Author's Note:

We are certainly going in a completely different direction now, but to take a new road we can't get there from here… Time for something completely different. One has to wonder what sort of thing Skye would consider enough to take her friends' minds off of what they've dealt with. Onward!

If you are just joining Guardian Blue for the first time you will want to check out Season 1 first, and I would highly recommend Thanks for the Fox before that as well so everything makes sense. ^^

There once was a fic writer who dreamed, of writing a fic most esteemed. While he hadn't the rights, he still diligently writes, clearly stating no ownership deemed.

Also! A HUGE shout-out to J. N. Squire for assisting with editing for Season 2! Without his diligent efforts you might be subjected to the horrors that exist where the word 'to' is frequently typed 'ot' because one of my hands is maddeningly just –slightly- slower than the other. .

Guardian Blue: Season Two

Episode 8: Distraction

"Are you serious?" Judy blurted out, wide-eyed. The still-brown-furred doe looked up at the gaudy, brightly lit gate to what had to be the most out of date, cheaply built, disaster-in-waiting of an amusement park she'd ever seen. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows of a few sparse trees that dotted a gravel parking lot. She still held Nick's paw in her own as they both looked up at the sign. A third of the lights were broken or burned out, but it was supposed to just be blinking the word Fun, one on top of another, three times. Skye crossed her arms in front of her, flitting her tail about wildly, grinning.

The vixen chimed, "I know! Great, huh? After all these years, it's still here!" Jack stepped up behind her, hands limp by his sides.

"Against all odds. I've never even seen this. Is this even allowed?" The buck indicated razor-wire on top of the fence which made it look like an off-limits testing facility. It was impossible to see inside because boards were put in front of the chain-link fence. It made it look even more shady. Carnival music emanated from inside.

Nick spoke softly. "Wow… I haven't been here since I was a kit." Judy looked back at her partner. She felt like he was lucky to be alive at all if he came to this place as a helpless little kit.

Skye clapped her paws together excitedly. "Nothing you could have seen in that room could be worse than this! This will make you forget all about it!" Judy looked incredulously at the white fox, cupping a paw over her muzzle. This was entirely in the wrong direction. This wasn't what Nick needed!

"It's perfect!" Nick laughed. He pulled Judy toward the gate. "I'm buyin'."

"Hell yeah!" Skye barked gleefully.

"What?!" Jack cried. "No, really? I don't think this…" He followed along, despite his obvious reluctance. Judy huddled against Nick a little shyly. It was against her nature to be so shy, but the largest bear she'd ever seen leaned over them as soon as they came to the gate. He snorted and held out a paw the size of Nick's entire body. Nick mashed eighty bucks into it and the claw-laden paw closed as if it were a machine, the money going away.

A low, dull, horrible booming voice rose from the bear with a thick accent of some sort. "A happy welcome to Fun-Fun-Fun, you play all day till day is done. Lose your cares to the setting sun, much too tired, too tired to run." Skye gave a gleeful squeak at what had to be a memorable saying to her.

Jack went suddenly stiff, the vixen literally dragging him behind her. "Wait, the last part, what did he say? What was the last part?" Judy looked with concern to Nick, but his ears were up, eyes wide and nose quivering with excitement as he led the bunny through the gate behind Skye. Judy was sure her partner would never willingly take her somewhere he knew was dangerous, so she was relieved by that. Jack, however, seemed to trust Skye a little less. His ears were straight up and nose on the perma-wiggle.

Judy was immediately overwhelmed by the festive if cheap atmosphere. The boards seemed to be for noise control more than anything, as it was much louder inside. There was smoke or fog or something hanging near the ground everywhere, and the music sounded like it was coming from broken speakers, broken instruments, or both. The place felt like the combined representation of every horror movie amusement park Judy had ever seen or imagined.

The truly surprising part was not the mood so much as it was the crowd. With as run-down and hazardous as the place looked, Judy had expected it to be a near ghost town, but it was as busy as the Carrot Days celebrations while she was growing up. She also noticed right away that she and Jack were likely to be the only bunnies in the place, and might well be the only prey species. Wolves, dholes, foxes, lions, cougars, stoats, ferrets… the crowd was very diverse with the exception of prey. And Judy and Jack were definitely noticed.

"I think… we got their attention." Judy said as she pushed a little closer to Nick.

Nick answered jovially. "It'll wear off, Carrots. It's the place. We're just outside Happy Town. These mammals are mostly all locals." Judy looked at her paw, still clasped in Nick's.

