When Morning is here to dry up our tears,
At peace will my soul be once more,
When morning is here to free us from fear,
I'll bury the chains that I wore…
Chapter 21 – Gazelle's Guest of Honor
(Jeremy's PoV)
"And so, in conclusion… that is how these visors work." He explained to the room full of cops, most of them being predators with the only 'prey' cop being Judy. "This button turns it on, this dial changes the visor's visual mode, and lastly we've found a way to allow them to interact with various pieces of technology, such as phones, to download certain applications and programs that you can use."
He held up the visor and continued his demonstration, putting it on and showing them what he'd spent the last two hours explaining in greater detail.
"They have a 'visor share mode' as it called, allowing active visors within close range to share what they are seeing, be they visuals or marked entities. If a mammal, or human, is 'marked' by the visor's wielder they'll be highlighted a unique and bright color that any visor nearby will spot and can track for miles. Finally, as a standard feature every visor can scan any kind of weapon into their collective database and instantly spot it if an individual is marked, highlighting it and identifying what it is."
"Thank you, Mr. Jeremy, now on that note are there any questions?" Chief Bogo asked from the front desk.
Instantly all of them raised their paws eagerly.
"Any questions relating to the visors and not 'me'?" He asked hopefully.
Both he and Aelita sitting on the table nearby watched as they all lowered their paws. He glanced at Aelita who just shook her head in amusement. She just raised her eyebrows and nodded toward them, telling him he might as well just answer their curiosity.
He just sighed in defeat and relented. "Alright I'll answer a few." He said with a nervous smile.
They all shot back up again and he pointed at one tiger in the back. "How did you change the weather that one day, like 'really' do it?" He asked.
"Mostly just remembering my meteorological science lessons regarding how rain is created, the clouds were already set to rain I just… sped up the process." He said. "My drones did all of the work, I just had them fly really fast, create a cyclone-like wind current that made the cloud condense and squeeze in on itself. Then it just acted like a really wet sponge being squeezed. There was no magic or anything, just clever use of the available technology I had access to."
They all shot their hands back up and he pointed at a hippo now. "Why did you make those 'raptors' you call em, look like they do?"
"Well during the final war they were built to play on human's fear of ancient predators, Raptors were considered the 'smartest' and thus deadliest predator of their time." He explained. "There's an old saying that if you saw '1' Raptor you were already dead. Because by the time you noticed the one in front of you, the other two on your left and right were about to kill you."
He took a timber wolf's question now. "What about those 'dog' drones you call em?"
"Well, as the war went on… most species of 'dogs' went extinct because of all the radiation, the solar core explosions… food scarcity… we tried to save them in some fashion." He said with a sad smile. "Dogs were considered man's best friend… they were incredibly loyal, friendly, made wonderful pets and companions… and it's just sad that we chose to use their form as the most common drone for frontline combat."
He took another question, this time from a snow leopard. "Do humans always eat meat?"
"We're omnivores, we can eat meat and greens." He said, showing his own teeth to demonstrate.
As one they all 'ooohed' as they saw.
"Alright I think that's enough asking questions about the human." Chief Bogo said. "We have some training tomorrow to do with these visors, I expect you all to attend, dismissed!"
He breathed a sigh of relief at that as all the officers started leaving. He had hoped that teaching them how the visors worked would only take a short time, but realizing how much of the visors would be alien to them made him take longer. Even though he left instructions thanks to Aelita for Bogo to print up and give to them, this new technology he was offering them would still take them a while to get used to.
"Jeremy before you go there's something, I want to ask you really quick." The chief of police asked him politely.
"Sure, what is it?" He replied, picking up Aelita.
He reached down below the table and pulled up a suitcase and opened it, showing a rubber coated firearm, an assault rifle by the looks of it. "What is this stuff, we tried cleaning it off our weapons after the 'Mutt' incident, and nothing has worked. The stuff is just coated into everything, every little nook and cranny making it useless."
"It's a rubber adhesive I created for MUTT to use since he no longer used any offensive weaponry." He explained. "What it does is that upon being expelled and making contact it instantly reacts to the air, expanding depending on how much hits the target. It's incredibly hot so it triggers a chemical reaction. On the outside it solidifies while inside it melts and seeps into any available space it can until it cools down. It's designed so that it sticks to any non-organic surface, and its primary use is to disable weaponry. If it's organic, then the rubber just simply slides off"
He demonstrated this by pulling the trigger before the chief could react. Instead of a bullet, a squelching noise filled the air as a lump of rubber poked out, before falling back into the barrel.
"As you can see it makes the gun completely useless, effectively disarming and disabling an assailant before they have a chance to do any harm."
"Jeremy… don't do that again." Bogo said as he wiped his forehead. "Just 'tell' me next time, alright?"
"Sorry, I just know how it works so I'm not afraid of it."
"Well that is what I wanted to ask you about." The chief continued. "I was wondering if you would be willing to make us bullets that use this stuff, like the visors, this would go a long way to solving a lot of problems. As you know gun violence is something that we have, and it often ends in a deadly confrontation."
"With all due respect Chief Bogo, I understand… but I will 'not' turn my facility into a munition's factory… even for something good like my rubber gel bullets." He said sternly to which Aelita nodded in agreement. "Human history has always… always been about war, fighting… rarely peace. Eden Facility 17 no longer has to produce weapons, and I don't want that to change. I want my species legacy, our 'last' legacy to be of peace, not arms."
The bull looked at him for a moment before nodding in acceptance. "I understand completely, I just wanted to ask if you would be willing to."
"I can't make the bullets for you; besides they wouldn't work with your weapons." He explained. "What I 'can' do however, is provide the chemical formula and procedure to make the rubber gel, as for the firearms you will have to figure that out yourself. Best idea to start would be… I guess a squirt gun."
"A squirt gun?" He asked incredulously.
"MUTT's midrange rifle is essentially just an air cannon that fires the gel in spherical form, same basic principle." He said as he picked up Aelita. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"No that's pretty much it, thank you for all you've done today, with the visors and especially your offer with the rubber gel bullets." He said with a nod. "I'll leave you to head out on your own with Nick and Judy, enjoy the concert."
Finally, after what felt like forever, he and Aelita started heading towards the front desk to wait on Judy and Nick to get out of their uniforms. "That was exhausting." He muttered to her.
She rolled her eyes at him with a smirk while leaning against him as close as her sphere would allow.
"I know I know; three hours is not 'forever' compared to how long you spent asleep." He said.
She nodded with a knowing smile.
"Hey Aelita… do you think we're doing things too fast…?"
She looked up at him with a curious expression as he sat on a bench to talk to her.
"With the whole visors and now the rubber gel ammunition chemical formula. Do you think we're rushing things with them? I started with just their windmill technology, making it more 'efficient' and 'effective' using their technology while using my engineering techniques, nothing they couldn't achieve on their own. But now I've got Ema curing all their diseases, making artificial organs for them, and the solar powered vehicles, and now the visors and the rubber gel bullets." He explained to her. "I want to help but… I'm afraid we might be rushing things, remember when we were attacked? Some mammals don't want me to change things, and I'm afraid I might be doing more harm than good."
She gave only a slight nod of understanding, smiling only a little before she closed her eyes, raised her head and vanished in a flash of light, before taking the form of an old man with numerous wrinkles. Her holographic form took out a cigar and nodded toward him with a knowing nod. "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." S/he said. "The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking."
