A/N: Welcome one and all to a new chapter of 'Howl-O-Ween'! In the last update, Judy and Nick have learned that the one responsible for the murders of Delgato, Grizolli, and Bellwether, was Michael Myers, whom Eli had told them about earlier that day. Michael also was spying on Russel and his friends while walking to the costume shop to pick out an outfit for the dance. Walter Cruz, also knows about Michael, and even tells the whole story to Jack Savage, his classmate at the ZPD Academy. Now, it's time for us to begin an all new chapter! Enjoy!
"Eli, your parents told me you know who Michael Myers is, correct?" Bogo asked calmly. This was the first time Eli had ever met his adopted parents' boss, and the boy never imagined that he'd get to meet him under these circumstances.
"Y-Yeah. Ask any other h-human and they'll know who he is" Eli answered. Bogo nodded in reply at his answer before taking the screenshot that Fangmeyer took off the security camera out of a file and slid it in front of him. Eli then picked the photograph up and shuddered at the sight of Michael staring up at the camera and his head tilted sideways. Eli then began breathing rapidly and shaking before he jumped out of his chair and crawled into a corner before he placed his hands on the sides of his head and whimpering to himself.
"It can't be true. It can't be true! It's Michael Myers and he's in Zootopia" he said out loud in a very frightened voice and tears fell down his face. Nick, Judy, and Bogo were concerned of Tyler's current mental state and then ran over to him.
"Shh, Eli, it's alright" Judy told him. Eli was shaking harder than ever before. Bogo and Nick just watched as this happened.
"Why's he acting like this?" Bogo asked.
"Long story. But let's just say Eli's birth mother abandoned him because she was living fear that Michael would come after him" Nick whispered into the buffalo's ear to tell him the gravity of the situation. Bogo's eyes went wide and backed up slowly before he sat back down at his desk.
"Eli... I'm sorry that I brought back what I didn't realize was a traumatic memory for you" Bogo said with a sympathetic tone of voice.
"He's never going to stop. He's gonna kill, and kill, and kill, until there's nothing left" Eli said, bloodshot eyes staring up at his adopted mother and father's superior. The door to the office opened up and in through came in Walter and Jack. Bogo stood up and adjusted his glasses before speaking to the two.
"Cruz, Savage" Bogo addressed them.
"It's good to see you again, sir" Walter said, extending his hand to shake Bogo by the hoof, which he accepted.
"Same here. I just wish we were meeting under more friendlier circumstances" the buffalo told his human friend. Bogo was the one who gave the ZPD Academy a good word on Walter's behalf, and saw a lot of potential in him. He felt sympathy for him since his former partners in the LAPD almost brutally murdered him as well as breaking both his legs while he was tied up and defenseless, only to be discovered by Benjamin Clawhauser.
"And I take it you must be Jack Savage?" asked Bogo, looking down at the black stripped hare.
"Yes sir" Jack acknowledged. Bogo nodded before turning to Nick and Judy.
"Alright. Now that we know that it is indeed him... why don't you go take your kit home for the day? Take him out to try and find a good costume? Tomorrow is Howl-O-Ween after all" Bogo said. Nick and Judy gave their boss a smile before guiding Eli out of the office.
"Come on, buddy, why don't we go pick out a costume?" Nick asked as he took Eli's left hand while Judy took the other.
"Yeah, and tomorrow night we can go trick or treating" Judy added before shutting the door behind him. Now, it was only Bogo, Walter, and Jack in the room.
"Alright, please be seated" Bogo gently ordered. Walter sat in the left chair, Jack sat on the right one.
"Cruz. I need your human expertise on this. What can you tell me about Michael Myers?" the chief asked. Walter then looked down at the photo of Michael staring up at the security camera with the dead dingo bleeding over the desk with several stab marks from a screwdriver in his back.
"He's been in a mental hospital since he was six, sir. He murdered his sister on Halloween of 1963 in Haddonfield, Illinois. Fifteen years later, he escapes and murders an innocent mechanic and takes his clothes before breaking into a hardware store and steals an entire cutlery of knives, and an unpainted William Shatner mask, and then murdered three teenagers before being shot by his own psychiatrist and then taken back to the institution" Walter explained.
"As you've just seen by the distraught human child in the corner, this is the very same Michael Myers who committed those heinous murders. And he just murdered two ZPD officials, three innocent gas station workers, and Dawn Bellwether" said Bogo.
"The one who was behind the whole night howlers poisonings a few years ago?" asked Jack.
"The very same, Savage. And from what officer Wilde has told me, the child's birth mother was a survivor of Myers' killings. And she abandoned him out of fear, believing Michael would return" Bogo said.
"Laurie Strode?" asked Walter.
"Excuse me?" Bogo asked, with one eye raised in confusion.
