Heroes of Zootopia

Chapter 5 "Here Comes The Rain Again"

By DragonMan1997

Zootopia © Disney

Lily held her office phone between her face and her shoulder as she juggled the mountains of papers on her desk. "No! Are you crazy? - We're not making that our front page headline. - No. - Yes I'm serious. - This Project Empire business is dynamite on paper! - We'd be stupid not to cover it. - What? - Nobody cares about that political stunt with the police, animals want to know who these alleged superheroes are. - Of course I'm serious. - Yes! Put it on the front page. And if you can't... - I'm not playing favorites here. You gave me good content in the past. If you can't deliver, I'll find someone who can." She dropped the phone onto the receiver. "Ugh."

Being editor in chief was not a typically stressful job for Lily. News wasn't always so fantastic a hundred percent of the time either. Every now and then, a bombshell story or court case would roll through Zootopia Times and shake up the place. Stories and articles had to be good, and competition with the internet and news stations didn't make selling papers any better. Lily climbed to the top pretty fast after her first article, The Decaying Art of Storytelling, had been published. She had Adam to thank for that as he was the one that submitted her article without her knowing. It got her a foot in the door. And after only a few more articles, she became aware of what animals liked to read. Many of her articles made it to the front page. She ended up giving advice to others, even the old editor in chief whom she had gained favor with. As the old guy was getting ready to retire, he set up Lily to take over for him.

"Hey boss!" A beaver stepped through the doors to Lily's office with a smile plastered across her face.

Lily seemed to ignore the beaver as she kept her eyes on her work. "What do you got for me Miss Tailor? It better be good."

Tailor waved her phone in the air like a trophy. "Page one material."

Lily leaned back in her chair as she looked through the drafts for tomorrow's paper. Straightening her glasses, she readied a red pencil as she began her hunt for errors. "Lay it on me." The pencil began to twirl in her paw as her eyes scrutinized every sentence.

"Jimmy and Clark called in ahead. They got an exclusive that I think you'll be excited about." She looked at her phone as she jumped with joy. "They got a few descriptions of a couple of the superheroes working for Project Empire."

"Well, don't keep me waiting."

The beaver showed off the text to Lily. "The biggest one we're excited about is Whiplash!"

The red pencil snapped in Lily's grasp as she turned to stone in her chair. No, she thought, I misheard her. She thought that Tailor had surely said something else and not the alias her husband went by during his time as a vigilante. "I'm sorry, did you say Whiplash?"

"Yes!" Tailor clapped.

Lily's brain began to ache as signals fired at her from every direction. "But, he's been gone for years."

"Apparently not." Tailor's chipperness began to eat at Lily. "It would seem that the reason he's been gone is because he was recruited into the Empire."

Lily forced a smile as she spoke through her teeth. "Empire?" Her mind felt like it was burning as the same cry echoed through her, he lied!

"Yeah, we're gonna drop the word project because Empire alone sounds more trendy." Lily thought that was the most rubbish sentence that had come out of any of her interns' mouths. "I'll keep you posted on the article's progress. Ah! I'm so excited!"

Lily tensed up as Tailor left her office. "Calm, Lily." She shoved her paws under her desk as magic began to spill out of them. "Calm. Maybe it's a different Whiplash." The magic dispersed as Lily went for her cell phone. She hit the speed dial for her husband's phone and waited. "Come on, pick up the phone Adam." Lily felt herself getting worked up as details flooded into her mind. The late night jobs, the peculiar injuries, random calls for meetings at the worst times. It hit Lily like she was kissing a train. "Pick up the phone." She cursed as it entered into his voicemail. She picked up her office phone. "Jonah. I'm sorry but I have to take the rest of the day off. Why?" Lily held back a growl. "A family emergency."

"Adam!" Lily slammed the door to her home as she dropped her bag on the floor and tossed her keys in the bowl atop the entryway cabinet.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Katherine looked up at her mother. The fox was sitting on the floor next to the coffee table in the living room. She had paused in the middle of one of her drawings. Katherine liked that more than anything else.

Lily hid it again for her daughter, the frustration. "Nothing's wrong Kitty. I just need to have a talk with your father. Has he come home yet?"

"No." She went back to drawing.

Lily looked as the front door was opened by Grant. The bull was loaded with brown paper bags. "Katherine, I need you to go up to your room. Okay?"

"But, I wanted to tell you about my new friend I made today." The innocence in her daughter's voice made Lily's heart ache.