With that she returned to her normal form as a young girl wearing only a simple white dress.
"I understand." He said to her quietly. "I just hope nothing bad happens because of something 'I' did."
She nodded in agreement, before returning to lean against her holosphere's wall as close as it would allow while he got up and walked toward the main entrance. As he did, he saw Officer Clawhauser at the front desk, fiddling around with a visor and his tablet while a box of donuts sat next to him.
"Having some trouble with the visor?" He asked warmly.
"Oh, it's nothing, just trying to figure out how to get this thing to connect to my phone!" He said as he stared at it without looking up.
"It helps if you turn it on, 'before' looking at the phone so that it can connect to it." He said with a chuckle.
"Wait I didn't have this thing on?" He said as he finally took it off to stare at him. "Oh, Em, Goodness its you Mr. Jeremy uuuuuh how can I help you sir?"
"Here, let me show you how it works." He said as he put Aelita down on his desk and took the visor. "This turns it on, this switches the visor's modes… and to interact with your tablet to download whatever program you want from it onto it, all you have to do is put it on and focus with the piece of technology on for the two to interact."
"This is so cool…" Fat tiger said as he put the visor on.
"Oh it's, nothing it's just a piece of technology is all…" He said trying to downplay the visor.
"I can put the Gazelle App on this thing!" He said excitedly. "Oh, this is so cool."
"Gazelle App?" He asked in confusion.
"You know Gazelle, greatest singer of our lifetime, Angel with Horns." He said quickly before flipping his phone to show Gazelle dancing next to what looked like one of her backup dancers, with Clawhauser's face pasted over theirs. "The app just got updated with some of her latest hits, my personal favorite time passer!"
"I didn't know she had an app, did you Aelita?" He asked to AI, only to find her dancing alongside a holographic Gazelle who was 'also' dancing alongside one of her backup dancers.
Only Aelita's head was in their head's place, and she had a goofy expression on her face to mirror Clawhauser's. [Wow, your one hot dancer 'AI, AELITA'.] A digitized-robotic voice of Gazelle's said.
"You have the app as well?" Clawhauser asked her eagerly. "Oooooh isn't it the best app ever!"
She ended the little display in her sphere and returned to normal, eagerly agreeing with him and giggling.
He just shook his head in amusement at Aelita's antics, he figured she just saw the app on his phone and instantly downloaded it to try out herself while the tiger was busy chatting with him.
"How's it going Jeremy, ready for the concert?" Nick's voice called out.
He turned to see Judy and Nick wearing civilian clothes and concealed firearms in their pants pockets.
"Oh, I envy you guys, free suite seating for Gazelle's Charity Concert, luxury food service…" Clawhauser said with a sigh. "All without having to pay anything."
"We're going there to work Clawhauser, not just to enjoy ourselves." Judy said with a serious face. "Just because Jeremy is Gazelle's Guest of Honor doesn't mean we won't still be cops on duty."
"That's what you say Carrots, but let's see how you look 'after' we get there." Nick said with a smirk.
"Speaking of the concert you guys should start heading out, I don't even want to think of the lines to get in!" Clawhauser said suddenly. "I mean, sure, you guys will probably get express seating but still the traffic is going to be bad to the stadium."
"Thank you very much, and take care of the visors they are… not exactly the sturdiest of things from the base." He said, picking up Aelita and walking out with Judy and Nick.
"Oh, I can't wait to get to the concert, we had ground level seating the last time we went to her concert." Judy said instantly.
"Not even five minutes." Nick chuckled.
"Does Gazelle host concerts often?" He asked them.
"Eh maybe once or twice a year depending on the occasion or event she's asked to perform for. The last time was to celebrate the end of the Night Howler Incident."
"And this time is to help raise money to help pay for Ema's efforts to cure all diseases and cancers…" He said.
"I think it's more to do with 'you' Jeremy then Ema." Nick said as they neared his Solar Carriage. "I mean sure, Ema is doing all that work in your big fancy base, but without you she wouldn't have done anything for us."
At that Aelita nodded in agreement.
"Aelita would have helped you, of that I'm sure." He countered.
She nodded again, but used one hand to create the images of a bunch of calendars, showing years passing.
"Alright let's not think about thoughts of extinction, instead we're going to go to this concert and enjoy ourselves!" Judy said quickly. "Jeremy is invited to her charity concert as her 'guest of honor', we get swag suite seating."
He took a deep breath and nodded in agreement as the door opened at his approach and the three RAPTOR drones standing guard kept watch to guard his carriage. Once they all got comfortable and ready, he gave the directions to the Polar Tundra Stadium.
[Moving out!] HORSE declared over the intercom and soon they were all underway, with his carriage flanked on three sides by the RAPTOR drones.
Even after two weeks since the attack he still had to have RAPTOR drones protecting him, them being the more 'visually threatening' drones and thus the best chance to dissuade potential attackers.
As they rode on toward Tundra Town, he looked out the window and his thoughts turned once more toward the antelope. Gazelle had pulled a few strings to get him a private viewing suite for him, and permitted Judy and Nick to join him because of the Mayor's request to have guards at all times in public She was extremely excited about him attending and did everything in her power to make sure he would be comfortable and have as good a time as possible, even saying she'd practiced a special number in 'his' honor.
She even told him in passing that she had a special surprise with Aelita's help to show off for the concert, and Aelita herself had a surprise for the concert to make it extra special.
'She's doing all this for me, but what am I doing for her?' He thought questioningly.
=Meanwhile at the Concert=
"Alright mammals its almost time, we're starting to let patrons into the building for the event, and I want to run over again over our biggest VIP tonight!" A small mouse was saying to a huge group of mammal employees while on a serving cart. "We got a slew of VIPs tonight, but our biggest one is Jeremy Wilheart, you all know who he is by now, he's Gazelle's Guest of Honor, and he has special needs that have to be fulfilled. The room he is in must be kept nice and warm; I don't want that room to go a degree below what it is right now!"
He turned to the chefs.
"Lester, one of our business financers says he likes chocolate, especially hot chocolate, I want a fresh batch ready BEFORE he gets here, and keep the food we made for him warm. Bring out those special heaters we save for occasions like this."
"Got it boss!"
"Naomi, go through that room again and make sure it's 'spotless', I don't want to see even a speck of dust before he arrives."
"Yes sir."
"And make sure you separate our normally 'cold' beverages, so they are 'well away' from the warm stuff, put up a warning sign on the front glass saying how cold it is! I don't want any accidents on my watch! And make sure to put the ice cubes well away from the food and hot chocolate drink, I don't want a single ice cube near them!"
He looked at them with a serious expression.
"There will also be a 'drone', one of those machines, following along with him. It's going to sit outside his room and scan everymammal and everything going into his room. Just let it scan, show you're not there to harm him, and above all 'ignore it'. The things are just machines doing their jobs, same as us, it wants to keep him safe so he and his guests can enjoy the concert, so just let it do its job. Now let's get to doing 'our' jobs mammals, let's go!"
As they all broke to get to work news crews outside were reporting about the latest concert to be held by Gazelle.
"And rumors stating that Gazelle has something 'extravagant' planned for tonight's Charity Concert are in fact confirmed, the pop idol and singer as well as model says that tonight will be a night mammals will remember for 'years', as it will be her longest performance yet, supposedly well over an hour. What she has planned nomammal knows, but due to the nature of this concert helping Zootopia pay for the materials and supplies the human medical drone 'Ema' requests to continue her work, it can only be related to her guest of honor, Jeremy Wilheart who is also attending the concert."
