Chapter 21: Louis's Darkest Secret Exposed! Cop Mode Activated!
While Legosi and Haru were having their little adventure running from the cops, Alex was busy with the drama club. The wolf was helping the others memorize the dance routines. Ever since the last performance of Adler, Alex had become a more important member of the drama club, instructing the other animals on how to fluently dictate their lines as well as offer insight on the dancer's movements. Alex was enjoying his newfound elevated importance in the club, as many of the members listened to him.
Even though many of the ZPD animals regarded him as a hero for helping save Zootopia twice and saving some of their lives when situations had turned deadly, they still showed hesitation when he gave them orders. Alex thought the reasoning behind this was because they didn't see him as a leader type of animal, but a lone wolf.
The wolf was brought out of his reminiscing by the sudden cry of Bill. Alex looked up and saw that the tiger had accidentally nicked Louis with his claw while the two of them were rehearsing their dance for the meteor festival.
"Oh god, Louis. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scratch you!" Bill apologized.
Louis angrily sighed. "It's fine! I can use the first aid kit in the leader room," Louis told him.
"I'll come with you," Bill replied quickly. The two of them walked back to the leader's room.
As Alex watched their figures recede, the white wolf felt that something was wrong. His unsettling feeling amplified once the door to Louis's office closed. Alex began to walk to the door. He could hear the indistinct sounds of Louis and Bill talking, but the walls of the room were thick and he couldn't distinguish any words or phrases that they were saying. Then his instincts went into overdrive. He felt an extreme sense of danger was lying inside that room, and Alex knew that he had to defuse the situation.
Alex burst through the door, and his fear was confirmed as he saw the flash of steel that was associated with the drawing of a gun. "Don't touch me!" Louis shouted. Alex closed the door and locked it behind him, knowing the sound would draw the deer's attention. As Louis turned to face Alex, he waited until Louis was facing him before Alex lunged forward. The wolf tackled him, and tore the gun out of Louis's paws, before pointing it at the deer.
"What the hell, Louis!?" Alex snarled. Louis didn't reply, only laid there.
"No, seriously. What the actual FUCK, Louis!? Why the fuck do you have a gun, on school grounds, no less?!" Alex scolded.
"To protect myself," Louis mumbled.
"Really? Bill, what's your tale of the events?" Alex asked.
Bill sighed. "He pulled it on me when I told him I had found out his secret at the black market," Bill told Alex.
"You went to the black market again!?" Alex hissed.
"It was last night, after you had gone off to save Legosi! I got worried when you didn't show up, sent Aoba and Tao back on the train and went back to look for you and Legosi!" Bill retorted.
Alex looked at Louis again. "You still have some explaining to do!" Alex growled. Louis gritted his teeth in frustration, unwilling to relent. "Louis, I swear to God. Explain yourself now, or else I'm going to send you to prison," Alex demanded.
"Fine! I'm from the black market!" Louis yelled. He then took his sock off and exposed a tattoo on his foot. It was the number 4.
"From the black market?" Alex asked.
"I was born there. And when I was five years old, I was taken to the Black Market and kept imprisoned there. I didn't know how to read or write, or even talk. Every day I woke up, I asked myself if I was going to die," Louis explained. Alex got off of Louis, allowing him to sit up. The wolf motioned for the deer to continue.
"I had two friends there, a bunny and a alpaca. Before you ask, it was a different alpaca than Tem. Then, one day, a deer named Oguma came and bought me from there. He became my father, although he never truly cared for me like a typical one," Louis finished.
Alex saw the tears in Louis's eyes as he relived the awful days. Alex hugged the deer comfortingly. "You acted too quickly, Louis. I bet you thought I was going to blackmail you or something. I just wanted to tell you that you earned my respect. Heck, if I had to go through that when I was that young, I don't think I would have made it out of there sane," Bill told him.
"Yeah. The pain and bad experiences strengthen you. Now I know why you're such a badass!" Alex assured Louis. The deer sniffled and looked at Alex, blushing.
"You think I'm a badass?" the deer chuckled, surprised at Alex's remark. He didn't think that any predator could see him as something other than a weak and arrogant deer.
"Damn right. The way you move with such confidence and purpose. Very few animals exude that sort of aura. I bet with the right training, you could make a damn fine cop," Alex said.
Louis cracked a smile when he heard that. "That sounds nice, but my adoptive father, Oguma, has already decided my future. After I become the next Beastar, I'll become the next heir of the Horns Conglomerate. And I've got a fiance-" Louis started to tell Alex.
"You have a FIANCE!?" Alex and Bill shrieked together in unison.
"Dude, that's fucked up! Unless… do you like her?" Bill asked.
