A/N: Here's another installment of Zootopia X, which this one took quite a bit for me to work with. However, I've made some changes in the following chapters (And I do recommend you going back to the said chapters to see what the changes are):
1: A Change in Matt's appearance
2: This chapter was rearranged, and the relationship between Karen and Matt has changed as well.
3: Added a bit of detail and broke down a a couple paragraphs into bigger ones.
4: Tweaked and reformatted the chapter a bit for corrections. Thrandeer and Katagai's height changed as well to fit the Zootopia world closer.
5: Judy's height is added and Jenny's height is changed slightly.
6: Height change with the Ninja Matt killed.
7: Tweaked this chapter a bit.
8: Slight tweaking regarding Matt mentioning his past.
12: Minor tweaking.
13: Polished Matt's heartfelt confession a bit (and fixed Matt's relationship with Karen, since she was mentioned)
16: Polished the chapter a bit and made appropriate changes after changing Karen's relationship with the Wilde family.
21: Corrected the spelling of a mentioned character and slight appearance change.
24: Made tweaks to correlate with Karen's relationship with the Wilde Family.
With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy the next installment of Zootopia X!
An Assassin's Remorse
"Oh god! Oh dear god, no!" Matt exclaimed shortly after he had delivered the killing blow that slain Tatsumi, but had also, consequently, mortally wounded Tomoe in the process.
Nobody could believe what happened. Not a single person inside the courtyard can believe what the hell they just witnessed. Every occupant in the room was staring directly at the fallen vixen before their very eyes, their eyes wide ans mouths agape. Judy and Jenny had their mouths covered with their own hand-paws, with tears starting to well in the English-born doe's eyes as she shook her head in disbelief. Tomoe had been struck down by Matt's blade, even if it were unintentional.
Speaking of Matt himself, the fox was darting thoroughly across every part of the courtyard, his eyes shot wide open, and his brows arched upward in despair. Looking left and right as he did, the fox himself hoped he could find something that could treat her wounds, or at the very least, do whatever he can to slow the bleeding long enough to get her to a hospital.
Luckily for him, he managed to spot a first aid kit next to the double doors he had entered through earlier. The vulpine immediately rushes towards the first aid kit attached to the wall next to the double doors and grabs a hold of it. He tries prying off the glass door, but to no avail because of it being locked. But he was in a panicked state, and he needed to get the medical supplies immediately. He clenches his left hand-paw into a fist and breaks through the glass by punching it right through, not caring if glass had pierced his furred flesh or even got some shards sticking out on his forearm.
With the glass broken, the vulpine pulls the medical kit out of the case and immediately rushes back to where Tomoe lay bleeding on the grown, his eyes fixed upon the dying vixen. He slides onto his knees next to her right and immediately opens the first aid kit, his eyes thoroughly, but quickly examining the contents that lay within. He couldn't find anything to stitch the injury, but fortunately for him, he was able to find a thick roll of gauze wrap to at least try and wrap her torso with. Quickly as he did, the tod grabs the roll of thick gauze wrap and was about to wrap her torso with it immediately…
…Only for Tomoe's right hand-paw to gently grasp his own left, ceasing his actions and causing the fox to tilt his head towards her direction. By now, his eyes were welled with tears, and some of them began streaming down his face. He ignored the stinging sensation he felt from the tears trailing down on the freshly slashed linear wound that now crossed perpendicularly with the current one he had. Soft sobs began escaping his mouth, right as the three rabbits stared at the scene with a mixture of emotions.
"Tomoe… I don't understand… why…?" Matt asked softly, even if he had to choke back a couple of sobs as he tried to speak. "Why…?" he repeated softly with a sob leaving his mouth, closing his eyes and shaking his head a few times in denial. Why did this have to happen? What has he done?
Many questions regarding the situation came to an abrupt hold when he felt Tomoe release her grip from his left hand-paw and move her right slowly up towards his left cheek. The vixen gently grasps her nephew's left cheek gently and started to stroke it soothingly as best as she could. Matt gazes towards her with both curiosity and remorse as a response, but his curiosity grew into confusion when he saw his aunt smiling at him reassuringly, her eyes closed and her brows arched upward.
Why was she smiling? Why now of all times, he wondered…
"Its alright, Matt…" Tomoe began with a hoarse voice, a voice that was gradually becoming less audible with each passing second. He knew for a fact she was dying, but why would she even say something like this?! "Please… don't cry…" and as those last words left the vixen's mouth, a final exhalation of breath left her mouth and her right hand-paw collapses onto the cold, concrete floor. It was in that particular moment Matt realized something.
Tomoe Yukishiro Wilde was dead… and it was all his fault.
His eyes immediately widen after her last breath and began shaking her body frantically, like a kit trying to wake its mother after the mother had passed on.
"No! Nononononono! Tomoe, please!" Matt pleaded, wanting her to stay alive in order to get his aunt the treatment she needed for the mortal injury he caused.
Try as he might, it was all in vain. Tomoe was dead, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to bring her back. His eyes narrow with tears continuously streaming down his face, and he wraps his arms around the vixen's shoulders in remorse. Several sobs left his mouth even when he briefly buried his muzzle into her left shoulder remorsefully. But the fox leans his head and one name left his mouth in a pleading, remorseful cry.
"TOMOE!" Matt cried as loud as he could, his eyes closed and tears continuing to steam down his face, droplets of his tears hitting the deceased vixen's face as he held her dearly. "Its not alright! How the hell could it be alright?!" the fox continued to cry even as his tears continue to trail down his face, not caring if they trailed passed the bleeding slash wound on his left cheek that perpendicularly crossed the current scar he had. "If someone had to die, it should've been me! The killer! Not you! How can it be right for you to die! I should've been the one to die!" the broken vulpine continued to cry in anguish and despair, his arms tightening around Tomoe's shoulder and burying his face onto her left shoulder.
Stu and Judy Hopps were unsure of what to do to help Matt, not even Jenny was unsure of how she could help her fox. But the one thing all three bunnies had in common was the fact all of them were completely horrified about what happened, and all three of them knew for a fact his cries of remorse were completely genuine. Yet even if they were unsure of what to do, someone had to do something to comfort the fox himself. And that someone was Jenny herself! She started walking towards the fox with a worried expression being bore on her face.