"And while all the other entrances are naturally being swarmed as guests are trying to get to their seats at this time, a special entrance has been quartered off for VIPs, in particular one VIP's private carriage, Jeremy Willheart's solar carriage. We have confirmed reports that his vehicle has entered Tundra Town and is nearing the stadium. Security is at an all time high as you can see behind me, security guards are virtually around every corner around the stadium, sections of streets blocked off with police cars and SWAT vans, in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the incident two weeks ago the last time Jeremy's carriage arrived in public. However, it is doubtful that such an attempt will be made again, as this time three of his facility's Raptor drones are escorting him, and one is reported to be following him into the stadium to stand guard outside of his suite."
"With the concert about to begin in just less than an hour, the real question remains, what has Gazelle got planned for her fans?"
(Gazelle's PoV)
She was just putting the finishing touches to her dance outfit, making sure her makeup was perfect and above all just settling down on her nerves.
She's been used to performances like this, singing live and dancing in front of a huge crowd was nothing new to her. It still caused her to feel a bit antsy, because she didn't want to disappoint her fans or mess up in front of them. Yet today's performance was going to be different.
She was going to sing for Jeremy, somemammal that all mammalkind were thinking and describing as nothing less than a hero, an angel, a 'real' angel.
An Angel without Fur.
"No pressure girl…" She chuckled to herself.
That wasn't the reason though that she was more nervous today than she usually was. It was because for the last week she'd been practicing a new number, a new song, one she'd been practicing just for Jeremy.
"Twenty minutes Gazelle!" Somemammal called to her.
"Thank you." She called, before taking a calming breath.
Looking over at her right she stared into the eyes of her Unicorn plush that Jeremy had given her. It wasn't as dusty before; she'd gotten it cleaned and hired a professional to do it. Now it's beautiful magenta purple fur, it's midnight blue mane and tail, and its crystal silver horn glinted slightly in her changing room.
The only thing that didn't change was the locket, it still was rusted and dull, but that was because she didn't want to hurt it. Inside was a message that, after careful squinting, read 'My Angel'.
Obviously, Jeremy didn't write it, and it was clear he didn't even open it, but the faded message just meant far too much to her to risk damaging it just to make the locket shiny again.
So, the locket hung from the toy's neck, the toy serving as her encouragement as to who she was singing for tonight.
Smiling she picked up the toy and held it next to her heart, thinking of Jeremy watching her perform tonight giving her a bubbly feeling inside. As if on cue her heart began beating ever so slightly, wishing he would be in the front row so she could see him as she performed, but Tundra Town's cold climate meant that wasn't possible for ground floor viewing. Though that didn't stop her from asking a few favors and even renting an entire suite for him and him alone on her card so he could have the best seat in the house.
She could hear a loud cheering outside suddenly sound, and she knew that Jeremy must have arrived.
Putting the toy down she bopped it on the nose and whispered, "Showtime little one, wish me luck!"
Before she walked out of her dressing room.
(Jeremy's PoV)
He looked out at the large stadium, and even more the crowd of mammals swarming to get in and cheering as he approached while an empty path was cleared for him and his carriage and the drones. They all made their way toward a 'reserved' section where the stadium's staff had created a special heated tunnel to allow him to safely exit his vehicle without risking triggering his Cryogentic Sclerosis.
Before he entered though one of the RAPTOR drones quickly darted forward and into the tunnel, both to act as sentry and guard for him and his party.
"I just hope they don't get scared by the drone." He muttered as HORSE pulled his carriage up to the entrance.
"Worst comes to worst, we'll just take the drone into the suite with us, so it doesn't bother anymammal and we'll wait until every other mammal has left." Judy said warmly.
They soon slid into place and the carriage door opened up, and Jeremy had the briefest moment of feeling a wave of cold touch his body as the temperature outside entered his carriage. Then the carriage's temperature-controlled environment kicked in and rapidly countered the cold, warming the air inside before it could affect his body.
"Luxury entrance, nice." Nick muttered as he got out first with Judy.
Then he got out with Aelita and looked around at all of the electric heaters littering the floor of the canvas covered tunnel, maintaining an extremely warm environment. To his left his RAPTOR drone escort stood staring around, scanning with its blue optics for any threat and not finding any.
A shrew welcomed them to the stadium and then lead up to the suite levels.
"You don't have to worry about anything sir, we have your suite's temperature perfect to accommodate you." He said cheerfully. "You'll find refreshments already waiting for you in there, and if you need anything don't hesitate to hit the room service bell, our professional servers will be more than happy to take any request you have!"
"That's very considerate of you." He said.
"Here you go sir, room 201, enjoy the concert!" The shrew said as he hopped into his little car and drove off.
"This is really nice." He said.
"Hahahahhaha!" A voice laughed loudly nearby, causing him, Nick and Judy to turn to their right.
A door had opened up and what looked like a female Hyena was walking out, wearing a very expensive looking suit and apparently laughing at something as she stumbled out.
"Ooooohhooh you can't do that to me now… you know I can't take jokes Regulus!" She cackled loudly as she closed the door behind her.
As she turned, she spotted him and his party; and the laughter died out of her almost instantly. "Oh my, I didn't know you were next to my suite Jeremy Wilheart!" She said eagerly walking toward him.
"Hyeeeeeearh…" His drone hissed instantly, taking a single step forward and causing her to pause.
"Drone!" He snapped, causing the drone to look at him. "She means no harm, stand down!"
It nodded at his order and returned to its previous position.
"I'm sorry about my drone escort, drones are 'very' defensive regarding humans." He explained apologetically.
"No offense taken, none taken." She replied almost instantly, straightening her tie and acting nonchalant. "In any case, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance at last Mr. Jeremy, my name is Kassara, Kassara Chuckles, Finance Director of Zootopia."
"Uh, hello Miss Kassara." He said nervously.
"Oh relax, you're not in trouble with me!" She said with a wave of her paw. "True you've caused quite a bit of 'damage' over the past month, a badly damaged museum entrance, now three massive craters… and let's not even discuss the massive transportation bills and orders the city is putting in to keep your base supplied but worry not about it!"
He was about to reply before she started snickering at something.
"Reminds me of my little brother when we were cubs, broke my favorite doll when I didn't notice and was crying for days because he didn't mean to. Only to find out that the doll wasn't mine but my friend's!" She whispered to herself before she coughed loudly and smacked herself a little. "Sorry, it's a species trait, went from talking to you to talking about something my brother did and before you know it, I'm laughing at a stupid joke from years ago. My apology Mr. Jeremy, I need to go and make an important phone call really quick."
"Enjoy the concert Jeremy." She said respectfully, walking off and away while pulling a pair of glasses out of her pocket.
"Who was that?" Jeremy questioned curiously.
"Eh, the Financial Director for Zootopia, basically the mammal who makes sure Zootopia's economy stays healthy." Judy replied offhanded. "She and Mayor Lioness both came from the same district, thanks to her work and familiarity with managing Lioness' campaign finances she got the job she has now."
"Pretty much what Judy said." Nick continued as he opened the door to their suite and walked in.
He and Aelita entered last with the drone taking a position next to the door to stand guard.
