.

"And stop right here, that's where the trace ended. So out you go," my female partner said beside me.

I watched the window rolling down which made me flinch when it rubbed my elbow. Before I could turn my head to other mammalians, I felt her hands on the back of my shirt and my belt. Before I could move, I was hauled through the open onto the ground, muzzle first.

"Ack!" I yowled upon flying through the air. Once I crashed onto the ground, I grunted, "Ow!"

Stirring slightly on the street, I heard Finn's laughter, "That gotta told him!"

I sighed as I knelt up. The door opened and closed behind me then I was picked up from the street. I blinked as I was lying in Tailsko's arms, bride-style, while she started to walk into the building. No door along the way. I sighed and got myself comfortable in her arms since I had texted my chief that she would do all the heavy lifting. I really meant that message. I stayed that way, staring at her roboticized face, as we moved through the staircase. I understood that this building had an elevator, but she had decided not to use it. Perhaps that was due to her roboticized body being heavier than normal. Once we reached the open roof, I was suddenly dumped onto the floor then I looked at her, seeing that she had assumed a fighting position. I worked on getting back on my hind-paws and turned my attention in the direction she was looking. I saw the mammalian who tried to hire me and Carrots to protect him earlier. That mammalian was now roboticized and carried a red emerald in his hooves. His rectangular head turned to me, having detected our presence, and started to awkwardly jog away from us.

"Stop right there," I called out, dashing with Tailsko toward the horse.

As we ran toward the roboticized mammalian, my partner was faster than I because she was roboticized as well. She moved past me and tackled him, making him to lose his balance. I slammed my chest onto the small wall that kept the mammalians from falling off the roof and reached to grab the red emerald that flung from his hooves. I grunted as pain surged through my body as I watched him flip over the wall of the roof. Tailsko suddenly came to my side and we grabbed the emerald as it dropped from above. It was in our forepaws then I blinked as I realized that we both were balancing on the wall. I glanced at her, she realized what was happening and tilted back onto the roof. I brought the emerald to my chest as she worked on keeping me from suffering more harm. We got up and turned to the direction we came from.

"Ah, at least he saved us from looking through the building for the emerald," she said as we walked back to the exit.

I nodded, "Yes. So, let's get back to Finn's van and we can advance to the next step."

Once we got back to my old friend's cruiser and got in, he asked what the recent thudding noise was. I answered, "Never mind that - someone made a drop. Nothing important."

After I belted up, I pulled out my cPhone to type the message; "Emerald Got! Now on our way to Precinct One.', as well as take a picture of the red emerald. I sent it to my boss, Chief Buffalo Butt, and my cop partner, Carrots.

"Alright, let's go to Precinct On-" I exclaimed, pocketing my phone. However, I was interrupted as the van shook.

I suddenly held the emerald to my chest with my left forepaw and pressed my right forepaw on the dashboard in front of me. Finn bared his fangs and held his position on the seat and steering wheel. The next thing we knew was the cruiser being overturned.