"This still okay then?" she asked, giving it a squeeze. She wasn't afraid, but she felt less like letting go because she didn't want to get lost in the crowd. She had no idea how welcome she'd be in this place without a predatory escort.

"Actually…" Nick pulled Judy closer, almost hip to hip with him, sliding an arm down behind her back. Judy blushed a bit at that, the somewhat flirtatious act taking her by surprise.

"Nick… That's not low key." She laughed.

The black-furred fox grinned. "Don't care! No one knows who we are. Enjoy this, Carrots!"

Skye yelled from behind them. 'That's the spirit! Exactly! Hey, I'm gonna take Jack on some of my favorite rides." The striped bunny looked immediately distressed. Skye leaned in closer to Judy so Jack couldn't hear her, speaking softly into the doe's ear. "I used to work here, fixing stuff. I even came up with some of this stuff myself! Try out the cat-a-pault, you'll love that one." And with that, Skye seemed to be whisked away by her own excitement, a shrill sound of protest coming from her less-willing lapine companion. Judy was actually encouraged a little by Skye's explanation. If she used to be in charge of keeping the place running, she was at least aware of their safety requirements. If they had any.

Judy looked back up to Nick. She smiled meekly as she really considered the fact that they could actually just have a date together, even though he didn't look like the fox she loved. It didn't matter. It was him. She knew that, and she wanted to be close to him. There was also the matter that her insatiable curiosity that got her into so much trouble as a kit burned super bright here. She loyally followed Nick, who seemed to be frantically looking around for the first thing he wanted to do in this 'fun' place with his bunny date. Judy had to admit that for as ridiculous and cheap as the place looked, it was not a bad place to just spend time with her fox. A little thrill ran through her as she considered him as a kit, no less excited, eyes darting around for the next fun thing to do. She had taken Nick to experience the here memories of Bunnyburrow, and she was suddenly deeply aware that this was not so different. Nick was sharing a little sliver of his life as a kit, maybe a piece before things were darker for him.

Nick finally spoke up, beginning to walk. "We should probably eat something, but I admit I don't have much of an appetite yet. I think as I get my head straight it'll be better. Would you like to try the roar-a-coaster, Fluff?" Judy looked around, expecting the rickety wooden frame of a death trap that she could protest, but all she could see were smaller rides of various sorts and the many one-story booths that lined the sidewalks.

"I don't see a roar-a-coaster, Nick." Judy pointed out. The fox laughed and moved along with her, keeping her close to his side. His paw rested on her hip as they walked and it felt very much like she would expect to be treated by a lover. She was not used to the openness and she absolutely loved it. Another thing she noticed immediately is that the others around them were not only staring because she was one of two bunnies in the place, but because she was obviously dating this fox. However, the looks were of surprise, not disgust like the squirrel at the naturalist's club.

What she had thought might be an insurmountably big deal before suddenly seemed a little less taboo. Sure, it was different, but how long until no one cared? She beamed brightly and just walked close to her fox. Surprised glances melted to warmer expressions at the sight of how genuinely happy the bunny was with her fox. She knew the word 'cute' was likely on everyone's tongue, but it was still encouraging. Finally they got to a dark iron archway. There were two iron gates. The first, marked 'inbound', had a large framed photo of a wolf in a leather jacket and a bear in flannel laughing as they punched each other roughly while entering the gate. The other gate was marked "outbound" and had a photo of the same two very obviously sobbing, wet nosed and hugging one another in distress as they emerged.

"Uhh…" Judy half-whispered, slowing her walking speed beside Nick.

Nick looked up at the gates and laughed. "It's not that bad, Fluff. It'll be nothing for a thrill-seeker like you." Judy had never been much for big high-speed rides in Bunnyburrow, but it was mostly because she simply hadn't spent a lot of time doing this kind of thing. It was a pretty new experience for her. Still, if Nick believed in her, she didn't want to disappoint him. He did the rope swing with her, after all.

"Uh… I still don't see a roar-a-coaster, Nick, I – oh my God it's under the ground." She felt heavy vibration under her feet. "I'm out." Nick gripped her a little closer.

"Carrots, you can't possibly tell me that a bunny is afraid of being under the ground." Judy looked at the fox with wide eyes, her nose actually wiggling.

"Nick, it's not that. I just have no idea what the coaster actually looks like. It's a complete unknown." Judy continued following Nick through the gate as if hypnotized. There was a short line waiting where they arrived. She expected an attraction like this to be busier. Maybe most folks had simply already ridden it since they were local.