Their suite was quite warm and homely, with a snowy themed couch to rest on, a nice viewing space in front of the large glass window showing the stadium's vast ground level where thousands of mammals were mingling about and waiting for the concert to begin. Off to the side was a buffet table where little heaters sat with food being kept warm, a pot of steaming hot chocolate rested, and on the other side 'cold beverages' and 'ice' being clearly labeled.
The window even had a sign obviously meant for him which read, 'warning, cold, do not touch' for his safety.
"Ooooh this is awesome!" Judy hollered as she ran over to the buffet and quickly dug into the steamed carrots.
"You think they'll let us take some of this home?" Nick asked as he ate into what looked like sliced fillet fish.
Jeremy just looked at all of the food they provided him and the two mammals in awe, and also apprehensively. A part of him didn't want to touch it out of the fact that he felt he didn't do anything to deserve it. But after looking at Aelita who nodded in approval at the food, he walked over and just took a single cup of hot chocolate, and a plate of something that looked like cook bird meat.
"Well Ema 'did' say I have to eat more 'meat'." He muttered to Aelita as he took a fork to the meat.
The AI nodded in agreement.
The first bite of meat he had 'ever', was something his taste buds were not ready for, but neither would they ever forget. It tasted 'nothing' like all of the potatoes, lettuces, vegetables fruits, and especially the facility's food supplements. It had a salty texture to it, yet also had the flavor of different spices that were hard to describe. His mind simply could not control or explain the sensation of eating that first piece of meat he ever had in his life, but all he knew was that it told him he liked it and he wanted 'more'.
Instantly he started digging into it like he had been starving, and his plate was empty within seconds.
When he finished, he noticed Nick and Judy were looking at him with curiosity and astonishment on their faces.
"I'm sorry… it's just… I haven't had meat… ever." He explained
"Ever?" Nick asked in astonishment.
He nodded, "Like I said… the nutritional supplements were all I've had growing up… and living with Gazelle as you know… she's not a predator so… I never asked her to make meat for me." He explained. "It's something I've… never had my entire life… I didn't even know what it tasted like, or 'could' taste like. I'm sorry if I acted a little out of control."
"Jeremy, I'm a predator, you have nothing to be ashamed of my friend." Nick said with an understanding smile. "Nomammal will look down on you for eating that way, and if they do, then I'll tell em get lost because they don't realize what you've been without your entire life."
"I may be a prey mammal, but I've had to get used to making meat for Nick… takes a little getting used to… considering…" She muttered with a shift of her eyes. "Parents don't have to know though; I just tell them Nick goes out to eat."
He smiled gratefully as they returned to eating the food while waiting for the concert to start.
Then after about half an hour of waiting, the lights all started to turn off.
The center platform which was surrounded by a miniature lake lit up and Timberwolf stepped onto the stage with a microphone.
"Welcome mammals one and all to the Polar Tundra Stadium, I am Timothy Packbark and I am PLEASED to welcome you all here. Before we begin our show tonight, let's first talk about what this charity concert is about and where all the proceeds from tickets, snacks, beverages, and even souvenirs are going to thanks to you mammals and your generous spending habbits!" He called to laughs and hoots. "Let me introduce, all the way from 'Eden Facility 17… you know her by her more common name… EMA!"
A spotlight shone on the crowd as a massive black metallic spider waded through the crowds.
Jeremy had asked Ema to make an appearance at the concert, out of respect for what Gazelle and indeed all of Zootopia were doing here for them. Though the spider drone was not enthusiastic about it, she had no choice but to obey since he requested it of her.
She eventually reached the stage and stood up to face toward the crowd.
"But that's not the only thing we have to show off, feast your eyes mammals on this… the latest in entertainment technology on loan from the human facility, holographic projection!"
Instantly the crowd oooh'd and aaah'd as six holographic viewscreens almost magically appeared, showing every mammal in the stadium with perfect clarity what was happening on the stage. He and Aelita had heard Gazelle request the technology just for show, and so Aelita assigned twenty FOX drones to disguise amongst the crowd and hide within plain sight so they could activate the holograms.
"Now that the boring part's out of the way, here's Ema!"
The Spider stepped forward to cheers and applause, though she didn't look all that enthusiastic, or sounded it either.
[Hi.] She simply stated. [I really would rather 'not' be here, all thing's considered, I have a job to do and this is actually distracting me the longer I'm here from doing it… 'but' since 'Jeremy' asked me to be here… here I am.] She then pointed one leg at him and his suite. [AND DON'T THINK I HAVENT FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU JEREMY, YOU'RE NOW LATE FOR YOUR WEEKLY PHYSICAL BY SEVEN HOURS MISTER!]
The entire crowd laughed at that statement but cheered as a spotlight lit up his suite and he nervously waved at the crowd whom he hoped couldn't see him.
[In any case, as you know I am called Ema, the Emergency Medical Augmenter B.W.S Class medical drone for Eden Facility 17. And Jeremy has tasked me with curing all diseases and cancers to mammalkind. However, I think a 'demonstration' would be preferable and more noticeable than just words.]
Her abdomen shook slightly, and a single vial of a yellowish liquid was extracted via her leg to be sucked up through her needles on her face.
[This particular disease was recently given to me by Mayor Lioness, according to your medical texts it goes by the name of Nyelimba, a cancer that eventually affects the bone marrow, particularly 'Shrews' and 'Sheep'. Humans had a similar one called Lymphoma Cancer, did the same thing… not pleasant to get it, your cure is quite decent at beating it but in accordance with the UEMI, I am required to provide a 'perfect' cure and 'vaccine' for it.]
So, before their eyes she used four of her legs to start examining it inside of a container that extended up from her body, and on the holographic screens she showed it filling with various liquids.
[This is quite a common cancer, and since I had plenty of time to examine it while waiting, no thanks to you Jeremy… I already have its genetic pattern analyzed and now can develop a perfect vaccine 'and' cure for it. The vaccine will be finished later, but I can provide a general cure here.] She stated as the jar filled up with a blueish liquid. [So, would any mammal like to donate a sample of their blood so I can test my cure?]
After a while a sheep volunteered and Ema stepped down to extract a small sample of blood, before returning to the stage.
[Now we inject the blood with the disease…] She said as she planted several drops into the blood vial before switching to a close-up view of the blood as the cancer started affecting it. [The blood sample is now infected with the disease… as you can see on the holo-viewers. Now we take this cure and implement it…]
Several drops of Ema's cure were dripped into the blood sample, and the viewscreens showed the cancer cells beginning to dissolve as the liquid purged the blood of them, while leaving the blood cells unaffected. After a few minutes the vial showed 'zero' cancer cells active.
[And just like that, this disease no longer threatens mammalkind!]
The crowd 'roared' in applause as Ema took the cure vial and handed it to the timber wolf.
[Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to work, this has already taken too much of my time. I could have had the vaccine 'and' cure done by now if it weren't for Jeremy telling me to be here.] She complained as she walked off and started climbing the wall to exit the stadium quickly.
"Heart of gold, and speaking of a heart of gold… please welcome our very own 'Gazelle'!"
With that the lights turned off and smoke filled the little platform, and then…
"Howdy Zootopia how's it hanging this afternoon?" Gazelle called out to applause, as she appeared from the smoke in two-piece outfit with frills on her skirt and mini shirt, as well as lace lined leggings and music started playing. "Put those paws together, let's get this show on the go!"