She didn't even make it halfway when her ears flickered to the faint sound of shuddering breaths coming from the fifth floor balcony above the courtyard. But Jenny wasn't the only one who caught the sound either, because even as Jenny was turning towards the balcony's direction, Judy and Stu turn towards the exact same direction where they were heading. And the instant Jenny's eyes caught the source of the shuddering breaths, her eyes widened, and her body became still in an instant.
Enishi Yukishiro Wilde was standing at the top of the balcony with his eyes shot wide open, his gaze fixed directly upon Matt and his deceased sister, Tomoe. His mouth was agape, his shoulders quivering slightly, and his breathing shuddering repetitively. He could not believe what he was witnessing. But more importantly, to the bunnies (or Jenny at the very least), how long had he been standing there?!
Unbeknownst to Matt and the others, Enishi had left the fifth floor surveillance room sometime during the battle in order to watch the fight from the outside. He wanted to get a closer look at the ongoing fight rather than watch it through the cameras. He wanted to watch the Battousai's planned assassination in person, from his own very eyes. But instead, by the time he had gotten to the balcony, he had witnessed the Battousai not only slay Tatsumi easily, but he had killed Enishi's older sister, completely unaware Matt had unintentionally killed her.
"My sister's… dead…" Enishi uttered under his breath, his words barely audible. Not even the bunnies were able to capture what the white haired fox had said. But whatever it was, they figured it had something to do with the death of Tomoe.
Seeing the sight of his nephew crying in remorse and holding his aunt after he had accidentally slain her sickened the hell out of Enishi. For all he cared, this could be a mere act for people to feel sorry for him, a conniving act to the point it sickened Enishi's own vulpine heritage. His hand-paws started curling into fists, and his mouth closes with a snarl, his teeth becoming barred, his brows furrowing, and a growl starting to leave his mouth. All rational thought started to leave the fox's mind, only to be filled with pure, undiluted rage. And it was that moment when he finally let everything out at once, directly at the one who'd slain his sister.
"MATTHEW PALLADIN WILDE, YOU ARROGANT BASTARD!" Enishi shouted from the top of his lungs, his own tears starting to stream down his face even as the rage continued to linger. Matt immediately directly towards the older fox even as he held the corpse of his own aunt in his arms."YOU KILLED MY SISTER OUT OF COLD BLOOD, YOUR OWN AUNT! HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO YOUR OWN FLESH AND BLOOD?!" the rage driven fox continued, even as Matt and the three rabbits gazed directly at him, yet Matt's eyes were shot wide open out of both shock and remorse. "YOU'RE A DISGRACE TO THE WILDE FAMILY NAME, MATT, JUST LIKE YOUR ARROGANT FATHER WAS! I WILL NOT ALLOW ANYONE FROM THE LIKES OF YOU TO LIVE, NOT AFTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO TOMOE!"
It was in that particular instance did Enishi grab a hold of the railing on the balcony before jumping up onto the railing, his left foot-paw connecting and preparing to jump off the ledge. But before he could, a deadly explosion went off with a loud 'BA-CHOOM', which bore enough force to knock the fox on the balcony backwards onto the floor. Even Matt and the three bunnies were starting to become rather suspicious of the sudden attack, completely unsure of what the hell caused the explosion.
"The self destruct sequence has been activated. Repeat, the self destruct sequence has been activated. This sequence cannot be aborted. All employees must proceed to evacuate the facility immediately", a monotone, computerized voice suddenly spoke through the intercom on the same floor level, much to everyone's surprise. Now that was completely unexpected! A self destruct sequence?!
"Ugh! Damn that double crossing bitch!" Enishi cursed while simultaneously slamming his fists against the balcony railing. "She activated the self destruct sequence when I specifically told her not to! God dammit!" the white haired fox continued angrily much to his anger. He wanted to kill the Battousai right now with his own hand-paws. But it seems fate has other plans for him. But the vulpine quickly glares at the assassin and points his right index finger directly at the manslayer. "Today's your lucky day, assassin! But mark my words, I will kill you. The years may pass, and maybe a new era may come, but I WILL kill you!" and with those last words leaving the balcony and began to evacuate the facility. Matt himself turns his head back towards Tomoe's dead body and continued to gaze at her with wide eyes.
Hearing the sirens wailing after the self destruct sequence had been activated sent waves of panic through the three bunnies, with Stu and Judy looking at each other frantically. They were about to start discussing a way out when their notice Jenny immediately rushing towards her fox. The English doe herself power slides next to Matt's left, her hand-paws quickly, but gently grabbing his shoulder's right afterwards.
"Matt, we have to go! The facility's about to self destruct!" Jenny urged her lover and frantically shook his body as she spoke, but her words fell to deaf ears as the tod himself didn't make a single move. He was still in distraught after what he had done, and Jenny understood why. But now was not the time to grieve over this tragic loss. "Matt, PLEASE! We have to go", and right as she said those words did Judy and Stu immediately rush towards the two. Judy kneels next to the other rabbit and places her hand-paws on Jenny's back and left forearm respectively, while Stu, on the other hand, moved next to Matt's right and gazed directly at the two female rabbits.
"Jude, take Jenny out of here immediately. I'll take care of Matt", Stu ordered rather calmly, despite the amount of panic he was feeling inside of his body. But he couldn't afford to show his fear in front of the others. He had to get the others out of here immediately. The instant he saw Judy nodding with understanding towards her father, he watched his daughter lead Jenny directly towards the double doors, despite Jenny being reluctant to leave her mate's side. But after he saw Judy reach the double doors and stop to wait for them, Stu turns his attention towards the distraught fox and places his right hand-paw onto the fox's left shoulder. "Matt, we have to go! The darn place's about to explode!" the bunny urged with the hope he can get through to him. But before he can say anything else, the intercom suddenly started to speak. And what it said sent shivers down his spine.
"This facility will detonate in five… minutes", the monotone computerized voice of the intercom claimed, much to the older rabbit's shock. His hand-paws grab a hold of Matt's left arm and began to pull him away from the scene.
"Matt! We have to get the hell out of here!" Stu urged rapidly even as he tried to get Matt back onto his feet-paws. But he was stopped abruptly when Matt's right hand-paw grabs a hold of the bunny's left wrist. The bunny was about to snap until he saw the look in Matt's eyes. The look the fox bore in his eyes were pleading and filled with tears, much like a child pleading to their parents for whatever important reason they have. And this case was no different, especially with what he was pleading.