As they stood in line, a gangly maned wolf pointed to Nick and shook his head. The wolf stated in a raspy smoker's voice, "You can't bring that." He walked over to indicate Judy. Her vulpine boyfriend just grinned back, undaunted.

"Why not?" Nick asked. "She meets the height requirement for a ten-oh-one." Nick referred to the last cart on the 'train' which had four seats, a small seat and a larger seat. Their positions were reversed between front and back for balance.

"You know darn well why not. No bunnies on this ride." He pointed at the sign which illustrated conditions not suitable for riding. It didn't say specifically 'no bunnies', but Judy got the meaning. It did say heart conditions and bunnies could die if one were to scare them hard enough. Judy was perfectly fine skipping that ride and going on a different one, but to her shock and growing dread, Nick handed the ride operator ten dollars. He stuffed it in his pocket and said in his gravelly tone, "Uh oh. Looks like one got through. Nuts." He then moved back to the front of the line and let the next batch of mammals onto the ride.

"Nick. Nick you can't do that." Judy said with sinking dread in her voice.

"It'll be fine, Carrots. Almost no one dies on these things anymore." Nick helped his bunny companion up to the next slot in line.

"You bribed the ride operator." Judy hissed.

"'No bunnies' was not even a real rule. It's all for show. Makes it more realistically scary." Nick grinned.

"Sweet cheese and crackers. Nick, you hate scary stuff, how can you be okay with this?" Nick donned his smug expression.

He practically purred, "I normally would be, but I have my bunny with me to keep me safe." Judy tensed up at the smug, coy attitude that she knew could be nothing but trouble coming, and she prepared to protest. She was cut off however.

"Cripes you two are the cutest thing I've ever seen," the soft voice chuckled from behind them. Judy turned, having not really noticed that others were lining up behind them as she was so focused on what honestly felt like a completely undeserved 'getting' on the way. A lady wolf and what seemed to be her two adolescent children, a boy and a girl, were there. All three had typical grey fur and markings, dressed in casual t-shirts and shorts.

Nick smirked at the older lady wolf and murmured, "It's actually funny because she's dragged me through way scarier stuff than this. She's one fearless bunny."

One of the young wolves, the male, ticked away with his claw on the screen of his phone. "I'm tellin' Eddie about this bunny. She's so gonna die."

"Maxwell!" scolded his mother.

"Are you her boyfriend?" the girl asked.

Her mother weakly chuckled, her head turning suddenly to regard her other pup. "That's not really any of our business, Miriah."

"He is." Judy answered, a thrill shooting through her at being allowed to say it. It was true, and for the moment, disguised as they were, it was perfectly safe to say it. The girl gasped and grinned broadly at her brother.

She said in a sing-song voice, "See? Not so unlikely now, huh! It's just how love works!" The girl crossed her arms defiantly, baring her teeth in a playful and teasing fashion. Her brother snapped at her and then shrugged, dodging an ear-pinch by his mom.

The older lupine female said shrilly, "Manners! Don't show your teeth near a bunny! You know better!" Judy was well distracted from her impending 'doom' by the playful family dynamics on display before her.

"It's alright, really!" Judy stated, wanting ot make sure they knew she was not offended.

"It's not, it's improper and inconsiderate." Their mother offered politely.

Nick then surprised Judy a bit as he touched his cool nose-pad behind her ear before parting his muzzle and seizing that long slip of velvety flesh near the base with his teeth in a gentle grasp. He then drew his head back slowly, standing taller to run the length of that captured ear between his teeth before letting it go. It made the bunny so weak in the knees that she had to tightly grasp Nick's paw in hers to keep steady. There was no containing the surprised but elated squeak she emitted, and she blushed, pulling her ears down in front of her, over her shoulders to hide how scarlet they were inside.

Nick then responded in a kind tone, "Seriously though. Teeth do not offend this bunny."

Miriah beamed. "Awesome."

Max laughed. "Still doesn't mean I secretly got the hots for your friend." Judy chuckled a bit, figuring out why it was even brought up. She shook her head slowly.

"It sneaks up on you." She said in her feathery Delilah voice. "You think you don't, then suddenly you can't think of anything else." Max looked genuinely frightened for a moment and his sister grinned broadly.