"Laurie Strode, she's the one who survived Michael's killing spree in 1978. The three teenagers he killed were her friends, she actually fought back against Michael. It's the reason he's got one dead eye, from having a metal coat hanger forced into it, she even stabbed him in the stomach and neck" explained Walter. Bogo then looked back down at the photo and stared into the mask's eye-holes. He felt like he was staring into two endless black holes of darkness, and a sense of dread came over him the more he stared at it.
"Wait... you said something about the boy from earlier being abandoned by his mother. That would mean... that kid's Laurie Strode's son!" Walter realized. Bogo's eyes went wide at what his human friend had told him.
"Then that would mean Eli would be a target. But do we know why he's doing this?" asked Bogo.
"Yeah, I'm kinda curious about that too. Do you know exactly why Michael kills people? Or why he murdered his sister? Or why he's trying to kill Laurie's son?" asked Jack.
"Nobody knows why he did it. He was just a regular kid before one day he... snapped for absolutely no reason whatsoever" Walter explained.
"Cruz, nobody just snaps without a reason. There's gotta be something behind his murderous intentions" said Bogo.
"Michael Myers is a monster who murdered eleven people, as well as survived being stabbed and shot. And you don't believe that he's the boogieman?" asked Walter. Adding the total of people Michael killed (to his knowledge) in the human world, and the animals he murdered in Zootopia, making an even bigger body-count.
"No" the chief simply stated.
"You should" Walter replied before the door opened again and behind them came two adult otters, and a little three-year-old black girl in tears walked in.
"Chief Bogo!" both male and female otters called out. He recognized them, Mr. and Mrs. Otterton, and their adopted human daughter, Sarah. An overweight cheetah in a ZPD uniform, came in out of breath after them. This was ZPD receptionist, Benjamin Clawhauser.
"I'm sorry, chief... they're too fast. I gotta sit down" said the cheetah before leaving the office to go sit down someplace.
"What seems to be the trouble?" Bogo asked.
"Emmitt and I went over to our friend, the Lemurton's to drop Sarah off for a play-date. I went inside when I noticed they weren't answering the doorbell, and I saw Mr. Lemurton dead on his carpet, with a bloody hammer lying next to him. He looked like his head was bashed in completely. But then... but then..." Mrs. Otterton explained before her husband placed his paws on her shoulders.
"It's alright, just calm down" he said, trying get his wife to pull herself together and continue telling the chief what she just saw.
"Th-then I saw boody shoe-prints leading to the kitchen. I s-saw a human, taking out the largest butcher knife out of Mr. Lemurton's cutlery. He turned his head and saw me, that's when I ran back to the car and drove off with little Sarah. I thought he was going to kill us" Mrs. Otterton finished.
"But he didn't. You're both okay and that's what matters" said Mr. Otterton.
"Did Sarah see the body?" Bogo asked concerned. Usually, a little kid seeing a dead body or somebody murdered would seriously scar them for life, they'd never be able to see the world the same way ever again. And he could relate, he witnessed his own mother gunned down by a robber on their way home from a school play where he was a member of the cast.
"N-No. She began crying when I told her Mr. Lemurton was dead, she took the news very harshly" said Mrs. Otterton before hugging the little girl and letting her cry into her cardigan. Walter then got down on one knee to reach Mrs. Otterton's eye-level.
"Did this human happen to be wearing a mask?" he asked. Mrs. Otterton turned to him and nodded.
"And was the latex that the mask was made of gray and old? Like, from age?" Walter continued.
"Y-Yes" she said.
"And did he wear a pair of dark blue coveralls?" the human asked.
"Yeah, he did. Do you know who killed Mr. Lemurton?" asked the female otter.
"Chief, without a doubt in my mind it was Michael" said Walter.
"I know. Looks like we can add a twelve victim to the list of innocent mammals Michael Myers has killed" Bogo said before taking off his glasses and rubbing his temples.
"Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Otterton, we'll catch him" Walter promised before guiding them out of the office and giving little Sarah a lollipop to make her feel better from a bucket of candy that was sitting on the chief's desk. Once the Ottertons had left, Walter looked back to Bogo.
"From what Hopps and Wilde have told me... Michael Myers only strikes near and on Howl-O-Ween, so without a doubt he's going to kill again sooner or later" Bogo told them.
"Do you have a plan, sir?" Walter asked. Bogo put his glasses back on and then handed Walter a file.
"I am putting you and Savage in charge of the case. Your objective, bring in Michael Myers, dead or alive. I have no preference. And, if you two manage to catch and or kill him, you two will be graduating the academy early, and joining Precinct One" Bogo told him. Jack and Walter got excited hearing that, and gave the buffalo a military-style salute.
"We accept this case, sir" said Walter. Bogo smiled at this and returned the salute.