"You can tell me later sweetie, but first I need to have a word with Grant, and then with your father when he gets home." Lily rubbed her daughter's head as she made her way up to her room with her drawings in tow. "Grant."

"Yes Mistress." The cow had just set down the groceries to lock the door when Lily grabbed one of his horns and dragged him to the kitchen. "Mistress!"

"Sh!" Lily felt like she might float off of her toes as she got in Grant's face. "Did you know?"

Grant leaned back against the counter. "Know about what?"

"One of my interns told me about how Whiplash has been working for Project Empire for the last ten years." Lily looked down at the bull who seemed to shrink at the sight of her floating above him. "Now tell me. Did-you-know?"

Grant knew perfectly well about Lily's powers, but he never saw it much. "I assure you that he never spoke of it to me."

Lily noticed she was floating and returned herself to the ground. She huffed as she grabbed at her ears and cried over the sink. "I can't believe he would lie to me." Lily stared at the little oval picture frame on the windowsill above the sink that held photograph of her and Adam, cooking together. Their faces were spotted with flour. "For ten years." She flinched as Grant held her shoulder.

"Mrs. Wolff. I'm sure he'll explain himself when he gets back."

Lily remembered then what Adam and her had talked about. He lied to protect the ones he loved. She had lied too. And now, she knew it had to stop for good or else it could tear their marriage apart. Lily didn't want that.

Nearly twelve hours had passed. There was no word from Adam yet. Lily was now more worried than angry. Where is he? Is he alive? Her mind momentarily crept back to that other place where Adam was gone, dead. No! Lily stood up and ran to the nearest phone.

"What are you doing?" Grant asked as he brought in two mugs of tea.

Lily found the number she was looking for. "Calling his work." The moment the other end had picked up, she took no time to allow them to speak. "This is Mrs. Wolff. I'd like to talk to the manager about my husband. - Yes, Adam. - Hello? - Yes. - What do you mean he hasn't called back in yet? - Cliffside? - They're regulars? - Thank you so much. - Okay. - Bye." Lily hung up the phone.

"Well?" Grant waited.

Lily pulled her phone and wallet out of her pocket. "I think I know where he is."

"I heard something about Cliffside. The old asylum."

Lily pulled out her trenchcoat and checked all the pockets to make sure they were empty. "I know the place. My friend and I snuck in there once when it was still abandoned."

Grant's eyes grew as Lily pulled on her trench coat. "You're not actually thinking of going after him are you?"

Lily pulled a beanie over her head as she removed her glasses. "You're not."

Grant shook his head. "Believe me when I say I want to, but I'm too old for this sort of thing."

"I understand." Lily went down to the basement and came back up with the red paracord whip on a black belt tied around the trench coat. "You look after Daniel and Katherine until I get back."

"Of course." Grant grabbed Lily's keys to hand them to her.

Lily shoved the keys away as she faced the wall. "I won't be needing those." She focused her magic. As she pulled the beanie down over her face, it transformed into a hot pink and blue mask that covered her face and ears. The trenchcoat changed in hue to the same blue with the sleeves the same pink as the mask. Concentrating further, Lily's blurred vision cleared up as her eyes glowed a more vibrant blue than her they already were.

"Not trying to be inconspicuous, I see." Grant looked up the staircase to make sure neither Daniel nor Katherine had awoken. "Good luck."

Lily's paw glowed pink as she drew out the shape of a door on the wall. She visualized her destination. "Porte de pont." The door flickered into pink sparks that became three dimensional. Lily readied her paw near the handle. It would take a lot of energy from her. "Okay." She grabbed the handle which sparked madly as she swung open the door. She could see some foreign hallway that was not of her house but of Cliffside. She stepped through.

Lily pressed herself against the wall as the doorway disappeared. Okay, she could feel her heart beating out of her chest as she fully grasped the situation she was now in. She had just stepped into a highly secure government facility that had guards at almost every turn. Fun. She had to be careful now. What she had learned at the monastery was coming back to her. She had already lost a lot of power from creating the door that got her here. Now she had to conserve what she had, which meant she couldn't afford to silence the sound of her footsteps.

After taking a short step, Lily smiled at the lack of noise. Her normal steps were quiet enough. She continued on through the hall. It wasn't very long before an alarm went off.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"

Great. Lily threw up a forcefield that deflected the tranquilizer darts that had been fired at her by nearly twenty guards that had rushed the hallway. With a huff, she threw the forcefield their way and knocked all the guards onto their back sides while she ran the opposite direction. Making a hard left she skid through a pair of doors into what looked like a cafeteria full of guards. Crap! Lily darted across the cafeteria through another set of doors. She heard darts hit the door that had just closed as she ran down another hallway.

