EDITED BY: DrummerMax64

Chapter Five - Between the Lines

A slow breath poured from Edward's sliver and white colored muzzle as he stared up at the blue sky over Zootopia. It had been around a half hour since their talk with Mrs. Otterton, and now he and Charles were strolling through the streets of the city with their newly acquired information in paw. With four hours having elapsed since they received their task, the first step of gathering information for the article was complete, and now they had something other mammals wished they could get their paws on.

The more Edward thought about the interview, the more his head began to press against the side of his skull as the wolf grumpily rubbed his temples. It was futile to sooth the headache that tempted to distract him, but he couldn't help but try and relieve some of the pressure.

It seemed like with all of the information, all of the things he saw, heard, and felt, his brain and body were being overclocked to their limits. His tired legs could barely keep up with his friend as they continued to carry him along the sidewalk. In fact, he managed to fall behind…again, with good reason.

Edward couldn't stop thinking about seeing Emmitt at the hospital. For the first time since the announcement at the Zootopia Police Department, he was able to finally see first paw what exactly a savage animal looked like face to face, and he wasn't glad that he did.

Looking into the otter's eyes when he came into the room nearly brought him back to that panicked, fearful state he was in earlier in the morning. It was as if his entire body was on edge, as if his instincts were trying desperately to warn him that this animal was a serious threat and that he should avoid him at all costs—as if he didn't know that already. It took him nearly everything he had not to have a serious meltdown in that hospital room. Gone was the cheery otter from the picture on the wall. What remained in that room was nothing more than a feral monster, hell-bent on the maiming and mauling of the mammals around him until they were nothing but carcasses.

He looked…so different, Edward pondered.

What if he suddenly turned for the worse? How would he react? Who would get hurt? He may be scrawny and weak, but the last thing anyone should do is doubt the nature of a predator, especially one that has gone savage, right?

Where would the mammal known as Edward Varian Snow go? Would his former self just cease to be, trapped under the weight of his natural instincts?

More importantly, how would the animals around him react? How would the mammals he'd come to know and love throughout his life think of him if he became this…thing?

Fear… his thoughts answered coldly.

But his thinking didn't stop there. Upon receiving his chilling answer, something in the far reaches of his mind stirred, something from his childhood.

Then it came to him. Three words were reluctantly thought and mouthed upon this revelation.

Fear. Treachery. Bloodlust.

A chill rode down Edward's spine. With everything going on and of all the things that he could've remembered from his youth, of course it would be some silly little stage play that would throw his mind in a tizzy, especially with everything currently going wrong in Zootopia.

If only things were different. When he heard those three words all that time ago, he never truly understood their meaning in that scenario—back when savagery still divided mammalkind all those years ago.

Now that he was older, able to look over that play with a clearer mind, what better time to remember it than in the midst of all this conflict.

o o o

It was the day of the Carrot Days Festival in the Burrows, and nearly everyone was excited to go. Nearly. Lavender and Gary couldn't wait to get to the different carnival games that were lined up along the pathways just so they could spend their tickets on some plush toy or useless accessory that they would forget about in the coming weeks. Edward's mother and father finally got the chance to get out of their stuffy house and talk with some of their friends going to the festival with their own children after weeks of tending to the farm. Edward, on the other paw, seemed like the only one who wasn't entirely interested about attending the festival.

With everyone in the family against him, including his parents, he was forced to attend no matter how much dissatisfaction he expressed.

When they got to the festival, his parents had graciously given the three of them money to play some of the games and have some fun while they went and talked with their friends. Once they had their money in paw his brother and sister booked it to the games, leaving Edward alone with the cash he had stuffed irritably away into his tiny pants pocket. He wasn't surprised that they left him to fend for himself. He was the runt, essentially the outcast of their family, so why would they care?

The silver wolf put on a blank face and gloomily stared up and down the pathways of the fair, eyeing the different carnival games and food stands the festival had to offer. Everyone around him at the different booths were having a blast, throwing plastic balls at glass bottles, shooting toy guns at balloons, even throwing darts at balloons. Every game drew in a decent crowd.

Edward grumbled as he folded his arms across his chest. Why would his brother and sister just leave him alone? They already knew how shy (not to mention wary) he was, having lived in the same household for years. The very least they could've done was drag him along for the ride.

And who would he go to for tattling on his siblings, his mother? For starters, if he did that then Gary would surely get some sort of retaliation for it. Coupled with the fact that he didn't want to ruin his mother's good time by whining and complaining, he was at a complete loss. She was there for her own reasons too. It would be pointless to even try.

So, with his ears flattened awkwardly against his head, Edward began to walk alone down the dirt paths with his paws concealed deep within his jean pockets.

He watched more animals carelessly play their games and have their fun as he reached the end of the dirt pathway back towards the road. To his right was a small hay maze made for the smaller children attending the festival as well as one of the many ticket booths scattered around the fair. Above him was the ginormous yellow banner that displayed the name of the festival in contrasting pink and green lettering. To his left was the barn for the farm painted in bright red and white that accommodated one of the main events for the fair: the Carrot Days Talent Show. And based on how many mammals were already inside and the bunny stationed at the now closing doorway, it looked like it was about to begin.

Edward stood there for a moment as the rabbit slowly pulled the door inward. Maybe seeing everyone perform will be fun, he thought.