"I can't leave Tomoe's body here!" Matt began, shaking his head a couple of times even as he continued. "We can't leave her body here! Not here!" the fox cried, a couple of tears streaming down his face even as the bunny continued to look at him in shock. It was in that particular moment he understood what the fox truly wanted.
"Matt, we don't have time! This place is about to explode any minute!" Stu yelled in an attempt to get Matt onto his feet in order to get the hell out of there, but the fox himself wouldn't dare to move. "We have to-"
"Please!" Matt begged, his breathing becoming heavy even as he continued to beg. "I don't wanna leave her here. I don't wanna leave her here!" the fox continued, right before closing his eyes and letting a few sobs leave his muzzle. Even if they didn't have time left, he didn't want to leave Tomoe's body here. Not after what he did. "Please…" he begged pleadingly with a sob leaving his mouth, tears continuing to stream down his face.
Stu Hopps was now having a personal dilemma within himself. On one hand, he wanted to get the hell out of here before this place exploded, since they literally had less than five minutes to evacuate the facility. On the other hand, while it may possibly hinder the chance of evacuation, it wouldn't feel right to leave Tomoe's body even after Matt had unintentionally killed her with his own blade. And with that in mind, a calm sigh left his mouth and turned his attention towards Matt, his mind finally made up.
"Alright", Stu replied with a nod right before rushing towards the deceased vixen's legs, wrapping his arms around the woman's legs securely while being careful with the corpse. "We ain't got time to hang around, Matt. Now lets skedaddle!" he immediately ordered, and almost right after he said that, Matt secures a tight grip around his deceased aunt's torso (just underneath her breasts) and immediately rushed towards the courtyard exit, where both Judy and Jenny were impatiently waiting for them.
With only a few minutes left on the clock, Judy and Jenny hastily open the doors and allow Matt and Stu swiftly rush through them, since both men were carrying the body of Tomoe in their grip. They followed the two immediately afterwards and start rushing towards the elevator doors up ahead. The constant wailing of the self-destruct sirens continue to blare as loudly as the sirens going off at a military base during an attack. The halls that once bore a bright light now bore a constantly flashing red color, the lights rotating like a police siren.
They were several yards away from the elevator doors, and the group began quickening the pace of their sprinting as fast as they could. They were eager to get the hell out of there and be gone from this place.
Unfortunately, a nasty explosion coming from within the elevator immediately stopped them on their tracks, the four mammals quickly stepping a few feet away from the elevator doors even as the doors themselves literally blew towards their direction. Luckily for them, none of them were hit by the heavily dented, destroyed silver doors. However, the possibility of escaping through the elevator immediately blew right through the window, and now were unsure of how to escape from this place.
"Damn!" Stu cursed with a growl, his eyes narrowing, his brows furrowing, and his hand-paws clenching into fists even as he held onto the vixen's corpse by her thighs. "What are we gonna do now?!" he exclaimed with a frustrated and panicked tone even as he began to look around the entire fourth floor for a map of sort, or perhaps find a sign that'll lead them to another method of escape.
"I can't say for certain, but there should be a stairway nearby that'll lead us to the lower floors", Matt replied quickly even while using his eyes to scout the area for a sign or anything else that'll lead them to either the stairway, or perhaps another functional elevator within the area. Fortunately for him, his eyes catch the sight of a door leading to the stairway next to one of the labs. "Over there!" and with that, the vulpine assassin secures his grip on the corpse of his aunt right before he and the others start sprinting towards the door, with Judy rushing to the doorknob and grabbing a hold of it with both of her hand-paws.
Almost immediately, Judy opens the door and rushes inside, holding the door open and allowing Jenny, her father, and Matt to pass through the door. Matt's eyes fix themselves towards the stairs leading downwards and lead the way. He quickly rushes downstairs with the others following behind, yet kept a delicate grip on his aunt's body even as he ran down the stairs. The smell of her corpse began filling the stairway, but the four mammals ignored the smell of death that began to linger. It was a race against time, and they needed to get the hell out of there immediately!
It didn't take long for the group to arrive onto the second floor, much to their relief. The sight of the first floor door was within their grasp. But an explosion suddenly goes off with a loud 'BOOM' and literally blew the door off the hinges keeping it in place. The smoke and raging fires quickly started to engulf the stairway, and the sight caused the four to stop dead on their tracks in the middle of the stairway.
"Shit!" Matt sword under his breath, even as he swiftly approaches the door with the group and uses his left foot-paw to kick the door open. He enters the second floor hallway and uses the same foot-paw to hold the door open for Stu and the two female rabbits to enter. They entered rather quickly, and the fox uses the same foot-paw to kick the door shut before scouting for another way to exit.
Alas, his jade green eyes spot another stairway in the hallway on the left and immediately started darting towards it, the three bunnies following suit even with Stu securing his grip on the dead vixen's legs. All of them became relieved at the doors up ahead, even as their panting breaths gradually grew louder with each step they made towards it. They were finally ready to get out of here, with barely more than a couple of minutes left on the clock.
Then something unexpected had happened! A heavily muscular built male tiger suddenly broke through one of the glass windows leading into one of the labs, landing on all fours right after the mammal had broken through. But what caught their attention was the manner he landed, and the way his predatory, yellow-green colored eyes glared at the four approaching mammals. Judy and Stu were completely confused and shocked at the sight, but Matt and Jenny immediately recognized the signs right away!
"Matt, he's gone savage!" Jenny exclaimed with pure shock, even as the tiger crouches forward after locking his eyes directly at the four mammals in front of him. He stretches the fingers on his hand-paws along with unsheathing his claws, preparing to launch himself towards the four in front of the beast.
"Great…" Matt scoffed and shook his head out of frustration, right before turning his head at both Jenny and Judy. "Jen, Jude! Hold on to Tomoe's body for me. I'll take care of him", the fox ordered rather quickly, as time was of the essence.
As Jenny and Judy quickly grab a hold of Tomoe's body and held her delicately around the torso area, Matt grabs the hilt of his katana and pulls his sword out of its sheath. He grabs the wakizashi from Judy by its sheath and places it back through his belt on the left side of his body. That was the moment he refocused his eyes back towards the feral mammal before clutching the hilt with both of his hand-paws.
"Gah! We don't have time for your bullshit!" Matt growled, even as he notices the tiger pulling his body backwards and preparing to launch himself towards the assassin. The fox took a few steps to the left in order to make sure the tiger launch himself at the others in an attempt to draw his gaze away from the prey mammals he was accompanying. Fortunately, this seemed to have worked. "That's right, buddy, eyes on the fox", he narrowed his eyes at the tiger even as those words left his mouth, waiting for the tiger to launch himself at him with the plan he had formulated in his mind.