Lily growled under her breath as she thought about her husband. "How in the world does he do this!" She remembered hearing all those news reports about her husband, Whiplash - stopping a bank robbery, saving animals from a burning apartment complex, and fighting an army for goodness sakes. It was harder than it looked. Lily froze as a maroon trench coat appeared at the end of the next hallway. There was nothing else, just a coat.

"Well, hello there." The coat flipped around and fell to the floor without form.

Lily barely heard the running before something knocked her onto the floor. She erupted into a coughing fit from the pain in her chest.

"You're a bit on the slow side, darling. I must say though, your mask reminds me of someone."

"Whiplash." Lily muttered, trying to distract the voice without a body. It didn't work as she felt herself being raised. Though she looked like she was floating, she could feel the paws of the one picking her up.

"Oh." The voice cracked. "You a little on the heavy side."

Lily gasped. "Did you just call me fat?" She spilled magic out of her paws that threw the invisible feline up through the ceiling panels. Lily floated back onto her feet as her opponent hit the floor, covered in dust from the ceiling.

"A woman!" The voice cackled. "Cat fight." She jumped up, leaving the dust behind.

Lily nearly screamed as she felt legs wrap around her neck and flip her though the air. She rolled into a stance where she concentrated her magic. "Vue âme." She could see the outline of a large cat. "Gotchya!" Lily ducked below the invisible cat's arm that was coming for her head. She turned down and grabbed her tail. "Force de beaucoup!"

"Uh oh-," were the only words Lily heard as she effortlessly threw her opponent against the wall hard enough to leave an imprint in the drywall.

Lily grabbed the outline of what she believed to be her opponent's neck. "Where's Whiplash?"

There was a hissing laugh that escaped Lily's grasp. "Crystal doesn't share her boy toys." Crystal ubruptly head-butt Lily, flicked up her legs and slammed them into Lily's chest.

Lily fell to her back, groaning at the wind that had been knocked out. Panicking, she put up another force field. She silently smiled at the sound of what she hoped was Crystal's face smacking against the magical barrier. Dropping all her magic she picked up Crystal as more doors flew open. Lily's eyes widened as her breath returned to gasp at the floating tranquilizer dart that was lodged in crystal who fell silent. Looking past the dart, she gulped at a familiar sight. She met him on the bus once. She remembered that because she had seen him on the news the very next day after that encounter. She recognized TNT.

The boar plucked the match he'd been gnawing on from beneath his teeth and struck it on his overgrown tusk. "Good thing we have insurance." He lit a triple bundle of dynamite and chucked it at Lily.

Lily quickly dropped crystal's body and pulled the paracord whip from her belt. Adam had taught her a few tricks. She prayed she could still remember what he taught her. She swung the whip around her head and flicked her wrist at the precise moment. She screamed internally with joy as the whip cracked loud and clear.

TNT stared as the fuse, that had been split from the dynamite, fizzled out. "Huh." Shrugging his shoulders he decided to do things the old fashioned way. He leaned forward as he began to charge at Lily. Flicking his wrists up let loose a trail of fire that spewed onward.

"Vent de division." Lily swept her arms across each other, blowing out the fire in a wave of intense air, before reeling the whip back again and wrapping it around TNT's legs. She yanked on the whip as she sidestepped.

TNT howled as he fell face first and slid a few feet. "Ugh." His tusks scraped against the floor as Lily pulled him towards her. The boar went stoic as Lily rolled him over. "I think it's fair to say I overestimated my abilities." He squealed as Lily grabbed him by one of his bandoliers.

"Listen." Lily shook TNT. "Where is Whiplash."

TNT grumbled. "The infirmary."

"Why is he there?" Lily growled at his silence, "Answer me!"

TNT finally yelped, "He's Dying!"

Lily felt her heart sink into a cold abyss at those words.

"He was poisoned, and there's no cure for the poison." TNT frown deeply. "If you wanted to kill him-"

"No." Lily hissed. "Come on." She unwrapped the whip from TNT's legs. "I can save him."

TNT stared at Lily. "Oh'kay?"

"Come on. Where's the infirmary?"

"You're serious?" TNT asked as he cautiously stood up.

"Yes!" Lily screamed. "Come on! Where is the infirmary?"

TNT pointed the direction he was walking towards. "This way."

