The Zootopian Chronicles II: Darkness

by Menser

The Protectors: They came with promises of safety and protection from all the threats facing Zootopia but what if the greatest threat is The Protectors themselves? Nick, Judy and their Furless friend must forge an alliance with old friends and Legends from Zootopia's dark mysterious past to save their city and world against these invaders from within and new otherworldly threats.

41. Reynard's Story 3Ic – The Wolf's Revenge

Reynard's Story – Part 3Ic – The Wolf's Revenge

This is the ninth of nine sections of the Third Part of Reynard's Story – Piece 3 of 3. The King has released Reynard's greatest enemies and tasked them with unthinkable, the murder of The Fox, his entire family and any followers. So great was The King's desire for vengeance, he risks angering the entire Council, The Queen, Reynard and all his allies, and bringing war to the entire underworld. The attack of Reynard's home has concluded and the cost to both sides is great. A peace accord is negotiated which changes the landscape of the power dynamic at court. Events then transpire which have a devastating effect on Reynard's family as bonds are shattered and everyone's lives are forever changed.

This is the final section of the finale which was originally almost 80K words, but was broken into three chapters to avoid such an unwieldy size.

The finale of this section of the adaption borrows loosely from the original legend and the 1930 movie, with regards to the concept of an assault on Reynard and his family and partially the end result. The negotiation and aftermath declared by The King are based on the original legend's final two chapters (44 & 45) as well as the movie. Most elements are specific to Zootopia, the modern time period and the different set of circumstances of this story.

The chapter is Rated M++ because it has a laundry list of nastiness as one would expect. There is a litany of scenes of an extremely disturbing nature, severe and copious violence, murder, visceral death, gore, brutal rape, abuse/beating/torture, harm to a child, violent and deadly events involving a child, sexual inferences, etc. This is the final piece of the finale's trilogy.

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Zoodate: Zoodate: (-32 Years) (30 years before the events at the end of Zootopia The Movie), 145 P.C.

Zoodate: (-32 Years) (30 years before the events at the end of Zootopia The Movie)

"Now I know mistakes were made..." Fineskin began as he continued his struggle to calm tempers and encourage civil discourse between all parties which he had been attempting in vain to do for quite awhile.

"Mistakes! I had my home and grounds invaded by hundreds of mammals trying to harm or kill me, my family and employees, my home destroyed, many of my employees and friends killed or seriously injured, my bodyguard crippled, my lieutenant possibly dead, my family terrified and forced to flee, my little daughter abducted, abused and used as a shield…" Reynard answered angrily pointing at Bruun, Tybalt and The King.

"Bad Mammals! Bad Meanies!" Little Scarlet angrily echoed her father looking furiously at the others.

"Is this negotiation really a place for a child?" Tybalt asked looking uncomfortably at Scarlet.

"I'm not letting her out my sight until such time as she is back safely in her mother's arms!" Reynard firmly told them all making sure they knew this point was non-negotiable. The little girl was staying right where she was.

"Besides she was thrown into the middle of all this by these bastards. Her home was invaded and she was threatened and attacked. She has a right to express her grievances." Reynard added resulting in a big grin from his daughter who quite enjoyed being involved in her father's negotiations. The little girl nodded at her father and Fineskin and glared at the others daring anyone to try and take her from her father's side. The tiny kit may look unbelievably cute and adorable, but she was the daughter of Reynard and Aza and certainly knew it, proving herself quite tough and resilient.

After an extended negotiation, a tentative settlement was reached with The Council and the two opposing sides.

Reynard had contacted his fellow district boss allies and brought them in on a conference call with The King, Fineskin and several council members.

"I believe you owe a great deal of appreciation to my fellow district bosses, Sweet Lou, Felgrand and Rikki Tikki who showed amazing restraint by not bringing the entire underworld into a full-scale war. They prevented the Zootopian authorities from getting involved as well as preventing additional reinforcements from escalating the conflict further. They also asked permission before taking actions which would have turned everything into a complete Zootopia-wide conflict." Reynard announced quite clearly cementing his bonds with his fellow bosses and reminding The Council that if not for their actions, nothing they could have done would have prevented a full-scale underworld war.

Fineskin attempted to placate the other bosses assuring them, "We have definitely greatly appreciated all the help of each of you other bosses. Your actions in this entire situation have saved a disastrous situation from becoming truly horrific. In fact as a thanks for your service, each of your districts as well as Reynard's will gain a permanent seat on The Council in addition to your own for each of you personally to assign."

Reynard had been hoping for a reward like this as it would greatly help him and his allies gain a much greater presence and control among The Council.

"In addition, you all have the eternal thanks and support of The Council going forward. We will also be discussing some increased profit sharing opportunities and some waivers from Royal payments for a period of twelve months." Fineskin added gaining a few approving grunts from those bosses.

The King look aghast at such a pronouncement and began to protest, but then quickly closed his mouth and looked down uncomfortably as Fineskin shot a quick glare at him.

Reynard then grinned mischievously adding, "That does sound like a proper reward for their help. But I really believe that an eighteen month waiver would be even more reflective of their aid and restraint regarding all this."

Fineskin narrowed his eyes at The Fox, and then smiled seeing the wisdom in agreeing with him as he deserved to have his allies properly rewarded for saving the underworld from a war. So Fineskin told those on the phone, "Your ally has an excellent suggestion. Eighteen months of waivers from royal contributions it will be."

The King put his face in his paws, but then to his credit he straightened up in an attempt to appear regal and take it in stride.

Always the tactician, Reynard knew his allies would now see those waivers as gifts from himself rather than The Council. It never hurt to have your allies know that siding with you meant rewards in terms of power and profit, while siding with your enemies meant huge costs in terms of lives, money and lost prestige.

Reynard knew that he needed loyal powerful allies going forward and had intentionally attempted to keep them out of the conflict unless absolutely necessary for this very type of outcome. All his allies were dedicated toward the same kind of vision he had for the underworld and Zootopia as a whole. They may have minor disagreements on many issues, but overall their ideals and beliefs aligned with his own. He had been alone against the entire kingdom before and it had nearly cost him his life. He now realized he would need to band with others and gather more and more power in order to make his vision of the future a reality. It was just unfortunate such a costly and monumental event had to be the catalyst for these changes. But since the situation was out of his control, Reynard had decided to make full use of the attack on his home and family to further his political aspirations.

So while Reynard may have appeared furious one moment and magnanimous the next. It was all an act carefully constructed to gain himself and his allies the power they would need for the conflicts and decisions for years to come. Reynard knew exactly the outcomes and concessions he could expect to gain for himself and his friends. He also knew that with the extra bit of ammunition he had been given by his cousin Grimbeert, he had an extremely strong negotiating position with The King himself which he intended to exploit to its fullest as soon as the financial compensation negotiation was complete.

First he worked with The Council to establish compensation from his enemies and The King himself because of the lion's ill-conceived actions in the matter. Reynard claimed that his family could not continue to live in such a place where so much horrible death and terrible personal memories had occurred. He therefore demanded that his enemies and the Royal Treasury pay for a new estate of equivalent stature to be built to Reynard's specifications by Reynard's approved labor force. He also demanded that all repairs and cleanup required for his current estate also be reimbursed.

Reynard required that funeral costs and a pension be paid to any of his employee's or friend's families or survivors that had been killed during the conflict commensurate with inflation adjusted future earnings potential for each of them. He hoped there were not many of his own that were killed, and had done everything possible to minimize any deaths among his own forces, but in such a massive deadly conflict such deaths were inevitable and unavoidable. Reynard could only just try and do what he could for their families now. He planned on helping each of them personally in addition to the concessions he gained, but wanted each to be as well cared for as possible from as many sources as possible. He also added compensation for those with injuries depending on their severity to help them and their families, especially those that may be unable to work in their previous positions. Any medical costs required would also be reimbursed for any of Reynard's injured forces.

"And I want a new dress!" Scarlet demanded, "A really nice one… with sunflowers!"

"Yes, and a new dress for Scarlet as well." Reynard added with a grin nuzzling her belly with his muzzle as she cooed in delight.

"We'll get her the nicest one we can possibly find." Fineskin promised the two foxes as he finished the final touches on his document, "Is there anything else you require?"

"Just a few things his majesty and I need to work out. Also the neighbors around the estate need to be compensated for the damage and disturbance to their lives. Oh and I believe my district should received waivers twice as long as that of my allies." Reynard quickly added.

"Three years! That is… that is too much!" The King exclaimed in frustration.

Next to Sahara Square and it's hotels, entertainment and casinos, with its shipping and trade revenues and Reynard's extensive heists and cons, the Docks District contributed the largest share to the Royal Treasury every year.

Fineskin scowled at The King commenting, "I will make it triple that if you continue your bellyaching. Besides, with The Wolf having escaped, Sahara Square is wide open and in need of leadership. Perhaps you can make up revenues there."

"But you have allocated most of that revenue over the next several years to pay for a large portion of the concessions Reynard requested. Except for the money coming in from Tundratown, the Royal Treasury will be completely barren for the next two years!" The King lamented now realizing what his foolish actions of moving against Reynard would cost him.

Fineskin grunted with no sympathy for the monarch addressing The King and Reynard, "I will make the additions you requested, and leave you two to finalize the deal."

Fineskin, Rath and all others except Scarlet then left The King and Reynard to speak in private.

"She needs to be here?" The King asked calmly.

Reynard simply responded, "I promised her mother." His simple statement settled the debate as he allowed the little girl to sit on his lap nestled in his arms.

Scarlet grinned and waved to The King, "Hello your majesty! It is good to see you again. Nico, me and my brothers and sister have been good knights just as you requested. Where is The Queen?"

The King addressed the little kit gently trying to hide his displeasure with her being there, "She is away taking care of our cubs and home. But I am sure she wishes she could see you again. I will tell her how good you have been and how much you wish to see her."

This seemed to ameliorate the child and Reynard gave her a book to read asking her, "The King and I need to have a conversation. Baby, can you read for a bit and let us talk?"

Scarlet nodded her head and began to read her favorite book one of his guards had found in the nursery about a little fox girl who grows up in a magical forest where she can speak to the trees, rocks and bugs.

"So what do you wish of me, Red? I believe I am paying quite a pretty penny already for my mistake of not informing The Council and unintentionally allowing these other districts to move against your home." The King innocently asked.

The Fox then told The King his list of demands. As he continued which each demand, the lion fought to remain looking regal, but instead showed how incredulous and shocked he was at the gall and insanity of The Fox for asking for such things. By the time The Fox was finished, The King no longer appeared regal, but instead simply was dumbfounded with his jaw agape.

Finally he responded, "Surely you must be joking Fox! Why in the world would I agree to any of that?"

Reynard looked at the lion grinning mischievously, "Oh, I think both of us know quite well why you will agree to everything I asked with no exceptions. I will admit to some mistakes regarding our relationship in my younger and more reckless days. For that I apologize sincerely, which is why I am showing great restraint in my requests as I will admit the wrongs of my past."

"Restraint! You are asking for the moon! Why do you assume I would agree to any of this?" The King asked incredulously.

The Fox grinned at him responding, "Oh I believe you know very well why. While my misdeeds may have been misguided, they did not rise to such treachery and murder as you have acted a party to. As we both know that Isengrim, Bruun and Tybalt did not act alone, nor did they even act of their own volition, but instead were under direct orders by a certain monarch acting completely alone with no authority whatsover."

The lion narrowed his eyes glaring at Reynard, "If you believe this to be so, then why all these negotiations and concessions? Why not report what you know to The Council? Why not strike me dead? I know you could do it even now if you wished. Your reputation is quite well deserved from what I hear."

Reynard then calmly considered The King simply answering, "Because it gains me nothing. I always told you I am not your enemy, nor am I after your crown. I've never been either. I simply wish to be left to my own concerns. Besides, I would not wish to cause any bereavement to my good Queen, your wife. Nor would I have her knowing any of this nasty business as we both know how furious she would be. I would have her with a clear mind and light heart concerning these matters."

The King challenged The Fox, "What proof have you of any of this anyway? Would you seek to blackmail me with mere guesses?"

Reynard then recited word for word a statement of The King, "I wish you to kill Reynard and any with him whether they be his family or even kits. No one at his estate is to be left alive. I will give you special permission to enter his district with whatever forces you deem necessary, enter his home, and kill all you find bringing me the head of The Fox. The edict will hold any you bring with you from being punished… should I go on?"

"Who told you that?" The shocked lion blurted out.

"Why you did, my lord King." Reynard answered with a smirk and a wink.

"What?" King Nobel responded gasping.

"Or I should say more specifically by your own words that I heard on a private recording of the entire incident I was provided. Again if you were to do as I ask, such a recording would be kept private and no one would ever be the wiser. I believe there has been enough suffering on all sides already. Now however, if you were to refuse my demands or endeavor to move against me or my allies in the future, I could not be held responsible for the consequences of those actions." Reynard slyly informed the monarch.

"So you wish to use me as your puppet?" The King angrily accused the smug fox.

"No, nothing of the kind my lord King. I merely seek to right wrongs on all sides. I do not wish to hold this as a loaded crossbow to your head. I merely just remind you that I make a much better ally than I do an enemy. Ask Isengrim, Bruun, Tybalt, Friese and the many others that have sought my downfall if they are the better for it. I have admitted my mistakes of the past and partially understand your anger at me for my transgressions. However I believe we could have come to a much more peaceful solution if you had merely addressed your concerns to me earlier rather than acting so rashly. But alas, that bridge has already been crossed and time can not be rewritten. So I instead propose we work together toward an amicable and profitable solution for the both of us. As you can see from my negotiations, I always look out for my allies and friends. Wouldn't you wish to be my friend my lord King?" The smooth talking fox explained to The King.