"Go see Clawhauser downstairs, and he'll give you access to some temporary uniforms, and the armory as well. Dismissed" Bogo said before the human and hare left the office. Bogo then sat back down and looked at the photo of Michael before snarling and growling, banging his hooves on his desk in anger. He was outright angry that Michael was killing without motive or reason, only just to kill and quench his bloodlust. He could only hope someone caught or killed Michael soon.
Inside an abandoned facility, an armadillo named Edwin Shellison was trying to put together a trap for Eli. Edwin was absolutely obsessed with trying to capture and dissect a human, believing they were nothing but creatures needed to be studied. He didn't care that they had feelings or lives, he just wanted to capture and study them against their will. He had escaped Cliffside Asylum with the help of his partner, Dr. Madge Honey Badger, who shared his views on the humans.
"Dr. Shellison!" he heard Honey Badger's voice call out to him. The armadillo dropped what he was working on and then acknowledged his ally.
"Yes, what is it?" Edwin asked.
"I have overheard that the ZPD is on highest alert, out looking for a human who's murdered seven mammals" Dr. Honey Badger told him. Edwin was shocked, yet delighted at the same time that Zootopia was fearing and out hunting down a human.
"Are you serious?" asked the armadillo.
"Yes. According to what I managed to collect from the gas station murders, his name is Michael Myers. He's infamous for murdering five people in the human world on Howl-O-Ween night of 1978" the honey badger explained.
"So what are you suggesting actually?" asked Edwin.
"I suggest, we go try trapping Michael Myers instead of the subject named: Eli. Besides, I've been told he survived stabbings to the neck, stomach, and eye. He was even shot six times and managed to survive. That kind of specimen with it's level of invulnerability, we could make history as the first scientists to examine what makes Michael Myers tick, and how he's so strong!" Dr. Honey Badger told him. Edwin smiled and nodded at the sound of that.
"Then it's settled. We MUST catch the creature known as Michael Myers" said Edwin before he began writing down a new set of notes and plans for his new mission to capture Michael. He was giggling to himself like a madman while he was writing.
At the 'Spirit Howl-O-Ween' store, Russel was staring at the different costumes he could try on. The store claimed they were low on costumes due to it being so close to the actual day of Howl-O-Ween, but there were a lot of them on the racks and shelves that he could choose from.
"Hey Russel!" he heard Roger call out. Russel turned to the dressing rooms and saw his hippo friend dressed up as Jace from Enchantment: The Congregation.
"So, what do you think?" asked Roger as he spun around slightly to show off the entirety of the outfit.
"I gotta say, that looks really good on you" Russel replied.
"Then it's settled, I'm going as Jace. I am getting this costume" Roger said before he went back inside the changing room and locked the door. Out of the changing room on the left came out Erik, who was wearing a clown costume.
"How do I look?" Erik asked. Russel was a little creeped out by the clown outfit his otter friend wore. Clowns still scared a lot of people and animals, so he didn't really think that it was a good idea.
"Like you're gonna slit my throat in my sleep" said Russel. Erik then looked at the mirror on the back of the door and began to look at the costume again. He then saw Russel's point, he did look a little too much on the scary side.
"I guess you're right, it is a little too extreme. Especially since a lot of mammals are horrified of clowns" said Erik.
"I did like that pirate costume you had on earlier though" the human told the otter.
"You really think so?" Erik asked.
"Yeah, it looked a lot better on you" Russel replied with a nod.
"Okay, it's settled. I'm ditching the clown outfit, and I'm buying the pirate one" said Erik before going back into the changing room and locking the door to take off the clown suit, and change back into his normal clothes. Roger and Erik came out at the same time, holding their costumes inside their packaging before they looked a little confused at their friend.
"Where's your costume, Russel?" Roger asked.
"I never really got around to finding one. There's just too many to pick from" said Russel.
"But there are so many good ones. Mime, chef, grim reaper. I mean, the list is endless" Roger told him.
"Well, there is one I saw that I really liked. But, I thought it looked a little too simple for me" the human told them before going over to the rack he was at before and pulled out a package for a black onsie with a white skeleton painted on it, as well as a plastic skull mask. Roger and Erik smiled and nodded at the costume's sight.
"That actually looks really good" Erik told him.
"Yeah. That one would suit you best" Roger said, nodding in agreement. Russel then shrugged and walked into the changing rooms and swapped outfits before coming out wearing the costume. He really enjoyed how the costume felt on his body, and he liked how it made him look.
"So what do you think? A little too silly?" asked Russel.
"Nope, it's perfect" Erik answered.
"I bet you're the only human in Zootopia who could pull that costume off so well" said Roger.
"Well, I guess I'm going as a skeleton for Howl-O-Ween then" Russel concluded as he stared at his reflection on the mirror hanging on the back of the changing room door and then swapped outfits. The three then walked up to the checkout counter and paid for their costumes. Eventually, Russel and his friends left with their costumes, and his pumpkin.
