I didn't know what to say. I admit that my life in the Burrow didn't do much to build me up as a very social person. It's not that I didn't want to interact with others, it's simply that I could never find any common ground with them. Since leaving the Burrow, things haven't changed much. The only social interactions I have had were with people who were trying to kill me. Yes, there was Bo and his family, but we only spent a few moments in each other's company. It was not nearly long enough to get to know each other. Then there was Chief Lazlo. The reason I was rescuing him was because I thought he was a helpless old man, not because he was the leader of the Steel Guardians. Although, I doubt it would have mattered if I did know. I just wanted to help, but any interactions afterwords felt more like a formality than actual social interactions. It's not like any of them exchanged friendly banter with me.

Sure Onion and I have idle conversations all the time, but that's because we know each other so very well. This fox, however, I knew nothing about - exceptfor the fact that he nearly destroyed the town. The mayor seemed to convey his innocence, and while I only knew her slightly more than I did him, something about her very presence compelled me to believe her. I hope I never have to play a game of poker with her. I felt a sharp jab in my side, did she know I was thinking about her? I looked to her and saw that she was nodding her head towards the cell. Looking into the enclosed room, I saw that the fox, Nathan, was now looking straight at us. His lips were quivering, eyes opened wide, and I could feel the fear emanating from him. My heart sank. This poor fox, he was terrified.

"Nate, Miss Springs would like to ask you some questions."

I would? About what…oh yeah, the robot. Between the mayor's aura, and this guy's terror stricken visage, I had forgotten why I was even here. What was I supposed to do? Part of me wanted to find out whoever was responsible for that fiasco and give them a swift kick in the ass. Another part of me wanted to kiss the genius who developed that amazing software. Now that I'm standing here in front of the guilty party, who looked as if they were about to burst into tears, I just wanted to comfort them and tell them it was okay. That mistakes happened. Fuck, this is why I hate social interactions. They're too complicated!

"You…Can call me Olivia." It felt as if my words were fish swimming in a deep lake, and all I had was a broken fishing pole to catch them with, "All I want to know is about last night. Can you tell me what you were doing with that robot?"

"P-please, I'm sorry! I didn't know that would happen! Please, don't… Don't hurt me…"

"Hurt you? Why would we hurt you?" I looked at the mayor but she just shrugged. "I just want to know what happened, no one is here to hurt you Nathan."

"I… I thought it was okay. I… I just wanted… p-please…"

I beckoned the mayor over to the other end of the room. "He seems very distraught. Why does he think we want to hurt him?"

"I am not entirely sure. Those three - him, his brother Markus and their friend Holly - arrived only days before the siege. They pretty much kept to themselves, keeping up with boarding fees, not causing too much trouble, although Nate's curiosity did occasionally annoy the other residents. Like when he was adamant that he could improve the electrical generators output by messing with their circuits."

"I did notice that there were hiccups in power flow. I actually wanted my first day as your mechanic to take a look at them, and the water purifier, and the defense systems, and…"

Mayor Swift silenced me by placing her hoof to my mouth, "You sound just as bad as him."

"Sorry, force of habit."

"That is why I made you our mechanic. I could tell it was your passion. Just like I knew it is his."

"Then why not offer him the position?"

"They were never planning to stay long. When the siege started, Holly was the most restless out of them. She just wanted to leave, to get away from the danger. As you probably noticed earlier, she is very protective of them."

"How is it you can identify us so well, when you barely know us?"

"I have to. This town represents everything that Zootopia was founded upon. Freedom from persecution no matter who you are, or were. Predators, prey, even former raiders are welcome as long as they respect the town's rules and its citizens."

"Raiders? You let raiders in here?"

"Not everyone chooses to be a raider. Some are forced into it, either from birth, sold as a slave, or because they had nothing to lose. While many of the raiders are truly blood thirsty thugs, for some of them it is the only life they know. If you truly want to be a good person, Hope welcomes you with open arms."

I knew a thing or two about being forced into something against your will, "And what about the Pip-Boar? Is he from a Burrow too?"

"They never talked much about their past. I know Pip-Boars are not very common. In my time here, I have only seen maybe half a dozen. I can tell you this, unlike yourself - whose innocence has yet to be taken by the horrors of the world - they have been out there long enough to have theirs stripped away."

Innocence? What did she mean by that? I have seen, and done, plenty so far. More than I ever imagined I would. More than anyone should. All I see before me is a scared mammal, looking as if he is being torn asunder from the inside. Is this world really that horrific that it can drive someone to an inconsolable state?