Right as he expected, the tiger suddenly launches himself towards the fox, with the vulpine turning to the left wall and jumping onto it quickly at the last second. The tiger failed to kill his target, and the feral beast was about to pay the ultimate price! Matt was nearly fifteen feet above the tiger right before he pointed his blade at the feral predator, ready to end the beasts life and get the hell out of here.
The tiger was turning his head left and right hoping to find his target, failing to realize the fox was literally right above him. By the time the tiger had spotted the fox a second or two later, it was already too late! Matt's blade pierces right through the tiger's skull and even pierced through the upper part of his back, killing the feral mammal immediately as a result of the Battousai's attack. Matt swiftly pulls his blade out and turns towards the rabbits, with blood splurting out of the wounds caused by the fox's blade.
"C'mon! We don't have much time!" Matt quickly exclaimed right before flicking his blade towards the front and flicking most of the blood off of his sword. And even as he sheathed his blade, the fox, along with the three bunnies accompanying the assassin, started sprinting towards the entrance to the second stairway and bursting through the double doors. He held the door open long enough for all three of them to flee from the second floor.
Although they noticed smoke coming through the cracks of the first floor door, they were relieved to know the door was still intact. But even if that were the case, they all knew they had to flee if they were to escape from this horrid place! Matt quickly reaches for the door and unsheathes his katana, rapidly swinging the blade diagonally and destroying the door within a mere second. Judy and Stu's eyes widen from what Matt had done, but neither one of them bothered to question his abilities. But right as the pieces of the door fall onto the ground, Matt was met with a thick cloud of dark gray smoke blowing towards his direction, causing him to quickly cover his muzzle with his shirt before raising his blade upward.
The next thing Matt did surprised the living hell out of everyone accompanying the fox, even Jenny herself hadn't expected what he was about to do. Matt started rapidly rotating the blade clockwise like a propeller attached to the front of an airplane. The force of the rotating blade proved to be more than enough to blow the black smoke away from them, thus reducing the density of the smoke enough to where Matt and the three rabbits start making haste towards the exit.
As surprised as the rabbits were, including Jenny, admittedly, not a single one decided to question the level of skill Matt bore with his swordsmanship. Jenny knew without a doubt Matt was extremely competent with a sword, but she hadn't expected him to push the smoke back with the force of the vacuums created by the rapid rotations of his sword. Not even the wreathing flames could withstand the force of his rapidly propelling blade. Matt was truly a marvelous mammal and she honestly had a lot more respect for her lover because of his skill.
Fortunately for them, they were able to make it outside of the facility with ease, with barely less than a minute left to evacuate Bellwether Enterprises. Matt spots the truck nearby and rushes towards it, sheathing his sword before grabbing the back door of the truck. As he opened it, Matt jumps onto the back of the truck and moved towards the front, grabbing a hold of Tomoe's corpse and quickly, albeit gently, sliding her body towards him as he took a seat. Stu sought the opportunity to get the truck going, sliding the key into the ignition and turning it towards the front. At first, he started to panic when the engine didn't start, even as Judy and Jenny quickly entered the truck through the passenger's side. But much to his relief, the truck managed to start after the fourth try, with only slightly less than thirty seconds to spare.
Matt immediately closes the back door of the truck shortly before the old buck switched the truck to reverse and pressed on the gas. Stu pulled out of the parking space his truck occupied and immediately switched it to drive, quickly pressing the gas pedal and driving through the parking lot exit. There was not much time to waste, and they needed to get out of the premises immediately if they were to avoid the blast radius of the self-destruct sequence. They didn't care if there was ice on the road. Fuck the consequences!
Just several seconds after Stu and the others escaped Bellwether Enterprises, the entire facility exploded with several loud 'BA-CHOOM' noise. Jenny and Judy turn towards the rear view mirror and notice several large, black and orange colored flaming clouds bursting into the air as a result of the explosions. Stu's eyes remain fixed on the road, and Matt's own remain locked towards the corpse of his aunt, Tomoe. The fox's arms remain wrapped around the vixen's shoulders, not caring if the remnants of her blood began to stain the lower parts of his pants.
But even as his eyes remained fixed on Tomoe's body, Jenny and Judy turn twist their bodies enough to turn their heads at Matt's direction. Seeing the fox in his current state, they couldn't help but feel bad for him. Yeah, her death was shocking, even if she had been slain by the Battousai himself. But both of them knew it was unintentional, even if he tried in vain to save his aunt despite the severity of her mortal wounds.
If only they knew a way they could help him… if only Jenny knew a way she could help her fox…
"Matt…" Jenny spoke softly under her breath, her tone full of sympathy towards her fox. She wanted to be there with him to comfort him, even if it were cold outside. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him everything was alright. But even if she was able to, how could she comfort Matt after he had unintentionally killed Tomoe.
Reluctantly, the English-born doe turns away from the rear window and looks down towards her hand-paws with half-lidded eyes, which currently gripped her knees neither gently nor roughly. She was broken out of her trance when Judy's right hand-paw gently grabs a hold of her left shoulder, causing the doe to glance at the other with a curious expression on her face.
"You're worried about him, aren't you?" Judy asked softly, her expression showing genuine concern towards her, and sympathy towards the loss of someone Jenny had knew for a couple months, the loss of someone she and her own father had only met the day before. But more importantly, she was feeling sorry for the pain Matt had to go through…
"More than anything, Judy…" Jenny answered with an honest nod, her tone filled with sorrow and shifting her gaze from the other doe towards her own knees. "I really wanna help him, but I… but I-" she continued, but was soon interrupted the instant she felt Judy's right hand-paw gently cup her chin and tilt her head towards her.
"Jenny", Judy began with a soft tone of voice, which was only audible enough for Jenny to hear her, but not enough for her father to hear, or at the very least not as easily. But whether or not Stu heard her was unsure, for his attention was focused on the road, wanting to put as much distance between them and the now destroyed facility as possible, all while trying his best to avoid an accident on the partially icy roads. "Listen to me. The best thing you can do for him right now is be there for him. Support him in whatever way you can, and make it clear you are there for him no matter what", the doe urged, albeit with the same soft voice in an attempt to keep the conversation between the two.
