Chapter 4: Getting Answers

The night had been long for both Judy and Nick as all they could think about were the monsters. But when the morning came they both got ready to go to work. All Nick could think about was the mysterious voice who told him that he and his friend would help him and Judy. He also hoped that he and Judy would get there first so that he could explain to her who they were. Nick finally made it to work. He was relieved to see Judy waiting at the door for him like she did every morning. "You look awful carrots,"

"Didn't sleep well," Judy said in a tired and groggy voice.

"I didn't sleep well either," Nick replied. Judy then unlocked the door and walked inside to her desk, Nick did the same. A little bit after two mammals walked in the door. One of them was a grey-brown coyote with a tan trench coat fedora and a black scarf covering most of his face, he also had jet black eyes.

The other mammal with him was the wolf who had been following Judy and Nick the previous day, however, he was wearing fewer bandages then before revealing his snow-white fur. "Hello Ms. Hopps and Mr. Wilde," said the coyote in the same voice that spoke to Nick the night before from the alley. "I am Paul Dawson and this is my partner Frank Butler," the coyote said in a smooth deep voice.

Judy was startled at the sudden visit from these two strangers. She recognized the wolf but the other animal was unknown to her. "Who are these guys?" she asked Nick.

"I guess we'll know soon enough," said Nick in a serious way.

The wolf-apparently named Frank- began speaking: "I'm guessing you two have already seen me" both of them nodded and Frank sighed.

"I thought I told you to stay hidden, Mr. Butler," the coyote said in a dominating manner.

"I know but these guys look everywhere. I couldn't find a good spot where they couldn't see me. Besides, why didn't you do the job, seeing that you think you're so much better at it!" the duo kept arguing until Nick stepped up and shut them up.

"Alright, stop! Either you tell us why you were stalking us or we're gonna have to prosecute both of you" Nick said with a harsh voice. "We're here because of the deep ones," Paul said.

"What are you talking about?" Nick asked.

"Those creatures you and your lovely partner found," Paul responded.

"See, Frank and I have been hunting them for a long time, and could never find where they meet, yet you and your partner found it in no time."

"What are you guys exactly?"Judy asked. "We hunt the deep ones as well as other anomalies crea-" Frank said before being cut off.

"That's quite enough information for these two, Frank, I don't think they're ready for what we know,"

"What are these deep ones you speak of?" Judy asked.

"The deep ones are an ancient race of beings that have been on this planet far longer than we have, but there's almost no records of them existing, due to the fact that they live deep in the ocean where no mammal can reach, they are very reclusive and hate surface dwellers" said, Paul,.

"Then how did you guys know about our encounter then," Nick asked sternly.

"Well we had heard some gossip of a mammal being kidnapped by fish creatures in the bay area and we just had to check it out for ourselves, as we did some investigating of our own we saw the two of you go into that alley, we would've followed but we saw the deep ones heading towards the alley you went too and we assumed you were killed," Frank replied.

"But it caught us by surprise when we saw the two of you run out alive, so I sent Frank to follow you so that we could meet up," added Paul "now if you two could tell us what they did in there that would be great," Judy and Nick hesitated for a bit then Nick decided to speak up.

"Well when they got down there they mentioned something about their numbers dwindling and the need for a sacrifice, what did they mean exactly?" asked Nick

"What they meant was that they needed more mammals to breed with the deep ones in order to make more deep ones, this is due to a pact made by a group of mammals who live in the city of Innsmouth so that they would get more fish so that the town would prosper," Frank said.

"How come you know so much about this?" Judy asked.

Paul and Frank looked at each other and then proceed to remove some of their clothing to reveal that they themselves were deep ones. Paul seemed like he was in a more advanced state than Frank since he had more developed gills in his face and his eyes were more like a fish than a normal mammal, which answered why his eyes were black.

Judy and Nick were frozen with shock, "Now don't worry, we're not at full maturity yet so we won't try and kill you, but we occasionally get very wrathful when near other mammals and we may lash out and attack them, but we are good at keeping our hatred in check so you two should be safe," Paul said in a reassuring tone.

"S-so for how long have you two been like this?" Judy asked them.

"We've pretty much been like this since we were born however we didn't start to show traits till our late teens," Paul said.