While Reynard knew he could act as a thuggish bully forcing The King to accept his terms, he preferred to have The King accept his conditions as common sense and the most rational decision. He wanted The King to see him as an ally rather than a tyrant. Many such forced political friendships were made in this way and worked out to the benefit of all parties in the end. The Fox wished to offer an olive branch to the lion in hopes of forming the start of, if not a friendship, then at least an amicable partnership. However The King was one that held grudges and never wished to feel forced or pressured into making any decision. But King Nobel saw that he had little choice in the matter and could merely accept The Fox's terms and look to destroy him in the future when the time was right. The King's decision at that moment to see The Fox as an enemy instead of an ally would be a costly one for all. But that was a tale for another time.

At the moment The King had to respond to The Fox's demands pronouncing, "Fine. I accept all your terms. Now can we finally get the hell out of here?"

The Fox gave The King a friendly nod hoping he had made a friend, but preparing for the possibility that he had made an enemy instead as was The Fox's nature.

---

Those few enemy forces still alive were removed from Reynard's estate while The Fox's own defenders requiring extensive medicare care were rushed to medical facilities around the city.

The King and the gathered Council announced they would be holding an emergency session at court in two hours where they would announce all the agreements and decisions. All bosses and council members were required to attend as well as any advisers or lieutenants that were not currently missing, incapacitated or busy with required duties such as Coal and his protection of Reynard's family.

Reynard directed any of his forces not aiding any injured to help with the construction of temporary walls in the sub-basement and the breach in the outer perimeter wall partially damaged by demolition explosives. The Fox made sure that refreshments were provided for all his defenders and he thanked most of them personally for their amazing efforts of the past day. He also issued instructions for removing and preparing those of his own who had died and making arrangements for their families ensuring they knew that everything would be taken care of for them including all funeral arrangements. Having to tell those in his employee that their loved ones had died was the worst job he could imagine, but he knew he would be making many personal trips to all those families as they deserved to hear from him directly. He owed it to every one of them. Unfortunately because of the numbers involved, he would have to make those visits later than he would wish, but he was sure they would understand due to the current circumstances.

He then visited his medical bay to check on the status of his critically injured tigers. Reynard forced Rath to receive treatment while he checked on Alexei. The bodyguard was still sedated after undergoing surgery to clean and close the nasty wound to his hip and leg. Apparently it would be quite some time before he was up and walking again, but they seemed confident he would make a full recovery eventually.

Sheba on the other hand was another matter. They had run extensive tests on her which showed she had numerous broken and splintered bones. Her entire body was covered in bruises and extensive tissue damage. Most of her internal organs had also suffered damage as well. They had performed surgery to stop any internal bleeding they had found. However the extent of the injuries was so severe, they were just not equipped for anything close to the medical aid the tigress would require. They didn't even know if she would live, let alone her chances of recovery.

Reynard immediately called and made arrangements for her to be treated at the best trauma facility in all of Zootopia. He also made some calls to have some specialists he knew from his travels out of the region brought in to help with his lieutenant's treatment. He would be damned if there was anything he could have done to help her left on the table and would go to any length to save her. They then prepared to stabilize her for transport.

"With all her injuries, it is amazing her baby seems to have survived intact." One of the medics commented casually.

"WHAT!" Reynard responded shocked startling Scarlet who began to look around wildly, "Shea… Sheba was pregnant?" The Fox asked.

The medic realized that somehow with all the other information, Reynard had not been notified of this situation and he quickly stammered an explanation, "She may not have known herself. It was a very early pregnancy which is why the baby probably survived. Did you notice her being grouchier, hungrier or more aggressive than usual?"

Reynard admitted the truth, "Those would be very hard to notice on Shea as she is always those things especially when attackers are threatening her district. But I did notice she seemed a bit more bloodthirsty than normal, but I thought it was just the intense nature of the situation. I suppose we better not tell Alexei yet until we know if she will survive. He will be distraught enough about everything as it is already."

Rath then appeared and heard the status report responding, "Sheba certainly didn't mention anything about that to me. But knowing her, unless she was in the middle of giving birth, she would have wanted to have been right in the middle of the battle regardless. In fact even if she was giving birth, she would have probably licked the cub and said, Mommy will be right back little one, there is some killing to be done first."

Rath's comments produced laughs from Reynard and the medical staff who knew the tigress well lightening the mood greatly. Reynard had initially been concerned about sending a pregnant mother into the midst of battle, but Rath was right. Sheba would have insisted she lead the charge even if he had known about her condition.

Rath then gave Reynard a stern look motioning to the medical staff to get their attention, "Boss, enough is enough, you need to have a full exam and be checked and treated for all your wounds before going to the court assembly. Your foot is still bleeding and lord knows how many other cuts and stab wounds you have under all that bloody armor of yours. You all will need to remove his armor and wash him over thoroughly to figure out which blood is his. I will sit over here and hold Scarlet. I am sure Aza will understand, and be very furious with you for not having been treated earlier."

Reynard then saw the wisdom in his always wise lieutenant's words and agreed to his demands. Scarlet seemed quite happy to play in the lion's lap and laughed as Reynard complained quite loudly as they began to wash him down quite thoroughly.

"Daddy is not liking his bath." The little girl giggled enjoyed his struggles as she had struggled many times at her father's attempts to bathe her. A short while later she fell fast asleep in the lap of the lion as she had experienced quite a strenuous adventure during the long night.

---

After being thoroughly cleaned, bandaged, given numerous antibiotics and advice to try and avoid combat for the foreseeable future, Reynard joined Rath and several members of his private guard to meet Reynard's family who had been moved to Sweet Lou's private guest house as guests under heavy guard until such time as it was safe to move back into Maupertuis which would take several weeks at least.

The homecoming was quite enthusiastic and thrilling as everyone was overjoyed that little Scarlet was returned to them safely. The little kit didn't want to leave her father's side, but Aza, Nick and her grandparents convinced her that they were having a welcoming party in her honor and wanted to hear about her adventures. With the exception of Nick and her brothers and sister, the others were more interested in wanting her safe in their arms and under their watchful eyes, rather than hearing tales of her perilous experience. Reynard promised to join them later after attending the special court meeting. He told them he would be having their clothes and supplies sent over for an extended stay at their new temporary residence. He also brought over several of their usual staff and nursemaids to help with the kids, and left several guards with them as well relieving Coal of his caretaker duties to join him for the emergency court meeting.

As they quickly headed to the court downtown, Reynard gave Coal a full report on everything that occurred and the status on those injured and killed.

"All things considered, it could have been much worse. Our losses were much lower than I had expected considering how far they got." Coal commented.

Reynard nodded but still had a somber expression, "Even one death is one too many. And now I have to tell fourteen families that their fathers, husbands or brothers are dead. I knew almost all of them personally. They all knew that it was a possibility, but it does not make the news any less heartbreaking to those that loved them. And I still don't know if Sheba or her cub will survive. In addition, the list of those that are disabled or severely injured is far too long."

"They died defending their district from enemies seeking it's downfall. Isengrim and his crew may have gone after you and your family specifically, but that was only because the enemy knew without your leadership, the Docks District would be a far worse place and vulnerable to damage from all sides. It would have been just a matter of time before those forces would have brought down the rest of the district seeking to make it like the wretched places their own districts have become." Coal explained hoping to make his boss feel better for their deaths.

But Reynard hated for any of his employees and friends to die or be harmed, and The Fox's mood was still dark as he prepared to leave for court.

"What of the enemy dead? From the reports I received, not many of the original attacking force survived. I believe over four hundred were killed." Coal added trying to cheer up his boss and long time friend.

"But Isengrim escaped, Bruun and Tybalt still live, and I vowed to myself not a single soul who made it through those walls would remain breathing. My promise was death to any who stepped foot on my property that meant me or my district harm." Reynard stated with intense anger. His mistress was pleased by the mass slaughter in her name, but she was angered that she had been denied complete revenge on every single soul. Reynard was unsure who was more upset by his inability to kill every single one of them, her or him.

Coal attempted to calm his boss, "Red, I believe that your enemies quite got the message that such a move against you was ill-conceived. You have nearly destroyed both Isengrim's and Bruun's entire gangs. Friese also lost a sizable portion of her gang as well. Even in all the wars and conflicts of the entire underworld's past, no such numbers were ever lost. And for that to have happened in just a few hours! Such a thing has never even been imagined. This night will be talked about for possibly centuries to come. My only regret is that I was not by your side during the conflict."

Reynard looked up at his old friend and his expression softened, "Coal, your job was the most important of any. You kept the things most valuable and dear to my heart safe for me. There was no one else I would trust more with their safety. Knowing you were with them allowed me to focus my mind on the things that needed to be done for a successful outcome."

"I only worried that if something had happened to your little one… if you had been unable to get her back… or if she had been caused permanent harm or worse… I don't want to think about it." Coal admitted. Of all those celebrating the news that Scarlet had been recovered by Reynard, none was happier that she was safe than Coal, not even her mother.

Reynard smiled at his friend, "Why? Aza driving you crazy? I hope that she didn't bite your ear off too hard. She can get quite aggressive if someone is threatening her little ones."

Coal looked at his boss quite somberly, "No… Aza was much more controlled than I expected… no… I was worrying more about all of Zootopia… if something had happened to that child..."

The Fox then nodded realizing the impact of his old friend's words. He hated to think what he might have done if she had been harmed. He wondered if he could have controlled his anger and wrath, or if he would have slaughtered The King, the entire council, Bruun, Tybalt, Isengrim, Friese and every member of their district gangs, every employee, every family member and anyone associated with them in any way. He also wondered if he would have stopped there or how far he would have gone to seek retribution for such a thing. Reynard did not want to imagine himself capable of such horrific brutality, but he knew that such a thing was quite likely. The little girl meant more to him that he could possibly ever express. He was just glad she was with her mother and the rest of the family seemingly in decent shape for having gone through such a traumatic experience at such a young age. He was only thankful the kit took more after her mother and father than her aunt, but he would keep a close eye on her to make sure she was truly okay. The wish to keep the jaguar's head as a trophy was a bit disturbing for such a little child.

"So did everything go as you had expected… with your negotiations?" Coal asked.

"We shall see." Reynard responded, "Fineskin and The Council gave us and our allies what we wanted. They even agreed to give each of us an additional seat on The Council. I was thinking of offering that spot to you if wished it."

"I am no politician. Why not offer it to younger, more brilliant minds?" Coal wondered.

"Because they don't understand how to deal with the types at court with tact and guile. They also don't understand the bigger picture like you do. It would reduce your training duties a good bit. But both you and I aren't getting any younger. You would also not be alone… far from it. You would be working with Grimbeert, the representatives chosen by our allies, and the many other council members and court advisers that are flocking to our side now. And hopefully The King will play his part as well." Reynard explained.

Coal was surprised by one of those mentioned asking, "You are still close with your cousin, after what happened at court with the ransoming of the children?"

"Grimbeert risked much to play his part at court aiding me in avoiding the noose as well as going above and beyond anything normal to spy on The King and bring me the warning and evidence of the attack in advance. He saved so many lives, possibly my own and my families, with his timely warning. And he certainly saved a huge number of our gang's and allies lives as well as potentially preventing a full war which could have destroyed the entire underworld. Yes, Grimbeert has much to atone for, but I believe he will be a strong ally and work even harder than ever before to prove himself loyal to our cause. Listen carefully to his advice as no one knows the court or the ways of The Council better than my dear cousin." Reynard advised his old friend.

Coal nodded seeing the wisdom in The Fox's advice and considered where this new career path may take him. He did not want to admit he was getting older and slower. It was nice of The Fox to attempt to soften his words regarding such a decision, but Coal knew his career as a warrior and gang leader was drawing to a close. He was nearly twice the age of The Fox and had been wondering how many more years he had left before he considered retirement. But the new position his old friend offered was perfect for him and would extend his career significantly just as he was sure the brilliant fox knew it would.

As they joined with Rath to stand in a place of honor before the assembly, they could see Grimbeert among the chief advisers beaming with joy upon seeing them very much alive. The badger did not hide the fact that he was extremely pleased to see his cousin and the others breathing quite well with their parts all still intact. The King then came out attempting to look regal, but he definitely appeared to be uncomfortable. The most likely culprit of that discomfort came out with him, as The Queen appeared looking stately as usual, but any who knew her well could see she was glaring daggers at The King, and most likely had been showing her displeasure with the events which had led to this emergency session.

"Well… it is time to see if The King will play ball or not." Reynard remarked as The Council began announcing the start of the session.

---

Fineskin and The Council had announced that all grievances had been settled and that there would be no war. He then specified that Isengrim The Wolf was a fugitive and a large bounty had been placed on his head for his previous crimes and his actions in violation of all underworld laws invading another district and attempting to assassinate another boss and his family in their own home. The Wolf's district and former employees were currently under control by a proxy leadership group which reported directly to The Council until such time as new leadership could be decided upon. All Isengrim's personal property and his district resources would be used in part to reimburse a large portion of the concessions offered to Reynard and his district in compensation for the damage, death, injuries and inconveniences they suffered. The remainder of the funds would come from Tybalt, Friese, Bruun and the Royal Treasury.

The Council was still deciding on the punishments for Bruun and Tybalt, but they placed most of the blame on the missing Isengrim. While The Wolf would seem to be a convenient scapegoat, everyone knew there was much truth in their accusations as all involved from the lowest peon to the top leaders clearly indicated Isengrim was definitely the ring leader. In the meantime, Bruun and Tybalt would be required to sell off much of their assets in order to help pay their part of the financial burden.

When Fineskin announced the settlement with Reynard's allies giving them additional permanent seats on The Council, there was quite a great deal of grumbling around the court. But the leopard pointed out that they all went to extraordinary lengths to prevent a war and kept the Zootopian authorities out of everything.