Jenny herself continued to stare at the female doe for at least another moment before closing her eyes for a prolonged moment. She gave a gentle nod towards her friend before looking back towards the rear view mirror near the windshield, her eyes locked directly towards Matt himself. She kept her gaze locked towards the reflection of her fox before letting a soft sigh leave her mouth, turning her head to her knees and fixing their eyes on them.
The remainder of the ride remained silent, except for the sound of the heater blowing into the interior of the truck itself. Not even music was playing inside of the truck. Nobody even bothered to turn it on, nor were they in the mood to listen to anything right now. Then again, there's not really much of a point if all the stations were gonna report about the gradually growing chaos in Kawasabus, not even today's popular, uplifting music would be able to lift the somber mood from the environment.
Half an hour after the group fled the facility, along with careful driving along the icy roads did they manage to pull up in the parking lot where Matt, Jenny, and the late Tomoe lived in. Matt stood up onto his feet-paws and moves towards the back of the truck, opening it before grabbing a hold of his aunt's corpse by her torso and under her knees. As he lifts her up and kept a secure grip on her body, he jumps off of the bed of the truck before closing the door with his right foot-paw. But as he began walking into the house with her corpse, Jenny opens the passenger truck door and exits the vehicle, closing tight and began following her fox inside. But after passing the truck, Stu rolls down his window and catches her attention with a whistle.
"Jen, is it a good idea for you to stay with him?" Stu asked, his tone filled with concern towards the bunny. And even if he felt bad for Matt accidentally killing his own aunt, he was still concerned about Jenny hanging around with him, even after discovering he was a deadly manslayer.
"Yeah", Jenny answered honestly with a nod. "He's my mate, and I need to be there for him in his time of pain", she added, and while Stu had slightly flinched at the word 'mate', he decided not to speak against it in order to avoid causing a scene. The last thing anybody needed was an argument on interspecies relations. With a soft sigh, the buck nodded with understanding before placing the clutch on reverse
"I understand", Stu responded, preparing to press the gas as he turns his head towards the back of the truck, placing his right hand-paw behind the head of the passenger's seat. He was about to press the gas before feeling Jenny's hand-paws grab his left forearm, catching the buck's attention as a result.
"Before you go, there's a favor I want to ask of you both", as those words left Jenny's mouth, Stu and Judy's ears perk upward with curiosity, turning their heads towards her direction with similarly toned expressions.
"What do you need?" Stu asked, his and his daughter's eyes gazing intently at the English-born bunny standing in front of the driver's side door.
"I need you to find someone for me when you return to Kawasabus", Jenny began, moving her hand-paws to grip the open window on the truck door. "Find Thrandeer Katzuma, the leader of the Neo-Imperialist Ishin-Mirkwood clan. He's a deer buck with long, blonde hair and light blue eyes. You'll know him when you see him".
"Tell us what we need to do, and we'll get it done as soon as possible", Judy quickly replied, her tone being filled with determination. Whatever it was she needed, she intended to get it done for her friend. It was the least she can do after Jenny's mate had protected her.
"I need you to tell him everything that happened up here", Jenny answered with her brows slightly furrowing in a serious manner. "I will warn you, though, since the Neo-Shogunate's trying to track him down, he's become a pretty elusive mammal. If Matt and I were able to get in contact with him, we would've told him everything that happened. But three weeks ago, we've lost contact with him, not even his phone's turned on", the doe explained. "Please, it's very important you find him, no matter the cost. Thrandeer needs to know what happened up here".
Right after the bunny had finished, both Stu and his daughter turn towards one another and locked gazes with each other. After finding out Thrandeer being an elusive mammal, they (or Stu at least) started to reconsider if whether or not such a search was even worth it. Not because of time, but because of how difficult it is. Yet with everything that happened today, they knew this needed to be done. It was the least they can do to repay Matt for saving and keeping them protected. Both bunnies turn back towards Jenny and give her a reassuring nod.
"Alright, I can't make any promises about finding this Thrandeer Katzuma, Jen. But we'll do our best", Stu replied with a serious tone on his face, with the English-born doe responding with an understanding nod.
"I understand", Jenny replied with a nod. And with those words said, Stu turns to the back of the truck and presses on the gas, pulling out of the driveway even as the doe turns towards the direction where the front door was. She walks into the house as the truck immediately starts driving towards Kawasabus with cautious haste, thus allowing the Hopps and the interspecies couple to continue with their lives. One with determination to find a Neo-Imperialist, and the other with grief and sorrow for the one they lost.
The next few days had passed by rather quickly for both Jenny and Matt, and much had happened during their time in grieving. They had to use much of the money they've made from their fishing business to pay for funeral, transportation, and auto repair expenses. The transportation expenses were needed to convey Tomoe's body to the funeral home, along with treading the mortal injuries the deceased vixen had unintentionally sustained from Matt. The auto repair expenses were required as a result of Matt getting into an accident while driving his Challenger to Bellwether Enterprises, which were the reason the transportation expenses were needed. The funeral costs were obvious, yet the interspecies couple could only afford a small funeral within the area, and only invited people who were close to her. It was Matt who took responsibility to inform his aunt's friends on what happened, but withheld on the one responsible for her death.
If only he could, he would've informed his relatives who lived in Zootopia. But as much as he wanted to, he had to refrain from that action, lest he would reveal his living existence towards his siblings.
The funeral took place at the New Otsu Funeral Home on the morning of December the twenty sixth, exactly one week after the incident leading to Tomoe's death. Because the funeral was held at such a small location, only Matt, Jenny, and roughly thirty two others had attended the funeral. Surprisingly enough, even a few Neo-Imperialists like Emmitt Otterton (whom worked with Tomoe as a florist) and Takeshi Sagamori had come to pay their respects for the deceased vixen and provide comfort for the interspecies couple.
Matt himself was dressed in a dark green dress shirt with the top couple buttons being unbuttoned, with his black tie being loosely wrapped around his neck. A black dress coat was worn over the shirt and matched the color of his slim fitting slacks, which his shirt was currently tucked into and secured with a black leather belt. Lastly, his feet-paws were covered in a pair of formal, open toe coverings around his ankles.
Jenny herself was dressed in similar clothing to her mate's own garments, yet bore a few distinctions. Her slim fitting dress shirt was a cerulean blue color and nearly matched the color of her eyes, but didn't wear a tie of sort to go with the shirt. However, a black coat was worn over the shirt and a similarly colored, slim fitting skirt was worn over her legs, which were just a few inches above knee length. A pair of black mid heel shoes were worn on her feet-paws, and bumped her height up a good couple inches as a result.