"I don't think he poses to me, or to anyone, any real danger, and talking to him, through those bars, feels wrong to me. Would you be able to…"

"Sweetie, it was never locked."

What? What kind of jailer leaves the prisoners cells unlocked? I looked around me and saw that there were no exits other than the one we came in. Solid sheets of metal formed the walls, ceiling, and floor. Not even a single window was present. Either she had total trust in the two guards outside, or they rarely have need of them, although something tells me it's something else entirely.

I slowly walked back towards the cell as I took off my tool belt. Showing it to him, I slowly put it on the ground. All I had on me now was my Pip-Boar, which I am sure he already noticed. Placing my paw on the cell door caused him to shrink back to the wall behind him as if trying to keep as much distance between him and myself. I slowly opened the door until I was able to walk in. That look of fear stayed on his face as I slowly moved towards him, my arms outstretched showing him I was unarmed.

"I'm not here to hurt you. I promise. I just want to talk. Nothing more."

He didn't say anything as his wide eyes followed me. The quivering in his lips increased, as nervous twitches started to appear in his paws and tail. I couldn't tell if he was about to cry … or run. The mayor told me that their innocence had been stripped, but right now all I saw was a young cub, looking as if he was about to be scolded by his parents. Didn't someone once say there was innocence in youth? I moved close enough to sit down next to him, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

"Okay, let's just forget last night for right now. My name is Olivia." I held out my paw, hoping that he would take it as a friendly gesture.

"N-Nate." He didn't return the gesture, but I could see his eyes darting between me and the Pip-Boar on my other arm.

"I see you're eying my Pip-Boar, and I noticed that you have one as well."

"I… Yes."

"You're from a Burrow, aren't you?"

His eyes were already wide with fear, but at the mention of the word Burrow, they seemed to grow large enough that I was afraid they would fly out at me. He was from a Burrow.

"Well, let's talk about that then, shall we? I came from a Burrow as well. It was south of here, located under Zootennial Stadium. Burrow Seventy-Six." Part of my brain was yelling at me, saying that this was not something he needed to know, but I had to find a way to calm him down, and having something in common might help.

"Zoo… Zootennial? I heard it… e-exploded."

I felt my face turn red and he must have noticed too because it seemed to calm him down a bit, "Yeah, that was me. There was a whole mess of savage ghouls there that greeted me. If it wasn't for this bag of explosives I found, I probably wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."

He was still looking at me, but remained silent. I needed to get him to talk, about anything. "After having spent my entire life in the Burrow, seeing this world as it is … was quite the shock. They always told us that it wasn't safe up here, that the radiation levels must still be too high, otherwise Burrow-Tec would give us the 'all-clear.' I was beginning to think that the Overseer was lying to us."

Things were going fine up until the end. His quivering stopped and he started to sink into a more natural position -at least until I mentioned the Overseer. That word seemed to have drawn the fear right back into him. The shaking started again as he tried to curl himself into a ball. I hated my Overseer, but he was terrified of his. I better not press it anymore.

"Enough about the Burrows. Let's talk about the Pip-Boars." The mention of that seemed to calm him down, but only slightly, "Amazing pieces of equipment, aren't they? I got mine when I was, oh, about ten."

"T-ten? We… we got ours around, six."

"Really? To be honest, I didn't want it at first." I got a bit of a reaction out of him with that one, "You see, I love tinkering and fixing stuff, always have, but the thought of a clunky device weighing me down. I thought it would hamper my dexterity. To be honest though, that wasn't the main reason. I hated most of the Burrow residents and since they all had one, I felt that I would be one step closer to being one of them - that I'd lose my individuality. I fought day and night against wearing it, but it was finally my mother that convinced me that it was useful when she showed me this," I opened a folder, one that I hadn't needed to open in a very long time. "Blueprints, circuit diagrams, component layouts. Every single mechanical and electrical layout that my mother could get her paws on. They were mine, but she told me that the only way I could see them was if she downloaded it to my own Pip-Boar. For the next few months, I never took it off. I fell asleep every night while trying to memorize every little detail. I spent so much time looking them over, I could probably have built a Burrow blindfolded, and it would still be ten times more efficient than the one I lived in."

"You memorized all of them?"

"Yup! Even though I haven't needed them for a long time, I still know every nook and cranny of that place just from these diagrams. Hell, between that and hacking the Overseer's terminal, escaping the Burrow was so easy that I'm surprised no one else thought of it, but then again here you are."