The two made their way to the next hall and into an elevator. Neither spoke as the elevator climbed up the floors while at the same time squawking out some jingle-fied version of a song Lily remembered her parents listening to on cassette tapes. The words played through her head - the rain again, falling on my head - the elevator screeched to a halt.

"Darn." TNT tried tapping the buttons. "They locked the elevators." He stared at Lily. "Listen, I don't know who you are, but I need to know. Are you serious about saving Whiplash's life?"

"Yes." Lily quickly replied.

TNT nodded. "Okay." He pulled a black box from his belt. "Take this. You might need it if Knockout is up there." Lily clipped the black box onto her belt as TNT clasped his hooves together. "It's just two more floors. I'm too fat to fit through the maintenance panel, but you could squeeze right through."

Lily watched as TNT kicked a metal panel, denting it enough to peel away. "Why are you helping me?"

TNT set the dented panel aside as his face became calm. "He's saved my life on many occasions. He's a good leader. And, he's looked out for all of us to the best of his ability. Intruder or not, if you say you can patch him up, I'll take that chance."

Lily nodded as she went for the new opening in the elevator. "Thank you."

"Good luck."

Lily wiggled her way into the elevator shaft. She didn't have to spend any of her magic here. After realizing that she had gained a bit of weight from her office job, she had started going to a rock climbing gym to stay in shape. How different could it be? That's what Lily thought. The climb wasn't as difficult for her as you'd think. However it was still a bit of a challenge as there were no multi colored plastic studs for her to grip onto here. After pulling herself up onto the top of the elevator, she eyed the cables that held it up. "Here we go." Lily began to shimy her way up one of the cables. It was physically demanding, but every moment she didn't use her magic was another moment that her magic could regenerate.

Finally at the doors she needed to be at, she held her breath and jumped to the bar adjacent to the doors. She released her breath when she felt that her body was solidly planted in a safe place. Reaching out, she struggled to pull open one of the door. As she pulled the one, the other followed suit in opening. Thankfully the doors stayed put so she could slip through them.

On the other side, she was surprised by the cleaner white hallways with white linoleum floors. Lily was further surprised by the lack of guards. The elevator doors faced directly down a hallway. At the end of the hallway, Lily could see a small figure dressed in orange. When her vision adjusted to the light, he was taken aback by the sight of the lamb who was once the mayor of Zootopia. "Bellwether?"

Bellwether reached up into her wool and pulled out a pin. She held the pin near her wrist. "You better surrender. Or else."

Lily noticed the taming collar around her neck. The black box. Lily furrowed her brow. The sheep seemed to be no threat. "Listen. I have to get to Whiplash. We don't have to fight."

"Not surrendering, eh? Fine." She jabbed the pin into her wrist and fell to all fours.

"That can't be good." Lily watched as Bellwether began to steam and expand until she was nearly four times her original height, even bigger. Lily had heard of animals using steroids to build muscles, but this was like nothing she had ever seen before.

Bellwether looked up and snarled at Lily. Standing up, she wrenched her neck side to side to let loose a drumroll of pops that sent a shiver down Lily's spine.

Lily quickly grabbed for the black box that TNT had given her. As Bellwether came running at her, she slammed her thumb down on the black box's trigger.

Bellwether screeched at the top of her lungs at a deafening volume that made Lily's heart ache.

Lily forced herself to move past the giant mass that twisted and screamed at the pain induced by the taming collar. Lily ran beyond the screams. She could see the infirmary sign at the end of the hallway. It brought her to run all the more faster. Bursting through the infirmary doors she saw her husband, Adam, in the last bed by the window.

"The infirmary!"

Lily saw the pile of guards hurtling her way past Bellwether, who had returned to normal size. She slammed the infirmary door shut and locked it. Using a quick burst of her magic she fused the lock shut. The guards rapped on the doors as Lily went into a full on sprint towards Adam.

Skidding to a halt Lily ran her paws over his face. "Adam?" Raspy breaths shuffled in and out of him, fogging up the tube that was taped into his nose. Gently stroking his face, Lily tried to wake him. But, he remained unconscious. Looking over his left shoulder, Lily could see where the bandages once were. His fur had been shaved off there for the purpose of bandaging the wound. Looking around a now smaller pad, Lily could see that his veins and arteries had blackened.

The infirmary doors burst open. "Stop right there!"

Lily threw up her magical barrier yet again which was pelted by hundreds of darts. "No." She was too late to escape with Adam so she wouldn't get caught. The force field used up the energy she would have needed to travel back the way she came. As long as the guards were there to stop her, she couldn't heal Adam if she let go of her force field. "Please!"