The wolf brought his hands out of his pockets and ran towards the barn doors, just barely managing to squeeze through into the dark room and pile into the sea of animals that threatened to push him back out. Different scents from all the animals filled his nostrils as he glanced over the bodies around him. He could hardly believe how many were there with him. There had to be at least fifty animals present.

Luckily for him, there was an open spot in front of him that allowed him to slip in with minimal effort, which also allowed him to get a view of the whole stage without much issue. Edward was thankful that being a wolf meant that he was slightly taller than most kids. Though, compared to both his brother and sister, he was relatively short for a wolf his age.

Edward patiently and curiously scanned the crowd around him. Since he and his family were the only wolves living in the Burrows, it became obvious he was the only wolf in the building. Based off the lack of his family's scent, he naturally assumed that the rest of his family was still outdoors soaking up the sun and having a wonderful time.

The rest of the attendees sat and stood around the walls of the barn. Most of them were rabbits from a few of the family farms in the area. A smaller portion of the crowd was made up of sheep, and an even smaller portion of that made up of the few other predators in the room: cougars, weasels, wolves, and, of course, foxes—or rather a single fox, Gideon Grey, who was sitting in the row before the front. He didn't want to give that bully even a second of his thoughts.

Other than the vulpine, he could spot a couple of wolves in the crowd, which brought him a bit of comfort, as well as a few others he knew from his school.

A few rows down and to the right was a white-wooled ewe by the name of Bethany Carter, along with her father sitting to her left. She and Edward spoke together in their history class a couple of times for a class project, even stopping by her home to finish it in time for their presentation. Needless to say, with their combined effort, they aced it. After that they rarely spoke, more than likely due to Edward's own reclusive nature.

Another one of the mammals that was in attendance was a young cougar from his music class, Bobby Catmull, who was standing beside a variety of instruments—a piano, a miniature harp, a drum, and an assortment of other small musical gadgets. Out of the few predators that attended his school, Bobby was by far the most creative. It was like his paws had this magical touch that gave him this unbelievable skill to operate nearly any musical instrument. On top of that, he was one of the most hyperactive, dramatic, most down to earth animals he could ever know…according to other mammals that is. Regretfully, Edward never really got the chance to talk with Bobby enough to become friends.

The more he looked into the crowd, there was one mammal in particular he hoped would be there. Edward carefully scanned every face he could see and mentally brought the specific animal to mind. Bunnies, hares, sheep, cougars, foxes…among all of these species, one he was searching for was missing. His shoulders slowly slumped and a breath slowly exhaled itself from his nostrils. The tiger he'd come to know and had the privilege to call a friend wasn't here with him. Even being within the safety of the huge crowd, there was this lingering feeling of seclusion that made his ears flatten against the back of his head. Did Charles even say he would be here? Edward doubtfully wondered, taking another chance to look over the patrons.

An uncomfortable feeling of hunger rumbled for a solid second as he became distracted at the sight of the assorted carrots and lettuce in a rabbit's paws. He could feel his mouth salivating at the sight of the bright oranges of the carrots and the scrumptious greens in her paws. After this event was over he would go to one of the many food stands, get some carrots, and chow down like any mammal would.

Hopefully Edward could avoid the awkward situation of having other animals direct him to any vendor selling out bugs for food. Even the thought made his stomach churn. Gross, he grimaced.

Was it wrong to dislike one of the only things on this planet a predator could eat to get any source of protein? Edward's father seemed to think so, as did the rest of his family. At least his mother was the only exception. She was able to supply him with all the tofu in the world as a nice supplement.

His stomach growled again at the thought of tofu. Once the fair was over he would have to beg his mother if he could cook some afterward.

For now he would take up his role as an audience member and patiently wait for the start of the show. His eyes peered at the set on the stage, taking in the feel of the scenery that was preset for the opening show. Littered on the stage were several fake pieces of flora and a couple of brown 'vines' that lazily drooped over the worn floorboards of the stage. Coupled with the dark blue jungle background and the small blue rug in the center of the stage, the décor gave the set a very rainforest-like feel.

Before Edward could question why exactly the set was jungle themed, his music teacher, Ms. Tatu, had gracefully stepped to a spot in the center of the stage near the drop-off. She adjusted her purple glasses before clasping her claws back together in front of her.

"Good afternoon everyone," she began. The audience hushed their conversations to tune into the mammal standing before them. "Thank you for coming out to the Carrot Days Festival today and attending the Talent Show. We've got a wide selection of wonderful performances to showcase from students across the Burrows, and we can't wait to present them to you today. We hope you enjoy the show." With a small bow, she scurried towards the backstage area. At the same time, the audience gave their first full applause to welcome the first act onto the stage.

A couple of seconds after the audience went quiet, the lighting above the audience dimmed to cast the whispering crowd in near darkness. Besides the single blue spotlight giving light to the 'pond,' there was barely any light to speak off. The room was shrouded in murky blackness. However, thanks to the wolf's naturally given night vision, he was able to catch Bobby Catmull on the right side of the stage pick up a bulky portable CD player. After doing so, he looked behind the green curtains and gave a nod. An obnoxious click hit his ears before the startling sound of strings filled the room.