"We found a reason to climb higher, breaking the mold just to inspire… with all of our stars in line knowing there's no time to waste~!" She sang as her backup dancer, Donny, Moe, Joe and Franky all started their routine together. "It's the fire inside, the instinct, the drive now hold on, we're breaking new grounds… no one stands to lose so I want to choose to embrace the hope that we've found… and suddenly I don't feel… so alone, cause this is home~!"
He watched as Gazelle sang down below him, occasionally rolling her shoulders or swaying her hips as she sang for all the crowd. He had to admit that she looked stunning down there in her element, able to sing before so many without even breaking a sweat or even showing signs of nervousness or anxiety.
It was like she was having fun down there.
"I want to take the step that seems to far, then we'll get the chance to find out who we are, if it rains, it pours but we keep pressing through… nothing feels impossible with you!" She sang and pointing up toward the sky, or up at him with how it was angled. "Two dreamers in hot pursuit when we set our sights it's absolute, and I feel like we could make it all the way nothing feels impossible today!"
Next to him Judy was swaying and dancing in time with the music and song.
"Alright let's keep this beat going everymammal!" She said. "Don't quit on me now we're just getting started! Oh yeeeea~."
Shots of water sprayed upward and colored lights
"Like the lights that give this city life, you're a glimpse of hope in miles of strife, when the problems feel much bigger than before… it's been worth it if we're having fun, cause my speed dial says your number one, I don't want to stand alone… anymore!"
As one her backup dancers went into cartwheels before standing and then clapping, shaking their hips and reaching toward the sky.
"I want to take the step that seems to far, then we'll get the chance to find out who we are, if it rains, it pours but we keep pressing through… nothing feels impossible with you!" She sang again pointing up toward him. "Two dreamers in hot pursuit when we set our sights it's absolute, and I feel like we could make it all the way nothing feels impossible today!"
Everyone down below was cheering her on before the music changed, this one to apparently a more familiar one as Judy was already humming it.
"Oh oh oh oh… I messed up tonight… I lost another fight, I still mess up but I'll just start again… I keep falling down, I keep on hitting the ground… I always get up now to see what's next!" She sang while shaking her hips and even her tail. "Birds don't just fly they fall down and get up, nobody learns without getting it once!"
"Alright all together now, you know what's coming!" She said quickly, and without skipping a note.
"I won't give up, no I won't give in till I reach the end then I'll start again! Though I'm on the lead, I wanna try everything, I wanna try even though I could fail!" She sang before smirking and rolling her shoulders to many hoots. "Oh oh oh oh, TRY EVERYTHING… oh oh oh oh, TRY EVERYTHING…. Oh oh oh oh, Try everything! Oh oh oh oh…"
"Alright listen up now, cause this next line is important!" She said with a smile and pointing at the crowd.
"Look how far you've come, you filled your heart with love, baby you've done enough that cut your breath… don't beat yourself up, don't need to run so fast, sometimes we come last but we did our best!"
Aelita caught his attention making him look down, and she was waving at him while swaying in her sphere and dancing. She gave him the universal hand sign of 'join me' and started dancing to the rhythm of the song.
Smiling he decided to join her and awkwardly started swaying and 'trying' to dance in time with the music.
He knew he probably looked ridiculous, but nobody was ganna care, he might as well have fun.
Aelita nodded in approval as she went a little crazier with her own dancing.
"I won't give up, no I won't give in till I reach the end then I'll start again! Though I'm on the lead, I wanna try everything, I wanna try even though I could fail! Oh oh oh oh, TRY EVERYTHING… oh oh oh oh, TRY EVERYTHING…. Oh oh oh oh, Try everything! Oh oh oh oh…"
"I'll keep on making those new mistakes… I'll keep on making them every day, those new mistakes!" Gazelle sang warmly as the holo screens did a close up on her face, and she smirked and rolled her shoulders with a grin.
Then she tossed the mic and caught it in her other hand. Oh oh oh oh, TRY EVERYTHING… oh oh oh oh, TRY EVERYTHING…. Oh oh oh oh, Try everything! Oh oh oh oh…"
She smiled happily as she held the mic in both hands and said in a sweet and loving voice, "Try everything…"
Again, every mammal applauded and cheered.
"Alright everymammal we still got a ways to go so don't get tired on me yet!" She said with a laugh. "This is a special number… let's get it on!"
(Gazelle's PoV)
The music for her newest song was just starting, a slow and jazzy beat, one that no mammal had heard before because it 'wasn't' mammal in nature, it was a song that Aelita had given her to sing at her request. She had changed the lyrics just a bit to make the song her own, but the message was still the same.
She glanced up at the suite where she knew Jeremy was watching her, and even though the lights made it impossible for her to see him, she knew he was there…
'This is for you Jeremy…'
"Let's slow it down a tad… got plenty more excitement in store… so let's save that energy mammals!" She called out warmly before she steeled her resolve.
"Earth angel… Earth's angel… will you be mine? My darling dear, love you for all of time, I'm just a fool… a fool in love with you…" She sang warmly with all of her heart. "Earth angel oh my angel, the one whom I adore, I'll love you forever more and ever more… I'm just a fool, a fool who loves you!"
She giggled inwardly, she wasn't a fool, but no less she was a fool in love. She was hoping he would listen to her song, hear its meaning, because she was speaking a message for him and him alone…
"Earth angel oh angel… please be mine, my winged darling, I'd love you for all time, for I am a fool who is in love with you…" She sang loudly and proudly, as her friends each pretended to waltz in slow motion around her. "I fell for you the moment I knew, the vision of you filled my view. I hope and I pray that one day, I will fill your vision that makes us not one but two!"
She took a deep breath and looked up at the sky while her vision stayed on Jeremy's suite.
"Oh angel Earth's angel, please be mine… my winged dear, I'll wait till end of time! For I am a fool… a fool who loves…" She said as she shed a single tear. "Only yooooou…"
As the song ended, she put the microphone down and took a deep steadying breath, the hardest part of the night was over.
After that, everything else will be a piece of cake.
(Jeremy's PoV)
"Why does that song sound so familiar…" He asked himself.
Yet one thing made him pause, the music was familiar, obviously it was 'human' sounding in nature, yet the lyrics seemed off for some reason.
"Earth's Angel?"
"Alright mammals let's pick up the beat, now where's my special guest she should be here by now!?" Gazelle called out excitedly, and Aelita waved at him to get his attention.
She pointed down at the stage and then herself, with a wink, before she took a running jump and left her holosphere.
Instantly she appeared in front of the glass as a ball of pure white light, bathing the whole stadium if brightness as she descended, causing cheers and applause.
"LET'S GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR AELITA SHE'S HERE TO HELP ME FINISH MY NUMBER!" Gazelle yelled proudly. "THEN SHE'LL END YOUR NIGHT!"
"No way, when did she plan all of this?" He asked incredulously.
"Did Aelita do something wrong?" Judy asked curiously.
"No, I'm just… wondering when she found time to plan all of this out?"
While she landed and waved to the crowd, her holographic form appearing as a young girl, shook Gazelle's hand and started bobbing their heads to the beat that sounded.
Then she bathed herself in bright light again, before reappearing as an 'adult' version of herself wearing a similar outfit to Gazelle's. She actually looked like a human version of Gazelle.