"Hold your fire!" A small but mighty voice called out. "Let me through."

"But sir-"

"That is an order," the voice commanded.

Lily watched as the guards parted for the mammal in charge. Who it was, surprised Lily. She watched as a suited light grey jack rabbit stepped through the crowd of guards as he straightened his tie.

"Ah. So, you're the intruder." The jack rabbit cocked his head as he looked Lily's way. "Magic? Wait, I remember hearing about you. The Phoenix. You were there helping Whiplash take on the Raven. I must say it's been a long time. But, Whiplash claimed no connection to you. Though judging by the whip on your hip, I'd say there's a connection after all." The jack rabbit began to pace. "So, why are you here?"

"I can save him!" Lily blurted out. "I can save him."

"Really?" The jack rabbit furrowed his brows in suspicion. "You took down three of my people, evaded about all of our guards, so forgive me if I'm a little confused."

Lily knew that if she held her barrier up for too long, she wouldn't be able to save Adam. "I'm sorry, but please, I can help him." Lily felt the world collapsing in on her as the jack rabbit seemed unmoved. "I can't heal him if I keep this shield up any longer. Please don't let him die!"

The jack rabbit stood there and said nothing.

"Please! Call off your men!"

"I don't believe you. How do I know that if I order them to stand down, you won't simply attack."

Lily could feel her heart screaming out of her chest. She was running out of time, energy. A groan turned her attention to Adam.

"Lil-y. Lil-" Adam's paw searched blindly around the bed.

Lily shook her head at the jack rabbit. "Do what you will." Carefully reaching over to Adam, Lily dropped the barrier. "Purge la maladie!" Lily forced what power was left in her into Adam.

The wolf screamed as the darkness in him retracted. He could feel it being yanked out of him as power flossed his body. It was as if lengths of piano wire were drawn from every vein and artery. It all billowed up in his throat until he turned over his bedside and spewed black matter onto the floor.

Once it was out of him, Lily grabbed water from the side table and rinsed his mouth. Using the bed sheet, she furiously wiped his mouth. When she was sure she had gotten it all, she helped him lay back in the bed. She finally found the courage to breath as she saw her husband's eyes open, at last. Looking up she saw the jack rabbit with his fist in the air holding the fire of the security guards.

"Is he alright?"

Lily nervously nodded. "He should be."

The jack rabbit kept his fist in the air. Looking back, he glared at the guards. "Stand down." One by one, the guards lowered their tranquilizer rifles. "You just saved one of my most valuable assets. For that, I thank you."

Lily sighed as she looked down at Adam. "There's a but in that sentence."

"Yes." The jack rabbit clasped his paws behind his back. "Because you illegally infiltrated this facility, don't expect to get away with it."

Lily nodded. "As long as Adam is safe, I will accept the consequences."

Adam finally registered who was standing over him. "W-what are you doing here?" His eyes darted over to the jack rabbit and began well up. "Jack." He saw the guards standing, ready to apprehend the intruder. "No, please. Let the Phoenix go."

"Adam," Jack sighed, "you know what needs to happen."

Adam desperately fought his weakness to rise. "Please. No! I'll take the punishment, add to my debt. Just let the Phoenix go!"

Lily stared at Adam. "Debt?" She looked to Jack. "What debt?"

Jack took in a deep breath. "I'm sure, Phoenix, that you're aware of the famous deeds of the vigilante Whiplash. But, mammals cannot take the law into their hands. Instead of sending him to jail, I convinced my superiors to allow him to serve his sentence through service to the government. It's an offer I'm willing to extend to you, if you choose except it."

Lily's mind muddled over all that she had just heard. For ten years, her husband had been serving in the Empire so as to avoid going to jail. He had been hiding this from her, so they could have a family, a life. The anger Lily held for her husband was suddenly redirected towards the jack rabbit. "Do you know who I am?"

Before Jack could answer, his eyes widened as Lily removed her mask. "Oh."

SLAP

Jack nearly fell over from the sudden strike of Lily's paw. He clumsily held up a fist to stop the guards from firing.

"So, you're the reason my husband had to lie to me about what he's been up to for the last ten years?" Lily wished that the full strength of her magic was back so she could send Jack flying into some unknown realm.

"Lily." Adam tried again to rise from the bed. "Lily, don'-," he tumbled off the edge of the bed, prompting Lily to rush to his side.

"Sit down in that bed. I've still got half a mind to slap you upside the head for not telling me what's been going on."