"I, don't really want to talk about it."

He didn't seem afraid anymore, just slightly nervous. Maybe if this whole 'hero' thing falls through, I can become a motivational speaker. "That's fine. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Let's see if I can hook him in. "However, I would like to know more about last night."

"I… okay.I'm a lot like you, I enjoy fixing things. When you…saved us, my brother and his girlfriend were so relieved that it was finally over."

"You said that they were relieved, what about you?"

"I was, but I'd overheard that this was just the latest in a series of attacks on this town. These people have been so kind and accepting of us, especially Markus and I, since…you know."

"Since, what? Is there something I don't know about you two?"

The look on his face could best be described as dumbfounded. Was it something I said?

"W-what do you see when you l-look at me?"

"Um …" Was it some kind of trap? I looked over at the mayor but her face was stiff, an expression I didn't think she was capable of making. "I see a young, intelligent mammal who made a simple mistake and is, in my opinion, overreacting a bit more than he should."

That dumbfounded face still remained. "Is t-that all you see? R-really?"

"Yeah, I mean, I don't really know you that well apart from our little talk. So all I can go on is looks, and right now, you look…confused. Was it something I said?"

"You… Really? You don't s-see me for anything else, like for instance, m-my species?"

"You're a fox. So what?"

I looked over to the mayor, and it seemed she had adopted the same reaction as him. "Umm, did I say something wrong?"

"Sweetie, just who was in your Burrow?" For the first time the mayor decided to chime in.

"What do you mean? It was mostly rodent species, with a few rabbits, honestly the rodents greatly outnumbered us bunnies."

"You mean, there were no p-predators?" Nate's voice showed disbelief in his words.

"No, there wasn't. I know history. I know that predators and prey were once enemies prior to modern civilization, but I never really thought about it much. I figured other Burrows had predators just like we had prey."

"Sweetie, for the past, well...Ever, out of all the predators out there, foxes have always been looked upon as sly, shifty, and untrustworthy. Predators and prey alike have an ingrained distrust in foxes and, even now, that distrust still exists. No matter how many times a fox shows the world otherwise, I don't think it will ever fade."

"I… didn't know. Sure I've read many books where a fox was the bad guy, but I never thought about it like that. I don't see how a species can define you. All I see is who the mammal is, not what they are. I don't care if you are a fox, or an elephant, or a giraffe - if you are good I will protect you, and if you are evil, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you can never hurt anyone again. That's all I care about."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you. You're not just a hero by title because you saved us, you are the definition of a hero. You are what greater mammals than us have strove their whole lives to be. If only there were more like you, then this world could finally find the peace it deserves."

She looked as if she was on the verge of crying. Was this world really that bad? I know I've seen things, things that no sane mammal should, but if I'm the only one who really cares about it, is this world even worth saving? The mayor had a very relaxed smile on her face while Nate looked as if he just found the love of his life. I wanted to get him talking, but I didn't expect such an…emotional turn of events. Let's see about that information now.

"So, Nate, you were saying about last night?"

"Oh! Right well… Like I… I said, this town had been overly accepting of us. Well, I shouldn't say 'accepting', but tolerant at least. We were able to trade, barter, and dine without the usual looks and sneers that foxes tend to get. While Holly and Markus were ready to move on, I just wanted to enjoy this feeling. That… and it really bothered me seeing some of these machines in such… disrepair."

"I know that feeling. Between the generators, water purifiers, and that lousy excuse for a defense system. No offense mayor, I have my work cut out for me."

"I know! You know how long I tried just to even attempt to get that power fluctuation under control?"

Is that how I looked when I was talking shop? The mayor just smiled at me, "Yeah, I heard. About the robot?"

"Oh yeah. You see, I wanted to find a way to repay Hope for their generosity. Since I guessed that the turret system was offline, and I doubted I could get access to their defense systems, I thought: 'why don't I fix up that robot? Then they could have a portable defense system!'."

"But things didn't work out as you planned, did it?"

"That's the thing. My code was flawless! Before I even snuck out to the robot, I spent most of the afternoon and evening writing, testing, and re-writing a special code that would allow me to purge the existing software and install my own OS. I was planning on fixing it up in secret, and then presenting it as a gift to the town in the morning. I don't know what happened. During the download, the thing started to go crazy! That's when the mayor's guards were alerted and apprehended me, and you know the rest. I still don't know what went wrong."

"Your code, was it self-replicating?"