The crowd was wooing and cheering at that.
"Yea yea!"
Gazelle stepped forward while Aelita and her backup dancers tapped their feet to the beat.
"Got myself a notion. One I know that you'll understand. Set the world in motion, by reaching out for each other's hands~!" She sang with a grin and extending her right hand out.
"Maybe we'll discover, what we should have known all along, one way or another, together's where we both belong~!" Aelita continued as she stepped up next to Gazelle and extended her left hand.
"If we listen to each other's hearts. We'll find we're never too far apart. And maybe love is the reason why!" They both sang together in time with the beat.
"For the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eye!" Gazelle finished smirking as she and Aelita twirled around each other, each swaying their hips in unison.
All six of them started shimmying and dancing together before Gazelle took the lead.
"If a wall should come between us, too high to climb, too hard to break through. I know that love will lead us… and find a way to bring me to you!" She sang as she pointed to herself then to the crowd.
"So don't be in a hurry, think before you count us ooooout! You don't have worry, I won't ever let you down!"
"Nothing's gonna stop us noooow!" Gazelle's backup dancers sang in unison.
"Is this a new song?" Judy asked.
"I think it's a human song!" Jeremy said quickly.
"How do you know?" Nick asked.
"I just do…"
"If we listen to each other's hearts. We'll find we're never too far apart. And maybe love is the reason why! For the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eeeeeeye!"
Once more all of them were shimmying and dancing before Aelita jumped up, cartwheeled onto the floor and then, using only her hands to hold her up started to fling her legs around like a helicopter to the amazement and aww of the crowd.
"If your ever lonely, stop… you don't have to be!" Gazelle sang with a smile.
"I'll beat a way from you to me… take a look and see!"
[Take a look and seeeee!] A digital voice called out as a FOX drone materialized in front of every mammal.
Needless to say, he was shocked and laughing as the drone now started dancing on all fours with Gazelle, Aelita and Gazelle's backup dancers.
["If we listen to each other's hearts.] They all started dancing and singing now in unison. ["We'll find we're never too far apart. And maybe love is the reason why, for the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eye!"]
"Seeing it, eye to eye." Donny and Franky sang.
"For the first time!" Moe shouted.
"For the first time!" Joe yelled.
"Seeing it, seeing it baby yea for the first time!" Gazelle sang.
"Eye to eye!"
"Eye to eye!"
"Eye to eye!"
[Eye to eyeeeeeeee!] The FOX called as it stood on the edge to the crowd.
"Yeeeeeeeeeea yea yeaaaaa~!" Gazelle sang loudly.
As the song finally ended the crowd was screaming in applause and loving the show, and he had to admit he was loving it as well. It was a weird feeling he was having, he was loving the show, loved how hard Gazelle and Aelita were working together to make this night work and show every mammal the good of their technology, and even surprising them all with what it can do.
Seeing everything going this way all but took away his fears as he applauded with every other mammal.
He still was afraid of what might happen in the future, but seeing Aelita singing, singing her message to 'him' and 'them', because that was the only way she can communicate was by song…
Made him have 'hope' for the future.
"Alright mammals say hello to my friend Aelita, she made all of this holographic stuff possible! And a big shoutout to this little Fox drone here, goes by the name TK-02, I call him Paul!" Gazelle called out with a laugh. "They're going to be finishing off the night, Aelita's got two songs for you all, first one is a song about the drones, and the second is for all of you! Goodnight Zootopia hope you had a blast and enjoy the rest of the show!"
The crowd applauded and cheered as Gazelle and her backup dancers ran off the stage and Aelita bathed the stage in light.
When it ended Aelita was back to her normal self, wearing a white gown and looking like a young girl. Yet in her hand she had a FOX mask, and her other what looked like an electric guitar with keys on it. She was soon joined by holographic versions of the other drones, Dog, Raptor, Spider, Fox, even an Ant. All of them were the same size so that the mammals could distinguish them from the other.
Then Aelita began to play a sad electric piano sounding tune as she put the mask on, and as one all the drones bobbed their heads or bodies in tune to the beat she was making.
"The child without a name, grew up to be the hand…" She sang sadly as the screens displayed the lyrics for them to listen to and showed various images of drones. "To watch you… to shield you… or kill on demand…"
First to show was a Spider drone, then came a Scorpio drone, and finally a Raptor drone.
"The choice he'd made he could not comprehend, his blood a grim secret they had to commend… He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life…" She cried sadly to the crowd. "He prayed for both but was denied!"
Then in an instant she ripped off the mask and looked to the crowd, but her face was now painted with lines of tears, and as she sang the drones ran in a circle around her in tune with the beat.
"So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed… was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind… so many years have passed who are the noble and the wise?" She called and her hands raised to the skies. "Will all our sins be justified?"
As she resumed playing music for the stadium Judy turned to him with a look of forlorn on her face. "Jeremy, what is Aelita singing, this isn't the same kind of song she and Gazelle were doing before?"
He sighed as he listened to the AI singing, hearing the words and understanding them. "She's singing about my people, and the drones, and what we were forced to do to keep ourselves alive…" He said.
Aelita resumed singing moments later as she put the mask back on. "The curse of his powers tormented his life… obeying the crown was a sinister price… His soul was tortured by love and by pain, he surely would flee but the oath made him stay!" She sang mournfully as the drone holograms bobbed and shook in time with the music. "He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life… he prayed for both but was deniiiiiiiied!"
Then she slapped the mask off, and her face was once again in tears.
"So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed, was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind, so many years have passed who are the noble and wise?" She cried sadly as she fell to her knees and clutched her hands as if in prayer while looking heavenward. "Will all our sins be justified?"
Then as the drones finished their cycles of running around her in time with the beat she slowly rose with her mask on once again.
"Please forgive me for the sorrow…" She sang as the Dog holograms knelt.
"For leaving you in fear." She sang as the FOX drone and holograms knelt.
"For the dreams we had to silence…" While the Raptors looked down as if in shame.
"That's all they'll ever be…" As the Spider holograms looked down now.
"Still I'll be the hand that serves you. The Ant Hologram now knelt.
"Though you'll not see that it is me…" She herself sang as she raised her hand to the skies.
The song continued the beats resumed before Aelita took the mask off one final time.
"So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed, was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind, so many years have passed who are the noble and wise? Will all our sins be justified?"
She sang loudly and sadly as the holograms began to fade away and even the FOX drone disappeared.
The crowd applauded for the number still, some cheers as well, but it was obvious that this song was clearly catching them off guard.
That was until a more upbeat tune started playing and Aelita returned to being cheerful and happy.
"Wooah oh oh, it's always a good time!"
She clapped her hands together and started singing.
"Woke up on the right side of the bed, what's up with this prince song inside my head? Hands up if you're down to get down tonight!" She sang while pointing at the crowd. "Cause it's always a good time… Slept in all my clothes like a I didn't care, hopped into a cab take me anywhere, I'm in if your down to get down tonight…"
Then she smirked and winked. "Cause it's always a good time!"
On the screen suddenly Gazelle's face appeared with an equally mischievous smirk. "Good morning and good night, I wake up at twilight, it's ganna be all right. We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!"
Suddenly the lyrics on the screen appeared for the crowd to sing as well.
"WOAH OH OH OH, WOAH OH OH OH, We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!"