Jack nervously smiled. "Actually, I ordered him not tell you."

Lily eye's nearly rolled into the back of her head as she jabbed a finger at Jack. "Stop digging your grave even deeper."

Behind the guards, TNT and Crystal watched from a safe distance. "That's wifey?"

TNT pursed his lips together. "Eyup."

"Oh." Crystal dizzily leaned against TNT. "Wifey scary."

Bitter silence rested on Mr. and Mrs. Wolff. An agreement had been made that neither were happy with, but it was what it was. Neither could smile with the uneasy reality that had settled upon them both. Now, they both were in a debt of, what could be considered, a cruel nature. It is one thing to serve your country, but it is another entirely when you are bound into that service. Adam and Lily were both bound to the service of the Empire. It was something neither of them wanted, and yet, they could still accept it with the sliver of hope that reminded them that their family would still be safe, somewhat.

"A catch 22." Lily muttered by the bedside in the infirmary. She had dropped her costume now and had returned to the old trench coat that now had a different comfort. It was a soldier's comfort that she had not known in a long time, the comfort of one's uniform. "I think it's apparent now that neither of us were destined to walk away from any of this."

Adam grabbed his wife's paw. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this too."

"I saved your life. Don't be sorry." Lily continued to fight the image of Adam not being there. "Besides, maybe with both of us in the Empire we can watch each other's backs so we can both come home to our children."

Adam smiled a little at that. "I didn't mean that I was sorry you saved me. I'm sorry because I couldn't give you a normal life."

"Adam." Lily held up a paw and allowed sparks of magic to dance into the air from her fingertips. "This life was probably going to find me anyway. And, it seems this life has held you down longer than you thought it would."

Adam pulled Lily in for a quick kiss. "Believe me when I say I would give it all up for you if I could."

"But we can't, because there's consequences now." Lily pressed her forehead into her husbands.

"Catch 22." Adam mumbled. As they separated from each other, he stared at his wife's paws. "So, where'd you learn to remove poison like that?"

Lily felt a wave of guilt brush over her. "Absolutley no more secrets." After a deep breath she went on. "I wasn't gone on a business trip. I had gone searching for information about my powers. What I found led me to a Monastery in the far north."

"A monastery?" Adam asked.

Lily recalled the series of events that had transpired on the adventure she had dubbed a business trip. In a way it was a business trip, it was her business. "It's more of a sanctuary for others like me."

Adam locked his gaze on Lily, his attention undivided. "There's others like you."

"Yes," Lily remembered the mammals who had been so kind in welcoming her to the Monastery, "there couldn't be more than a hundred. But, not all of them have the same power that I have. Some possess small portions of magic. Then there's the very few, like me. A white tiger, Stephen Ajanabee, their leader, they called him the physician. He taught me some things about my past. I mean, my family's strange history."

Adam laughed a bit. "Strange family history? Welcome to club, we got jackets."

Lily couldn't help but laugh at that as well. "Like I said. Neither of us were ever allowed to be normal. But, yeah... Remember your family heirloom?" She gestured to one of the digits of her paw.

"The Wolfenstein ring?"

"Yes." Lily nodded. "Remember the ring my mother gave me with the emblem of the Phoenix? Well it belonged to my ancestor, Zipporah Clawhauser."

Adam's eyes shot wide open. "Wait a minute." Connections formed as excitement swelled up inside him. "As in Zipporah from the Arctic tribe?"

"One of the sevens." They both said simultaneously.

"The rings," Lily began.

Again they spoke at the same time. "The three rings."

Lily concentrated her magic. In a instant flash of pink light, both of their rings appeared before them. Adam held his up next to Lily's. "They're identical." A small golden spark jumped between the two rings as they touched. Thunder rung across the sky outside. As flashes of lighting followed a downpour that mysteriously seemed to consume the morning sky. The orange glow of the sun through the horizon was still clear through the Rain that fell upon the entirety of Zootopia.

Mayor Swinton shot up in her desk. "No!" She ran to the nearest window and glared angrily at the gold rain lit by the rising sun.

Sebastian nervously poked his head into the mayor's office. "Something the matter, Miss Gloria?"

Swinton scowled at the sky as her face shook with a subtle anger, 'twas as though ghosts she laid to rest and suddenly been sprung from their prison in the deepest darkest depths of some hidden hell. She practically snarled, almost hissed, "Here comes the rain, again."

Sebastian crept out of the office and closed the door, leaving Swinton to herself.

"So, it begins." Swinton yawped as she whacked a vase across the room in complete and utter rage.