"So will you two eventually turn into one of those things?" Judy asked.

"Normally yes, however, Frank and I have formed a suicide pact and we will both die before we do," Paul replied.

"Wow you two must be very close friends then," Judy said softly.

"Yes...very close friends," Paul said in a somewhat nervous tone.

"Are you alright Mr. Dawson, your ears are twitching, is something wrong?" Judy asked in a compassionate yet concerned tone.

"Oh this…is just because i'm..a bit paranoid is all, nothing major," He replied somewhat embarrassed. Frank knew the source of his paranoia and started coughing to release the tension a little bit.

"So why do you two hate the deep ones despite being ones yourself?" Nick asked in a smug tone.

"Well both Frank and I have different reasons for hating them so we shall both tell our reasons individually," Paul said "I shall go first. Many years ago my mother traveled to Innsmouth because she heard of how great their fish was. She was surprised that she had never heard of the town despite living rather close to it. She eventually met a handsome young coyote whom was to become my father. The two eventually fell in love and got married. But when my mother wanted to have children she discovered why she had never heard of the town.

My father had explained the pact with the deep ones and that she would have to be impregnated by one. She was opposed to this idea but was forced to go through by my father. After she became pregnant she wanted to run away but father had threatened to kill her if she did. She eventually had me and was the only thing she ever loved and as I got older she was the only person i ever loved. When I was about 12 she had wanted to run away with me but father threatened to kill me if she proceeded. She then got in front of me and told me to run and not look back. I had gotten to the door of our house and regretfully looked back. And as I did my father...he…he,"

"You don't have to share that part Paul," Frank said compassionately as he put his hand on Paul's shoulder.

"No it's alright, I can do it. My father then grabbed my mother and proceed to rip her apart with his claws. The last thing I saw before running away was my fathers horrible fish like head, with its bulging black eyes and mouth filled with dagger-like teeth. I then ran to the outskirts of town and hid in an alleyway where i met my partner Frank, now he can tell you why he was hiding in that alley in the first place"

"Welp, it's time for my story time. I was 7 years old when I found out I was a deep one. My father was a cultist and he took well care of me. On my near teenage years everything fell down. I became very hostile towards my dad because I got angry very easily. I decided to not hurt my dad anymore and just ran away from home at 11 years old. I once snuck into one of the cult meetings since I used to see my dad getting there all the time.

There I saw the most horrific thing. An innocent person was being abused by a deep one, by the monster I was supposed to become. My dad was there. He was smiling. Smiling sadistically. He was enjoying it. I didn't even see anything on his face that indicated he wanted to find me. After the abuse, they just killed the innocent mammal. Killed him in cold blood. I knew then and there that he wasn't my father. My real father got killed by those fucking degenerates," Frank stopped for a minute to calm himself down.

"After that I just ran, knowing that everything was a lie. I spent 2 years in the streets, as a hobo, no home to go to. It was still better than being surrounded by those filthy beasts. I met someone that was kind enough to get me out of there and I accepted. I had to wait in an alleyway at night for him to show up in an automobile. That's when I saw Paul for the first time. He looked like a mess and was crying a lot. I didn't see his face and I told him to shut up. He kept on crying and I had to go and shut his mouth and that's when I saw his face. He was a deep one too as I saw he had gills, and I got surprised because I never saw someone that was close to my age and was also a deep one. Long story short I made him stop crying and we both got out of Innsmouth in the automobile, and that's how we became partners" Frank said in an uplifting tone.

"I'm so sorry you two had to go through that, I could never imagine such a horrible life," Judy said sympathetically.

"It wasn't so bad we had each other and that was all we needed," Paul said in a joyful tone.

"Now how exactly are you gonna help us?" asked Nick.

"Well with your knowledge of one of the deep ones gathering places, we hope to find where they mainly live now and wipe them out," Paul replied.

"What do you mean by 'mainly live now', I thought you said they lived in Innsmouth," Judy said confused.

"They did, until that big hurricane that hit a few years back, it flooded the town and caused the townsfolk to leave and find somewhere else to live, that's what we've been trying to find," Frank said.