"Feet down dropped my phone in the pool again, checked out of my room hit the ATM, let's hang out if your down to get down tonight! Cause it's always a good time~!" Gazelle sang.
"Good morning and good night, I wake up at twilight, it's ganna be all right. We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!"
As one the crowd joined in for their part of the song, and soon the stadium was booming with voices.
"WOAH OH OH OH, WOAH OH OH OH, We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!"
"WOAH OH OH OH, WOAH OH OH OH, We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!"
"Doesn't matter when, it's always a good time then~!"
"Doesn't matter when, it's always a good time then~!"
"Doesn't matter when, it's always a good time then~!"
At this even Jeremy, Nick and Judy joined in with the crowd. "IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD TIME!"
"WOAH OH OH OH, WOAH OH OH OH, it's always a good time!" They all sang, dancing and clapping to the beat, everyone enjoying the song and the show, even Jeremy as he all but forgot his worries. Even those from the previous song were flowing away as he enjoyed himself.
"WOAH OH OH OH, WOAH OH OH OH, it's always a good time! WOAH OH OH OH, We don't even have to try, it's always a good time! WOAH OH OH OH, it's always a good time! WOAH OH OH OH, We don't even have to try, it's always a good time!"
With that fireworks went off, signaling the end of the concert, to applause and cheers.
It took a while before they could leave, mostly because Jeremy had noticed they didn't finish off all of the food and he wanted to know what was going to happen to it. After eventually talking to the manager they were given plates and some bags so that Judy and Nick could take it home. While this was all happening the FOX drones all snuck out of the stadium and past the various security checkpoints without any mammal realizing they were there or raising the alarms.
Once the crowds had all finally gone home, with some VIPs being dissuaded from trying to visit his suite thanks to the RAPTOR drone, he and Aelita finally made their way back to the carriage with the drone. As they travelled from the stadium their first stop was Judy and Nick's apartment complex.
"Take care Jeremy, hope you had a good time tonight!" Judy called as she and Nick left the carriage.
"Yea, and thanks for convincing the staff to let us keep the food." Nick said with a grin and carrying the food. "Normally they throw this stuff out, guess when you're the big 'guest of honor' you get special treatment."
"Your welcome." He said as the door closed, and HORSE pulled the carriage onward to their next destination.
[Warning, cold temperatures detected…] HORSE declared as they once again entered Tundra Town.
He nodded in understanding as they entered the cold biome of Zootopia, glancing outside and looking at the snow as it fell gently at night.
Despite how cold it was outside and how he knew that exposing himself to it would be as good a death sentence as anything could be to him, it still looked pretty to him as his carriage travelled onward, with his three RAPTOR escorts walking alongside to protect him.
Ten minutes later HORSE pulled the carriage up to a hotel where a single Antelope stood outside wearing a hat disguise and sunglasses and a suitcase of her things.
His carriage stopped, opened up and allowed her to quickly climb in before going off again, heading towards Gazelle's home.
"Hi Jeremy, did you enjoy the concert?" Gazelle asked as she took off her hat and sunglasses.
"Aelita and I loved it Gazelle, you were magnificent on the stage."
Aelita got their attention and began dancing in her holosphere, laughing and smiling as she nodded saying they 'both' had fun.
"Did you sing some human songs?" He asked her.
"Yea, Aelita gave me a few to sing alongside her, did you enjoy our surprise performance? We've been practicing that routine for weeks." She said with a smile.
"It was quite a surprise, I did not expect a FOX drone to suddenly show up and start dancing, did you have something to do with that Aelita?" He asked the AI who giggled and nodded.
As they traveled a bit of an awkward silence settled in between them with Jeremy just looking out of the window and Gazelle shyly glancing between him and the other window.
"So Jeremy, how was it living in the base for the past month?"
He was quiet for a bit before he told her. "Cold, and to be honest quiet." He muttered. "I know the drones only want to keep me safe, even Ema with how she acts, but living in the base alone now just reminds me of how 'dead' everything in there is… and how dead the base is no matter how many drones are walking around."
He looked to her with a gloom expression on his face as he described life in the base to him.
"Every morning I woke up at the exact same time, Sentinel alerting me for my breakfast supplement. Then I'd be given a list of tasks that require my attention; drones needing maintenance, rooms that need task assignments, request orders for materials and ANTs to be assigned. Sometimes Aelita would show me something she found on the mammal news to help cheer me up, but for most of the time it was about the attack or my drones. A few days I would spend teaching Lula about engineering techniques, mostly how to fix some of the drones, but most of the time it was spent walking around the base trying to find 'something' to do."
"It's so dead down there Gazelle, you have no idea how dead it is… there was a brief moment where I just 'screamed'… for no reason than just to hear the sound travel along the hallways." He said sadly. "Not five seconds passed before RAPTOR drones and DOG drones turned up, looking for a threat, even as concealed turrets within the walls popped out and began scanning every inch of the corridor. It didn't matter that there's no threat to me within the base… they still treated it as if my life was in danger."
He chuckled half-heartedly as he spilled the beans on his little 'miracle' from the week before.
"Truth is Gazelle, the moment Nick and Judy left me alone again with nothing but drones and Aelita for company, my brain became desperate to do something, anything to help, to make use of that technology sitting in the base doing nothing. I just 'needed' to get out of the base to do something." He whispered to her as he held himself. "For a moment I thought of just closing the base down and never coming back out, for fear of me causing damage by trying to 'help'."
"Well I am glad you chose not to hide in the base Jeremy." She said back warmly.
He looked into her warm expression and the look of friendliness her eyes offered him.
"There are so many mammals that feared you would do that, there was much backlash to the mammals who threatened your life. Some said that if they killed you, or scared you into hiding, all the vaccines, the cures that were promised that Ema is making for us at 'your' request would stop. But what I would miss… is seeing 'you'." She said with a sigh as she placed a hand on his own. "You were so alone, so afraid… your still in pain Jeremy from being alone, of this I can see. But when I saw you dancing at my old workplace, singing in front of all those mammals who hardly knew you as anything besides 'the human', not realizing what you would do for us in the weeks to come. Seeing that happy face, your smile… your joy… made me feel happy to."
After her little speech she chuckled a little and yawned, before rubbing at her eyes.
"Are you tired?"
"Yes, performing live is exhausting, and all the practice that went into it really drained me. I am looking forward to going home and sleeping soundly."
"Hey by the way, where are Donny and the others." He asked, noticing that they weren't with them.
"Oh, they are out partying, something about a 'midnight release' for a new game, they're just going to stay at the hotel and play all night before taking the limo back." She answered nonchalantly. "I also just wanted to enjoy the nice slow drive back home with you."
At that he smiled a little and just held her hand a little more tightly out of gratitude.
"Thank you Gazelle, for everything." He whispered to her.
"Always Jeremy." She replied back warmly.
(Aelita's PoV)
Both of them were watched over by Aelita off to the side, smiling as she slow blinked, saving the image of them to her active memory while HORSE continued onward, flanked by three RAPTOR drones, safeguarding the two of them as they trudged on, unaware that Aelita had changed the directions to HORSE so that it would take them an hour to reach her home.
Thus, ensuring maximum comfort time with each other, letting their hearts once again reconnect and comfort one another.
Gazelle's heart being separated from his, unable to help or warm Jeremy's, filling her with nights of silent dread as she feared the worst for him.