The financial details concerning the concessions, reimbursements and waivers for payments to the Royal Treasury were all kept confidential, but all the contracts outlining all the agreed upon details Reynard had worked out earlier on behalf of his district, employees and allies were they signed and distributed to the appropriate parties. Reynard was happy to see Sweet Lou, Felgrand and Rikki Tikki were all quite pleased to see the deal their ally The Fox had worked out for them.

Rikki Tikki even shook Reynard's paw and personally complimented him whispering, "Your planning and restraint has served us well this day. I am quite pleased we went with your plan rather than my own. Mine may have felt better in the short term, but yours will serve us well for many many years to come."

Reynard patted the mongoose on the back answering him, "You don't know how much I loved your plan and would have relished destroying every one of them and their districts. But sometimes one has to see past mere vengeance and look to what is best for those we serve as leaders. Diplomacy and politics is a hard thing. Restraint and planning are much harder for those like you and me than violence and brutality."

The mongoose then smiled and nodded in agreement appreciative of The Fox's candor.

As Reynard rejoined Rath and Coal, the tough old panther pointed his head at The King who was readying himself to speak asking, "So what exactly did you demand out of old Leo?"

Reynard grinned mischievously at his two lieutenants responding obscurely, "We shall see… we shall see..."

The King then stood tall jutting his chest out and looking quite regal as he prepared to address the assembled court. Reynard noticed he had been to the groomers and was looking quite a lot better than when he had last seen him. The lion had shiny clean fur, manicured nails and his mane was quite fluffy and styled by his professional staff.

The noble King Nobel then began once the crowd quieted down to listen, "I am pleased to see that we have a nearly complete attendance other than the fugitive Isengrim The Wolf. First, I wish to thank Leader Fineskin and The Council for their tireless efforts to resolve the situation last night before it escalated into a kingdom wide conflict. I would also like to commend the leadership of the Rainforest, Meadowlands and Downtown Districts for their restraint and assistance in containing the matter. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to Reynard the Fox and the entire Docks District for accepting the peace offer of The Council and myself even though they were justified in seeking retribution upon the Sahara Square, Tundratown and Savanna Central Districts and their residents for the viscous, despicable and cowardly acts of their leadership."

"Reynard the Fox has shown leadership, courage, bravery, restraint and most of all extreme cunning regarding all matters. This situation last night has once again shown him to be the most qualified and deserving mammal in all of Zootopia to be named Minister of the Underworld. Come forward Reynard the Fox and receive the recognition you so richly deserve." With that The King brought forward a crown circlet made of golden wreaths on a red silk pillow with gold trim.

At the pronouncement those in attendance all seemed dumbfounded looking around at each other in confusion. Some stared in awe while most looked around completely bewildered not understanding what was occurring. The Queen herself seemed quite surprised staring at her husband questioningly but nodding in approval.

Fineskin The Leopard stepped forward clearly upset, "My lord King… surely you jest. That position has been vacant for almost a century. And for a district leader to assume that title! That amount of power for one with such a position is far too great! It is the reason why the position was abolished eons ago!"

The King considered the words of the leopard, but was clearly unmoved by them, "No such mammal as Reynard the Fox has existed over all that time. In any other mammal's paws I would agree Leader Fineskin, but Reynard has proven himself to be one who has risen above all others and is deserving of this position. The office is specific to Reynard, and it is his as long as he desires it, but will not be passed on to another and will end with him. "

Clearly most of the court had no idea what the position meant. Most only had heard it mentioned in legends of the past in a time where kings of the underworld ruled with nearly absolute control and The Council never existed. But what its impact would mean today was completely unknown was causing quite a large amount of consternation among council members and other court officials.

As Reynard stood before The King, Grimbeert, his lieutenants and allies all stared in shock never expecting anything this bold from The Fox. They all knew that he would be making demands of The King, but nothing on this scale.

As The King placed the wreath atop Reynard's head and several video cameras recorded the momentous event, The King exclaimed, "Reynard the Fox also known as Red or Red Death, you are hereby now named Minister of the Underworld."

The King then turned to address the assembled court, "Reynard has proven himself more resourceful and brilliant than all others, and I have concluded a pact of peace and friendship with him. I wish you to obey him in the future as my second in command as the title I have bestowed on him dictates. You will obey him as you would me. This is my will."

Reynard then gave The King and Queen a bow and addressed their majesties and the court, "My lord King and Queen, I am truly honored by your generosity in bestowing this title on a lowly fox. For I am your humble servant and owe you much homage and will continue to pay it forever to each of your majesties and the entire kingdom. I will be sure never to err or go against any edicts or rules of the underworld again."

The King smiled at The Fox performing his role speaking to Reynard and the court as a whole, "I am sure when you set matters justly utilizing your vast intelligence and good judgment towards goals of virtue and goodness of us all, then our court will be greater for it and truly thankful for such brilliant advice and counsel. There is truly no one here who can match you for penetrating and intelligent counsel, nor in providing more subtle remedies for legal and ethical issues. I want you to think of your own legend. Be just and loyal to me and The Council as from this point onward I will act by your voice, advice and judgment. Whoever acts against you acts against me and the underworld, and shall pay the price for doing so. You will act as my spokesmammal everywhere. In all the land you'll be sovereign above all others and stand in for me. I invest you with that office, which you can well occupy honorably."

All Reynard's friends, allies and kin thanked The King profusely with many cheering the long overdue words and honor bestowed upon The Fox.

The King then spoke to those supporters, "I want you all to do more for your sake than you think. I ask all of you to guide Reynard so that he remains true and loyal to his ideals and principles and the goals of the entire underworld."

Those supporters gathered all promised The King and Queen and The Council they would follow his advice in their love and efforts to provide all the help he would need.

Reynard then thanked The King and Queen eloquently, "Dear lord and lady, I'm unworthy of the honor that you bestow upon me. I'll remain focused on it and be loyal to you and the underworld as long as I shall live. I'll strive to give the wisest council that furthers both Your Grace's interests."

The Fox then bowed low before them announcing, "Dear King and Queen: I stand forever at your commandment. If you need anything whatsoever, I'll be at the ready. I'll be prompt to help you with both my body and property. My friends and kin will also obey your will and command. You've deserved it many times over, and may God repay you both and your cubs with good grace and long life! I now seek your permission to return to my wife, children and the rest of my family. They have been through much this day and crave my attentions and love. Should your Graces desire anything further of me, contact me and you'll always find me at the ready."

Thus The Fox left the King and Queen and the entire court with an eloquent speech.

As Coal, Rath and his allies left with their friend, Coal couldn't help asking him, "What was all that about with the appointment and speeches?

The knowledgeable Grimbeert grinned walking with his cousin and lieutenants answering for his cousin, "The new position alone makes him nearly as powerful as The King and Fineskin. But his additional place on The Council as a district leader and having an additional seat which I believe you, Coal, will be occupying, makes him even stronger. Not to mention the financial benefits that come with the position as he now shares in the profits from the Royal Treasury. Finally, I suspect all the speeches The King and Reynard gave were primarily just to convince the rest of the court of their strong bonds and cemented relationship."

The perceptive Coal then asked an important question, "You made claims of everlasting loyalty to The King. What happens if he seeks to undermine or turn against you in the future? Wouldn't you be breaking your word to him?"

Reynard smiled at the panther and laughed, "Did I promise just The King? Or did I promise other parties as well?"

Grimbeert chuckled telling Coal and Rath, "The Queen and the court or kingdom as a whole, he made promises to both as well. An excellent point I sure lost on most."

---

The homecoming was quite celebratory as Reynard returned to his family sharing the news of his promotion with them.

Aza had concerns, "What kinds of demands will this have on your time?"

Reynard hugged his wife assuring her, "It merely allows me to better guide the direction of the laws and governance of the underworld. This way instead of having to put so much time in countering my enemies schemes, I can instead focus on improving the lives of everyone, not just those in my district or those kids I am able to rescue from their unfortunate circumstances. In reality, it should save me quite a lot of time."

The mother of his five kits, who were nice and safe currently surrounding her and her husband, seemed quite pleased by this news and already planned on allocating his new free time to being around his family more. But Reynard had to painfully remind her that he had many other tasks in the short term that would now be taking up much of any free time he had such as seeing to the repair of Maupertuis, the building of an entirely new home, and taking care of his injured or dead employees and their families.

Reynard had already selected a new location for the new estate which was located on a small island to the southwest of Vine Island which was completely owned by Reynard primarily for his shipping concerns and the housing of his employees. The island was named Kings Island. The entire western and southern coasts consisted of shipyards for loading and unloading cargo and storage warehouses. Most of the middle and eastern sections of the island were for the housing of his employees. The northern tip of the island had a section which would serve as a perfect location for a new estate with the best security and conveniences possible.

Reynard's company controlled the rail yard and both bridges into the island and all aspects of life around the area including what ships were even allowed near it. This way if any possible threat was detected anywhere on the island, it would be known well in advance. The new estate would be named Palais du Voleur with a new development of homes surrounding it.

Plans for the new estate were a closely guarded secret with construction crews only working on certain sections at a time so no one but Reynard and a few select architects would know what really was contained in the foundation and buildings.

However it would be nearly six months before the security and enough of the main living area would be complete for Reynard and his family to move into the new property. So they planned on moving back into Maupertuis temporarily. But when it came time to move back to the now thoroughly cleaned and repaired estate, Marion had a shock for Reynard and Aza.

"I'm never going back to that place of death! Over four hundred died within those walls, and you expect me and my family to live there?" Marion exclaimed furious that they expected her to move with them.

"Marion, it will only be temporary. We have been at Sweet Lou's for nearly a month now. You can't expect everyone to live here for another six months." Reynard pleaded with his stubborn sister.

"I don't expect that at all. John has found us a new temporary apartment near his work downtown around Sousten Street. We will be moving there. Once your new home is finished we will revisit the living situation. But until then, we will be living on our own." Marion explained firmly.

"Marion, I can't protect your family there. At least move nearby. I have several homes I use for employees you are welcome to stay in at no cost. I can have the real estate planner bring you pictures of all those immediately available." Reynard offered generously.

Aza also had many reasons for Marion to stay close, "Nicholas and Scarlet are inseparable. After what happened to Scarlet, her being with Nick has helped her adjust back to her normal self. If you are nearby, it will be easy for Scarlet and Nick to be together, and for us to see you."

But Marion was quite obstinate on some things, and this was one of those things unfortunately as she explained, "I hate for Nicholas to be at that place of death. I know he is close with his cousins so I will allow him to be with them several times a week. But John wanted to do this on his own to provide for his family. And we wanted to get out of this district and area for awhile after all that happened. We just wanted time on our own."

However Reynard worried about his willful sister, "Marion, please reconsider. I know things have calmed down. But I still have enemies, and you are not safe there. At least find some place in one of my allies' districts. I am sure we can find something at a reasonable rate with good security."

"I know you mean something arranged specially by your 'friends'. We don't want your charity. We want to get away from all this. We are not part of your underworld." Marion explained.

Reynard shook his head growing frustrated, "Both you and I have been part of the underworld ever since we took you to Xander and Fran's home when you were but a small child. You are going to be part of it as you are my sister. It is just a fact of life and can't be helped. We are not trying to tell you how to live your life. We just want you and your family to be safe and happy. Being near us, I know we can accomplish both of those things."

Marion softened a bit seeing the heartfelt expressions of Reynard and Aza responding, "It is just a temporary thing. We just want to get away from everything for a bit. It is not that John and I don't appreciate your generosity and company. And certainly Nicholas loves spending time with his cousins. It is just that with all that has happened, we just want to feel like normal mammals for a change."

Marion then found Nick and grabbed his bag, "Say your goodbyes to your cousins Nicholas. We are going to meet Daddy at the new house. You will see them soon once they are settled in."

Nick grabbed hold of Scarlet looking quite upset, "But why are we moving away? Car says they fixed the old house and it is all nice and shiny now. She said we can stay there with them."

Scarlet nodded her head vigorously at Marion in agreement.

Marion simply separated the two kits picking up her son, "It is just for a little while, Honey."

---

Reynard tried to keep an eye on his stubborn sister and her family, but she was in Bruun's territory. As a member of a rival gang, he could visit his sister, but any movement by him or any of his gang members in another district required prior approval and scheduling. So he had to satisfy himself with hiring a security service located in Savanna Central to keep an eye on their apartment. Because of the strict non-interference rules, even hiring mercenaries as guards in another district would violate the agreement. He had to instead use a business already located there.

Reynard considered flexing the powers of his new position to give him a special exemptions to some of those rules, but The Council and his enemies were watching him quite closely looking for any excuse to complain about the unfair amount of power he now possessed. He had been primarily establishing his power as a benevolent force for good and acting for the benefit of all in the kingdom. His enemies were just looking for any excuse to attack, and until he was able to gain a strong hold on The Council, he would need to be very careful with regards to other districts. His sister had indeed put him into a very precarious position.

However when Reynard had made the deal with The Council and The King, he had added several special exemptions for himself. Some were possibly applicable to his sister's situation, but he had to be careful to stay within the other rules.

Most other items on his agenda had gone much smoother. Coal was doing well in his new position and working closely with Grimbeert and his other allies on The Council to start getting some new laws passed to protect innocents in the district and implement other changes he had been working on for years prior.

Alexei was regaining strength in his leg and doing well in rehabilitation. Sheba had been stabilized so she was no longer in critical danger. The tigress had been through numerous surgeries and was currently in a cast over most of her body. She was quite grumpy and thoroughly frustrated with being unable to move, but frequent visits from Alexei, himself and others helped keep her spirits up. She was also surprised by the pregnancy and seemed excited by the prospect of being a mother. Her recovery and rehabilitation would take quite awhile, but it would possibly allow her to spend time with her cub when it was born that she wouldn't have had ordinarily. Alexei was quite excited by the idea of fatherhood, and that helped lift the spirits of both his tigers as they fought to recover.