"But now we know they must be in Zootopia or somewhere nearby, thanks to the two of you, now how exactly did you find their meeting place?" asked Paul.

"We got information from a strange cat in one of the nearby pubs," Nick replied.

"That's where we'll start," Frank responded. They then prepared to go back to the bay. It took about an hour to get there due to there being heavy traffic and good number of mammals getting on and off the bus as well. It took them another 15 minutes to get to the bar.

"Are there any cops around, because alcohol is still very much illegal" Paul said concerned.

"No not much happens over here anyway, besides Mr. Big runs most of this side of town so we should be safe," Nick replied. As they entered the speakeasy, the smell of alcohol was very pungent and was pretty much all you could smell. Many mammals were passed out or extremely drunk and loud. They didn't see the cat so they looked for the mammals who were the least drunk to ask about him. The first was a grey fox wearing a boat captain's outfit smoking a cigar.

"Excuse me, sir, have you seen a well dressed black cat anywhere?" Judy asked.

" Nope, haven't seen any cats in here lass," the fox said in a gruff voice. They then went to an otter in a sailor uniform with a large scar on his face. "Sir have you seen a black cat anywhere?" Nick asked.

"Can't say I have," he said in a raspy voice. Then Judy heard the cat's voice.

"Bar, keep another whiskey, please," he said pleasantly.

"Sir we've been looking for you," Judy said.

"Ah it's you," the cat said in a jovial tone, "And I see you've brought friends," he said disgustedly. "Are these canids bothering you, I can take you away from them if you'd like," the cat added.

"Excuse me, sir these 'canids' are my friends," Judy said angrily.

"How could a nice rabbit like you possibly make friends with filth like them," the cat said smugly, "But at least they aren't as bad as rodents, they're the real vermin and should be exterminated," said the cat sternly. Judy was furious but for the sake of getting more info on the deep ones she decided to keep it to herself. "Sir how did you know where the meeting place of the deep ones was?," as Judy said this a number of the patrons turned their heads towards her.

"You want me to give away their secrets, are you daft? If I did that I would be their next sacrifice," the cat said in a surprised tone. "I told you about it that night because I was feeling happy and nonchalant, but now I have lost interest in you and your canid friends" the cat said defyingly. Judy could no longer hold in her wrath.

"Listen here buddy, you better tell me about the deep ones or I'm gonna kick your guts out!"

The Cat was unfazed and kept having the same straight face from seconds ago and spoke again "Well if you're so desperate for answers why don't you ask some deep ones yourself?" he said as he got up and pointed to a large group of hybrid mammals. "Have fun," the cat said sarcastically as he exited the bar. As he left the hybrids started to pull out knives, broken bottles, and even their own claws, Judy knew that they were going to have to fight their way out.

A beaver hybrid rushed toward Judy and attempted to throw a punch at her, she was able to dodge and then deliver a swift yet powerful kick to the beavers stomach knocking his wind out causing him to land on the ground. A wolf tried to attack her from behind but was struck in the head by a chair being held by Nick,"have a seat," Nick deadpanned. Paul took out his claws and slashed another hybrid across the neck killing him. This shocked Judy. It reminded her of Clayton and how he met his end. She froze.

Another hybrid with a knife was about to stab Judy before Frank jumped in front of him and stabbed him in the chest with his claws, but he was not fast enough to avoid being stabbed himself with the knife. It was a cut in the left side of his waist. "Frank are you alright?," Paul said in a worried tone. "I'm fine," Frank said as he threw a hybrid into a larger group knocking them all on the floor.

"All in one!" Nick said in a goofy way. He then noticed Judy just standing there. "Judy, are you ok?" Nick asked, there was no response from Judy. "Judy are you alright?" Nick said as he went to her position. When he got there he saw that her nose was twitching and that she was looking at something. Nick looked in the direction of Judy's eyes were and saw the corpse of the hybrid that Paul had killed. It was laying there with blood oozing out of its neck and it was twitching. Nick then wrapped his arms around Judy and turned her away from the corpse. "It's ok Judy I've got you, i won't let them hurt you just relax," said Nick in a soft and compassionate voice. Paul realized how shocked Judy was.