In the darkness, a small rabbit slowly took the stage, stopping just in front of the blue rug. As she began to speak in a low dramatic voice, a yellow light gradually gave the stage light. This rabbit was none other than Judy Hopps.

"Fear. Treachery. Bloodlust! Thousands of years ago, these were the forces that ruled our world. A world where prey were scared of predators. And predators had an uncontrollable, biological urge to maim, and maul, and…"

Edward barely had enough time to register the jaguar pouncing onto the set, giving the wolf quite a start when the predator gave a hearty, nervous roar. The jaguar's foam claws repeatedly brushed the edge of Judy's costume. She let out a scream, throwing her paws dramatically at her face and stomach, followed by throwing red ribbon from her side.

"Blood! Blood! Blood!" She yelped before falling down on her back. The bunny threw the remainder of her ribbon and grabbed a ketchup bottle hidden behind one of the decorated cardboard fauna. She started to squirt the thick red condiment all over herself as she choked and groaned, until finally she decided to 'die,' going limp and sticking her tongue out. "And… death."

Edward stared at the two actors in awkward shock. He commended her dedication to the role of…a dead bunny. However, it just didn't really sit well with him. Even the jaguar didn't know how to react. A couple of animals in the crowd had even facepawed, including Bonnie Hopps, Judy's own mother.

Bobby dramatically hit the drums as the play continued.

"Back then, the world was divided in two," she said as she sprung up from the grave, gesturing towards the predator standing beside her. "Vicious predator…" the jaguar growled. "Or meek prey…"

o o o

"Edward?" Charles asked, looking behind him.

The wolf paid no heed to Charles's words as he kept trudging along. He finally managed to catch up with the tiger, who was waiting at a crosswalk. The spaced out Edward continued to slowly step forward, dropping down from the safety of the sidewalk and onto the crosswalk in front of them. He was completely out of it.

Wide-eyed as he glanced over at the signal, then to the road, Charles spotted a lonely truck barreling down the street. Edward was just crossing.

And the truck driver had the green.

Instantly, Charles felt his heart starting to race as he watched his friend continue his listless stroll, then nearly stop when the truck began to honk its horn. It was getting nearer.

"Ed!" He called out, but to no avail.

Peering over at the vehicle hurtling down the road, Charles started to get incredibly alarmed. When the truck got too close for comfort, his legs naturally began to go into a pounce.

"EDWARD!" The voice behind the wolf roared. "WATCH IT!"

Charles quickly ran over to Edward as the truck got nearer. Just before he got to him, the truck made one last attempt to warn the stray wolf of his presence, only then gaining Edward's much needed attention. Rubber screeched against the pavement as the tiger's heart rate doubled its pace. Edward's cobalt eyes grew wide as he stayed there. It was like he was the deer in the headlights, staring death right in the muzzle.

Before Edward had realized himself, the tiger had successfully pounced and knocked him straight onto the other side of the street. The truck quickly passed them by and continued to drive down the road, not even bothering to stop as it picked its speed back up.

But, perhaps he was a tad preoccupied with the hefty police cruiser that tailed behind. Charles watched as both vehicles sped down the road and out of sight.

That left the two predators, who were still reeling to find their composure.

"You're barkin' mad!" the tiger screamed at Edward, bringing back his stereotypical British accent to not go completely angry.

Charles stared blankly at the sidewalk as the sudden rush of adrenaline coursed through his veins. It felt as if his heart could leap right out of his chest it was beating so fast. He let out a pent-up huff of air as he looked over towards his friend, making sure that he was indeed safe from harm.

At first glance, Edward looked as if he was frozen in time—or rather, with fear—as he sat panting on the cement, still wide-eyed and in shock. For a split second Charles was relieved that the glasses on his head didn't fly right off onto the pavement so that he could see that little detail on his friend.

Charles quickly stood up and brushed the dirt from his overcoat and jeans. He crouched beside the silver wolf. "Are you okay?" he asked calmly.

The wolf nodded hesitantly.

Charles sighed and adjusted his glasses. "You scared the hell out of me Edward. I almost thought that you were a goner for a minute there. If this is how you get all the girls to fall for you, I'd say that you'd be killin' it." Edward paid no mind to the snarky quip and continued to stare off into space. "Hey," the tigers striped paw nudged his friend's shoulder, "You still with me?"

Again, Edward nodded. The tiger frowned, partially upset that his joke fell on deaf ears.

He was starting to doubt if Edward was truthfully alright. This was twice now that Charles caught him in his own little world. Now with this incident, his distance was becoming dangerous. Did Edward really mean what he said when he affirmed he was okay?

When he felt that the wolf was calm enough to bring him back to his feet, Charles helped Edward up completely. Edward thanked Charles for the help and proceeded to then brush away the dirt from his blue button-up flannel. Without another word, the silver-furred predator started again and trudged onward in the direction they were traveling before their interruption.

Charles kept closely to Edward's pace. In addition, he kept both his eyes peeled at their surroundings. It would bring him some peace that at least one of them was paying attention.

The two of them quietly passed a plethora of stores, another four streets behind them. The entire time, Edward remained secluded to his own thoughts and maintained his mute nature.

After awhile, Charles felt the urge to alleviate the awkward silence. He decided to break the ice between them.