Scarlet seemed to recover quite quickly from the trauma. Part of that recovery seemed to be because of her closeness to Nick and her family, and the other was the fact that she was a young child and they naturally recovered from such an event far faster than an adult. Reynard watched her carefully for any signs of residual effects, but the little girl seemed to be just fine and was unchanged from herself prior to the abduction.

The district and kingdom finally seemed to be healing from the entire event. It was a very tense time for several weeks after, with districts on high alert and rumors of attacks constantly being spread. The massive amount of deaths was felt everywhere as families and friends all over mourned the losses. There was a great deal of animosity towards Reynard and his defenders, but those quieted down with time as those who mourned realized Reynard was merely defending his home from invaders. They then shifted much of their blame to Isengrim and the others responsible for sending their loved ones into the death trap that was The Fox's lair.

Isengrim was still on the run and his whereabouts unknown. The bounty on his head was high, but The Wolf was quite resourceful and still had many friends. Reynard was hoping the bounty would encourage one of those friends to turn him in for the reward, but apparently The Wolf had enough loyal followers, as did Reynard, that would never sell him out for any price. Reynard kept many feelers out though looking for any information which could lead to The Wolf's capture. As long as he was still out there, the possibility still existed for The Wolf to cause mayhem and problems for Reynard and his allies.

Bruun and Tybalt had been pardoned of their crimes, but paid a heavy cost both financially and with regards to power and prestige. They were offered a reprieve from the gallows in order to promote some healing and unity within the kingdom. But Bruun and Tybalt had lost their personal council seats and much of their allies had abandoned them. They were also now financially strapped so they were just trying to slowly work their way out of an enormous debt.

Marion had been living in their new apartment for several weeks with no problem other than Scarlet calling and complaining about young Nick's absence. Reynard was unsure who was finding it harder, his daughter or his nephew. But true to her word, his sister relented and allowed Nick to visit Maupertuis. Reynard sent a car with one his nursemaids who was friends with Marion, and had the little kit placed in the nursemaid's care and driven to the estate. He imagined her son had been driving her as crazy as his daughter had him and Aza, and had finally capitulated to his demands. After that, Nick was a regular visitor to the estate for day long sessions that many times ran into the evening, but Marion refused to step foot back in the death house as she called it. On the weekends Marion kept young Nick home to spend time with his father.

Reynard had been to visit Marion and her family a couple of times with Aza and a small army of security prepared for a full war if it came calling. But they had felt it was too dangerous to take any of their kits to visit so had to instead arrange phone calls for the kits with Marion. They had to limit Scarlet's phone time though or should be on with her cousin all the time when he was not visiting.

Until Alexei was recovered, Reynard was using the services of Murus, the biggest and toughest lion he had ever known, as a bodyguard. Murus was one of his regular mercenaries he permanently employed for a wide variety of tasks usually related to his business interests. He had personally recruited Murus and had known him since he was young. Murus had been teaching paw to paw combat to his gang members for many years and was a regular sparring partner for Reynard. He was now assigned training duties primarily ready to aid The Fox whenever he was away from the estate.

It was late Friday evening when Reynard received a disturbing emergency call from one of his gang, a jaguar named Comes. He immediately called for Murus while he rushed down to the armory of the estate. He also made a quick call to his security forces on site. He then had an emergency conference call with Coal, Rath and several other trusted senior members of his staff. While he quickly donned his full armor and gathered the weapons required, his associate repeated to the others what he had reported to his boss.

Comes quickly explained, "A contact of mine who works for Bruun told me that there was to be an attack this evening on a target in Bruun's territory by forces loyal to Isengrim. They were told to stay clear of the area. The quadrant is the one where Red's sister's family lives!"

Coal asked a very astute question, "How do you know it is not a trap for Red and our forces? If they are not able to kill us, then at a minimum, they could plan on getting us in extreme trouble for breaking the non-interference edict."

Comes quickly replied, "I have known my contact for many years. He sounded quite upset. He was upset by a great deal of things going on in that district over the years. He would have warned us about the attack on the estate, but no one but those at the highest level even knew of it beforehand. All those attacking didn't even know where they were going until they arrived. So he didn't hear about it until well after everything was finished. He suspected they were allowing a strike on an innocent family and knew of Red's sister there. He couldn't sit by and do nothing, and he deemed such an action atrocious, repugnant and despicable."

Rath growled, "I can't believe Isengrim would stoop to something so low."

A seething Reynard responded, "He vowed revenge. This is the only way he sees to strike at me while he is a fugitive."

"Can the security you hired do anything?" Coal wondered.

But Reynard had a quick answer, "If Isengrim warned off Bruun's forces, I am sure he also made plans to deal with any security there. I called and warned them already to see if they can do anything, but at best they will only be able to delay the attack."

Rath then responded, "Then we will assemble a full strike force immediately!"

Reynard then calmly told them, "We can't without violating every law of the kingdom bringing a fully armed assault force into another district. We would be committing a crime similar to Isengrim and his assault by such an action. Only I can go. Well, only myself and my bodyguard."

There were many growls and cries of protest and Coal exclaimed, "Red, surely we would be allowed in this extreme circumstance. We could call and try to get permission from The Council."

"There is no time. By the time we got through all the red tape required and got a committee vote, it will be long over." Reynard replied as he called to the main gate to have Murus bring an armored vehicle ready to meet him at the front door.

Rath had an objection, "But Red, we can't let you go in alone into enemy territory against all of Isengrim's forces! That is suicide. Besides how can only you be allowed to go in?"

Reynard transferred the call to his portable as he headed for the front door fully armed and ready for battle. He simply responded to the question, "After the attack on the estate, I had a stipulation added to my settlement with The Council which allows me to use whatever force necessary even death to defend myself and members of my immediate family from coming to any harm no matter where they are located. Unfortunately only I alone am allowed this. It was the only way I could get it approved."

Unfortunately anyone other than himself and one bodyguard that entered an enemy territory unannounced and ready for battle would be subject to a death order after the new regulations passed after the assault on his estate. Also only he even had the authority to carry out a death sentence. Murus would technically be unable to kill anyone other than someone directly attacking Reynard or himself. But the lion would be allowed to defend himself if Reynard was nearby. The lion could still make a useful distraction though. Reynard figured Isengrim would only send a small group to execute the plan as he would not be expecting any resistance.

A frantic Aza came running up to him as he was heading toward the door, "Is it true? Are they going after Marion?"

Reynard nodded to his wife walking out the door with her, "Yes. I am going to try and stop it."

"Are they coming to kill them?" A tearful Aza asked.

Reynard quickly responded, "I don't know, but whatever it is they have planned it won't be good. They have already cut off the phone lines to their home and they don't have any kind of portable phone. We have no way to warn them other than the security I called. Even if we could, it is doubtful there is much they could do as I am sure they would be grabbed if they tried to leave."

"Do you have an assault team ready?" Aza asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately there is no one else allowed inside. Any such force would most likely be stopped at the border and be liable for war crimes. While they can not do anything to help Marion and her family, I CAN!" Reynard declared with deadly fire in his eyes.

He kissed his wife as he jumped into the armored vehicle telling her, "No time" as the worried vixen continued asking many other questions.

As he told the stoic armored Murus the destination and the mission, he realized that everything depended on him alone. He cursed himself for allowing Marion to move to an enemy district. He should have tried to do more to stop her. Unfortunately with Marion, the harder he pushed, the harder she would push back. Perhaps he should have tried to convince John as he was a much more pragmatic sort about such things. At the time he had worried Marion would have freaked out when she found out he had gone to John behind her back and not have even allowed Nick to visit them or risked them not moving to the new estate when it was ready. But looking back now, he realized he should have risked it anyway. But there was nothing that could be done now but try and stop the attack.

---

Murus and Reynard parked just down the street from Marion's apartment complex and the two of them slipped silently toward the building checking the complete area out with night vision binoculars. They quickly spotted five large black SUVs parked on the street outside and the four guards standing outside the entrance to her building.

They slipped around the side of the building. Reynard considered trying to scale the side and entering a window, but he realized all the windows in the building were barred and he didn't have the equipment get through them. He would also have to leave Murus behind if he attempted this looking for any possible opening. The lion had an amazing skill set, but scaling buildings without equipment was not one of them.

So Reynard decided for the more certain option as he quickly punctured all the tires on the SUVs while Rath disabled each from starting. The plan set, Reynard scampered up the side of the building using the shadowed areas leaping from upper window to upper window moving into position. He absently noted that while the bars were an obstacle to entering the building, they made great things to grasp onto.

He then waited patiently for his distraction. While he wanted desperately to charge in recklessly in a crazed attempt to take on the entire force at once, his mistress helped him become emotionless and control the seething fury flowing through his veins. For she had been with him the moment he had gotten the call from Comes and heard about the danger his sister and her family faced. Such was his anger that he was her servant instantly, and his tactical mind had gone into action making the critical decisions which could mean the difference between life and death for everyone.

Reynard then saw a huge figure wearing a cloak approach the guards.

"Uh… hello… can you tell me what's going on? I live next door and came across the street to check it out. Is someone famous visiting here?" He heard Murus say as he approached the guards.

They put their paws on their weapons at their sides, but mainly growled in annoyance. Once Murus had their full attention and was in position, he dropped silently to the grass behind them.

"None of you business. This is a private mat… UGGGGH." A sword blade suddenly appeared through the neck of the puma guard as if by magic.

Reynard withdrew the blade and slashed both hamstrings of a large wolf standing next to the puma who was staring in shock at the feline clutching his neck with both paws.

Murus threw off his cloak pulling two large blades from his back and slashing down all in one motion at the stunned rhino and tiger guards slicing them from head to chest. Reynard jammed his tri-edged twisted dagger and short sword into the neck of the wolf as his legs gave out and he fell to the ground as Murus pierced the rhino's and tiger's chests with each sword. Reynard climbed on the back of the rhino and plunged his dagger repeated into its neck while Murus sliced off one paw held up in defense and hacked his blade into the side of the tiger's neck making it halfway through. As the rhino toppled backwards, Reynard released his grip around its neck kicking off with his legs flipping backwards and landing on the grass with throwing blades in both paws.

But there was no target except four gurgling or dead figures on the ground. They quickly finished off those in the process of dying and dragged the bodies behind the SUVs removing the communications receivers from two of them listening in to see if anyone had detected their attack. He had to ignore the cries of adulation and pleasure from his mistress as blood was once again spilled in her honor. The mass slaughter of almost two months ago would sate her appetite for a long time to come, but she appreciated the extra honors now bestowed upon her.

"Guys, what's the hold up? It's just a couple of damn foxes." They heard over the comms.

"A few of the security she apparently had nearby still have the door barricaded." Another voice responded.

"I thought we had gotten rid of them beforehand." The first voice answered.

"Apparently some of the fools decided they would take their job a bit too seriously and interfere." The second voice announced.

"Well then just deal with them as quickly as you can." The first voice ordered.

As the conversation went on, Reynard and Murus quickly slid into the entrance with Reynard scouting ahead as he was a small figure and an expert thief so sneaking around unseen was his forte. He quickly returned to his bodyguard whispering his commands.

Reynard returned around the corner hiding in the shadows waiting for his associate to arrive. The Fox then sent two knives sailing through the air striking a weasel and jackal in the neck while Murus charged a large buffalo. As the two huge mammals grappled with each other, the little fox was busy stabbing the buffalo repeatedly using dual tri-blade daggers leaving holes all over the buffalo gushing blood out of his body quite rapidly. The buffalo could do nothing to stop the vicious small creature that was ripping deadly unclosable wounds over his lower body and midsection. Quickly the buffalo lost strength and was pushed to the ground where Reynard casually slit his neck for good measure.

They listened closely on the radio, but heard no alarms thankfully. Marion lived on the far end of the second floor hall. He could see the hallway was fairly crowded with several attempting to cut through her door at the far end. He quickly devised the best plan given the circumstances and whispered it to Murus.

Reynard quickly detached the grill to the ventilation system and slid along quietly cutting a panel out and then pulling himself up and into the ceiling and then crawling through the crawlspace using the light fixtures to judge his position. His low light vision helped a great deal to see where he was going. Crawling through such spaces was just natural for an expert thief and a fox. Both attributes served him well, but what served him better was his careful examination of the building plans awhile back when he found out where Marion was moving. Examining such documents carefully just came naturally to Reynard as both a tactician and a thief. His plan was to create an opening near a lighting fixture and drop down behind the one group with Murus grabbing their attention and both of them hitting the first group in the hall on both sides quickly. He considered trying to cut his way into Marion's room, but this would only serve to have him trapped inside with the others. Reynard knew he had to deal with all the attackers outside to save his family.

He was just finishing loosening the light fixture enough to create a fox sized opening, when he heard a large commotion on the enemy comms.

"Guys… where is everybody on the first floor? Did they go outside? No one at the front is reporting!" A frantic voice announced.

Reynard realized he would have to go now and gave up on a silent entrance.

"Go!" He whispered on his private communications with Murus as he kicked the lighting fixture causing it and him to crash into the hallway.

As the groups in the middle looked at the cause of the crash, a huge roar was heard at the far end of the hallway and all eyes turned to find the source of such a noise. And that was when the stabbing, slashing, clawing, impaling and even biting happened. Reynard came up with his modified diamond claws in each paw staying low and hitting every vital target he could find as fast as he could. He had to wipe blood from his eyes as screams and shouts filled the air around him. The fox stayed low and under most of the larger mammals pressing forward towards the end of the hall where Murus was attracting lots of attention. His mistress screamed in ecstasy as he disemboweled a hyena and crippled a boar.