Because of the type of fit her shirt was, it made the slight bump around her belly region quite apparent, although wasn't enough for anyone to notice. Not even Matt was able to notice, although given the current circumstances, was quite understandable.
Many tears were shed during the funeral, including from Matt Wilde himself, whom had accidentally slain her during his battle against Tatsumi. The attendees said their tearful goodbyes towards the vixen resting in her currently open casket even as they left to their vehicles, with Matt and Jenny being the last ones to leave and took the most time gazing directly at Tomoe's body. But even with that, they, too, followed the others outside and followed the others towards the New Otsu Cemetery.
It was a ten minute drive to the graveyard, but as soon as Matt and Jenny had arrived to the cemetery, the casket was taken towards one of the back isles directly in front of a pine tree. Although many of the funeral attendees had left after the pastor gave one final prayer, only a handful of mammals had stayed behind to watch the pallbearers descend the casket into the grave (including Matt, Jenny, and Emmitt Otterton). He was on the verge of breaking down into tears at this point, but he stayed strong for his bunny. Jenny's arms were wrapped around her fox, and her face was buried in his shirt, with tears continuing to stream down her face and soaking Matt's shirt.
Even as the fox held his bunny in a comforting embrace, Tomoe Yukishiro Wilde was given to the earth.
It was now night in New Otsu, and the entire town was covered in snow. The roads were nearly icy, and even Lake Erie nearly frozen. Many of the residents were inside the comforts of their own homes continuing about their business or enjoying the company of others. But even if that were the case for many, it certainly wasn't for Matt nor Jenny.
As of right now, Jenny was making dinner preparations for the two in the kitchen while Matt was sat on the futon with his back leaning forward. His shoulders slumped, and his head was hanging just the same, his eyes half-lidded and filled with a mixture of sadness, grief, and depression. Matt's attire now consisted of a dark gray T-shirt and a pair of black baggy pajama pants, where white stripes can be seen on the outer sides of his legs. Usually, his hair would be tied back, but in this particular instance, it wasn't, and his bangs practically covered much of his face.
If his bangs weren't covering his face so easily, Jenny would see the glistening sadness in Matt's eyes, even as he lifts his head up towards the portrait photo on the coffee table in front of him. The photo was taken on December the sixteenth, and it depicted Matt, Jenny, and Tomoe sitting on the front deck of the yacht. Matt and Jenny sat on the front with the fox's arms wrapped around his bunny, whom was sitting in his lap, while Tomoe was standing behind Matt with her hand-paws placed on Matt's broad shoulders.
In the photo, Matt's torso was covered by a black thermal shirt that bore a slim fit to his strongly built torso, and even depicted some of the muscle definition though his shirt. His hair was tied back in a high ponytail, with the exception of his medium long length bangs and long side bangs, and flowed towards his right in correlation with the wind currents. A pair of sanded blue bootcut jeans covered his legs comfortably, with the thighs being a tight fit while loosened underneath his knees. His hand-paws were covered with a pair of black and red stripped gloves that covered his hand-paws to their entirety, much like how his black open toe boots covered his feet-paws.
Jenny's attire in the photo consisted of a cerulean blue turtle neck keyhole sweater, which the keyhole portion of the sweater was big enough to show a tasteful amount of Jenny's cleavage. Her long dark brown/dark blond hair wasn't tied back like her lover's was, and her hair flowed freely towards the same direction her fox's hair flowed. A pair of tight fitting black jeans covered her legs entirely, showing off the curvature of her hips along with the curves of her legs. Like her fox, her feet-paws were covered by a pair of similarly designed gloves, yet the stripes on them were blue instead of red. Lastly, her feet-paws were covered entirely by a pair of black and white Chuck Taylor shoes.
Tomoe's attire in the photo consisted of a white kimono with a purple shawl attached around her neck and shoulders. But underneath the kimono, and hardly noticeable from her chest area, a dark lavender colored thermal shirt can be seen, most likely for extra warmth in the cold weather. Not much else can be seen regarding her clothing, but much like Jenny's long, untied hair, Tomoe's hair can be seen flowing in the same direction as the two Interspecies lovers' own.
Even if the photo did little to lift his spirits, they merely dampened with one particular fact. This was the last photo they had taken with Tomoe three days prior to her death. He was at a loss of words for what to say. He honestly didn't know…
…but even if he wasn't sure on what to say, he still had to say something instead of bottling up his emotions. He had to say something…
For Tomoe.
The fox himself was about to start speaking when he felt a bunny-sized hand-paw gently grab a hold of his right shoulder and caught his attention almost immediately. Despite keeping the saddened, half-lidded expression in his eyes, his eyes gaze curiously towards his bunny, whom was looking at him with deep concern in her sapphire eyes.
"Matt…" Jenny began softly, her ears drooping and her eyes gazing directly at him as if they were trying to scout the thoughts coursing his saddened mind. "Talk to me…" she pleaded, even as she was moving her right hand-paw towards Matt's, covering his left cheek partially and tracing her thumb just underneath the cross shaped scar that now permanently occupied it. Matt's jade green eyes gazed at his lovers sapphire pair only for a moment, but closed when it passed and cups her right hand-paw with his left. He grasps her hand-paw gently and lowers her hand-paw slowly.
"Jen, don't worry about me… I'm fine", Matt lied in the most convincing manner possible, but the sadness in his voice claimed otherwise. Jenny's brows furrowed and glared at her fox.
"Don't lie to me, Matt", Jenny responded sternly, keeping her gaze locked on Matt's even as she spoke almost authoritatively. "Your ears are pinned to the bI can see the look in your eyes. The sadness, remorse, all of it. I know how bad it hurts, but I can't let you keep it bottled up inside of you!" the bunny exclaimed, her voice both stern, pleading, and full of worry. Her furrowed brows arch upward pleadingly even as her glistening eyes remain locked on his. "Matt… I'm worried about you", the rabbit continued, her voice much softer and her hand-paws moving downwards towards Matt's own, interlocking her fingers with his. "Please… let me in".