"Listen, Ed." Sliver ears flickered as the wolf's head turned in Charles's direction. "I know this might be trivial to ask, but, you know that I'm here for you right? I may not be your mate like Sharla is, but what I can do is assure you that I can be there if you need to talk. I'm only a phone call or a text away—or in this case, right in front of you."

The wolf's ears turned a slight shade of crimson. In a futile attempt to hide his embarrassment, he turned his head away from the tiger and awkwardly rubbed the side of his arm.

Seeing his message have its desired effect, a smile curled smugly and joyfully around the tiger's snout. There was always some joy to be had seeing his friend in that state. It made Edward seem more along the lines of 'adorable,' much to the predator's dismay.

"So, what's on your mind?" Charles pondered.

"W-what?" Edward stammered. He clearly didn't expect Charles's speedy inquiry, and it seemed to only cause further embarrassment.

"You heard me."

"B-but I—"

"Nope, no 'buts.' There's clearly something in that head of yours that's messing with you, and I'm not okay with seeing you all mopey. You let that stuff sit up there and it'll really start to affect you. I won't let you. So what do you say? Psychiatrist Charles W. Clawson is here to help."

The corner of Edward's mouth flashed the smallest ounce of a smile, then he stared off to the other side of the road. Even without a comical foreign inflection to his last comment, Charles was expecting a little bit more than a grin.

It's going to be all doom and gloom, isn't it, Charles thought as he rolled his eyes. At least he thought it was funny.

However, regardless of the wolf's depressing muteness, he couldn't force the problems plaguing his mind out into the light. It was all up to Edward if and how much he was willing to tell him. At least he offered.

Heeding the bright orange cross signal of the following street, both predators came to a stop. They waited patiently for each car to safely pass by the intersection, not bothering to rush over when a decently sized opening presented itself. Better to be safe than sorry.

The light signal turned yellow then red out of the corner of Charles's eye. He lifted his foot and took a step forward.

That's when he heard his friend's quiet voice behind him.

"I hate myself."

The words that hit Charles's ears made his slow pace come to a screeching halt. The cheeky smile he'd proudly adorned had been wiped away, and in its place was a state of utter shock.

He turned to Edward, whose head was shamefully downcast away from the tiger. Despite his face being straight and emotionless, his flat ears were a dead giveaway to how he was actually feeling. Both of his arms were pushed up tight against his scrawny body as his paws remained hidden away inside the safety of his jean pockets.

"Edward—" Charles attempted to tenderly call, but became interrupted when Edward began to speak again.

"Every day I wake up and look in the mirror. And guess what? I hate what I see. All that I can see in the reflection is nothing but a weak, spineless, naïve pup that couldn't even fit in no matter where he went. Other days I just find a complete monster staring back at me. These days I can't even imagine what I'd do if I'd suddenly turned. Where would I go? What would happen to me? What if I killed someone? What if…I hurt Sharla? I would never forgive myself."

As Edward's voice wavered and died out, Charles kneeled down the wolf's level, watching him continue to beat himself up.

"I don't think my family would even care if I turned savage. I've always been a failure to them, and they've never believed in me or my choices anyway. I'm just the runt of the litter to them. Just some sorry sad excuse for a wolf that could never be a part of any pack, not even his own family. I mean, if I'm so scared that I can't even tell the world that I love someone that's not my species and who's the natural prey of that species, what kind of mammal am I? I am just some stupid, pathetic pup."

"Edward," Charles finally got in, "you are one of the kindest, sweetest animals I know. And you aren't stupid or pathetic. You are brave, and you're strong. You've got a beautiful wife—who pretty much adores you I might add—and that cute little apartment that you two call 'home.' And you for sure don't need your mean old man, brother, or sister to bring you down. You know why? Because you made it. You followed where your heart took you and you made something of yourself. And now, after all is said and done, after everything that you've been through, you're still standing tall, kicking life's challenges in the tail."

He put a paw on the wolf's shoulder. Edward's silver body was physically shaking, and on top of that he was trying desperately to hold back his tears. Charles on the other hand held nothing back.

"It doesn't matter what other animals think either. I learned the hard way that you can't please everyone, and it's best to focus on how you want to live rather than how anyone else wants you to. You are your own mammal, and they don't have a say in anything. Plus, it'll put a few more years on your life."

Charles flashed Edward a grin. Tears were beginning to dampen the fur around Edward's eyes as a couple of sniffles sounded from his snout.

"But what about turning into that…thing?" he stammered.

"Don't worry about it because, one, it will never happen," Charles reassured confidently, "and two, you've got me watching your back, Ed. Come on, like I'd let anything happen to you on my watch."

Edward turned his head to him. "You really think so?"

"Absolutely. I promise, Ed, that I will never let anything like that happen to you. And if it does, then I'll be there to protect you."

For a moment, Edward simply stared at the tiger, then looked down towards the ground again, wiping the tears away from his eyes.

"Thank you," he quietly said.

"You're welcome, Ed."

At first glance it seemed like a portion of Edward's sad spell had been peeled away, if the bland looking expression that still occupied his muzzle and the fresh dampness around his eyes told Charles anything.

Even if his speech only made Edward think about being happy or safe, it would still ease some pressure off of him.

Before they had the chance to move anywhere, the low roar of an empty stomach made both predators' ears twitch. Charles grinned smugly at where the noise came from, its owner's ears turning a bright shade of crimson.