"That was my baby alright! You see, I figured that there had to have been some fail-safes to prevent hacking. That's what I would do at least, so I designed my code to infiltrate and overwrite, but if it was damaged or overwritten itself, it would simply replicate the original code and try again. Just like a virus can only do so much against your immune system before it beats it back, the code would replicate indefinitely until it's job was completed."

That code was amazing, almost, pornographic in nature…anyways, "I think I know what happened. I didn't just find remnants of your code and the factory code, there were…other foreign lines of code." I pulled up that data log of my hack. I liked keeping a backup of the logs so that I can learn from any mistakes. His jaw dropped as he looked it over.

"I had no idea. That… that is some nasty looking code."

"That's what I thought. Originally I figured it was the self-replicating code until I realized that this third set must have been like a 'virus' virus. I think when those Berserk-kings got their paws on this they created (or stole) a program that rather than completely hack into the system, it slowly ate away at the original code. Replacing it with its own, thus fooling the fail-safe into thinking it was part of its natural code. When your code entered into the fray, it wasn't as subtle, so both the factory and the 'virus' attacked it, but when the 'virus' kept having to beat back your replicating code, the failsafe was accidentally triggered, thus the self-destruct initiated. To be honest, if it weren't for the whole going nuclear thing, I would have loved to study that code further."

"You got all of that from the short time you were on the robot?" The mayor seemed impressed, but Nate had that look of a love-sick child again. I wasn't sure if I should be blushing or cringing.

"Unfortunately, the code is history now. I was able to piggy back off of your code in order to hide it from the other two while I searched for the root folder. Once I was in I was able to scrub the entire thing, rendering it a lifeless, powerless, hunk of metal."

"What should we do with it? Since you are the new mechanic, you have authority over it now."

"Honestly mayor? I still have plans for Onion's original A.I. software. I built him years ago, and he has yet to go berserk and try to kill everyone. I developed a learning A.I. for him, but I can modify it to be much simpler: 'do this, do that' one to prevent any future incidents. We just need a way to power it, preferably something that won't turn this town into a crater."

"Maybe some kind of magnetic inducer with a metal coil? If we were to couple that with a large enough capacitor, and utilize a reversal field, we could have near infinite power for the robot without the risk of it self-destructing."

"That's actually similar to how Onion works, only rather than creating power, his system takes a small amount of power that is externally gathered and 'recycles' it in order to create a more sustained effect. A small charge can last him a few days."

"I would love to take a look at your robot one day Olivia. He sounds fascinating."

"You can try, but he doesn't take too kindly to strangers poking around his circuits. Then again, you're the first person I've met that actually knows what they're talking about. At least I think so. I was kinda in a coma for a week. Don't really know what happened then."

This time both of their jaws dropped as they simultaneously shouted, "Coma!?"

"Long story. Mayor, what do you think we should do now?"

"Well, I for one believe his story. While I will try to assure the rest of the town they are not the spies they believe them to be, I also would probably advise you that you shouldn't stay much longer. I am not kicking you out Nate, but this town needs time to recover, and paranoia will not help things."

"Spies? Do they really think we're spies?"

"Not everyone, but unfortunately for the majority? Yes. I have tried my best to assure them that this isn't the case, but if we happened to get attacked again while you are still here, I am afraid it will just fuel those thoughts."

"Well, Markus and Holly are eager to leave so first thing in the morning we'll head out."

"I am so sorry for all the trouble that has been caused to you…both of you. Nate, I will see that your last night is paid for, and that any supplies you require are taken care of. This imprisonment was merely for show, to give the people what they think they deserve. I hate lying to them, but in this world, sometimes a lie is more accepted than the truth - no matter who it hurts."

"Thank you, mayor. And thank you Olivia. Other than Holly, I've had…difficulties with other rabbits, and, for that matter, other prey mammals as well. You've at least shown me that not everyone is so un-accepting of foxes."

I put my paw on his as a friendly gesture, and he smiled at me. Well, I think it was a smile. It looked very…awkward. I slowly pulled my paw away from his just as the door flew open and one of the guards ran in.

"Mayor Swift, we have an emergency!"

"What is it Reggie?"

"Deathwings, they're attacking the traders trying to enter the city."

"Deathwings? In the middle of the day? Take your brother and gather as many residents who are willing to take up arms. Try to drive them away from the traders so they can get into town. Make sure no one engages them in a melee, and have someone standing by to shut the gates once everyone is safe inside."

"Um, mayor…" I don't think she heard me as she reached for her radio.