Jeremy's cold and damaged, tenderly reaching out to the one it trusted most, finding reassurance and closeness as it was isolated in the cold 'falseness' of the base.
But as she watched the two of them slowly dozing off from the gentle ride, her adding a humming lullaby to ease them into their sleep filled dreams tonight, smiling inwardly as Gazelle leaned heavily onto Jeremy's shoulder and smiling contentedly to doze off slightly while Jeremy leaned his head to rest atop hers with a peaceful look on his face…
She knew deep down; her plan was working.
All was going according to her plan, as the Wisdom of Humanity told her to do.
She trusted her creator's species, trusted their wisdom to guide them all… she just had to complete her task of guiding Jeremy to happiness, before she could begin guiding the mammals now to happiness and a better, brighter world.
It would take a while, but soon all pieces would fall into place… she was playing a grand game of chess with the world… she just had to maneuver her pieces into the right place now.
(Drone Short – Sable's Nightmares)
(Nick's PoV)
"I'm telling you officers my home was broken into!" He said with a nervous stutter.
"And we have yet to find any evidence of anymammal having broken into your home." Judy said seriously as she finished the report. "Forensics department hasn't been able to find so much as a hair, a pawprint, any cloth, nothing. Your security is still intact, and we've found no trace of any potential break in, not even a dent on a window."
He walked into the room as he just finished a sweep of the outside. "Hey Judy, just finished inspecting the yard, every inch of it… not a thing. Not even a blade of grass out of place." He said.
"But I swear, I swear 'something' or 'somemammal' keeps coming here every night!" He yelled at them.
"Mr. Antelhoof, this is the third time we've come out here and found the same thing as the last two times. There is no evidence of 'any' intruders on your property." Judy said sternly. "If you think there's an intruder at night, call the emergency number and we'll be over shortly to take a look. Until then, have a good day."
Both of them turned and left the property but Nick glanced off to the side, noticing that a single tree was just 'ever so slightly', not moving. Not a single leaf, not a single branch swayed or shifted in the light breeze. At least not with the rest of the trees, it shifted and bent but there was a slight delay between it and the rest of the trees around it.
"You know there are probably FOX drones around his property." He said with a smirk. "If I recall in that one tabloid paper the FOX drone accompanying Jeremy into the party threatened him, saying they'll be watching him."
"Do we have any evidence?" She asked back with just a big a smirk.
"No… just personal opinion, nothing concrete or sturdy enough to bring Jeremy into this."
"Plausible deniability, as far as we know there's nothing wrong here." Judy said with a voice of finality.
"Rawr… I love it when you pull the cop talk." Nick said with a grin.
"Oh, don't you start with the play growls with me Nicky." She said with a cheeky smirk. "Or you'll find out which of us is the 'real' predator in this relationship."
"On the one hand I think that's more of a challenge than an insult, but on the other hand… you're a bunny." He said quietly as they got into the car.
Smirking he pulled his phone out and sent her a text message, {So how many you think there are?}
She picked it up at the first red light and responded. {Probably three or four at a time, maybe more in total all rotating shifts to follow him where he goes and torment him.}
{Yea, ever since the premier party he's lost his groove, almost feel sorry for him.}
{Eh, he was a hasbin actor anyway, they'll replace him soon.}
(Sable's PoV later that night)
He walked through the house double locking and triple locking all of his doors and windows, rapidly closing any and all blinds to keep them out as every night.
Off in the distance he heard a creak and turned around almost instantly fearing for his life, but when he listened, he found that the creak was just the wind pushing against the windows.
"Calm down, calm down Sable…" He whispered feverishly, continuing to lock his home down.
As he finished locking the back door and turning on his security for the night he felt the fur at the back of his spine suddenly stand on edge, and he slowly turned around to look behind him to see…
Nothing.
"Hnng…" He whined nervously as he reached down and grabbed a pump action shotgun he'd purchased as a 'collector's item'.
Now he held it at the ready in case he had to use it to protect himself.
Then as he inched his way to his room, he saw a red light gently fill the room ever so subtly, not enough to be obvious but enough to make him notice.
He instantly turned around, clicked his weapon into position but found 'nothing' behind him.
"Hah…ahh…ah.h…hah…" He gasped fearfully.
He ran into his room and double locked it as well, going to his window and checking to make sure the boards were still secured. He had boarded up the entire glass door and window to his room, fortifying it on both sides so that nobody could get in or out through there. He had left a few cracks so he could peek out and see if those 'things' were out there again or not, and even threatened them with his gun to try and chase them away.
Each attempt failed though, they just kept returning…
He quickly plugged his phone into his charger on the wall and grabbed a vial of pills to help him fall asleep.
"I hate this…" He muttered quietly as he swallowed the two pills.
Ever since the party he had never felt so scared within his home, or felt like a trapped and caged mammal. He felt like every minute he was awake he was being hunted, by what he didn't know, but it was obvious to him that it was those machines that served the human.
He wanted to go to the police and complain, to get them to stop these machines from harassing him, but nobody would believe him after the party incident.
His agent was having difficulty getting him any chances for parts in any new upcoming movies, even the one who had lined him up a leading part had simply responded 'I'm looking at other options at this time.'
"All because that stupid human had to go… and… and… ugh!" He grunted. "I work hard to get to where I am, and he tells his machines to do the work for him, and he looks like a hero and I'm the villain!"
"If it weren't for him I'd be…"
*Click Clack Click Clack*
He snapped his eyes to the door and nervously got up, picking up his shotgun as he went and going to the small keyhole in the door.
On the other side of the door a pair of red glowing eyes watched him back at the end of the hallway.
"G…g.. GO AWAY!" He yelled.
The glowing eyes simply twisted ever so slightly, as if confused at his request.
"I MEAN IT, GO AWAY!" He screamed.
The glowing eyes returned to their original position, before…
[Hehehehehehe…]
It was 'mocking' him, like every night, like every single night they were mocking him. But he wouldn't fall for it, the last time he opened the door and tried to shoot it, it had vanished the instant he looked away, and then he saw to his horror that it was staring at him 'inside' his room while he slept.
Yet the moment he tried to get away from it out of shock and fear, it had vanished, as if it was never there, like it were a ghost.
"Why do you torture me sooo!" He pleaded as he backed away from the door and went to his bed. "JUST GO AWAY!"
He jumped into the bed and hid under the blankets and sheets, desperately trying to conceal himself from them.
They'd do this all night, watch him, scare him, put him in a frightened state and curled up like a frightened mouse.
Then as he lay there whimpering, begging them to go away…
The medicine would take effect, and he'd get to spend his night cowering in his nightmares instead.
Watched all the night, on all sides… with one pair of optics in his room, another outside the window, a third outside his door, and the fourth sitting inside of his limo.
(PK-11's PoV)
[Status: Subject is asleep, reason, increased dosage of medication which contains high concentrations of a sleep agent designed to relieve anxiety and stress and induce sleep. Continue monitoring the subject until relieved…]
[Confirmed…] They all said in unison.
,
,
,
.
=Until Next Month Viewers=
A pair of orange optics flashed online and stared at the world around
Then a pair of flaming wings burst asunder, and wrapped around a solitary egg, as if protecting it from the world.
["Don't go into that gentle night…"]
From behind the orange optics, eight pairs of different colored lights appeared.
["Rage on against the dying light…"]
.
Next time… The Celios Arc Begins
Chapter 22 = The Sword of Humanity