"We're up!" Nick barked. Judy squeaked as she was nudged forward. She found herself ushered into the smaller seat usually used by a slightly smaller rider beside their parent. A simple lap-bar was not what this called for. A three way harness with metal interlocking bars was used. It felt very secure and yet oh so foreboding. The cars began to move and Judy looked up at the ride operator who wore a very sad face as he waved goodbye to the bunny.

"I'm gonna get you back for this, Nick," Judy said through gritted teeth.

Nick spoke in a hushed tone, as no other mammal on the coaster seemed to talk during the slow roll into near complete darkness. "My sweet bunny…" Judy's heart skipped a beat at being called that as he resumed, "You don't have to get me back… You've done all this to me before."

Judy looked up hastily, unable to see Nick at all in the pitch blackness. "What? When?" she hissed.

"The first few days that you came into my life were like this. Recklessly flying through the dark, not knowing what turn was coming next. It was scary, crazy, fast and dangerous, but I hoped that in the end you'd be there by my side. Just like this." Then, in the darkness, he kissed her lips sweetly. The only sound was the slow clack clack clack of the cars being moved into position. Nick broke the kiss after a tender moment, then whispered, "It's more fun to pretend we're flying." He then held Judy's paw in his and leaned in against her. Judy was about to say 'what?' when the whole world dropped out from under them.

Ordinarily, Judy might have really screamed. She might have actually felt the pain in her heart of death's icy fingers which so many bunnies dreaded if it hadn't been for what Nick told her to do. Imagine she was flying. Others in the cars ahead of them certainly did scream, but Judy pressed as close as the restraints allowed to her fox, and she really felt like she was flying with him. There were lights here and there like bright stars that seemed to rush by through time and space. She knew they flipped a few times in loops and corkscrews, but the sensation of fear was almost completely bled out by the emotion she found instead as she held her fox's paw. The initial drop was scary but afterward everything that came next was an utter thrill. It excited her and when her throat unlocked from the stifled initial scream she cried out in joyful intensity, screaming for fun, not fear.

They went through some neon hoops underground inside tight turns and spins. There was a dimly lit cloud of mist and dry ice that flickered with what lightning animated along the walls, as if going through a storm. Loud thunder cracked around them as they rolled through it being bumped side to side by short turns in the track for effect. Judy had been so sure of how horrifying this was going to be that her adrenaline only enhanced how magical it became. She had dreaded this so much less than three minutes before, and then she suddenly found herself lamenting it was over as they drew into the lit corridor they had come from, where they would exit the ride.

"Cool, she survived." Maxwell chimed, getting his ear successfully pinched by his mom. Judy and Nick exited the ride, the bunny practically vibrating with excitement from the experience. She could not wait to tell her family about it. As Nick led her out through the exit gate, they immediately encountered Jack and Skye standing outside.

Skye was speaking to the striped rabbit as they approached. "-probably won't let bunnies actually go on that ride, Jack, but this is the… Nick? Oh God, Judy - are you alright?!" she exclaimed, cupping her muzzle.

"That… was… awesome!" Judy screeched, little paws balled into fists by her cheeks.

"Now I'm definitely not getting on it." Jack stated bluntly, shaking his head.

Skye kept her paws up at her muzzle. "I'm not lying, Judy, you are seriously probably the only bunny who's ever been on that ride. I can't believe you did that. You guys are crazy."

Nick laughed at that and replied, "That sufficiently cleared my head, Judy, and I think I could definitely get a bite to eat. Skye, do you and Agent Frost wanna join us?" Skye's ears went scarlet at Nick applying her last name to her companion.

Jack appeared to ignore the teasing, instead only nodding emphatically. While Skye had been obviously attempting to get Nick and Judy to spend time more together without them, she was flummoxed by the other fox's jest and only nodded along with her date.

They all went over to an outdoor dining area by a winding stream that cut through the quieter part of the amusement park. They ordered their food and chatted with one another idly. Skye had taken Jack on the bumper cars which he really enjoyed, and they were considering playing a round of mini golf. It was something they had done before at a different place.

Nick and Judy split a large salad with apple slices and walnuts. Skye got a tuna sandwich, and Jack ordered a vegetarian taco bowl. Skye blanched at the heavy use of guacamole, but nibbled at the shredded cheese. Judy excitedly told Skye about the her experience with the Roar-a-coaster. The vixen explained that she had made the fog and storm effects a few years before. She was happy they were still being used.

Skye explained that her date had been recognized a few times as they walked about. Those who recognized him seemed to think that Skye was his bodyguard and was leading him around the place. She didn't mind that. It actually meant that folks tended to leave him alone and not try to hassle him much. He did sign the back of someone's phone, but that was the only autograph solicited. It had been a little more peaceful outing than they generally got to enjoy in a public setting, and the vixen was pleased.