"Poor rabbit" he said comprehensively before being pushed to the ground by a bear hybrid. Frank came rapidly to help and Paul screamed. "I got this, Frank! Go protect Nick and Judy!"

"Got it!" screamed Frank and went to their help.

The bear hybrid was strong and kept pulling him down as he tried to choke him. Paul clawed his paws and the bear let him go. He then began hitting him in the face and stomach but the bear seemed unfazed. He got his claws out and started to try and cut the small coyote, but he was agile enough to avoid all of them except one that cut him in the shoulder. Paul dropped to the floor and as the bear was about to give him the finishing blow, he got up again and punched him in the throat. He started coughing and this gave Paul the opportunity to slash his neck with his claws. The bear was finally dead. There was no time to rest as he went to help Nick and Judy alongside Frank.

He was surprised that all of the other hybrids left were knocked out. A panting Frank stood in front of the duo. He protected them efficiently. "Good job, Frank" he nodded and smiled as he heard the compliment. He got closer to the rabbit"

"Judy what's the matter?" Paul asked Judy concerned for her well being. Nick was still hugging her when she turned her head to answer him. "W-when y-you killed that m-mammal it...it… r-reminded me o-of when we first encountered those monsters, they killed an innocent fox right in front of us with its claws,"

"I'm so sorry Judy. Frank and I won't use our claws to kill anyone unless critically necessary," Paul said as he put his paw on her shoulder.

"You guys seem to have been through a lot lately, why don't you take some time away from this and Paul and I will do some investigating of our own," Suggested Frank.

"I think that's exactly what Judy and I need right now," Nick replied.

"Splendid. Frank and I will investigate here some more while you two go do something fun," said Paul.

"Bye guys we'll see you again when we see you," said Nick as he escorted Judy out of the bar, "Come on Judy lets go lock up the office and have some fun,"

"Sounds like a plan," Judy said as she started to calm down. Once they finally made it back to their office they saw an envelope stuck on the door. Judy opened it and pulled out a piece of thick paper with gold accents and some writing, it read

Dear Mrs. Hopps and , I am grateful for your help.

In return I have invited you both to my mansion for a party I have decided to host.

-Jay

P.S. make sure to dress formally as many members of Zootopia's elite will be there and I don't want you to look like fools

"I remember Jay, he hired us to see if his wife was cheating on him," Nick said.

"Nick!" Judy shouted.

"What is it carrots?" Nick asked confused.

"I need a new dress for the Party!" Judy said frantically.

"And how does that involve me?" Nick said in a puzzled way.

"That you're gonna accompany me to the store and you will help me decide on one" her sadness completely left her body and got excited.

"Wait a second, Carrots. You don't even know if I wanna go to that party of his. I didn't like him that much in the first place"

"Nick, we haven't had a good de-stressing day in months. Let's all forget about all this deep one crap for a second and just have a good time. C'mon partner, you and me. Pretty please" Judy said as she put on a pleading face. "Ok carrots let's go," even though Nick was unsure if he even wanted to go he was happy to see Judy as her normal self again and accompanied her to pick out a new dress.

At the bar

The speakeasy was silent. No trace of any voices or any lively interactions. The fight was shorter than Paul and Frank thought it would be. They went around looking for someone conscious enough to be able to be interrogated. The smell of blood captured in the scene gave a horrible odor that both partners were too familiar with. Something they didn't like.

"Hey Paul, do you think we're becoming too violent already?" said Frank, "I mean, look at this mess. We caused this. This death. This blood. We're being just like them"

Paul thought about what he said and then began speaking: "We are nothing like these beasts, Frank. These people have killed more people than we have. It is best that we terminally end them. We can't feel any emotions for them. Do you understand?" Paul said sternly. Not a single knot in his tongue.

"Yes, I understand, but we can't always fight fire with fire. Remember that. We're still better than them. We can find different solutions together" As Frank spoke he got closer to Paul and put his paw on his shoulder.

"Ugh I hate it when you get smart on me, knucklehead" smiled Paul, spreading it to Frank too who also smiled warmly.

A sudden sound of a bottle breaking ruined the moment as they saw a Wolf hybrid trying to flee.

Without thinking Paul picked up a bottle and threw it at the hybrid, it hit it in the back of its head causing it to fall over.