Chapter Six: Gretchen

A/N: Now that I'm getting used to my Mom's schedule, I'm finding more time to get other things done, including my writing. I thought I'd be up to Cindy by now, but this moment was important and we're getting close.

Looking back on my past work, I was shocked at how many chapters I pumped out in a short amount of time.

2:32pm Bunnyburrow County Jail

Nick and the family were still in the van parked out in front of the Jailhouse. There was a bit of silence and tension as Nick turned off the engine. "I won't be long." he said. "Petey, you can stay here with your new momma. I'll find out where Cindy is."

The bunny boy was trembling. He was still very afraid of his old mother despite the fact she couldn't get to him. "O-Okay."

But there was part of him that wanted to see her. To confront her and get these fears out him. He knew that if he never faced her, she'd still haunt him for the rest of his life. As Nick opened the door, Petey shouted. "Wait!"

Nick turned around. "What is it son?"

"I-I'm going too."

Everyone in the van was stunned. There was a moment of silence as all eyes lock onto the boy. "Are...Are you sure?" Nick asked.

"If I...SHIT!...I don't, I'll always be scared of her."

"I really don't think you should." Nick replied.

Judy spoke up. "Nick, we can't refuse him from seeing his blood mother. Besides, I think he's right."

Then Michael spoke up. "Well I'm going too! I'll be your backup Pete!"

"Me too!" said Cotton.

"Count me in!" said Spots. "Some family trip. 'Bring your kids to the Bunnyburrow jail! Family fun for everyone!' "

Nick laughed. "Bring the pups and lock 'em up!"

Everyone got out. Nick carried Petey while Spots carried Cotton. Judy and Michael went in paw in paw. They went inside. There, behind the desk was former deputy, now sheriff Blarney Strife. He was tilting back on the chair and snoring away.

Nick did his best to wake him up gently. "Ahem! Excuse me?"

"ZZZZzzzzzzZZZZzzzzz"

"I said EXCUSE ME!"

This startled Strife. "AAAH!" He fired his dart gun blindly and it hit one of the prisoners in the temporary cell, making him pass out. "Dag-nabbit! You made me hit Otis, the town skunk!"

"I see you're doing as good of a job as always." Nick said sarcastically.

Strife leered at Nick. "Saay. Yer that fox officer hero big-shot from last week, aren't ya?"

"The one and only. This is my family." Nick gestured at Petey. "We're here to see this boy's former mother. She has information we need."

"Is that the crack whore we picked up last week screaming about the red hawk coming to get her?"

Nick chuckled. "That's the one."

"You did that ta her didn't ya? That was a cruel joke!"

"She's a cruel woman."

"That's fer sure." Strife replied as he left them towards the back where there were more cells.. "She's foul as all hell, yells constantly and keeps offering sexual favors to lower her stay. She's so nasty, I wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot pole! She's forced to take about two dozen pills because of her withdrawal symptoms. Having to but off crystal meth cold turkey is no picnic. Here we are!"

Nick and Petey turned the corner and there she was. She looked unhealthy to say the lest. She was just fur and bones and what fur was there was matted and filthy looking. Nick felt Petey trembling. He could feel a bit of warm pee on his side. "Easy buddy. It's okay."

The rabbit turned her head and looked at him. "It's you! You son of a bitch!"

"Technically true." Nick replied.

"You left me tied to a tree! I was terrified a hawk was gonna eat me! He flew overhead!"

"Small price for the horrible things you've done Gretchen Manglefur!"

Petey got the courage to yell at her. "Where's my twin sister?!"

"Well if it ain't the cowardly, little potty-mouth!" Gretchen replied. She then mocked him. "Awww! Is Tweedledee looking for Tweedledumb?"

Petey actually tried to leap out of Nick's arms. "You don't FUCKING! call my sister 'dumb' you poopface!"

Nick smiled. "Well, well! Looks like someone's 'fight or flight' turned into fight!"

"Gretchen smiled as she knew she got to him. "THERE'S the potty-mouth. You always couldn't help cussing you piece of trash! That's why I burned your tongue! Sounds like you got that fixed though."

Spots had enough. She grabbed Gretchen through the bars and yanked her forward smashing her into the cell over and over again. "HE WAS TOURRETS SYNDROME YOU SKANK! NOW WHERE'S HIS SISTER?!"

"SPOTS STOP!" Judy yelled. Spots let go and Gretchen stumbled to the back of the cell in fear.

"Get that monster away from me! You'll get nothing from me now! Nothing!"

Judy stood firm,. "I'm this boy's mother now. We're not leaving until we get that info."

"FAH! Even if I told you, you'd probably think I was lying. Just like Strife thinks I'm lying about that disappearing blimp."

Judy's ears perked up at that news. "Blimp?! What blimp?! This is important!"

"Got to hell! I'm not telling you anything!"

"...It's the 'Good Deer' blimp. Isn't it? The one missing from Zootopia?"