Even as she pleaded her fox to open up to him, Matt's eyes remain fixed upon her glistening, pleading pair. By now, his eyes were no longer half-lidded, but fully open upon realizing how worried his bunny was for him. If only he had the right words to tell her how he really felt about everything that's happened regarding the death of Tomoe. With a soft sigh leaving his mouth, the vulpine closes his eyes and lowers his head.
"Jenny…" Matt began, his tone calm and his brows slightly furrowing as he continued to speak. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, I really do. But I'm really not in the mood to talk about it right now. So why don't you do me a favor and drop it", the fox finished calmly, albeit the last few words came out a little harsher than he intended to, But he honestly wanted to get his point across and make it clear he didn't wanna talk about it… at least not yet. Jenny's eyes widen and her ears perk upward not only from the words he said, but the tone behind them at the end.
"Matt, what's wrong with-"
"I said DROP IT!" Matt snapped rather harshly this time, his brows furrowed furiously, his eyes glaring angrily at her, and his sharp, white canines barred in a snarl. Jenny flinched at the harshness of his tone and within the next second, Matt's anger vanished quickly and almost quickly became guilty with the tone he bore towards his mate. His ears droop backwards against his head before closing his eyes, a soft sigh leaving the back of his mouth. "I'm sorry…. I just got a lot on my mind right now", the fox continued, his tone much softer and filled with guilt. "I just need some time to myself…"
And right after he said those words, the fox started walking towards the back shoji door and with his head lowered, his now half-lidded eyes depressingly gazing at the floor as he walked towards the door. He honestly couldn't tell which was worse at this point: the fact he had killed his aunt, or the fact he snapped at his own mate, whom was only trying to help him out of his state of depression. The fox raises his head slightly upon reaching the halfway mark between the futon he sat on barely fifteen seconds ago to the back door.
But before he could comprehend what happened next, a bunny sized hand-paw suddenly grabs him by his left shoulder and turns the fox directly towards the bunny's direction. And with that, the fox's shifts his gaze curiously at the bunny…
…only to be met with a furious clenched fist slamming right onto the left side of a face with an audible 'POW'. If the punch didn't shock the hell out of Matt, the force behind it surely did. Because the punch itself literally knocked him back a good several feet away from Jenny, the tod collapsing onto the kitchen floor as he did. He was about to stand back up onto his feet-paws, but was stopped when Jenny's hand-paws roughly clench the collar of his shirt and was literally pulled up to Jenny's level. And as soon as Matt eyes gaze directly at Jenny's sapphire pair, his heart sank and only one word could describe the feeling that piercing glare was giving off: Fury!
And holy hell were those bunny's eyes filled with them!
"MATTHEW PALLADIN WILDE! I'm not gonna let you push me away like that" Jenny shouted from the top of her lungs, her brows furrowed and her teeth bared at him angrily. She was not gonna let him act like this, not on her watch! "Don't you get it, you dumb fox! You're not the only one whose suffering from this tragedy! You're NOT the only one!" she yelled, her tone angry even as tears began to well at the corner of her eyes. "I know I can never understand the pain you're going through after killing Tomoe by accident, but that doesn't mean you have to go through the pain alone…" she continued, although her voice did start to crack even as she spoke. Matt's brows furrowed from her words and was constantly clenching and opening his right hand-paw in an attempt to sate his gradually rising anger.
"Jen!" Matt exclaimed as calmly as possible, even if it bore a slight growl in his voice. "I get you're trying to help, and while I appreciate it, I'm not gonna allow you to suffer the pain I'm going through because of my actions!" he yelled, turning his head to the right and lowering it, his eyes looking away from his bunny even as the remorseful words continue to leave his mouth. "For nearly three years now, Tomoe tried to do everything in her power to get me out of the assassination business, and now look what happened! She died because of ME!"
"Matt".
"Three years she tried to get me out, but I still refused to listen thinking the only thing I can do is protect the weak and innocent by ending countless lives. Kill here, kill there, and kill until all those Neo-Shogunate fucks are dead! Ruthless Manslaughter was all it was!"
"Matt!"
"I should've listened to her right from the beginning and chose a different path in life! I should've listened to Master Hiko and finished my training instead of getting myself involved in this political conflict! I should've-"
"MATT!" Jenny shouting his name immediately stopped the fox from speaking, the tod turning to his bunny and looking at her with his brows arching upward, but nonetheless remained furrowed. "Look, you made a mistake, I get that, but you have to stop blaming yourself! Tomoe wouldn't want you blaming yourself over her death!" the bunny shouted, even as she was trying to do whatever she can to help her fox. But with each lingering second, it seemed her attempts were gradually beginning to decline towards failure. She had to do something, and she had to do something now if she wanted to get Matt out of his state of depression.
"Why should I, Jen?! This doesn't have anything to do with you! So why should you care if an assassin like me blamed myself for Tomoe's death because of my actions!" Matt yelled, his brows furrowing angrily at his bunny. But he didn't keep his gaze at the rabbit for long, especially when he turned his head to the right and closed his eyes. "It should've been me that died! It should've been ME! A RUTHLESS KILLER! My life should've been taken that day, not hers!" this argument was beginning to get out of hand, and Jenny's finally fed up with it. She roughly grabs the neckline of his shirt and literally yanks him towards her, her sapphire eyes burning with fiery rage.
"Are you serious, Matt?! Are you FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!" Jenny shouted from the top of her lungs. If Matt wasn't terrified of her fiery glare, he certainly was now. "She sacrificed herself to make sure we still lived, to make sure you still lived!" she continued to shout at the fox, even as the tears started to stream down her face. "Listen to me, Matt! I haven't been crying for you because of me being an overly emotional bunny. I'm crying for you because of how much I care about you. You're one of the most irreplaceable mammals ever to walk the earth, the only irreplaceable mammal I have left in my life!" the rabbit continued yelling as an attempt to get her point across. This was her last chance to talk some sense into him, to get him to realize how much she cared for him.
"Yes, I'll admit that after my parents were murdered all those years ago, felt the exact same way you do now. But I continued to live for them because I was the only one left, and I lived for their sake! And you know what, I'm glad I did, because I was able to meet you, Matt. You're the most important mammal I've ever met in my life! Even if we had a bit of a rocky start, the friendship we had grew into an incomprehensible level of love! I don't care if you're a murderer or not! I don't see you as a Manslayer, Matt, but a protector of those who are truly innocent and cannot defend themselves!"