Judy kept her chair right by Nick's, savoring how close she was getting to be with him. The memories of the ugliness they had been witness to were fading, and the relaxed smile on her partner's face was reassuring.

That changed however when Skye jokingly offered Judy some of her sandwich, remembering how she'd gotten Nick in the park before. Judy had not, of course, told Skye that Nick was having some…difficulty… concerning fish. She saw his ears go back and she tried to think of some way to diffuse it. She kindly passed on the offered sandwich, intending to privately discuss the taboo with her friend later. The reminder didn't seem to really faze Nick for very long, and he relaxed a little as the vixen polished off the sandwich. Judy then noticed something out of the corner of her eye that immediately lifted her spirits.

"Hey Nick." The black fox looked up at her as she spoke. "… The restaurant… look at what they sell…" She indicated the large tank inside the wide, busy booth. There were live, dark-colored, fleshy fish to select and fry. Nick perked up with a gasp, immediately interested.

"What? I thought Nick didn't eat fish." Skye said in confused tone.

"No, not to eat. Come on!" She waved to her partner sweetly to get him to follow. He grinned brightly, willingly doing so. Skye and Jack stayed at the little round table they'd been at, the buck still calmly munching on his taco bowl without much visible concern. Judy walked up to the grey-furred bear running the booth.

He snorted with a smile and a friendly tone as he spoke. "Heya, bunny! Ain't you a rare sight! We got fresh arugula. Want a sample?"

Judy spoke in her Delilah voice. "How much for five of those fish? Little ones are all we need." She didn't want to upset patrons who might have wanted a big tasty fish. It would be more infuriating to miss out on them when the pair did what they intended to do.

"You want... You want the fish?" he asked.

"Yep! In a bag with some water, please."

"Uh… These won't keep like pets in a bag like that, lady." The bear seemed concerned about Judy's impending disappointment.

The doe grinned broadly. "I don't need them to be in it long, don't worry. Please!" Nick put his paws on Judy's shoulders, smiling as well, offering support. He took his wallet out and paid for the fish as the bear did the strange thing he was asked to do. Judy figured in a place like this, it was better to just take the money and make a happy repeat customer. The bag they were given was large and clear, so it was easy to see the little fish as they were placed carefully one at a time into the water-filled container. Judy was delighted at Nick's happy face, so captivated as he watched them swim around in the bag. The bag was bound at the top carefully and handed to the fox since it would have been a little heavy and awkward for Judy to carry.

"Uh, what are you two doing?" Skye asked as Nick came back to the table. The fox put the bag down on the middle of the table, making Jack scoot his taco bowl back. The striped rabbit watched wordlessly as Nick took some pictures. The black-furred fox seemed so intensely happy and excited that it made Judy a little giddy. He then put his phone down on the table and walked with the bag over to the little canal that ran through the dining area. He carefully hopped over the barrier. On the other side was a sheer stone drop of about five or six feet to the water, so Nick had to hold it with one paw. He hooked his arm over it to untie the bag which was being difficult.

Judy watched him prepare to release the fish and looked back to Jack and Skye, deciding to explain at least a little bit. "This is something that Nick's therapist thought would be good for him. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's really positive, I promise." Judy turned and looked back at Nick again. Several younger mammals, appearing to be in their teens or maybe just out of them, moved over to watch what Nick was doing.

"Didja catch some fish in the creek, fox?" one of them, a tall and angular cheetah, asked. His buddies, a few wolves, a hyena, and a particularly short badger gathered around.

Nick answered in a happy tone, finally getting the bag untied, "Nope, returning some of them. These ones get to be free." He held the bag in such a way that he could hold it over the water, leaning out a bit at an angle and holding the divider with his hand for stability.

The cheetah scoffed at that. "That's dumb. Why the heck'r you doing that?"

Nick poured the fish out carefully into the water, smiling as he watched them fall the short distance to freedom. "I get to choose this for them… That's all I need." His answer was happy matter-of-fact.

"Huhuh! Right! Of course!" the cheetah stated, his buddies laughing at what had to sound really silly without any meaningful context. "Everyone should be free, right?"

"Yep!" Nick said jovially, shaking the last of the water out of the bag.

"Even foxes!" the cheetah casually pulled Nick's paw off the divider and let him go. All the young predators burst into laughter as Nick gave a short shout and then a heavy splash as he hit the water below.