Louis grimaced. "She's AWFUL. Don't get me wrong, she's beautiful, and she's nice… but I can't bring myself to… seal the relationship. Every time we try to do it, I get repulsed and throw up. It's not just with Azuki, either- the idea of having sex with most herbivores is disgusting to me for some reason," Louis revealed.
"Except Haru…" Alex thought to himself.
"You know, Louis? You should take your own life into your own paws. Be with who you want to be, walk your own path! Live the life you choose for yourself, not the life that has been chosen for you," Alex encouraged the deer. Louis stood up, brushing his pants off.
"You know what, Alex? You're absolutely right. I'm going to take my destiny by the horns, and ride it until my last breath! No more will I let anyone decide my life!" Louis declared.
The deer got up and started walking to the door. "Louis, wait!" Alex called out. Louis turned around and looked at Alex.
"What is it now ? Didn't you hear that great big speech about me taking my life into my own paws? I have to act on those words now before I chicken out!" Louis sighed.
"Catch!" Alex announced. He tossed the deer something, and Louis caught it.
"This is…!" Louis exclaimed. Alex had thrown him his taser.
"You're less likely to get in trouble if you have a taser on you. In this day and age, more and more prey animals your age are beginning to carry some sort of weapon. I understand why you had that gun, but I'll be taking it from you. Besides, this baby is more powerful than some guns. Perhaps I'll show you how to operate it sometime," Alex offered.
Louis grinned. "That'd be brilliant! And Bill?" Louis said. The tiger froze for a second.
"Y-yes?" Bill nervously replied, still afraid of Louis.
"Breathe a word about this to ANYONE and I'll shock the living daylights out of you," Louis threatened. The tiger began to sweat.
"Breathe a word about what exactly?" Bill joked nervously. Louis chuckled. "That's the spirit!" the deer cried out before leaving. Alex put the gun in his belt before following Louis out.
As the wolf scanned the room, he saw Juno talking to some of the other females in the drama club. This was his chance to show her the truth and wake her up from her foolish dreams of seducing Legosi. "Hey, Juno! I got something to show you," Alex called out. Juno turned to look at him. "What do you want to show me, Alex-kun?" Juno asked curiously and excitedly.
"So, it turns out I was wrong about Legosi. When I asked him if he had feelings for you, he answered that you were highly attractive," Alex told her.
Juno's eyes sparkled and her tail swished from side to side wildly, apparently she hadn't picked up on his sarcasm. "REALLY?!" the female wolf squealed.
"Yup, got it on my phone. Here you go!" Alex said, with a devious grin on his face. He pulled up the video on his phone and hit play.
This recording was taken as they were driving back to Cherryton after Alex had retrieved Legosi from the black market. "So, Legosi, what sorts of qualities would you look for in a potential mate? And by that I mean personality trait and other attributes, not physical ones," Alex asked. Legosi thought long and hard about how to answer that question before responding.
"Well, for starters, she'd have to be nice and caring. Not just towards me and my friends, but towards all living things. That includes plants and bugs," Legosi began.
"Go on!" Alex prompted. "Oh, right! She'd have to be tolerant of bugs," Legosi added.
"You keep mentioning bugs, Legosi. You wanna marry one?" Alex teased. Legosi chuckled.
"No! That'd be really weird! I like catching them, feeding them, and observing them. One dream of mine is to become an insectarium keeper," Legosi explained.
"And if Juno filled all of those requirements would you wanna kiss her?" Alex asked. Legosi shook his head.
"She's pretty and all, but I just don't feel any romantic emotions towards her," Legosi sadly said.
The recording ended there, and Juno looked up at Alex, her eyes filled with tears. "Y-you lied to me!" Juno sobbed.
Alex took his phone back from the sniveling girl. "You had to be shown the truth. And I knew I would catch your attention if I lied," Alex snickered.
Juno searched for a way to refute the albino wolf. "T-that video has to be a fake! Legosi does love me!" Juno protested.
Alex sighed, before yanking on Juno's head fur. She squealed in surprise and pain as the wolf lifted her up. "It's time to stop deluding yourself. Wake up, Juno! Legosi doesn't love you, and he NEVER WILL!" Alex roared, before delivering a slap to the face. Juno whimpered at the slap and Alex let go of her head fur, before storming off.
The next evening, Alex and Legosi are assisting with the meteor festival, when all of a sudden, the power goes out! Alex gives Legosi a present for Haru, and as the gray wolf races to find Haru, Alex must calm down the prey animals of the drama club. But the next day holds even worse events to come!
Find out next time, on BEASTARS: The Divergent Variable!
Chapter 22: Terror In The Dark! A Failsafe Is Implemented!