Even as she spoke, Matt couldn't keep his eyes off of the bunny that he so cherished. The words she said had hit him much harder than he realized. Even if he was an animal slayer, Manslayer, Hitokiri, or whatever, Jenny never cared for the fact he was an assassin, but for what he really was as a mammal, for what she truly saw in him. He never expected to hear this from her mouth, and he wasn't sure of how to process this. How could he with his mind in such disarray, and yet being filled with this revelation all the same?
"If only I can take your pain away somehow…. But I know its not possible. I can't say how long this pain will last, but I want you to know for fact you are not alone, Matt" Jenny whimpered softly, the raging fire that fueled her rage now burnt out into a sense of calmness, a calmness filled with a pleading cry. She lowers her gaze from the fox and tilts her head down towards her left. "Your happiness is mine, and so is your pain. So please, don't ever say it should've been you that died, Matt. I don't wanna lose you… I don't want our kits to lose their father…" Matt practically gazed at her with surprise right after she mentioned something about kits. Why was she mentioning about kits at this time. What do they have to-
Then it clicked almost instantly for the fox. The amount of food she was eating, the slight, barely noticeable bump he noticed on her stomach right after getting home from the funeral, even the slight bit of weight she gained on her around the stomach region. It all made sense now! How could he have been so blind all this time? How could he have not noticed this until now?
In that moment, the fox gently cups her cheeks gently and tilts her head up towards his direction, his jade green eyes gazing directly into her glistening, sapphire eyes.
"How long?" Matt asked, his tone much calmer and no longer filled with remorse, but with pure, genuine curiosity. "How long ago did you find out you were pregnant?" he repeated much more clearly, shortly before the bunny closes her eyes half-way and turns her gaze to her right, her right hand-paw gently grasping her mate's left.
"A few hours ago", Jenny answered with an honest tone. "I didn't put much thought in it at first given the circumstances. However, I had a weird feeling I knew what it was, but I wasn't entirely sure and decided to look into it", the bunny explained, reopening her upper eyelids and gazing upwards at her fox. "I found a few pregnancy test strips in the bathroom and took all of them. All of them came positive, and that's how I knew for certain I'm pregnant".
With this new knowledge in mind, Matt's eyes widen slightly with shock and removes his hand-paws away from her. He turns his body to his left and leans his back against one of the cabinet doors, his eyes staring vacantly in front of him. He honestly wasn't sure of what to make of the news. On one end, he wanted to be happy with the fact Jenny's bearing his kits, let alone proved it was possible for different species of different classes can procreate under the right circumstances. On another, he felt terrified not only on the fact he was about to become a father, but with the fact he was going to become one during the Chaos scattered all across the Kawasabus region in Ohio. On top of it all, he had just lost someone dear to him by his own blade, and he wasn't sure if this were to be a sign of relief or an increasing burden on his troubled mind.
"Matt…" Jenny began and even reached for his right shoulder with her right hand-paw. "Matt!" she repeated with a slightly louder voice the instant her hand-paw grabs a hold of Matt's shoulder. And fortunately for her, that seemed to do the trick! Almost immediately, Matt snapped his vacant gaze from the front and turns his head towards her, his eyes no longer empty and now completely alert. "Are you alright…?" she asked, but did not receive an answer from her fox. A prolonged silence that was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable filled the entire house, and the fox kept his eyes locked with hers during that prolonged moment. It was then he lowers his upper eyelids in a half-lidded state and turns his head away from the bunny.
"I'm not sure… I just got a lot on my mind at the moment, Jen", and there was no lie in Matt's words, as his mind was filled with thoughts of the death of Tomoe, the gradually growing Chaos in the Kawasabus region, Jenny's pregnancy, it was honestly beginning to pile up. Fortunately for him, he was able to stray away from those thoughts when he felt the bunny scoot closer to her fox enough to where she's able to climb onto his lap and press herself against his strongly built torso.
"Matt…" Jenny began, her eyes gazing at his even as her right hand-paw gently cups his left cheek, barely covering part of the cross shaped scar that now inhabited it. "You're not alone. Don't you ever forget that", it was then she leans upward and plants a soft, loving, reassuring kiss on his lips before lowering herself and leaning against his upper body. She rests her head onto his built chest and wraps her arms around her fox's torso, her fingers tracing along his back in an attempt to ease her lover's mind. Whether or not it worked, she wasn't sure.
Matt stared at the cabinet in front of him vacantly and was completely unsure of what to say. Too much was going on in his mind right now, and everything seemed to have piled up on him. But even if his gaze remained vacant, it didn't last for much longer. And one minute after Jenny had finished speaking, his lips began to quiver and his eyes started to water. Tears began to stream down his face right as the tod leans his upper body forward and covers his eyes with both of his hand-paws.
"I'm so sorry, Jen… I'm so sorry…" Matt sobbed, his shoulders quivering even as he let out every ounce of his emotions at once. "Everything that's happened up to this point, Tomoe's death, the chaos…. Its too much…. Its too much!" the fox whimpered, and hearing his cries nearly broke the rabbit's heart. She tightened her hold around her fox, and she presses herself against Matt as much as she could.
"Oh Matt…" Jenny softly whimpered even as a couple of tears streamed down her cheeks. "If only I can take away your pain… even if only for a moment… I would do it in a heartbeat" the bunny thought She closes her eyes and buries her face into the tuft of her fox's neck, even to the point she tightens her hold around his torso in an attempt to comfort her fox, vain or not. It was the only thing could do to comfort Matt, even in his time of pain.
A few minutes passed since Matt let the remainder of his emotions out of his system, even as the bunny continued to hold her fox as comforting as she could. The tears stopped shedding, and so did the sobs and whimpers. It was shortly after they ceased when Matt reciprocated the comforting hug. He rests his head on top of hers and the fox gently tightened his hold on his bunny.
With all that's happened up to this point, the only solace the two can find is within each other, no matter the severity of these times of pain. It was in this moment both lovers made a subconscious decision. They would do everything within their power to keep each other alive and put an end to the Kawasabus Neo-Shogunate Government.
No matter the cost…
A/N: Alas, concludes another chapter of Zootopia X! Writing the latter half of this chapter was rather difficult to say the least, and I had to read other angst based fanfics to get an idea on how to write the remainder of the chapter, mainly a Zootopia fanfic called 'II: Leaving the Past' written by Jayme F. Midorikawa (and holy crap, that guy's one talented author, and be sure to check the guy out, too ^^).
Thanks again for reading this story and I'll do my best to have the next installment out soon