"Hey!" Judy yelled furiously. She took her phone out and dropped it on the table before rushing past the startled younger mammals. They had likely not figured Nick had a companion nearby as he did something so weird. Judy would deal with them when she was sure her fox as alright. He was still not completely mended and a fall from any height could be seriously bad news. Over the divider Judy went, resulting in a smaller splash. The fox sputtered and thrashed around a bit before realizing that he could just stand. The water was about chest deep to him. He reached out and took Judy into his arms, pulling her close.

He hugged the worried bunny and spoke with soft reassurance, "I'm alright, Fluff. I'm alright. Just… wet. Well, now we're both wet." His voice was raspy from how cold the water was. He looked up scornfully at the cheetah. The young mammals were a little shocked at the sudden involvement of the bunny, but they burst into laughter again seeing that their trick had soaked both the older mammals.

Judy growled. "When I get my paws on you guys…" She glared at the laughing kids.

"Uh oh! Bunnies are after you now, Greg!" the badger laughed. He had to pull himself up a bit to see over the barrier.

"Dude, what's with his color?" asked one of the wolves.

"Huh?" Greg looked down at the pair. Judy's heart sank. Their disguises. They were soaking wet and the artificial color was just pouring off of them. Nick pulled water up to his face and brushed the dye back so it didn't get in his eyes, revealing more obviously that he was a red fox. Judy pulled her ears down, the chocolate tone coming off of them easily because of how short the fur was, leaving her grey ears with black tips plainly visible.

"Uh, they're dyed?" the young badger asked.

"What is wrong with you mammals?" Judy asked pointedly, actually baring her teeth a bit with anger.

The look of Judy's furious expression beside a mess of a red fox had been plastered in the papers and on the news for a week. It was no wonder that seeing them exactly like that side by side was a dead giveaway to their identities. She cringed a bit at a cry from the badger. He took off faster than they thought his legs could even carry him. They could scarcely make out his exclamation of "That's Officer Hopps, run!"

Another cry rose up, this time from a wolf. "Oh crap! You pushed Officer Wilde into the creek, dude!" That lupine backed away as if afraid to actually turn around. He pointed to the cheetah who caused Nick to fall in. "I don't know that guy! I've never seen him before! Oh God, I've never met him in my life!"

"Run!" one of the other wolves repeated. Judy's ears fell back at the abject fear in his voice. "Scatter! She can only chase one of us!"

"W-Wait! I didn't mean to, guys!" Greg stammered.

"Leave him!" one of the more distant sounding wolves yelped. The expression on the cheetah looking over the edge at the fox and bunny was absolute panic.

Greg whimpered softly, "Look, I messed up. I was just playing! I didn't... I mean, let me help you out of there, hold on…" He hopped over the barrier and took a position not unlike Nick had been in to free the fish. He reached way down to offer a paw to Nick and Judy to help them up. The bunny was still a bit stunned at the over-the-top reaction that the reveal of their identity had caused. Bogo had been right. Between the bear incident, the Palm Market incident, and other stories about her work on the force, the media had made her into something she really wasn't. At least temporarily, the young predators were genuinely terrified of a vengeful bunny. As Judy looked up at the fear-widened eyes of the cheetah attempting to help her, some of her anger bled away. She wasn't a monster.

Indignantly, she scolded him. "Why would you even do something like that?" She shivered a bit in Nick's arms. She hoped someone might have a towel or something, or she'd regret having to soak the inside of Skye's car. The cheetah gestured a little with his arm extended way down, still attempting to help them out if they would let him.

"Sorry. Sorry, it was dumb… Just… Let me help you out… and maybe let me buy you guys some dry shirts or something and then I can go free? Maybe?" he asked hopefully.

Judy was about to answer when Skye loudly exclaimed from behind Greg. "Cheetahs should be free!" and she yanked his paw free of the divider. Nick and Judy moved back a bit as the young cheetah yelped and went face first into the green-colored algae-rich water. Judy looked incredulously at a fuming white fox as Greg surfaced, sputtering and looking back at the bunny. He jumped back and pressed himself up against the wall as if he were trapped in the canal with a shark. Nick began to laugh. Then, hearing her partner's joyful intonation of happiness, Judy could not help but laugh as well. Stunned and a bit nervous, Greg also laughed, finally followed by Skye.

Jack peered over the edge of the divider and called out, "This. This right here's why I keep hanging out with you guys. This kind of crazy is a service only you provide!"