Disclaimer:
The following is a fan-based fiction. Zootopia and its characters are owned by Disney. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well.
(The song Mirror Lake by Susumu Hirasawa begins to play.)
Chesterization proudly presents
A Zootopia fanfiction
Signum
(Song ends)
Chapter 4: Insight
The next morning, outside of Bach's house
The front door swung open, violently. "Argh, Du ma! Chu Nhat ma cung khong duoc yen than." [Argh, Mother fucker! Couldn't even get some peace on a Sunday. ]. He said the same annoyed and condescending tone as the day before, and one month back. He squinted his eyes in the harsh sunlight, before looking at his visitor. "Holy shit! It's you." He spoke upon seeing Judy.
With eyes struggling to stay open, the rabbit retorted. "I kept my part of the bargain."
"Yeah, look like it. Damn, you look like hell. What did you do?" He had a quick look around the neighborhood. The cats in the area were giving strange looks; strange to him at least. "You know what? It's hot outside, it's horrible. Come inside then explain later." He invited her into his home.
The first thing Judy notice was the scratching on the wall. They looked like claws marks. It would not take a genius to know who made them. Though, the thing that struck Judy's curiosity was the patterns these marks were making. They were circles. Circles with different sizes and sometimes overlapping each other. From a distance, they look like ripples on the surface of an unease pond. Judy's ears twitched at a series of loud banging sound. The cat was kicking some metal parts and tools on the floor, creating a clean path for Judy.
"Sorry about the mess, haven't had the chance to clean up." He smiled. "Didn't expect visitors." He then dragged a few large trash bags to the side, clearing up the small hallway a bit. Judy did not know if it was the effect of going through a night without sleep, but, she did not notice any strange sense in this cat's house. The only thing that was somewhat different was the smell of flower coming from a locked basement.
As he cleared away the random items on the floor, the cat led Judy to his living room. The place was not much different than the rest of his house (the parts Judy had seen so far). The walls were scratched with the same patterns, machine clusters on the floor. The only different was a tea table and few plastic stools in the middle of the room. The cat offered her a seat, which she took without question.
"Man, nail a tail on my butt and call me Eeyore. Didn't think you would come." He reached under the table and pulled out a cup and a teapot. "Tea?"
Judy shook her head. "We have a deal. I kept my part of the bargain, and now it's your turn."
He put the pot and cup on the table. "Hehehe, true that. And I will happily oblige." He scratched the back of his head. "Set your expectation low, I just have some insights into the matter. A mere drop in a bottomless sea of mystery-" He paused for a quick chuckle. "Hehe, I should be a poet once I get out of here." And immediately he shut himself down. "Nah, I can't compete with the professional, you know what I mean?"
Judy crossed her arms while kept her right eye shut. "Hey, focus."
"I know, I know. Geez, you are killing the mood." He then put the teapot's spout in his mouth and drank. Afterward, he wiped his mouth and said. "But before that, I'm curious, how did you will yourself out of this?"
"It's pretty obvious, I, I stayed up all night."
The cat nodded. "Oh, how does it make you feel?"
"Horrible." Judy shook her head. "I feel, disorientating. But I couldn't go to sleep. I was afraid that if I do, I might, forget and, and-"
"And?"
"Just wake up like yesterday, carrying business as usual." She shook her head. "How did, working as an officer in a foreign country, after a shipwreck become 'usual' for me? It makes me more anxious the more I think of it."
"Yeah, strange huh? Sometimes, the scariest thing seems so, mundane." He quickly clapped his hands. "Well, I have some good news for you."
Judy's ears perked up. "Really?"
"Yup, I can remove the thing that causes your, assimilation."
"Assimilation? You mean."
"Yeah, you can sleep from now on, without worrying about becoming Hon Dao's 'Officer Hopps'" He then reached his head closer to her and whispered. "But, I must warn you. This, is gonna hurt, a lot."
She rubbed her temples. "Whatever it takes; I just want to get through this and go home."
"Well, I can't promise any of those, but, heh, if you want to." He stood up. "Come, follow me."
He then led her to a different room. This one looked like a dentist's place, completed with a chair, rusted equipment, and the sterilized air.
The cat walked to the chair, dusted off the seat. "The thing that affected you, that turns you into one of us, it's a bug."
"A bug?"
"Yeah, do you feel something strange in your ear lately?"
Her eyes opened wide. "I, I do."
The cat nodded. "Yeah, you probably figure that one out."
She held down her right ear. "You mean, there is something in my ear?"
"Yes, it's a bug. It's gross but-"He shrugged, "Yeah, it's been there for a month. You might wanna sit down." Seeing how shocked she was, he asked. "Need any help?"
She shook her head, instead worked her way to the dentist chair and rested on it, the same way she did for her dentist a few months ago. The cat then opened a cabinet and took out a large jar of murky liquid. After setting the jar on an equipment desk nearby, he said. "The bug, it emits this infrasound that essentially fucks with your brain during your sleep. Ever try to cram for an exam by paying someone to read them out to you while you are as sleep?"
She shook her head.