A wolverine noticed him, turning and stabbing at him with a sword. Reynard sensed the movement sliding to the side as the blade hit his chest and slid off the armor. The wolverine found a paw full of diamond blades then protruding from his neck and then ripping apart as Reynard pulled the blades and neck flesh out jamming the point of a tri-edged dagger into the thigh of a bear. He then embedded both diamond claws into the groin of the same surprised bear and then turned to block the strike of a cheetah spinning to the side and ducking, shoving both bladed claws into the belly of the feline turning and ripping as he kicked away dodging the foot of the furious roaring bear he had so politely and painfully injured. He used the body of a zebra as a shield between himself and the bear who had turned to kill the small red demon who had viciously stabbed him.

When the zebra had engaged Reynard, he had not expected the fox to block his blade and hug him tightly spinning him into the path of the charging bear. Quickly the zebra found two vicious claws embedded in his sides and two massive paws and the body of an angry bear slamming into him as Reynard released his hug on the zebra jumping off the zebra's leg and spinning off the side wall landing behind the bear who had charged down the hall and collapsed on top of the punctured and now crushed zebra.

Reynard wasted no time slashing and stabbing those others pressing against Murus embedding both claws into the sides of a camel, shredding the legs of a hippo and stabbing the hip and side of a porcupine. The porcupine turned and tried slamming his sharp quills into Reynard, but found them harmlessly pressing against The Fox's armor while The Fox stabbed the porcupine in the belly with both claws and ripping out the entrails of the quilled mammal pushing him into a jaguar who screamed in pain as his collided with the pointy dying animal.

Reynard then cut both legs out from under the camel jamming his claws into the crotch of the hippo. He then turned and embedded the claws into the neck of the supine dromedary turning and stabbing both claws again into the side of the hippo. Murus was then able to knock the weakened hippo to the floor and stab both his large blades through the hippo's chest and arms as he attempted to block the lion's thrusts unsuccessfully. Reynard dodged to the side as the jaguar who had been stuck before charged him followed by the furious injured bear. The bear slammed into him knocking him backwards and off the wall. He instinctively rolled off the wall and positioned himself behind Murus who was blocking the jaguar and bear from striking at him.

The demon fox dropped the claws from his right paw on the floor next to him pulling out his short sword at his side and stabbing rapidly around the huge lion who was wrestling with the bear and jaguar. Reynard heard several satisfying screams and shouts of pain as he stabbed forward as if riposting while fencing. Repeated strikes to the body along with the previous injuries soon took their toll on the two engaged in a struggle with Murus as the jaguar fell to his knees and quickly found Reynard's sword through his neck. The bear continued to weaken as Reynard sliced several large gashes in his large belly carving away fur, flesh and muscle until he could see organs. He reached inside stabbing into the rib cage toward what he thought was a pinkish thing he believed was the bear's lung while grasping deep into the belly of the huge bear and pulling on every he could grab a hold of spilling the contents of the bear's guts on his and his bodyguard's feet.

Reynard didn't bother striking a death blow to the dying bear as the huge mammal fell face first before them as he grabbing throwing knives and sent them flying toward two targets down the hall. He brushed himself off sheathing his sword and grabbing his previously discarded claws. He had a roaring fire in his eyes as he and Murus then stepped over the bodies scattered over the floor heading toward the screams and loud commotion at the end of the hallway. As he heard the screams of his sister, screams he had not heard since he was a small little kit and she a small child, a helpless victim of horrific torment, he could no longer hear her suffering and do nothing. In that instant he ceased being Reynard and had truly become the demon fox known as Red Death.

He was now his mistress's servant entirely. He was earthly justice and retribution. He was now death incarnate. A being capable of no mercy or remorse, only agony, bloodshed and endless death.

---

Marion was terrified shivering with fear hiding in the rear of a closet under a pile of the kit's clothes and boxes in the back room they had set aside for her little Nicholas who she was holding tightly in her arms whispering for him to remain silent. John was with the two security mammals who came by proving they were hired by her brother warning them of an imminent attack. When they had tried to call Aza or Renny to double check they were legitimate even though the guards had used the correct passphrase, they found all the lines dead and decided to trust them.

Initially they had wanted to run, but the tiger whose name was Traz and the elk named Buddy convinced them that the attackers would already have the place surrounded and would easily grab them as soon as they left. They said their best hope was to block the door and hope that help would arrive in time. The windows were all barred so the only way in or out was the door as the walls were quite difficult to break through. They had broken anything with wood planks in the apartment and were hammering them into the sides of the door and pounding blocks of wood under the door and into any creases. John and Traz moved everything they could in front of the door piling anything heavy into a giant puzzle pile stacking crates of books, pots and pans, Nicholas' old crib, anything they could possibly use to block the entrance.

At the time she had thought that this was just another one of her brother's paranoid schemes to convince her to move in with him or move closer to his home. After the ransoming of her son, Scarlet and Crimson, the attack on the estate, and Scarlet's abduction, she had wanted to get far away from everything that happened. It had been so nice being on her own with just her husband and kit for a change. She loved being with Renny, Aza and her nieces and nephews dearly, but she only wanted to feel a little independence for a change so that if she decided to move back with them, she would know it was completely by her own choice.

But unfortunately it was not a false alarm, as about ten minutes later they heard the sound of someone fooling with their lock. They had turned off all the lights pretending to be away from home. The security guards had jammed the lock preventing it from being opened, and after a couple minutes of additional attempts, there was suddenly a loud slamming sound against the door which startled her causing her to scream. The slamming and crashing sound then continued in earnest sounding like someone or something heavy was being slammed into the door attempting to knock it down.

Apparently their barricade held against all the smashing, and Marion had hoped the attackers would become discouraged and leave. Surely the noise would wake the neighbors and someone would call the police or something. But Traz told her they would have cut the phone lines to the entire building and threatened anyone who interfered with them. He also believed they had permission from the local gang leader to attack them here and there would be no aide from any local authorities. Marion cursed these gangs, all gangs, all gangs leaders and the whole blessed underworld. She just wanted to live away from all that as a normal family. But her brother had been right, being his sister had made her and her family a target of these filth sent here to do God only knows what to them. It was just that she didn't want to keep living her life in fear always wondering if someone was going to try and harm her. She had just thought if she moved away from it all, they would see she was not part of any of it and leave them alone.

But trouble had found her nonetheless. And was now attempting to saw into the door and chop it down with axes or something. They couldn't see if they were through the door or not as there was a huge pile of furniture and heavy items blocking any possible view. The only thing they could do was wait as these scum, whoever they were, destroyed their door and attempting to gain access to their home. The home that was supposed to be their sanctuary, their refuge away from the world, where they could finally spend time every day as a family.

The waiting was excruciating as little by little the chopping and sawing sounds became louder and louder indicating they were getting closer and closer to coming through the entry. The two guards were armed, but against a large force, even she knew they stood little chance. John wasn't a fighter, he was just an ordinary fox who she loved dearly, and who treated her like his own princess. She didn't care that he couldn't provide all the things that her brother could. He came by his work and money honestly with no ties whatsoever to the criminal organizations that seemed to run the city now. Yes, she would take a good honest husband and provider like that any day.

After several more minutes, it was now clear to them all that the infiltrators had cut at least a partial hole in the door and were chopping and pushing against the pile of furniture and objects. John had kissed her and Nicholas briefly telling them both how much he loved them, and hidden her and their son in the back closet piling clothes and boxes over and around her so she was hidden even if they opened the closet and moved clothes around.

And here she sat trembling in fear for she had no idea how long as she had lost all sense of time whispering to her precious kit. Nicholas was the only thing that mattered to her. She wished so much that he was safely with his cousins at the moment. But she loved having him near her. His little heart was beating so fast in fear. She would do anything for him. She just didn't know what she could do now but try and hide and hope upon hope that they were not found.

She heard crashing and cracking sounds from the other room and many shouts. The shouts continued and there were thumping noises. She heard the voices of John, Traz and Buddy and several others she did not recognize. Then she heard a horrible scream and her blood ran cold. The scream could only be one of death. She knew then for certain death had come for them. She could only pray now that it didn't notice a shivering vixen and her baby.

She could now hear several heavy footsteps tromping around the apartment and doors and cabinets being opened. Then she heard someone open the door to Nicholas's room and the sounds of objects being tossed around. She then heard the sound of a paw being placed on handle to the closet and she inhaled holding her breath holding her paw over her son's muzzle making sure he could not open his mouth.

The door was thrown open and she heard the sound of clothes being moved around on the hanger. Then she felt the boxes and some items above her moved around. She prayed she was not noticed, that they would just go away. Her prayers seemed to have been answered as the moving feeling disappeared and she heard a voice in the hallway yell, "Any sign?"

She jumped as a voice coming from just above her yelled back, "Not in here either."

"Well our scouts said she and the kid were definitely in here. They never left the building." The voice from down the hallway answered.

"You think they might be in another apartment?" The voice above her yelled back.

"Possibly, but it is unlikely she would be separated from the husband. Toss everything in the room first to make sure before we start searching the rest of the building." The hallway voice ordered.

She then heard the clothes above her pulled off their rack and tossed into the middle of the room. Then she felt… Oh No! She felt the boxes above her being lifted off her. She then felt the clothes above disappear. And then sudden two large paws grasped her arms lifting her and her son into the air. She heard screaming in her ears and it took a moment to realize it was her that was the one screaming. She thrashed her arms and legs trying to desperately wiggle out of the viselike grip of a large wolf who had turned her around to stare at her with a malicious grin yelling victoriously, "Found them!"

She was carried into the living room where she saw a scene of horrors. The pile of furniture was spread all over and Traz appeared to be dead under a table buried under a pile of furniture. Blood was splattered all over the floor as the elk, Buddy, was the source of the blood with huge deep gashes in his torso and one of his hooves and an arm was severed lying on the floor next to him in a pool of blood. Marion tried to stifle the nausea and control her stomach as she felt the bile of stomach acid burning her throat.

Her heart then sank seeing the other form on the floor. It was her John! One side of his head was covered in blood and his eyes seemed glassy as he was propped up leaning against a wall where they normally kept the couch which was now upside down in pieces near the door. But she could see he was breathing thankfully! Oh her dear husband! He was alive, but badly hurt.

She was then placed next to John seated leaning against the wall with Nick in her lap. A grisly looking raccoon with deep scars across his face and neck came over grinning wickedly and stood next to the wolf that had found them.

His hideous gravelly voice then informed them, "Thought you could hide from us did you? It will be a cold day in hell before a stupid vixen and her shit spawn outsmart us."

"What do you want with us? John needs help! What did you do to him?" Marion heard herself barking at the raccoon as she glared at him growling and holding her little son tightly.

The raccoon cackled at her questions answering, "What do I want with you? I would prefer to spill all your disgusting brains all over your nice carpet here. But the boss wants you for some reason above my pay grade. As far as your dear husband there, I think you would be better off worrying about yourself and your little shit there instead!"

The raccoon then turned to wolf grinning with malevolence commenting, "But they never said anything about the husband. One less fox in the world sounds fine. You want to kill him or should I?"

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Marion placed herself in front of her husband trying to protect him their heinous plans.

John grasped her weakly in his arms as she lay against him turning back angrily to the raccoon snarling, "We've done NOTHING WRONG! What did we ever do to DESERVE THIS?"

The raccoon glared at her then spitting out the words, "You were BORN! I've decided I am gonna have some fun with this one first. Boss said she only had to be alive, not in what condition. Grab that little shit kit of hers!"

The wolf then reached down grasping her baby trying to pull him from her arms. She screamed while Nicholas cried in terror. The raccoon then grasped her arms pulling her off the ground. He was quite large and strong for a raccoon and smelled of rotten meat. She held on with all her might, but the wolf finally managed to pull her baby from her grasp as the raccoon cuffed her in the head with his paw stunning her.

The raccoon snarled at a tiger and snow leopard, "Right that coffee table and put it over here! Jase take the damn kit from Kevin!"

The tiger picked up their coffee table and placed it against the wall lengthwise next to John and the wolf and gave the crying Nicholas to the snow leopard.

Marion heard a lot of noise which sounded like it was coming from down the hall. The others in the room besides the raccoon turned toward the noise. The raccoon smacked his paw across Marion's muzzle stunning her briefly. She then found herself thrown down onto the coffee table faceup. The raccoon then leered at her grabbing hold of her skirt and ripping it roughly pulling it down from her waist. She screamed in terror as the raccoon snarled, "Let's see how you like a raccoon you nasty little bitch! I would normally do you from behind, but I want you to see the faces of your dear husband and brat while I give you the best fuck of your life, cunt!"

The raccoon pressed Marion's head against the wall so it was upright while her body was supine against the table ripping her skirt away from the upper part of her dress. As he reached for her panties she squirmed screaming and John suddenly rose up slamming into the raccoon screaming, "NO!"

The raccoon let go of Marion chopping both paws against each side of John's neck and then throwing him back harshly against the wall punching him repeatedly in his stomach and chest and then pressing him to the floor kneeing him in the head and punching him several times in the head and neck staring at the nearly unconscious fox sitting him next to the table snarling at him, "No, you don't get to die or go to sleep on me fucker! You get to sit and watch this! Sit your head right there so I can stare at you while I fuck your sorry excuse for a wife and show her a good time for a fucking change! Jase shut that fucking brat up!"

Nick was screaming, "Leave my mommy and daddy alone!"

Marion tried to rise while the raccoon was busy with John, but found the snow leopard had his paw firmly on the neck of the remaining top of her dress holding her in place. The raccoon then grasped her panties ripping them off her while the snow leopard began cuffing her baby Nicholas in the head and slapping him repeatedly.

In between her screams she heard some voices saying "Boss! There is a demon outside!"

But the raccoon continued to glare at Marion licking his lips and muzzle unbuckling his pants absently saying over his shoulder, "Deal with it! I'm busy!"