"Citizens of Hope. Please keep calm. A group of Deathwings has been spotted outside the town limits. Traders who are en-route to our town are caught in the attack. We need to assist them so they can reach the safety of our walls. Anyone with long arms experience, please report to Reggie and Williams at the gate. Everyone else, please remain calm and under no circumstances should anyone leave the confines of the town. I know we have been through a lot these past few weeks, but we have proven time and again that we are at our greatest when we stick together."

"Mayor…" Once again I was interrupted as the Doctor Boll scurried in and jumped onto the mayor's shoulder.

"Jessabell! We need that caravan! Our medical supplies are getting critically low!"

"Calm down doctor. We are doing what we can. Remember, we have our hero with us."

"She's no use to us if she dies of a minor infection because we have no antibiotics!"

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" I finally got their attention, "What the FUCK is a Deathwing?"

"Oh sweetie, if you think that raiders are the worst this world can offer, then you've never seen a Deathwing. They are vicious, bloodthirsty, and unrelenting. We don't know where they come from, but they are often referred to as winged demons. Not only can they fly, but they possess an unnatural regenerative capability, and they are strong enough to rip a Guardians armor in half with ease. Very few who engage them directly have lived to tell about it."

"So that's what those things were. I got attacked by three of them not too long ago. Threw a giant donut at one. It wasn't too happy about that."

What is it with my words making jaws drop today? All three of them were just staring at me like I just told them I was responsible for switching the sun and the moon every day.

"You fought, THREE Deathwings?" It was Nate who spoke first.

"Well, I wouldn't say 'fought' per say, more like ran. I did almost kill one, before it's wing grew back. Then there was the donut, and…strangestthing, one was about to attack me when someone else shot it. Don't know who it was, but I was finally able to escape them when the ground below me caved in dropping me into some research facility where I met this nice bear, or rather a ghoulified glowing rodent inside a bear…The guys who attacked us called him a, Corpse Engine?" It was hard thinking about Mr. Big. He'd sacrificed himself to save me and Onion, "Anyways, it's a long, and confusing story. Best saved for another time. What did you want me to do Mayor?"

There was a long pause. I could hear them muttering things like: 'She met a Corpse Engine? and 'She … a donut?'. Their confused looks remained for a moment longer before the mayor snapped out of it first.

"Later. Okay, to the situation at hand. Olivia, you need to…"

She was interrupted by a scream, followed by a series of gunshots. My ears twitched and turned towards the sound but it was Nate who reacted first. He ran out the unguarded door in a panic. The mayor and I turned and followed, the doctor still hanging onto the mayor's shoulder. There was a large crowd gathered near the entrance. Everyone had different types of guns pointed out the door, but no one was firing. I heard the scream again, followed by a string of swears that made my bad mouth feel clean. I ran to entrance as the mayor shouted, "Hold your fire!"

About fifty feet from the entrance were four giant bat like creatures. It was midday so I could see them much better than during my last encounter with them. They must have been at least five or six feet tall. While they had the body and wings of a bat, their heads were more wolf-like, and their legs were extremely muscular. They looked much more dangerous in the daylight.

I looked for where the screaming and swearing was coming from and I saw that it belonged to that rabbit from earlier. She was firing at the creatures, but they were too fast. No matter how well it looked like she was aiming, they were faster. Her swears became louder as her aim started to waver. I went to pull out my gun and remembered I left it at the workshop. Fuck me.

"Miss!"

It was Onion. Almost as if he read my mind he came up to me with my gun in his claw. "Am I glad to see you Onion. Stay back, I have to go help them."

I grabbed my gun and ran out the door. I didn't want to just fire aimlessly. Even if I did hit it, it would just regenerate. I needed to use it in a different way. I looked around but there was not a lot around here, mostly scattered debris. There was absolutely nothing I could use. My train of thought derailed as a loud gunshot fired off dangerously close to me. I turned and saw it was Nate's brother, Markus with a very heavy looking revolver firing towards the deathwings. I tried to tell him to save his bullets, but then Nate showed up with a large rifle and started to fire as well. That caught the attention of one of the deathwings as one of Nate's bullets pierced it's wing.

"Take cover! There's one coming!"

Either they ignored me or didn't hear me, but they remained, dashing forward between shots. Those two were going to get themselves killed, but that was their friend being attacked, so part of me didn't blame them. Then again, they'd be no use to her dead. I ran forward and tried to get B.A.T.S. to activate, but then I remembered I was out of serum. Fuck me! I had no idea what to do. I kept running forward, trying to keep pace with the brothers, so that I could make sure they didn't do something stupid…I suddenly realized how Onion must feel about me in situations like this. I can't outgun the situation. I had to outsmart it.