"Sounds like you could eat a hundred bug burgers, Ed," Charles smugly grinned.

Edward faked vomiting and his eyes rolled at the tiger. "Ha, ha," he sarcastically uttered before starting ahead through the crosswalk.

As the wolf walked over the white stripes on the pavement, he double-checked the signal just to be sure that they had the right-of-way. The black screen showed the LED outline of a smiling, walking wolf, which nearly mirrored the real thing walking towards it. Charles's mind was at ease.

"What can I say," the striped predator shrugged while he slowly trailed behind. "You're too easy."

o o o

The black-wooled ewe plucked the iCarrot sitting idle on her work desk—or rather what she and her colleagues called 'the workbench'—and tapped the power button, bringing the device back to life. The time was finally nearing one o'clock in the afternoon, her favorite hour of the day.

Lunch time.

After a normal long day congregating with other scientists and fellow engineers about the integrity of the newest toy in their arsenal, the RAM-12, the lot of them would flock over to the employee cafeteria on the other side of the building. The food selection supplied by MASA wasn't the greatest in terms of quality, and had little to be desired besides the soup and salad bar, but it provided the necessary nutrients to keep herself going for the remainder of the workday…if you could even get to the bar to begin with. The lines that looped around the various bars were quite legendary.

At most it would take any mammal around five minutes just to get a container of soup. Slap another ten to that if salad was on the brain, and another seven if they wanted fish, tofu, or a bug burger. Going through those lines would mean a twenty-two minute wait for the ewe, and she couldn't bear the thought.

But today, she had something else planned entirely. Sharla wasn't about to just waltz in the cafeteria and wait in line like some of the other mammals. No, she would be getting in her car, drive back to the city, get a nice meal at the diner down the street, and have the best salad and fried fish money could buy.

How did she manage to pull it off? Well, all she did was attend her early meeting involving the RAM and how it would be used and blah-blah-blah. All she cared about were the results and if it would be used again in another project down the line. That sort of meeting fell into the hoofs of the scientists and the board to figure out. At the moment, they didn't really need her skill or expertise anywhere, and her team knew everything inside and out about the design of the rocket. So, with permission from her boss, she was able to snag the rest of the week to herself.

So what would she do with her newly obtained time?

First off was lunch. Sharla was starving, and all she could think about at that moment was getting her hoofs on something leafy as well as something greasy. The leafy portion of her meal was no issue—a small Caesar salad with the dressing on the side—however the other half of the meal was the tricky choice.

She could go with some fried fish and chips and make the decision to keep her order short and sweet. However, she couldn't help but drool over the thought of having a nice, juicy bug burger. In one fell swoop, she could spite whomever had a quarrel with her choice of food and as an added bonus get a kick out of their stunned/disgusted faces. To make that decision, she would have to be seriously analyzing her crowd. The thought of essentially spitting in bigot's faces made the little rebel inside her mind gleefully and malevolently content.

With her happy mood, Sharla spent the remaining two minutes of her day scrolling through her phone and checking the various social media applications. Apparently the hashtag 'savage' was trending in their city on nearly every platform, not that it surprised her in any way. It was probably going to remain in the top five trends for the next week or two at best until something major happened that would bring the trend back from the dead.

The ewe shrugged it off and powered down her phone, stuffing it away comfortably inside one of her white jean pockets. She stared at the digital clock sitting on her desk and watched the seconds go by, until that glorious hour 1:00 finally arrived.

Sharla smiled as she unhooked the keys from her back right belt loop and twirled them slowly around her hoof, turning her back towards the workbench and heading enthusiastically towards the exit. She could already envision the meal in front of her. She couldn't wait.

Sharla roamed briskly down the hall and eventually reached a corner. When she rounded it, her eyes instantly honed in on the other mammal, besides herself, roaming the halls. As far as she could tell, they were the only ones that occupied the open hallway. It seemed as if the rabbit was moving at breakneck speed. She half expected the buck to zoom past her. But, fortunately, the mammal managed to lift his head up to catch a glimpse of her and slowed down his speed. That was when she finally noticed who exactly this speedy rabbit was. How could she not notice the nerdiest and most energetic bunny on her own team?

A grin was plastered onto his muzzle as he waved to her.

"Hey Shar!"

"Hey Riley."

"I know it's a little late, but good job at presenting the information from the RAM. You really sold the board with our findings."

"Yeah," she agreed modestly, "Let's hope we get to see its use for actual missions."

"Indeed. So, now what? Aren't you on your way home?" Riley asked as his fingers tapped rhythmically on the back of the tablet he was holding.

"Yep! Looks like Teresa finally decided to show me mercy after, what, five different meetings? They were so boring." She was sure to drag the 'o' on the last two words to emphasize her whine.

"Tell me about it. You're so lucky. But, then again, you worked so hard to make this whole thing possible. You worked an entire week of overtime for this, right? You definitely deserve the time off."

She could detect the hint of jealousy in his tone, and gave him a grin. "Don't worry, hopefully you'll all be able to take a little vacation time after this whole thing passes…" she chuckled, "…and brought back in for another round of this."

"Don't remind me." His eyes rolled and he let out a huff. "Well, I don't want to hold you up…"

"Oh it's fine! Please, don't worry about it." She waved at him as she started back towards the exit. "Hope you and the team don't die of boredom by the time I get back!"