The raccoon then grinned wickedly dropping his pants and underwear staring into Marion's terrified eyes whispering lasciviously, "Like what you see vixen cunt?"

Marion screamed even harder as the raccoon pressed against her forcing her legs apart with his paws and sticking his cock inside her growling with triumph thrusting his hips forcing himself inside her harshly.

"Boss, he's coming! Death is coming!" She heard voices yelling in the background.

She heard other screams coming from outside. She heard the screams and cries of her baby Nicholas. She smelt the fetid breath of the nasty raccoon as he grunted thrusting himself inside her slamming himself harder and harder.

Tears flowed down her face. She felt pain. She felt helplessness, the same helplessness she somehow remembered feeling before in the distant past. Screams seemed to come from all around her now. Dreaded feelings of gloom surrounded her. She felt like she had experienced this terror in a past life. She felt she was doomed to be tormented her whole life. She heard the raccoon's grunting above the din as he gave a large thrust pressing hard against her exclaiming, "AHHHHHHH FUCK!"

Marion then looked up into that horrible face with his eye's closed in ecstasy. But then the eyes suddenly opened looking surprised. She felt the whisper of wind for a second near her crotch. The eyes of the stunned raccoon looked down for an instant as Marion followed those eyes to see blood shooting out of the place where the raccoon's cock had been. As blood poured over her crotch, suddenly half the raccoon's head vanished as if by magic and blood and brain matter slammed into her face and the wall as the raccoon tumbled sideways.

It was then that Marion saw she had been transported to a true scene of nightmarish hell. Blood, fur, flesh and body parts littered the floor. She looked to her side to see her John with a glazed look of terror covered in blood and bits of flesh. She then glanced to her other side to see her little baby on the floor crawling towards her slowly through a trail of blood and flesh looking back at something. Marion followed the gaze of her precious son and then saw the nightmare that had his attention.

A red demon fox covered in blood and armor with eyes of insane fire and death was everywhere at once. He had one claw of steel covered in blood and flesh ripping into the snow leopard while the other held a sword blade flashing so fast it was hard for her to see. It sliced repeatedly into the tiger removing a paw which flew across the room, then an arm, then slashed diagonally across the white chest ripping it open turning it red. Even though the entire room smelled of death, the stench of it emanating from the creature itself was definitely much stronger.

The demon rolled and then dodged the wolf sweeping it's blade and removing Kevin the wolf's leg and shoving the metal claws into his crotch and twisting. Suddenly Marion's vision was blocked as she found the severed head of the wolf sitting on her lap with a shocked expression and mouth open and tongue lolling. Marion was too stunned to scream as the rest of the wolf fell into her. The jagged meaty flesh of the exposed neck landed in front of her face spraying blood all over her. She then screamed in terror throwing the wolf's head off her lap and sliding off the table lifting her head up to see the demon across the room near the middle rolling into the legs of the bison from behind. As the bison fell in her direction, the demon flew through the air slamming his metal claws into the large mammal's neck ripping chunks of flesh and blood into the air like confetti which landed on her and the surrounding area.

The demon grinned and howled with an insane maniacal unnatural sound cackling as it jammed the blades into the skull of the bison and pulling an eye and the red strand of connecting tissue out admiring it with a laugh. As Marion looking into the eyes of the demon, there was a crazy spark of recognition somehow. But this creature was truly insane tossing the eye of the bison into the stunned paws of a bobcat who had run into the room with an equally stunned hyena. The bobcat and hyena took one look into those demon eyes and screamed in terror, but the demon was on them instantly first stabbing them both all over with claws and sword chopping pieces of them off bit by bit with the sound of mad laughter.

Marion could feel blackness all around. She crawled toward where she saw her little baby sitting on the floor staring in stunned terror at the sight of the demon hacking pieces of the bobcat and hyena all over the room screaming, "For you my mistress! ALL FOR YOU!"

The last vision she had was a huge lion in the doorway looking terrified and the demon was holding the heart of the bobcat in one paw and the heart of the hyena in the other raising them high into the air as they dripped dark wet blood down the demon's paws and arms. That insane cackling laugh kept repeating the words, "For You! For You!" as the demon held the bloody gory hearts high in the air kneeling on the floor with a bowed head as if in reverence.

Marion tried desperately to stay conscious, but the blackness was surrounding her completely. It was rapidly closing in around her. Soon she could see nothing but the blackest black and could only hear the faint cackling of the demon whispering "For your glory. It is all for you."

---

The demon fox heard a voice in his head as if far away sounding terrified saying, "Red… Red… Boss..."

All he saw was blood and death. He was now one with his mistress and wished for more carnage, endless slaughter! He wanted to kill more! He sensed living beings and was excited, ready to spread more death in honor of his mistress. She needed more blood, more sacrifices! It was not enough! Not NEARLY enough! She deserved hundreds, no, thousands more to be slaughtered to honor her!

The large creature behind him would make a fine offering! He would impress his mistress. She would surely be honored by such a splendid specimen!

But his mistress told him, "No my child. He is a friend. There is no one left I wish offered to me today. You have offered me much. I am pleased."

But it is not enough mistress! You deserve far more than I have presented you!

But the voice of his beloved Azrael spoke once again, "Leave them be. You have done enough."

But he desperately needed more blood. More death! He crawled around the room and found the body of the wolf. He cut into the chest of the creature slicing into it as if cutting into warm butter and pulling forth pawfuls of entrails. Perhaps his mistress would prefer a liver, or intestines as a variation. She appreciated creativity! As he pulled them out of the open cavity of the wolf's abdomen holding them aloft in his paws, he heard a small voice, but it was a voice he recognized.

He turned to see a small kit staring at him in terror. He seemed to recognize the kit somehow, but couldn't recall how. He listened careful to what the small child was saying, the voice shaky and raspy, "Unca? Unca Renny?"

The demon fox then felt he definitely knew this voice. He also sensed he knew this Renny. Who was Renny? He felt he was Renny for some reason. He sensed the kit was referring to him.

The tiny hoarse voice continued more insistently, "Unca Renny, Please! Mommy and Daddy are hurt! Bad ones hurt them! PLEASE Unca Renny! HELP THEM!"

All of a sudden it felt like the whole world exploded all at once and then collapsed into his brain.

He remembered who he was and where he was. He quickly looked around the room of carnage taking in the blood, bodies and flesh spread all over. He sensed no threats, and then took in those he loved, the reasons he was here. He sheathed his sword and stored his claws away moving over to his little nephew draped across his mother pleading for her to wake up.

Reynard quickly checked her for wounds and found her covered thoroughly in blood and flesh. It took him a moment to realize she was naked from the waist down and something was sticking out of her crotch. He pulled the piece of flesh from between her legs tossing it across the room in fury and disgust. But he had to check to make sure she was okay first before dealing with the other. Her health was the priority at the moment. She seemed to be comatose, but breathing okay. He didn't see any obvious wounds on her.

He then picked up his nephew speaking gently to him, "Nick, she seems okay. Are you okay? Are you cut anywhere?"

The little kit shook his head negatively and then exclaimed, "Daddy! Help Daddy!" pointing to John Wilde slumped against the wall leaning on a coffee table top.

Reynard put down his nephew and checked the vitals of his brother-in-law reporting to the worried child, "Your daddy seems to be breathing okay, but seems to be beaten quite badly."

Just then he heard a voice from behind him and saw a very concerned looking Murus staring at him tentatively asking, "Boss… boss is that you? Red… are you back?"

Reynard gave his friend and bodyguard a slight smile responding, "I am, Murus. What happened?"

The bodyguard then quickly filled his boss in on what had occurred after they had finished off all those in the middle of the hallway and what happened as they approached Marion's room, "You just rushed down the hall taking out several others with your throwing knives. I called to you several times but you did not respond. I was then hit from behind by a rhino who apparently was up on the third floor when everything happened. By the time I had dealt with him and made it to the room here, everything was dead and… well… you were... not yourself."

Reynard nodded to his bodyguard, "I will explain later. We need to get them out of here immediately, they are in a bad way."

While Reynard wrapped his sister in the cleanest thing handy, a rumpled tablecloth in the corner of the kitchen floor, Murus had briefly checked the two security guards. The elk was obviously dead, but the tiger buried under the debris seemed to be comatose, but still breathing. Murus lifted the tiger and John Wilde into his massive arms while Reynard held his sister and nephew in his own. They then quickly carried their passengers out of the building looking carefully for any threats, but finding none.

They laid the tiger and John in the backseat of their armored SUV, and Reynard rode up front in the passengers seat with his sister and nephew in his lap trying to assure the young kit he was getting his parents to safety and help. Murus then drove them quickly to a nearby hospital downtown. He would have preferred to get them to medical care in his own district for security reasons given that they were still hunted by his mortal enemy Isengrim, but his ally Rikki Tikki had an understanding with the staff of one of the main hospitals in his district. Reynard quickly called the hospital to let them know they were on their way and then called Rikki Tikki to arrange for extra security at the hospital.

They were met in the emergency drive up with a large staff with several gurneys, and they quickly wheeled off the tiger, John Wilde and Marion, with Murus, and Reynard carrying his nephew, close behind. To their credit, the staff of the hospital did not stare or go into shock viewing the insane sight that greeted them, as both Murus and Reynard were covered in custom body armor completely drenched in blood, flesh and fur fully armed to the teeth with dozens of nasty weapons all over them. While such a vision would be highly unusual, they were professionals and fully understood the situation.

Reynard had them look his nephew over carefully running him through a battery of scans and tests looking for any injuries. Then both Murus and Reynard removed their armor and weapons, and were tested thoroughly and treated for numerous wounds on each of them.

---

John Wilde sustained a serious concussion, broken ribs, a broken arm and collar bone and numerous other injuries from the brutal beating he took. Marion was physically fine other than the brutal rape she had endured, but inside her head it was a completely different story. She was now catatonic similar to her condition when she was a young child of four having gone through similar horrific traumas. Reynard and Murus had stayed guarding all three at the hospital until they were all stable and could be moved to Maurpertuis for care there.

The security guard named Traz survived, but was in intensive care for quite awhile. Reynard removed him to special care in his district once it was safe for him to be moved. The same care which treated and continued to treat all those of his friends and employees injured defending the district and home from the earier attack. Reynard vowed to get the tiger the best of care and promised him and the family of Buddy the elk a substantial reward for their heroic efforts in helping to save the lives of his family members.

Reynard was understandably furious with everything that occurred bringing up the attack on his sister's family and all the events surrounding the attack in detail to The Council. The bounty on Isengrim's head was raised substantially with Reynard adding a sizable amount of his own money to the sum offered. It was also made a capital crime for anyone to knowingly aide the fugitive wolf in any way. All bosses now knew that knowingly allowing Isengrim or anyone associated with him to operate in their districts was a capital crime as well.

As punishment for allowing the attack on Reynard's family, Bruun was removed as gang leader of Savanna Central and placed into the royal prison until they could determine an appropriate punishment. Comes's source, the informant of the attack from Bruun's gang, had testified against The Bear and had supporting testimony from numerous other former members of Bruun's gang who turned against their boss after the mounds of evidence began to come out, confirming he had knowingly allowed Isengrim's forces to strike against Reynard's immediate family members.

Marion remained in a comatose unresponsive state outwardly stable, but her mind was broken once again. Aza, Reynard and Nick would speak to her at length hoping to bring her out of her vegetative state, but with no success.

Little Nick had been traumatized for several days wanting to be with his mother, sitting on her lap crying, shaking uncontrollably or managing some feverish sleep. Aza would hold his head in her own lap petting his head and whispering reassuring words to the young child. Finally, they brought in Scarlet to see her little cousin. She immediately rushed to him meeting his mournful gaze and hugged him tightly. The two kits then cried hugging each other. After awhile Nick let Scarlet remove him from his mother's side. They visited his father who managed a slight smile looking at his kit, but he maintained a glazed look. For Nick's father was broken as well in more ways than one.

Gradually Nick and Scarlet were able to join the other children playing together. After awhile Nick even managed a laugh now and then as Scarlet tried to cheer him up. He slept holding his cousin tightly still having nightmares, but they slowly became less frequent thankfully. It seemed that the youngest victim was slowly recovering somewhat, but it would take awhile before he was normal.

John Wilde steadily became more aware of his surroundings, but was very close-lipped and extremely melancholy. After several weeks, his wounds healed enough for him to move around. The doctors felt the best thing for him was to walk around getting some fresh air outside and some sense of normality. Reynard and Aza would take him and Marion outside into the garden with Nick and Scarlet. The repeated outings seemed to improve the mood of John somewhat, but he would become quite agitated and forlorn seeing his wife in her stuporous state. They could barely get him to speak. All they would get was a soft whisper every once in awhile.

After awhile John would walk around the estate alone talking to himself in a hushed voice. The only gist Reynard could gather was that he was quite upset about everything that had happened which was understandable. He then asked to visit some friends who worked with him. He wanted to take a taxi, but Reynard insisted he would have him driven there with someone to help if needed. John then agreed spending the morning talking to his wife alone and then spending an hour or so holding his son Nicholas occasionally speaking to him in a low voice.

John Wilde then went to his room dressing for his visit with friends and left with Reynard's driver. It was not until several hours later when Reynard got a frantic call from the driver telling him John had indeed visited his friends, but he had stayed and chatted awhile and then gone out the back of their house to clear his head and then disappeared. Reynard immediately believed John had been taken by some forces of Isengrim who somehow had known about the visit. Reynard had Rikki Tikki use all his sources to search for John or any sign of any of Isengrim's men. The mammalhunt went on for awhile until one of his staff brought him the sealed letter that had been sitting on John's bed after they unlocked his room to have it cleaned. The envelope had a single word on it, the word… MARION.