"No? What, did you stay up late and study like a nerd in that police academy of yours? Anyhow, the point is, your brain is easier to take in sounds when you are asleep. Since it's infrasound, you cannot, practically hear it, so it doesn't wake you up. But, well, it still affects your brain." He disinfected what seemed like an extra-long pair of tweezers. "So now, I'm going to remove the bug, like a bad tooth."
She looked at him, squinted her eyes. "I thought you are a mechanic."
"I am, but the jackhole who originally owned this house isn't." hands on hips, he said, "The original owner of this place is a dental technician and a dentist. The guy moved to Zootopia to become a comic artist a few years back. I just take his place because it was empty.' He chuckled to himself. "Heh, I bet he probably live on the street by now."
"What is his name?"
"Chun Chi I To."
"Oh, he is a very famous comic artist in Zootopia."
He frowned, said in an annoyed tone. "Bitch, you have that information, and you couldn't keep it to yourself."
Decided that it would be best not to upset whoever was going to put that tweezers in her ear, she decided not to dwell on the subject. This is something, someone like her would not normally do. But, she had to do it. She was pretty much putting her fate in a stranger that she had never met, but what can she do. He is the only chance she had in this strange place.
He put the tweezers on top of the jar then crouched down. Once he got up, in his hands were straps.
Judy's eyes were teeming with concern. "Is this necessary?"
"Yes, you might squirm while I tried to remove it." He looked at the jar. "See this thing here? It's a strong acid, I really do not want you to knock it over. This is the thing that's gonna kill the bug. I'm gonna toss it inside once I remove it. Also, keeping your head still helps."
"Do you have, eh, sedative?"
"I do, It's gonna knock you out for a bit, but, the straps, are just in case. Don't worry, I promise not to do anything horrible to you." After he had strapped down her arms and legs, "Besides, you are an officer, suck it up." He turned her head to the side and put a strap on it. "Okay, hold still, don't want the needle to break." He then injected the sedative into her. It would not take long before the drug knocked her to sleep. She did not sleep at all the night before after all.
A few minutes later.
"AGHHHHHHHH." Judy's ghastly scream filled the room.
"Bitch, keep it down. Your screaming is messing with my concentration. Just a bit more." That did not stop her from screaming. She only made it louder as she could physical feel something refuse to let go of its tendrils in her flesh. She felt a rip within her head and heard a faint, alien sound afterward.
The cat grunted. "Get in there you little fucker." What came before Judy passed out was a sizzling sound, and that alien sound played significantly louder.
A while later, Judy woke up and saw the cat was whipping sweat off his forehead. "Whew, my God. That was, easier than that one time." Seeing Judy's opened eyes, he said, with a smile. "How do you feel?"
She screamed, much smaller compare to the last one. "Aghhhhhhhhh."
"Heh, as expected." He dropped the blood stained tweezer and a few red cotton balls onto the floor. The jar was nowhere to be seen. "I have already put some herb on. It helps with the wound." Seeing Judy just winced and held on to the base of her ear made him said. "Sorry for the, yeah, thing. I can't make it gentler. That bug has been there for a month. Can't expect to just take it out like a bandage."
Surprised, she said. "Are you, apologizing?"
"Yeah, so? You want me to act like an absolute cock-end. Cause I can do that." He offered her his hand, helping her get up. "Listen, we wanna get out of here, so let's work on that, a common goal. Bickering wouldn't help much. Neither is asking stupid questions."
He then guided her back to the living room.
Judy asked, "So, you have any idea what else is going on?"
"Nope, I won't give you anything else. If I give you too much insight at once, you'll go mad. It's for your own good." He drank some more tea. "Here is the gist, The Island is well, cursed by something. I have some idea what that thing is. That thing is sound." Judy looked down, recalling the moment she set foot on the island. "Did you, hear strange things once you are in this island?" Her wide violet eyes told him to continue. "Sound, it's everywhere; even one that we cannot hear. And that's not the strangest thing these sound could do." He gave her a stern look. "You came from Zootopia aren't you? Anyone can be anything right? Well, here, anything can happen to you. Horrible and indescribable things." He coughed. "Sorry, the stupid sound also makes me sometimes speak in trailer-ese. What I want to say is, the curse of the sound could do pretty much anything on this island. Whatever happens, they most likely would not be up your alley. More like up your ass. You are no longer a dumb rabbit, but, that just means it going to get worse for you." He stood up. "Well, I'm getting pretty tired, how about we take a break?"
"Wait, that's it?"
"Bitch, I just pull a god damn nightmare from your ear. It's exhausting. Besides, you need sleep for what to come." He then slapped his knee. "Oh, almost forgot, you cannot sleep without these." He moved to a drawer in the living room. The cat opened it and took out two round devices. Their designs made them look like eyes.
He gave them to Judy and said. "Put these deep in your ears, they will prevent another bug from coming in. Also, it can block out some frequencies. Just keep in mind, some of those frequencies are there to mask the reality from you. So, expect to see a lot of horrific things more often." He gave her a wide grin. "Welcome to Hon Dao, rabbit! Enjoy your stay. You can call me Alex, and I'll be your guide." He coughed once more. "Damn it, trailer-ese again!"
Author note:
Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is one of my first stories so please forgive possible mistakes in the future and help me fix them.