"I hope so too. See you later, Shar."

"See you Riley. And don't forget to eat this time, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah."

The rabbit quickly scurried down the hall and around the corner. Sharla silently laughed to herself. Her topic must've scared him enough to make him take off like he did.

Or he was needed elsewhere as soon as possible.

She shrugged it off and continued down the long hallway, twirling the set of keys once again around her hoof.

Seeing Riley's spunk and glee during the mind-numbingly dull work week was always a sight to see. Plus it managed to brighten her mood, whether it was by a little bit or a substantial amount. He was undoubtedly the team's poster-boy, as well as the brightest amongst the lot of them. Although she was the team's leader and the one they looked up to the most, Riley could quite easily take her place, and if she were being honest, she wouldn't mind him taking her position at all. Being a leader wasn't really her style.

Now that she thought about it, Riley did manage to help remind her of something that she meant to do earlier.

She wasn't kidding around with Edward when she said she would skip work to do a meet-up. Only now could she do it without the chance of being fired—thanks to her boss—and now she couldn't wait to finally see her again.

She could picture herself and the doe as if they were their younger selves again. Sharla in her favorite pink and white striped shirt and purple shorts, and her in that makeshift navy blue police costume, only now that costume would be an actual uniform, the real deal. The first rabbit officer of Zootopia. What a title to hold.

That settled it. It was about time that she finally reconnected with her old childhood friend again. It had been far too long.

o o o

Walking through the streets of Zootopia was a lot more manageable on a full stomach rather than relying on what seemed like endless streams of caffeine. By Edward's count, his grand total was four cups of coffee—one in the morning before he left for work, one at work before his meeting with his boss, one after Charles chased him down, and one while waiting in the lobby of Zootopia General—and then that medium sized soda back at Bug-Burga' just around an hour prior.

It was time to put his foot down. The next thing he would drink would be a nice, refreshing bottle of water. No more coffee and soda for the rest of the day.

Currently, both Edward and Charles were empty pawed, and they were nearing the crowded mess that was Savannah Central. Up ahead of them between the buildings they had a view of the Watering Hole in the middle of the park. Behind that was the colossal structure that stood prominently amongst the major buildings in the square, a building that was both loathed and revered: The Zootopia Police Department, Precinct One.

Nowadays, the ZPD was more loathed than revered, for obvious reasons that didn't need rehashing. Edward would be lying if he said he wasn't amongst the loathing.

So he felt that he was justified when he turned to Charles and asked him with a scowl, "So, we're going to the ZPD, aren't we?"

"Yes." Charles nodded. "For the third time."

Edward frowned. No use trying to fight it at this point. One would think Charles would get tired of answering him, and he felt sorry for even asking. So instead, he decided to prod around something he'd been meaning to ask since their exit from the hospital.

"Who was that on the phone back at the hospital, if you don't mind me asking? I don't think I've ever heard anything about anyone named 'Tommy' before."

All the wolf got was a snarky smile. "Patience, Edward. All will be revealed in due time."

"What's that supposed to mean," Edward retorted, unsatisfied with Charles's mock wisdom.

"You'll see."

His silver arms folded over his chest. You'll see, Edward grumbled in his thoughts. All he wanted to know was who this Tommy was. Was he some cousin of Charles's that he failed to ever mention? Or was he some old friend? He couldn't be that bad if he worked at the ZPD…supposedly.

This mammal could very well be a convict for all he knew. Before his friend went off the deep end a year prior, he wasn't exactly a saint with the crowds he put himself in.

Edward looked to the cloudless sapphire sky above. Maybe I'm overthinking it, he thought to himself. His eyes caught a plane flying overhead, leaving a long cloudy trail behind it. It was stunningly peaceful. On the ground, however, one would hardly find anything remotely close to peaceful. Groups of mammals had formed around in the park. Some had stacks of flyers in their arms, and some were shouting over megaphones. Many papers lay ownerless and unwanted on the ground, some either crumpled up and some just left to be trampled on.

On the front of those fliers was a logo of a claw with a red 'X' on it, some anti-predator propaganda if Edward had to hazard a guess.

In the distance, a couple of pigs grimaced and shot the two of them a dirty look. Charles kept his gaze forward towards their destination, ignoring any and all mammals around him while keeping a genuine smile across his muzzle. Edward went ahead and mimicked what Charles did to avoid the piercing stares of the other mammals.

With that mindset, they managed to make their way over to the long steps of the ZPD in no time, and they reached the top with a heavy huff—which seemed only to be true for Edward. He vexed at his friend's natural athleticism while he held the door like a gentle-mammal for him.

What he stepped into was the bustling flow of both officers and convicts. Mammals decked in blue led mammals towards booking over to the right of where Edward was, and some stood in groups and conversed amongst themselves.

As always, the ZPD had this feeling of being exactly like a well-oiled machine. It all seemed so…demanding, especially during these insane times. Edward couldn't even imagine how much work these animals had to put in on an average day. He was almost glad that he had his journalism job…for the moment anyways.

"Come on, Ed!" Charles grinned, nudging his shoulder. "Don't you want to find out who Tommy is?"

Edward shot a look in the tiger's direction, inciting him to flash a devilish smile back at him.