Reynard quickly opened the letter with a sick sinking feeling in his stomach. Reading the contents of the letter, his fears were confirmed. John had not been abducted, but had instead left on his own.

They began using their contacts in the city government to access the CCTV footage from the area, and it confirmed Reynard's belief as it showed John Wilde getting into a taxi shortly after the time his friends had said he gone out the back of their house. They tracked down the taxi finding he had taken a second taxi which had dropped him off at the docks where passenger boats left the city. The footage they could find on the CCTV only showed John on the docks looking around, but then there was no sign of him.

Reynard had a full team scouring the passenger docking area searching for any word or sign of the fox. He had all ships leaving the area checked. After an exhaustive search, it appeared John had hired a small boat to take him across the waterway to the southern coast. There he gained passage on a ship heading south. By the time he was able to have people check that ship, John had gotten off at a large docking area with many ships. There the trail had gone cold as they had no camera footage and no one had seen where he had gone. Reynard had all ships in the area checked and hired detectives to locate his brother-in-law, but they had not had any luck and were continuing the search.

When little Nick asked where his father had gone, they decided to only tell him he had gone on a trip and didn't know when he would be back. They asked Nick what his father had told him that morning before he had left. The little kit could only say he was talking about a trip, to take care of his mother while he was gone and that he loved them both very much. Aza was heartbroken when the little kit asked if he could call and talk to his father, and they had to tell their nephew they would have to wait to hear from his father first to know where to reach him. Reynard and Aza decided it was better if Marion gave Nick the news that his father had left them. That was, if she ever got out of her stupor. The doctors seemed hopeful she would recover, but did not know how long it would take.

Reynard cursed himself for not seeing the signs earlier. John had been greatly troubled and should have had serious psychological help before he was ever allowed outside the walls of the estate. He had numerous doctors and psychiatrists look at John earlier, but they had told him it was something that would have to work itself out with time. They said John wasn't ready to discuss those things that troubled him so. Reynard had hoped that seeing his friends would allow John a chance to begin to open up about his troubles. His friends had said he had talked about their families and work, but had given no hints he was going on the run. Aza told him to quit blaming himself. That he had done everything possible to help John. But Reynard was angry he had not seen the chance John would run. Initially he had John watched carefully for awhile to make sure he didn't do anything harmful to himself, but he could never conceive of any circumstance where he himself would abandon Aza or his kits. He supposed that was the reason he didn't see this as a possibility. Aza continued to attempt to convince him it was not his fault. Reynard finally stopped blaming himself, but continued his search to locate any sign of the missing John.

He now regretted tremendously giving John a fair amount of cash. John had asked him for it saying he had debts to pay and being unable to work he could not meet his obligations. John had appealed to Reynard's honor telling him, he was the kind of person who always paid his debts and obligations. He requested to borrow money to pay those debts so he would not break his word. Reynard refused to lend any money to his family, but instead gave him the money as a gift with no strings or obligations whatsoever. John was very grateful and Reynard had assumed they had a bonding moment at the time. But realizing now the true purpose of the money, he cursed his generous spirit. He sighed shaking his head. How could I have ever refused such a request? To not help his family when they needed it or asked for it? He supposed he was in an untenable position and would only have refused if he had considered the possibility it could be used for running instead. He should have insisted on paying John's debts personally instead. But again it was a matter of honor. If nothing else, John was a proud mammal, and Reynard respected that. He would only want to take care of such a thing personally. John had numerous problems taking 'charity' from his brother-in-law no matter how many times Reynard and Aza had insisted they were his family and entitled to anything they ever needed free of any perceived obligations.

In an effort to make sure Nick was readjusting as much as possible, Reynard and Aza treated Nick just as if he were their own kit during the entire time he was back at Maupertuis. With his father now gone and his mother still in a catatonic state, this treatment was more important than ever. They showered him with love and attention incorporating him into all their family activities. Frequently Reynard and Aza would sleep in their bed with Nick and Scarlet snuggled between them or with all their kits. Nick seemed to enjoy being buried in the arms of his family and responded very well to their loving treatment.

---

It had been over two and a half months since the attack on Marion, when the catatonic vixen finally showed her first signs of consciousness. When Nick was sitting on her lap talking to her as he frequently would, Marion had begun rocking her son petting his head. The staff monitoring her called Aza excitedly. Aza rushed to the room and looked into her sister-in-law's eyes seeing recognition for the first time. A short time later Reynard had joined her. But as he looked deep into her eyes, Marion's expression changed into one of terror and she began screaming uncontrollably.

Reynard quickly left the room realizing now that his sister must have seen the eyes of the demon, Red Death, burned into her subconscious bringing out the horrors of all she had seen and experienced. They calmed her down finally giving her a mild sedative. It wasn't until a day later that Marion finally began talking as she spoke to her son. Shortly after she acknowledged Aza speaking to her. Reynard did not want to risk a repeat of what had happened earlier and spoke to his sister very careful not to gaze into her eyes.

After a few days, Marion acknowledged she knew who she was and where she was currently located. She was quite upset she was at Maupertuis again, but seemed to understand she had been sick and they had needed to take care of her there. Every time they made a reference to the attack, Marion would get upset and seemed to be unable to acknowledge or remember the incident even happened. The doctors said her mind had reacted the same way it had when she was younger blocking all the bad memories from her mind.

Marion had a fractured memory and frequently was confused about what time period she was currently living in. Sometimes she thought she was living at Maupertuis before she was married. Other times she was convinced she was living during the period right before the attack on the estate having no memory that this event had ever happened either. Usually the presence of Nick would help calm her and bring her into the present, but her memories and mind were clearly in disarray.

Initially when Marion asked about her husband, they would make excuses not wishing to expose her to the truth. But finally she became very insistent and angry. After consulting with the doctors, Reynard and Aza finally decided to tell her the truth. Reynard described the trauma that had happened to her and her family in the best way possible trying to avoid the gory details the best he could which was quite difficult. She finally seemed to understand what he told her happened to her family, but still had no memory of the incident herself. They considered having Nick there, but realized it was far too risky to bring those memories up to the little kit after he had made such a wonderful recovery. The risk to their nephew was vastly greater than any potential help it would be to Marion. In fact it was much more likely it would cause Marion to relapse if she saw her son in distress.

It was important they help Marion understand the circumstances before telling her the truth. They described her husband's treatment and even showed her pictures of his injuries and his recovery process. Finally she began to realize something had happened and angrily insisted, "If he has recovered enough to walk around, then where is he? Where is John?!"

They described his visit to his friends downtown. They then told her he had walked out the back door and left. Marion was incredulous insisting he had been taken. But they assured her he was not taken and even showed her the CCTV footage. Then they told her of the note and handed it to her leaving her to read it in private.

In normal circumstances, Reynard would have never considered reading such a private correspondence to his sister, but the circumstances at the time were dire as they frantically searched for John who they believed to have been abducted. Reynard had told Aza shortly after what the note said. It read:

"My Dearest Marion,

If you are reading this, then you have finally come out of your suspended mental state and I am so happy for you. But after much reflection, I realized I can not remain with you or Nicholas while you live in the world you do. I know it is not your fault you were born into this underworld through circumstances beyond your control. But I can no longer live with the constant threats of events like what happened at our home. Seeing what was done to you and to our son was too much for me. I began having horrible thoughts. Unspeakable thoughts. The thoughts of harming you or our son frightened me. My mind told me I considered them only to save you from the worse harms those others wished to do to you both. I could not bear the thought of harming you two myself, or seeing you suffer again. I don't know if the nightmares will ever end. But I only know I can't be a part of that life anymore. I hope that your brother can keep you and Nicholas safe. I only know that I can not.

I plan on traveling for a time to see where the world takes me. Perhaps my head will clear, perhaps not. Just know that I do love you both dearly and wish you happiness.

John"

After a time, Reynard and Aza peeked in to see if Marion was okay after reading the letter. They could only see she was sitting on the bed in a seemingly comatose state. But when Aza started to enter the room Marion looked up, and Aza quickly realized she had just been thinking. Reynard asked her how she looked, but Aza couldn't even describe it and instead began crying.

A short time later, they heard Marion ask for her son. They quickly got Nick and sent him into her room and closed the door as she requested.

She was in the room a long time with her son. Reynard and Aza resisted the urge to check on their health and well-being numerous times. They didn't believe Marion would be capable of harming herself or her son, but her mind seemed so muddled and fractured, they were unsure of anything at the moment. Finally they decided to risk it knocking gently on the door. After a time they heard Marion says in a cold voice, "Come in."

Marion sent her son to play with his cousins while she talked to her brother and sister-in-law. She questioned them repeated about the events leading up to the attack. But her mind seemed to keep getting things confused and as she became more frustrated, she became angrier and angrier at both of them. Finally she decided she wanted to think for awhile. They worriedly left her alone wondering what they should do.

But each time Marion would contemplate her situation, she would get confused again and started refusing to even speak to the doctors trying to help with her memories. Each time she would talk to Reynard or Aza it would inevitably end in a fight or argument. It was extremely difficult discussing anything with someone whose memory was so scattered.

She would argue with Reynard, blaming him for everything that happened especially her husband's leaving her and her son. When she talked with Aza, Marion would become angered whenever Aza would defend Reynard explaining all he had done and risked for her. It reached a point where Reynard was even afraid to talk to her as she would turn any conversation into a fierce argument. The only time he seemed to be able to have a civil conversation was with Nick in the room.

Aza tried repeatedly to appeal to Marion attempting to fill each of the gaps and twisted parts of her memory. But Marion would see any of Aza's attempts as a means to deceive or manipulate her. Marion seemed to be getting worse rather than better as her mind seemed to fill in the gaps in memory with false twisted versions which inevitably would make Reynard the cause of all her woes. Marion now distrusted Aza seeing her as an agent of her brother sent to trick and mislead her laying blame elsewhere.

They tried using Aza's parents to help support them, but Marion distrusted them as well because of their loyalty to Aza. Even Nick's defense of his uncle and aunt was met with skepticism as the paranoid Marion believed they were manipulating her son as well. She began to refuse to let Nick out of her sight only allowing Scarlet in to play with him where she could watch.

Then one day it happened.

Reynard and Aza were called to the front door because of a problem. Marion was standing at the door holding Nick and some suitcases demanding to be let out.

Aza pleaded, "Marion, it is not safe out there. Where are you going?"

Marion answered angrily, "Away! I want to leave this place! I want to leave all of this for good. I don't want to be part of this underworld, these gangs, or anything associated with it. That means I can't be associated with either of you! You have cost me my husband. You have caused me to be raped. You have risked the lives of my family's safety repeatedly. I am tired of being manipulated and lied to! I don't want anything to do any of you ever again!"

Reynard and Aza begged and pleaded with her to change her mind telling her she was unwell and remembering things wrongly. They pleaded with her to talk to the doctors, but Marion refused, accusing of them of being agents of the two of them wishing to cause her to remember falsehoods. They tried every possible argument they could think of to get her to relent. She was now accusing them of holding her and her son as a prisoner in their estate refusing to let her leave. She threatened to call the ZPD and told all the guards and staff that they were all accessories to her false imprisonment restricting her from leaving as was her right.

Reynard and Aza then talked in private and considered having Marion declared mentally incompetent forcing her into treatment and taking custody of Nick. He and Aza debated this for quite awhile before realizing that such an action could permanently destroy Marion's fragile mind and her touch with reality. Such an action would feed right into her delusions convincing her she was right about everything and creating even more false memories. They decided the best course of action was to accept her decision and hope she would recover enough of her mind to wish to get proper treatment and allow them back into her life. They thought part of the problem was Marion being in Maurpertuis which she associated with the mass murder and massacre that took place within the walls several months back. They hoped that once the new estate was ready, Marion might be able to see reason by that time and be willing to come live in the brand new home.

And so Reynard negotiated a deal with his sister. She demanded money to replace all the items destroyed in the attack. This was not a problem as the money had been reimbursed from the coffers of the Savanna Central's funds as required by The Council's decision. It was hers by right. It was substantially more than the value of the items, and Reynard gave it to her with the writ from The Council showing the decision and amount to be reimbursed to Mr. and Mrs. Wilde.

Marion then demanded an apartment similar to the one destroyed. She required that it not be provided to her free of charge, but that she pay her own way each month. It could not be in a building he owned or that was associated with him in any way. She relented in allowing Reynard to pick the apartment and location as long as it was not located in his district. Reynard quickly found a rent controlled apartment that was located in Sweet Lou's Rainforest District in a primarily predator community called Happytown near where Marion and John had lived when Nick was first born. He assumed the lease at the rent controlled rate which took some bribes to acquire and signed it over to Marion for as long as she wished to stay there. Fortunately Marion didn't refuse the ridiculously low rate that would not change most likely because she had no memory of how much their former apartment even cost.

Reynard then informed her the apartment was already furnished so she would not need to buy that much furniture. She requested her brother have all her belongings recovered from the previous apartment now in storage, including her many books, moved to the new place. They moved her in the next day. She and Nick said their goodbyes to Aza's parents and her and Reynard's kits. Scarlet refused to leave Nick's side and they just took her with them when they moved her into the apartment. Reynard had their pantry and refrigerator stocked with food, and had cooking utensils and plateware also provided. He gave her a directory of various services including a grocery delivery service, maintenance services and anything else she might need listed including several phone numbers to reach them or Sweet Lou's associates if she needed anything.

They informed her the estate would be ready in a few months time and hoped she would reconsider her decision and to come visit them after it was ready. They argued they and her nieces and nephews would miss her terribly. She nodded patiently listening to everything they said, but Reynard could sense that stubbornness and willfulness in his sister right below the surface ready to bubble and explode. He and Aza cautiously and gently spoke to her careful not to upset her in any way trying to meet her every request and whim. They hoped to show her she was wrong about them, and that they only had her best interests at heart.