I saw two connected wagons that must have been the trader's caravan. Then I noticed something. While the deathwings were trying to attack anyone who came near them, they were not straying from the wagon too much. Even the one that started after Nate changed its mind and flew back and landed on one of the wagons before using its feet to try tearing off the fabric roof. They wanted something in there!

"Mayor!" I saw her standing at the gate, giving orders to everyone as they ran from place to place. She looked at me as I caught her attention. "They want the caravan!"

She looked towards the action for a moment before nodding. I saw her say something to Doctor Boll who released a small series of expletives herself before running back into the town. Mayor Swift, who I now saw was wielding her grenade launcher, took aim. The familiar noise of a grenade leaving the chamber sounded as I followed the grenade's trajectory. Her aim was impeccable, for it landed right in front of the wagon the deathwing was on before exploding a second later. The force of the shock wave sent the wagon into the air, scattering its contents everywhere. The explosion got the attention of all three of them who then turned towards us. One of them started to fly in our direction before stopping with a loud screeching noise. I saw that one of the deathwings had plucked an item from the wagon's wreckage and started to take off. All three of them seemed to forget about us as they started to fly away.

The traders, who were mostly unharmed, ran towards the town without looking back. Once they were in the safety of the town walls, everyone started to calm down. That is until the sound of a gun went off. I faced the noise and saw Holly with her gun. She was firing shots at the retreating deathwings. They were mostly ignoring her shots until one of them hit a leg of the one carrying whatever it got from the caravan. The impact must have caused it to loosen its grip, causing the item to fall down and shatter on the ground. All three of them sent out a near deafening shriek as one swooped down on Holly, grabbing her with its claw.

Markus went insane. He fired off his gun until there were no rounds left and then grabbed the gun out of Nate's hand and started to unleash every round it had. I ran over to him to try to stop him. If he wasn't careful he'd hit Holly. The deathwings retreated unscathed from Markus's hail of bulletswith Holly continuing to scream and swear until the creatures had gotten far enough that there was only silence. The clicking of an empty rifle the only noise.

I tried to take the empty rifle from Markus but instead he lunged at me, trying to take my gun. I didn't want it to come to this, but I had no choice. He was acting crazy and was a threat to himself and others. I took my gun and cracked the butt of the handle over his head, knocking him unconscious.

Nate ran to his downed brother and glared at me. The mayor arrived along with her guards who picked up Markus and carried him towards the doctor's office. A few other mammals headed towards the caravan under the mayor's order to salvage anything they could. I felt horrible for what I did, but I had to do it.

I faced Nate, whowas starting to cry. "I'm sorry. I'll get her back. I promise."

—

Fallout: Zootopia After Show

Featuring:

'Stripes in the Morning'

[Stripes]

"Good Morning Zootopian Wasteland! This is everyone's favorite zebra, Stripes with Stripes in the Morning! On today's episode, we have a very special guest, Nathan Valiant. Nathan, may I call you Nate? How are you doing this fine morning?"

[Nate]

"I-I… who a-are you?"

[Stripes]

"The Savanna Caller's one and only Stripes! Now, you're a bit of an enigma right now Nate. You showed up out of nowhere, and let's face it, weren't originally part of the story. How does that make you feel?"

[Nate]

"S-story? What… w-what are you t-talking about?"

[Stripes]

"You see ladies and gentle-mammals, Nathan here, along with his brother Markus and friend Holly, were never part of the development of this fine story. They were added much later, concepts of one BaineBlade. I know you're out there, take a bow."

[Nate]

"W-who are you… t-talking to?"

[Stripes]

"Our beloved readers of course!"

[Nate]

"R-readers?"

[Stripes]

"Yup! The reason any of this, including myself exists in the first place. Now, back to what I was saying. These three were added as a means to progress events much farther down the line, but you know what? You'll soon see that they have made such a huge impact on this world that without them, this story would be staler than month old bread."

[Nate]

"Y-you are… crazy."

[Stripes]

"I get that a lot, actually."

[Mayor Swift]

"Who's in here… you! I thought I got rid of you. Reggie! Williams! Didn't I tell you to toss this zebra out?"

[Stripes]

"Looks like our episode is over for today. Tune in next time where I will be interviewing the other half of the Valiant twins. Until then, I'll keep trying to bring the truth to everyone, no matter how much it hurts!"