Gretchen gave a surprised look that let Judy know she was on the right trail. "Look Miss, this is VERY important! I'm from Zootopia on a case about a possible Nighthowler gas attack."

"You assholes want information? It's gonna cost ya."

"What do you want?" Judy asked."

"There's a pharmacy on the corner. I want a month's worth of smokes. I'm going through withdrawl and need SOMETHING to keep me sane."

"I do this for you, you tell us about Petey's sister and everything you know about the blimp. Deal?!"

"Deal."

"Wait, how many cartons is a months worth?"

"For me? Ten cases."

"TEN?! You're not gonna live long going like that!"

"Like you care."

"You're right. I don't. I'll be right back."

"Can I come mommy?" Cotton asked.

"Sure thing honey." Cotton followed behind Judy on her crutches.

As Judy left. Nick set Petey down and he just stared a hole into his birth mother. The nasty woman grinned. "You're still scared of me. Aren't you?"

"N-No!" he said while stammering.

Gretchen made a motion with her boney fingers. "Come closer boy."

Petey moved closer to the cell only for Gretchen to leap forward to the bars and scare him. "BOO! HAHAHAHA!"

Before she could finish laughing, she was close enough to the bars that Petey reached back and punched her in the face. "HAHAH-OWWW!"

"FUCK YOU!" he screamed. Shocking everyone.

Nick patted the boy on the back. "I'll allow that one."

Michael ran up and hugged the boy. "YEAH! That was awesome Pete! You kicked her ass!"

Gretchen rubbed her nose in pain. "You little shit! You dare hit me! I'm your mother!"

Petey was still defiant. Tears were in his eyes as his emotions poured out. "Judy Wilde is my mother! My big sister Spots is too! You're just some awful woman who gave birth to me! I hate you! I'll always SHITBALLS! hate you! But I'm not afraid of you! Not anymore!"

Spots picked the boy up and hugged him close. "That's telling her Pete! I'm so proud of y-eww! You're wet!"

Gretchen growled at the boy. "You're right. I never wanted to be your mother. I was just too lazy to get an abortion! Do you wanna know why you and your sister are such freaks?! I know who your father is you little brat! I never told you before."

Spot rubbed Petey's back. "Don't listen to her. She's just trying to get under your fur."

"It was your late uncle Louis!" She yelled. "That's right! I fucked my own brother for a pack of smokes! You and your sister are inbred! That's how you ended up with that foul mouth and your sister is a retard!"

Spots lunged at the cage causing Gretchen to leap back. "You watch your mouth! Don't you dare call her that!"

"He died overdosing on the crystal meth you and your siblings cooked! You're partially the reason he died!"

Nick tried to defuse the situation. "Guys? Let's head back to the lobby. This is not helping things." He picked Petey up and they headed out.

"I barely knew him." Petey said. "He only visited a few times. Did I really k-kill him?"

"No son. You and your siblings had no choice but to make that stuff. She killed him."

The bunny boy rested his head against Nick. "I hate her so much."

"Can't understand why." Nick said with a sarcastic tone.

"But you know what? I'm not scared of her! Not anymore."

Nick smiled at Petey and kissed him on the forehead. "Good. I was wrong in not bringing you in here. Facing your fears is the best way to get rid of them."

"I kinda feel sad for her. She's real ugly and skinny now."

Meanwhile...

Judy was at the store with Cotton. She was already at the counter talking to the clerk. "I need ten cases of your cheapest cigarettes."

The clerk eyed her up and down. "They're not for me! Just ten cases of whatever you got."

Cotton quickly sneaked up and dropped a box of candy. "And a box of candy."

"And a box of candy." Judy replied without thinking.

"And these coloring books."

"And these coloring books."

"And a box of crayons."

"And a box of...Hey! Stop that!"

Judy grabbed the lamb, making her giggle. "You little sneak! You can have the coloring books, but no candy, okay?"

"Okay!"

Judy and Cotton walked back towards the jail. Judy's arms were stuffed with boxes of cigarettes. "So Cotton, why'd you decide to come with me?"

"I like spending time with you mommy!" Cotton said. "Plus, that skinny lady was SUPER scary!"

"I agree."

"It's just...Now that you're my mommy. I wanna be with you more. I dunno why."

"Well I like that you're closer to me too honey."

Judy and Cotton returned to the jail. Judy and Nick headed back to Gretchen's cell while Spots watched the kids.

Judy thew a pack of smokes at Gretchen. "Here you go. The sheriff will hand out the rest when you want them. Now where is Petey's sister?!"

"Last time I saw that crazy brat, I dropped her off at the Meadow of Mercy Institution up in Meadowland. It's basically a crazy house."

"Thank you. Now about the blimp."

"...You won't believe me."

"Try me. Any information is valuable."

"Well...I stare out my barred window a lot. One day I saw it. It just...appeared! Out of nowhere!"

"The Good Deer blimp? The one that's been missing?"

"Yes. For about two seconds."

"What?!"