But that was when Marion dropped the bomb.

She escorted them to the door and Aza innocently asked, "Marion, could we visit you again in week or so?"

That was when Marion dropped the hammer as fire and fury came to her eyes and she angrily declared, "Thank you for helping Nick and myself move into the apartment. Now I have one final demand. And it is non-negotiable! I need you to promise me on your honor you will follow my wishes."

She glared at Reynard and Aza and they promised her their cooperation. She then demanded, "Until such time as I change my mind., you will stay out of my life completely and never interfere in my or Nicholas's life. That means both of you, your children, your parents, and anyone associated with you, no employees, no associates, no allies, no mercenaries, NO ONE! I don't want your money or help in any way. I want you to forget we exist and leave us to live our lives as we see fit! Promise me now, both of you!"

Aza was the first to blurt out pleading, "Marion, you can't be serious. Please think about this first. Think about the children. Think about Nick and his cousins. Think about Scarlet!"

"I have thought about it, quite a lot over the past several days! I believe it is the best decision for both us." Marion angrily replied glaring at both Reynard and Aza, "Now promise me!"

It was Reynard's turn to plead, "Sis, please be reasonable. Make it for a week, or a couple weeks, whatever you need. Please do not ask me to make such a promise for an indeterminate amount of time. I am sure you will feel differently soon. Just think on it, okay? Even for a night? Okay?"

Marion stubbornly crossed her arms growling, "NO! Promise me now! Both of you!"

When Reynard and Aza refused to respond, she marched off gathering Scarlet and Nick telling them, "Nicholas say goodbye to Scarlet."

Nick looked teary eyed holding Scarlet exclaiming, "No, I don't want Car to leave. It is lonely without her. I don't want to live here. I belong with Unca Renny and Aunt Aza."

Marion then glared trying to separate the two kits.

When she realized she would need the help of Reynard and Aza to help free them from each others arms, she turned her attention back to the two adults glaring, "Well… do as I ask. Promise me!"

Nick turned to look at his mother innocently asking, "Promise what Momma?"

She turned to Reynard demanding, "Promise me you will leave both of us alone from now on."

Nick then looked at Scarlet and then to his mother in disbelief, "How long is that..."

Marion kept her eyes on Reynard and Aza not even looking down growling, "FOREVER!"

At that, Nick's bottom lip began to shake and both he and Scarlet began to look more and more despondent until they finally both burst into tears hugging each other with all their might screaming, with Nick angrily announcing, "NO! I love Car, Unca and Auntie and my cousins!"

Scarlet looked up at her parents mournfully, her eyes full of tears, and seeing their sorrowful expressions she screamed, "NO! I WILL NEVER LEAVE NICO!"

Marion had a tight grip on Nick trying to pull him away from Scarlet becoming more and more angry, "PROMISE ME! PROMISE ME NOW OR I SWEAR TO GOD I PROMISE I WILL NEVER CHANGE MY MIND!"

She stomped her foot on the ground, her eyes glaring with a fire resembling the demon fox, finally getting a response out of both a shell-shocked Reynard and Aza as they muttered, "I Promise."

She then glared at them snarling, "LOUDER!"

Both Aza and Reynard then said a bit louder, "We promise."

Marion nodded her head seeming satisfied and then growled in frustration, "Now help me separate these two!"

After a brief scuffle and quite a lot of wailing and objections they managed to pull Scarlet and Nick apart until they were just holding each others paws as they screamed in between tears, "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Marion then pushed them out into the hall grasping her son's paws separating them from his cousin's and looked coldly at the three in the hall stating, "Goodbye Renny, Goodbye Aza, Goodbye Scarlet."

As she began to close the door, Reynard put his foot against the door pleading with his sister, "Marion… You are my first light. You have ALWAYS BEEN MY BRIGHTEST LIGHT!"

To which Marion glared at him, her voice seething with rage screaming, "THE LIGHT HAS GONE OUT!" slamming the door in his face.

---

Zoodate: 145 P.C

Drew held Judy close to him as she sobbed uncontrollably, her chest heaving and tears streaming down her face all over the human's jacket. Drew had given up on trying to stop them from drenching his clothes and just put his head next to hers looking heartbroken.

Reynard regarded both of them somberly and patiently waiting for them to recover until finally Judy managed to say through shaky breaths, "Terrible, that is just so awful!"

Drew looked up at Reynard adding, "That was the most brutal goodbye I have ever heard of."

Reynard nodded in agreement responding, "I have replayed it over in my mind so many times. It seemed each time it just felt worse and worse instead of getting better."

Judy blurted out still sniffling with Drew handing her tissues to wipe her wet runny nose, "But you saved her! You did all you could for her! It was her fault for not listening to you and moving to your enemy's district."

Reynard regarded the bunny with a somber look explaining, "Judy, Marion's mind was fractured. She didn't see it like that. Her mind twisted the truth and her paranoia need an object to blame, and so she blamed me. Rationally I realized she was wrong. But I still could not help but feel like I was partially to blame, even if it was only a tiny bit. There were several decisions I could have made that might have caused things to go another way."

Drew responded, "Like the decision to have her declared mentally incompetent? You could have at least gotten her the mental help she needed. Nick would have been with his family. He would have gotten a top education and love and support instead of being alone and thinking himself rejected and abandoned by his father, uncle, aunt and cousins."

Judy added, "Yes, Nick would have been far better off. Marion might have as well. Nick would have grown up with his cousins. He and Scarlet would have had each other. Why doesn't Nick remember any of you?"

Reynard had an answer for all of this as he had thought about it for years, "He was only around two and a half. It would have been a very long time ago. His mother would have never mentioned any of us ever again. It would have reached a point where Nick only thought it was a dream he had. Can you remember what happened when you were that age? It is quite possible some of the trauma from the attack is still effecting my nephew. It also definitely sounds like he has abandonment issues and guilt over his father's disappearance. As far as the mental incompetence, yes Nick may have grown up with his family, but his mother would have been shattered. The experts I have talked to believed that if we had attempted this, it could have resulted in irrecoverable damage to her mind confirming and cementing all her paranoia and twisted memories as truth. I was hopeful that she would finally recover enough to realize she wanted to see us and have us in her life. But instead, her mind seemed to begin to block her memories of us completely."

"It sounds like she was placing protective barriers around anything she associated with her sources of trauma which unfortunately were you and your family." Drew responded with insight, "Judy, if Nick had grown up with Reynard, it is doubtful you two would have ever met. And without the circumstances with Nick, it is doubtful you would have met me or Reynard here."

Judy had heard this line of reasoning before, "This is like that butterfly effect you were talking about?"

"Well not precisely." Drew responded, "That has more to do with small changes causing large ripples. What I am discussing is more in the realm of causality. But it is very similar in that had Nick not grown up on the streets, it would have been doubtful he would become a con artist and met you the way he did. He would most likely have never become your friend and most certainly not your ZPD partner. You would unlikely have ended up on my Earth if the two of you had not been investigating the missing mammals together. It is possible though, but much more unlikely. It is conceivable I might have met another Zootopian in need of help and possibly been able to help them return. But the whole Covenant plot may have succeeded without Nick to help foil it. I would have been captured or possibly killed coming through the portal if I had made it that far. You can see how delicate the circumstances were for our meeting the way we did. Everything had to happen exactly the right way for it to occur."

Judy smiled at the human declaring, "I love it when you go off on one of your complicated explanations or theories."

The human gave her a kiss wiping her teary eyes responding with a grin, "And that is why I am with you, and not some other girl."

Judy grinned back at her human, but then turned addressing Reynard, "Well I am pleased I was able to meet Nick, Drew and you Reynard, but I hate to think Nick had to suffer so much the way he did. To have his father abandoned, to have witnessed such horrors, to then lose all his family and his Scarlet, and finally to live with a mother who was mentally unstable. I hate to think of him suffering so."

Reynard considered her words responding, "I suppose all you can do is just help him going forward. Be the wonderful friend and partner you are to him. Help support him, understanding those issues from his past, and how they effect him even now. In other words, learn a lesson I have, and don't dwell so much on the past, but instead focus on the present and future."

"Wise words to live by." Drew noted, "I am just hoping I can figure out how to use all this to help Marion. I am at a loss to see how I can negotiate her through that minefield in her brain. That is an awful lot of potential points for mental blocks as well as sources of her suffering. If she was a patient and I a doctor, I would think of her as being covered all over with deep wounds and internal damage, and having difficulty figuring out which ones to attempt to deal with first. But at least it is a starting point to build a plan."

Judy looked hopeful at the human wondering, "Do you really think you can make sense of it all?"

Drew shrugged his shoulders, "I really have no idea. But I am glad I will have your help. Reynard, I may have to call you to ask you some questions concerning all this if that is okay."

Reynard nodded, "If it is to help my nephew and sister, I will do anything in my power that does not break my word to her. But I am afraid that even if you are able to get her to remember anything, that those memories will be so old, it is doubtful she will provide anything which will lead you to find me. But I will not stand in your way, and wish you luck."

Judy smiled slightly and asked, "What about Sheba and Alexei? Did they recover? Was the cub okay? How did Scarlet cope being separated from Nick? What about..."

Reynard put his paw up to stop the bunny's endless stream of questions answering, "You will just have to wait until the next part of the story to find all that out. You should know that by now. Well I hope I provided enough information to give you what you were looking for. It is getting quite late and I am exhausted from telling such a long tale. I am not young like you two anymore, and this was quite a trial to cover so much at once. Normally I would have spread this part of the tale out over several sessions. But I know you needed to get to that ending to help you get your answers about what happened to my sister."

Drew then seemed to think of something, "You have no idea how amazing and mesmerizing your whole tale has been. I can't even put into words how awestruck I am by vivid detail and events you have described. But one quick question before we head out. Would you have killed Murus, Marion, Nick or John when you had lost your identity completely and had become the demon, Red Death?"

Reynard chuckled responding, "Yes, I would have seemed an extreme danger to those I loved. I may have appeared possessed, but my mistress was able to guide me to ignore non-threats and innocents. She would know how upset I would be if I was to have done something to harm someone I loved in the middle of my death hunt, and hopefully stop me. However accidents do happen where I may be striking a target, and the attack ricochets off and hits another target. Or I might strike through a target and hit something unseen behind. I will never say that I have not ever accidentally harmed a friend or innocent, but I have never intentionally harmed one when only innocents remain. Well let me help you pack up all this extra food we left. We can't have that going to waste. Also take some of the alcohol back with you on the ride home and enjoy it on the way since you are not driving. I will have the chauffeur drop you off directly at your home. Just leave me the scotch here and I will be pleased."

Reynard texted a driver to meet them in the basement while they went to the restroom and then joined Reynard packing the uneaten food into several boxes. Drew and Judy thanked their host many times for a wonderful evening. The mischievous fox replied, "I am quite pleased with how everything turned out as well. I will act upon all those matters we discussed and have numerous notes to remind me. One thing to remember is that we are well outside the city and it will be a long ride back, so feel free to take advantage of the complete privacy."

The elevator opened and they waved goodbye carrying the case used for the alcohol and the several boxes of food. A new driver, an antelope who was equally as stoic as the jaguar driver who had taken them here early that afternoon, wordlessly packed the boxes into the trunk. He placed the boxes in large container with some blocks of frozen material to prevent any spoilage keeping everything cool, and then opened the door to the back of the limo. They placed their overcoats and the wine case in the seat in front of them and poured some wine as the doors were closed and locked.

As they felt the slight vibration telling them they were moving, the small window in front of them slid open and the antelope told them, "If you need anything, press the button next to this window. Otherwise you will not be disturbed."

Drew asked, "Don't you need the address indicating where to take us?"

The antelope simply replied, "Nope, got it. Enjoy the ride."

The window slid closed and Drew grinned at the bunny declaring, "Not exactly a loquacious fellow is he?"

Judy giggled in response, "I don't think that is in his job description."

The two of them then relaxed against each other drinking some wine and snacking on some fruit discussing the evening for awhile. They briefly went over all the many elements of the story from adventures of little Jack Savage and the rescuing of the children and slaves, the dungeon, the punishment of the guilty, the attack and defense of The Fox at court, the many schemes of his enemies, the clever ways he outsmarted The King, court and his enemies, the circumstances which led him to the noose, and the way he turned the tables completely on everyone, the discovery and vengeance of The King leading to the attack on his home and family and finally the horrors experienced by Marion.

Judy wanted to go over the details of Marion's part of the story, but Drew was feeling relaxed after several glasses of wine and a chance to be alone finally reminding the bunny, "Well we have plenty of time to go over all that when we get home, and you know, our host reminded us we have a bit of time before we arrive home, and we have complete privacy in the back of the limo..."

The human let the comment hang until his astute bunny got his meaning helping him quickly remove her dress so it didn't get crushed in the backseat giggling quite enthusiastically as she helped him out of his fancy outfit as well. Soon they were relieving a great deal of pent up stress while simultaneously helping Judy check off an item on her bucket list. It was definitely an evening and experience they would never forget.

---

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Final Author Notes for the Chapter:

Thus ends Part 3 of Reynard's Story.

The section of this chapter when Reynard is at court and The King honors Reynard with the office of Minister of the Underworld and calls for him to be treated as his second corresponds closely to events in the final two chapters of the original legendary text (Chapters 44 & 45) as well as events in the 1930 movie. However in the original story, The King makes this declaration completely voluntarily based on how Reynard has impressed him with his many skills and cunning to outwit and defeat all those who came against him.

However events in the Zootopia Reynard's story are quite different, and Reynard had to force The King's paw quite a lot into making those similar declarations. Many events that take place in the original Reynard legend will not come until the latter parts of Reynard's story.

Reynard's adventures will continue in Vol 3 which will be beginning shortly as Vol 2 soon comes to an end and has three more parts planned.