They walked over to the left side of the lobby and stopped just before the steps of the wooden podium the ZPD used for official conferences. The wolf recognized it from the many playbacks of the most recent one he saw on the news featuring a familiar grey doe.

Charles dug out his phone from his jean pockets and put it up to his ear. He began the conversation with a smile. "Hey! Where are you at?" Edward could almost catch whatever garbled up noise was coming through the speaker, but not well enough to make out any comprehensible words. Before he had the chance to turn away, the tiger had already glanced over at him with a grin. He was caught. Eager to rub it in the wolf's face, Charles stuck his tongue out at Edward before turning his head away.

The smaller predator growled and crossed his arms, only then finally respecting the secrecy of the tiger's personal life.

Once the phone was brought back down from his ear and into his pocket, Charles predictably quipped and reveled. "Aren't we nosy today?"

"Shut up."

And with that, there was silence between them again. Edward took the time after that to glance at the various pictures of the officers along the wall. They all looked so proud to be where they were. That brought a small smile to Edward's muzzle.

A couple minutes of mindless waiting later, Charles walked forward from the steps of the podium and toward an officer ambling towards them. The tiger in front of the duo was decked in a navy blue police uniform that prominently displayed a shining metal badge on his chest. Above his smile was a set of stunning brown eyes and black eyeshadow that instantly drew the wolf's gaze.

Before Edward could get too enthralled with the beauty of the striped mammal, both tigers shared a quick hug as a set of papers went behind Charles's overcoat. The two detached from each other and turned to the wolf.

"Ed," Charles began, "this is Thomas Fangmeyer, my boyfriend."

The officer walked up to him and offered a paw, the wolf returning the gesture as they shook.

"Nice to meet you."

Edward stared at the new acquaintance with confusion. He couldn't quite put his paw on it, but he knew this tiger from somewhere. He went ahead and threw him the question.

"I'm sorry, I think I've seen you before. I mean, not as an officer…I would never do anything bad enough to ever need to come here—"

"Don't worry, it's alright," Thomas chuckled, halting the awkwardness dead in its tracks. "You've probably seen me at one of Gazelle's concerts." He brought his muzzle close to him and cupped his mouth away from the open lobby, bringing his voice to a near whisper. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm one of the backup dancers for Gazelle."

"That explains it," the wolf said honestly. He and his wife—his wife mainly—frequented Gazelle's concerts when the tickets were available, but that was only when they were able to spare the time from their busy schedules.

"Charles speaks a lot about you, you know."

Edward raised a brow and grinned in his friend's direction. "He has?"

"Don't worry, I keep him in check," the officer grinned. "He's mentioned that you and he have history together, and that now you're happily married to some very lucky ewe."

A part of Edward's snout twitched as his smile turned into a scowl at the mention of the ewe, his ewe. Thomas quickly stepped in to rectify his statement.

"Don't worry, he's made it abundantly clear to me that you want to keep this on the down low. Just had to make sure that you wouldn't come around stealin' my Charlie from me."

"Well, I can assure you that I won't."

"Great. Well, anyways, I managed to make two copies of the official police report for the missing mammal case."

Edward was the first to ask as he was handed a packet and a red pen, "Are you sure we're allowed to look at these?"

"Of course! I mean, I had to tell the chief that I knew a couple of editors that could help out with proof-reading it, plus I sweetened the deal with a ticket to one of Gazelle's upcoming concerts, but you should be all good to take a look. It's supposed to go public right after final edits are put in. So, read away. Just make sure that you mark it up for added measure. I wouldn't want to be stuck with parking duty before dance practice tomorrow."

"Don't worry, Tom," Charles said, "We'll have it done within the hour."

"Good. Hey," he spoke to the two of them, "I have to talk with my partner about something else we're working on, so just shoot me a text when you two finish up and I'll collect your edits for the final report."

"Will do." The other tiger grinned and gave a mock salute.

The officer rolled his eyes and turned to Edward. "Keep this guy in check would you?"

Charles's mouth opened and dramatically portrayed his mock offense. Edward smirked and ignored the gesture.

"Don't worry Tom, I'll keep him in line."

"Someone has to."

The two said their goodbyes and parted ways with the officer, taking a seat down on the steps leading up to the podium and placing the papers on the stage to be used as a functional writing surface. As he pushed the ball of the pen up with an obnoxious click, Edward began carefully reading the report along with Charles.

As he read through the first couple of paragraphs, Edward noticed beyond the occasional typo that it was written entirely in first person. Looking up at the line for the name, he learned that the report was written entirely by the one and only Judith L. Hopps. For a moment, he stared blankly at the name, but inevitably gave up on whatever his brain was trying to tell him.

He read through the beginning of the investigation at her encounter with a certain fox, Nicholas Wilde, and how he agreed to help out with the case. However, it didn't exactly go into detail on what she did to get his help in the first place. Unsure how to mark this error—if it was one to begin with—he highlighted a portion of it and made a footnote asking 'explain?' in neat cursive.

Before flipping the page, Edward saw some darker grey wet marks in the middle of the photocopied document. She must've spilt some coffee on her report or something, he thought. Eventually he shrugged it off, thinking nothing of it.