"Like I said, it appeared from nowhere and disappeared just as fast. Like it blinked into existence for a few seconds."

Judy thought about it for a moment. "Stealth technology."

"What?"

"Like that Predator movie! The blimp is mirroring light sources from behind it to give the effect that it's invisible. There's one place in Zootopia developing that kind of tech for the military. They MUST be working with Lionheart! Thank you Gretchen. You may be an awful person, but may have just helped save our city!"

"Like I care." Gretchen then looked at Nick. "You two plannin' on adopting Cindy?"

"Yes."

"HA! Good luck with that! She's a handful and a half! She's violent, she can barely talk and she's absolutely impossible to handle! You'll be taking care of her for the rest of your life."

"We like a challenge." Nick replied.

"Besides all that, you'll never get her out of there. You're not her birth parent. All you have is her twin brother. They'll be a ton of paperwork involved! It'll take you months!"

Nick smiled. "Good thing I'm close friends with the mayor. I texted him while you two were talking. Paperwork's already underway."

Nick turned with Judy to leave. He looked back at Gretchen one more time. "Y'know, I hope someday you look back on everything you've done in your past and regret your actions so you can become a better person. These kids shouldn't have suffered the way they did. I hope you get help."

They left the long hallway and shut the door behind them leaving Gretchen alone. The sunlight shining through her bars was the only thing brightening up her dark cell. A tear ran down her cheek. "Save your pity for others. It's too late for me."

Moments later, they were back in the van. Nick got in the front while Spots and Judy were buckling the younger children in. "I informed Swinton." Judy said. "She said she's going to get a bunch of officers and S.W.A.T. Hogs down to the technology building and do a raid. It's a damn good thing we all came in!"

"Does that mean your case is done?" Nick asked.

"No." We still need to find out exactly what happened at the market. Now that we know the blimp is here, it's very possible it's carrying the gas!...Oh my God."

Nick looked concerned. "What is it Carrots?"

"Nick...what if another incident happens here? The kids are not safe!"

"Well they're definitely not safe in Zootopia tonight. We can't just keep running away."

"I guess. What did Tom say in his text?"

"Oh? You're interested in your ex-boyfriend?"

Judy chuckled. "Knock it off Nick!"

"He called the institute and they're getting the paperwork ready. All I have to do is sign a few papers and Cindy will be ours."

"That's wonderful!" Judy said.

"And scary. We're adopting a child we never met who has a mental illness and may be violent."

"It'll be fine. Where's Tom now?"

"With your family believe it or not."

"What?"

"He just finished a speech at, get this, 'Stu Hopps Charity Fair'. "

"Dad's raising charity? Is Jenny there with Tom?"

"Dunno. I didn't text him for that long. But at least I know where we can go after we pick up Cindy."

Cotton got excited. "So we're not going to the farm? We're going to a fair?"

"Yup."

"YAAAAY!"

"I've never been to a fair." Petey said.

"Oh, you'll love it Pete!" Cotton replied. "That have rides and games and Cotton candy and music! It's a ton of fun!"

"Cool!"

Michael nudged his mother. "You missed it mom! Petey punched that old hag right in the nose! POW!"

Judy was surprised. "You did?!"

"Yeah." Petey replied. "She tried to....POOP! tried to scare me and I punched her hard. I'm not afraid of her anymore!"

Judy hugged and kissed the boy. "I'm so proud of you! I'm glad we all went in. I wouldn't have gotten that information and Petey wouldn't have been able to confront his mother."

Petey had a question to ask. "Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"What's...inbred?"

Judy was surprised at the question. "Well, it's...wow...this is hard to talk about...when two people are family members. Blood family mind you, not adopted like you guys and they...commit incest, by that I mean make love which they never should, they can have children. And those children are inbred."

Judy then looked at Cotton and Micheal. "That wouldn't count for you two as your from different families. You're siblings through adoption. Besides, you're two different species."

"Are inbred children..weird? Like, defective?" Petey asked.

"Oh! Well...they can be sometimes. Inbred children have a higher risk of having birth defects."

Petey looked down. "I'm...SHIT! I'm defective."

Everyone reached over to pat Petey. "No you're not!" they said.

Judy petted the boy's head. "Petey honey, all you have is...an odd tick. Other than that, you're a wonderful son and I'm so happy you're in our lives. Don't you DARE call yourself a defect!"

Cotton kissed Petey on the cheek. "I love you, little brother! Now, we're gonna be even closer because of...y'know."

"Y'know what?" Asked Michael.

"N-Nothing!"

It was Michael's turn. "Anyway, you're an awesome little brother and...I think I'm better because of you."

"I love you Petey!" Spots said. "In fact, if the three of you were hanging off a cliff and I only had one free paw, I'd grab you and let the other two fall."

"HEY!" shouted Cotton.

"That's mean!" yelled Michael.

Spots didn't care. "Ah, it's true and you know it." She then gave them a razz-berry. "PPPPPBBBBBTTT!"

The kids chuckled and Nick drove off towards the institution.