"What time should we meet up tomorrow?" Roger asked.
"I think I'm feeling 4:30. That way we'll have a good couple hours before the dance to get a decent hoard of candy when we're trick or treating" Russel told them.
"Sounds good to me" Erik replied. The two then walked home from the store together, just as a police cruiser belonging to a certain fox and bunny with a human child in the back seat pulled into the parking lot of the Howl-O-Ween store.
Judy and Nick got out of the truck and opened the back door for Eli to get out. Eli was rubbing his stinging eyes from the crying he did earlier during his panic attack in the chief's office.
"We're really sorry, Eli. We shouldn't have shown you that picture" said Judy.
"We should have argued with the chief that it wasn't the best idea to bring you in for this" Nick said, agreeing with Judy. They felt guilty for asking Eli to confirm that it was Michael Myers who murdered Bellwether and all the others, not knowing it was that too bad of a memory that it would send him into a full-on panic mode.
"I-It's fine" Eli said as he wiped his nose with his shirt sleeve.
"No, sweetie, it's not. And we want to make it up to you" said Judy while taking Eli by the hand while walking into the store.
"And we figured this would be a good way to do so" said Nick while he held his hand up towards the 'Spirit Howl-O-Ween' logo that rested right above the door of the building.
"W-What are we d-d-doing here?" Eli asked, confused as to what they were doing at this particular store.
"You told us a while ago that you never got to go trick or treating when you were little. So we figured we'd take you to pick out a costume and then go out collecting candy tomorrow night" explained Nick.
"Aren't I too old for that?" asked Eli.
"There's always a first time for everything, honey. Some adults go out trick or treating too sometimes" said Judy.
"Yeah, and then there's the teenagers who just have the munchies from smoking too much weed" Nick added, earning him a punch to the arm from Judy.
"Nick! Inappropriate!" Judy reprimanded as they entered the store. The three began to browse the store's large collection of costumes together, and found that it had quite a variety of costumes.
"I think you'd make an adorable cop, Eli" said Judy, holding up a police officer costume up in her paws.
"I dunno. I think he'd make a good devil" Nick said as he showed the two of them a costume that was a simple red onsie with wings sewn on the back, and a fake tail, as well as wearable horns and a plastic pitchfork. Eli then walked over to another rack and saw a hockey player outfit that looked it was his size. The costume was a simple jersey, and black pants, as well as a plastic goalie mask and fake hockey stick.
"I actually kinda like this one" Eli said while staring at the costume inside it's packaging.
"That looks so adorable. You should try it on, honey" Judy said.
"Didn't think you were a big sports person, buddy" Nick piped in.
"I-I'm usually not. But I just t-think the costume looks cool" said Eli before he walked inside the dressing room and started to change. Nick and Judy waited patiently for their kit to come out and show the costume off, but they didn't recognize that someone was in the store, watching them. It was Michael Myers, staring at them by peeking from behind one of the shelves and breathing heavily under his latex mask, and clutching the knife he stole from Mr. Lemurton after killing him tightly in his right hand. Eventually, Eli came out of the dressing room wearing the costume.
"Oh! You look great, sweetheart!" Judy said, admiring her kit's costume choice and began taking pictures of him on her phone.
"You look fantastic, pal. The candy's just gonna throw itself right into your bag when you're wearing that" said Nick.
"Oh. T-Thanks mom and dad" Eli said, rubbing the back of his head and blushing under his plastic goalie mask. Michael then stared at Eli a bit before walking out of the store and out the back door, right next to an employee he killed by hanging him by his neck on a coat rack that hung from the wall, and slit his throat for good measure. Nick and Judy then walked up to the front counter once Eli had changed out of his costume.
"This is gonna be so much fun" Judy said while handing the clerk, who was a wolf her credit card to pay for the costume.
"A-Aren't you guys gonna be wearing costumes tomorrow?" Eli asked.
"We already have our costumes picked out, sweetie" Judy replied.
"I'm gonna be a circus ringmaster. Your mom's gonna be dressing up like Elsa from 'Floatzen'" Nick told his kit.
"Oh. T-Those sound like really good costumes" said Eli as the clerk handed him the bag containing the costume and walked back towards the car with his parents. Michael was still watching them from behind a large tree, and kept his eyes fixed on Eli as the cruiser drove out of the parking lot and in the opposite direction of the store.
A/N: And there you have it. Chapter 4 of 'Howl-O-Ween'! Looks like now, the Michael Myers case has been taken up by Walter Cruz and Jack Savage, Dr. Shellison is now out to try and capture Michael to dissect and study him before the cops can get a chance to kill or arrest him. Russel and his friends have already picked out some pretty cool costumes too, and so has Eli. Tomorrow night, Howl-O-Ween arrives in the next update! Please review, thanks!