The next part of her report spoke in detail about how the two of them visited the Mystic Springs Naturalist Club and how a yak by the name of Yax told them information about Emmitt Otterton and the vehicle that picked him up after his last visit. With that crucial piece of information, they made it necessary to travel to the local Department of Mammal Vehicles and acquire the vehicle information that stemmed from that license plate. Based off the times she listed for when they entered the DMV to their time of departure, it took them around five hours to get through the whole process.

Edward didn't want to imagine the painful amounts of waiting they had to endure. He'd normally have to take a day off from work to get anything done normally.

Their next stop brought them to Tundratown Limo Service. They managed to find the vehicle in question, and went ahead and searched it for any evidence. While searching, they found a few items, including polar bear fur and Emmitt Otterton's wallet. However, they additionally found that the back of the limousine had been thoroughly torn apart.

Edward looked at the next part of her report and tilted his head in confusion. The next line read that the evidence led them to a shrew named Mr. Big, owner of the business. If whom she was referencing was who Edward thought she was, this brought a whole new level of questions to the table. He read on anyway, marking away at the various typos on the paper.

The shrew told the two that the mammal they were searching for attacked the driver of the vehicle, and he advised them that they should visit the jaguar, named Renato Manchas, who hailed from the Rainforest District. While reading through, Edward noticed something in the report that managed to catch his eye.

He read the paragraph carefully.

"When we arrived at Renato Manchas's residence at 8:43 PM on the intersection of Vine and Tajunga, he appeared to have been slashed by what looked to be claw marks on his right eye. When we inquired about what had happened to him, he told us that Emmitt was a 'savage,' and that he was the one that attacked him. He told us that Emmitt had mentioned something about 'Nighthowlers' before scurrying off into the forest…"

His eyes hung on the word "Nighthowlers," almost unable to look away. For some reason, it held some sort of familiarity. Although he wasn't certain, he was certain that he'd seen this word somewhere before back when he still lived on the farm.

Edward folded the page the word was on and continued to read through the report.

She wrote about how Manchas suddenly started convulsing and crying out inside of his home, and how he started to attack at them. Eventually, the two managed to escape from the jaguar and call for backup. Unfortunately, the jaguar had vanished without a trace.

The next section brought the familiar word forward once again.

"After gaining access to the traffic cameras with the help of Dawn Bellwether, we noticed that Renato Manchas was captured by a pair of wolves driving a black van. We determined that these wolves, and the group that they were a part of, were operating under the codename: 'Nighthowlers…'"

Edward shook his head. Something in his gut was telling him that this entire situation didn't feel right.

Although he didn't want to think about it, or him specifically, his older brother Gary was actually a part of this group of wolves who were guarding Cliffside Asylum during this entire ordeal. He even missed their mother's funeral because of the ZPD's need to acquire the information on why he was there in the first place. Their organization was professionally called 'The Lost Pack,' a 'protection agency' (private security group—or rather a mercenary group as far as he was concerned) that could be hired to protect anyone, given the right price.

Not once since he was hired into that group did his brother mention anything about "Nighthowlers." But, in actuality, Edward shouldn't have expected Gary to tell him anything about his line of work or the jobs he took, mainly because of the large amount of non-disclosure agreements that he no doubt had to sign.

So why were they codenamed Nighthowlers? It seemed far-fetched that they'd choose the name from them being wolves that operated at night. It seemed silly, and quite ludicrous.

"Wow," Charles finally piped up, pulling the wolf's attention away from the paper lying on the steps. "This whole thing with Manchas, it's like a whole game of cat and mouse. Remember that sitcom Tom and Jerry?"

Edward, partly listening, nodded in affirmation. His friend continued to talk mindlessly about the television show while he marked up his copy of the report, leaving Edward to ponder the reasoning behind the name. He could've cared less about some silly sitcom, as heartless as it sounded. He didn't really enjoy the show as much as some of the other cartoons he loved: Courage, The Cowardly Wolf, Batmam, and even The Powerpuff-Buns.

The irritation stewing inside his thoughts nearly forced a growl out of him. Nighthowlers… For some strange reason he felt that the word was somehow familiar. It was almost as if he should've known exactly what that word represented and what it meant as a whole.

But where would he have heard it from to begin with? As much as it seemed so eerily familiar, he had to have picked it up from somewhere before.

Edward sat and stared off into space, digging through the vast reaches of his memory banks to pull any and all information that could help him remember.

"…!"

Eureka.

If he was remembering correctly, there was a chance that he may have heard it before while he was still living on his family's farm. It was some sort of story that he was told more as a warning to help keep him safe.

However, the details were still scrambled. Edward still had no idea what the word meant or even how he managed to know it in the first place.

Biscuits, he thought.

Another realization hit.

Now the urge to growl formed an irritated scowl on his snout, and for good reason. He looked down at the twelve letter word.

If he wanted to obtain the information he sought, there would be one obstacle he would have tackle: traveling back to the place where all the grief and misery in his heart stemmed, and the one place he detested with his very being.

The vile memories that that place held, it was laughable to even think about returning there. Under normal circumstances he'd find a way around it with a well-planned alibi. Unfortunately, this case was anything but normal. To get what he needed, he would have to talk to the one mammal on this Earth that he absolutely detested, the one that disowned and shunned him from the pack because of the way he lived and the way he loved, the one mammal he'd shut out all those years ago because of the hate that was in his heart.

This mammal was Alabaster Snow, Edward's father.