"You're keeping something from me, aren't you Nate?"
It's been a little over a day since we returned from City Hall. Nate has had his teams scouring the area, checking for where that Impotent Doe had vanished, or rather, who it was that rescued her, and trying to find any more signs of Legionary activities, but so far they've fallen short. It's like these guys just appear out of thin air and then vanish just as fast.
"It's a… little project I'm working on."
Nate had been sneaking off every so often, and I even woke up in the middle of the night and he was gone from our room. I know that he has duties he needs to tend to, and that I'm not 'important' enough to be privy to much of it, at least that's what Logan said, but I've known Nate long enough to know when he's keeping something from me.
"Is it something Guardian related?"
"No… not really. No."
"Then why keep it from me? I'm not mad or anything, just a bit… curious."
"It's, well…" Nate seemed very hesitant to even say anything.
"It's fine sweetie. Just please, for the love of all things living, let it not be anything nuclear related for Holly. That girl needs to stay far away from things like that. When the team returned with them, she was downright drooling."
"Don't worry, I made sure to double security around that area, and Mark was planning on informing her why she can't have any."
"Good. So, what are your plans for later?"
"Plans?"
"There any important Guardian things you need to take care of? Bo and Mark are gonna throw together a little 'welcome back' dinner for Blanche and Drake, although Doc says that we should give him a few more days to make sure the effects of that chemical he gave him isn't temporary before allowing him in here."
"As much as it pains me to say it, he's right. I gotta put the safety of everyone here first. I'm just glad he's okay, I was very worried about him."
"Me too sweetie, me to. So, you good for dinner then later?"
"Of course Binky. Gotta pass a few things by Logan, have a talk with Doc, and tie up a few loose ends, but I'll be there."
I kissed him. "I think Holly wants me to do some more target practice with her today, and I promised Tuskgen I would help her with a few things as well. I know you're a call away, but it feels weird being separated like this. You… you don't think I'm too… clingy, do you?"
"No! Not at all. Honestly, I wondered the same thing too."
"Heh, at first you were to be honest, but I don't know. Maybe part of me liked it or something because it never really bothered me to the point that I wanted you gone. Now that you have new responsibilities, I'm kinda missing that."
"I have a few plans to work out with Logan, and if all goes well, we'll be able to settle down together without it affecting either of our jobs."
"What do you mean?"
"Well Binky, you know how you still want to help fix up Hope?"
"Yeah. That place needs it and sometimes I'm not sure if anyone else is qualified, other than you, of course."
"Well… I had already talked with Logan about eventually moving the primary Guardian operations to Precinct One. Not only is it closer access to, well, everything, it also will help to push our image out to the residents of the wasteland. We're way too secluded under here, and other than a few patrols here and there, the Guardian presence is very understated. I want to bring back the Steel Guardians of old, the Guardians who were a peacekeeping force, to finally bring law and order back to Zootopia. In order to do that, I need to show the world that the Guardians are done hiding, that we will be actively pursuing these goals. This was Mister Lazlo's dream, and Precinct One is the stepping stone in that direction. I want to honor him by making his dream a reality."
"But what does that have to do with Hope?"
"Remember when you said that it's too bad Hope can't move to City Hall?"
"I was just kidding, what? Do you want to move the entire town?"
"Yes. Yes I do. You're right. It's larger, with so much more room to expand. It's also more defensible, and with a major Guardian presence in the area, it'll make it a new hot-spot for trade without fearing raider intervention. With the tunnels connecting both City Hall and Precinct One, along with nearby access to the old underground railways, we can have protected transport of goods and supplies. I've already sent a message to Mayor Swift outlining my idea."
"That… that sounds like a lot of work. What about where Hope is now?"
"It's up to the Mayor. It still belongs to her family, but I was hoping to convince her to allow the Guardians to turn it into a recruitment center, and training facility for new recruits. We would still maintain the base here, but it will be for secondary operations, and a secure place for vital equipment. I've even talked to Holly and Mark about turning our bunker into a place that patrols can use to rest and resupply, especially when we take the fight to the Red-Necks. Once the Legionaries are out of the way, they're the biggest threat to the wasteland right now."
"You make it sound like it'll happen overnight."
"No, this will take years to get all of this situated, but I can't just sit back and concentrate on the present when the future is so uncertain. I need to give the Guardians, and myself, some certainty for the future."
"You have been thinking about this a lot haven't you?"
"Yes I have, among other things."
"Now, be honest, the whole thing regarding moving Hope and the base so that they're close to each other, it's for me, isn't it?"
Nate grabbed me gently by the arms and looked right into my eyes. "It's for us. I've already told Logan, I can't just abandon you for the Guardians. Yes, they're important, and yes they need a reliable leader, but I need you. I told you that there's nothing in this world that can come between us, and I'm standing by that."
"Oh sweetie." I let him pull me in closer as we hugged. "Thank you. That means a lot to me. I just hope that things don't become a… problem in the future."
"If it does, then we'll face it together."
We stood there in the hallway, arms encircling each other for a while. Even with his new uniform, I could still hear his heart beat when I pressed my ear against his chest. It was one of those times that I wished would never end, this feeling of comfort and security. The sound of a mammal clearing their throat ended that feeling abruptly.
"Stalker Logan, you need something?" Nate was still holding onto me, but was acting as if he was simply doing something routine. I probably would've jumped and nervously acted like nothing was going on. Either that or returned the same glare back at him that he was giving us. Depending on my mood.
"Yes Sir. We have… visitors."
"Tell them I'll be there momentarily."
"Actually Sir, it's for… her."
"Me? Who's here to see me?"
"A ghoul going by the name of North, and an ocelot named Letty."
"North?!" I was so surprised and a bit excited that I yelled a bit too loudly, especially since it seemed to echo in the hallway. I spooked Nate and I think I did Logan as well, but he was much quicker to hide the fact. "Sorry, just… a little surprised is all. Where are they?"
"Still outside. I needed to inform the Chief about their arrival first and perform a security check to prevent any issues with their sudden arrival."
"Let them in Stalker, I vouch for them. They're no threat."
"Sir I…"
"That's an order Stalker."
"Yes Sir. I'll have them escorted to the common area."
Logan seemed a bit irritated, but he didn't show any other signs of it before saluting Nate and then leaving to carry out his orders.
"Is he always going to be like that? I mean, if he will eventually do what you tell him, shouldn't he be a bit more… expecting of it?"
"Eh, I think it's just who he is. Mister Lazlo told me a few times that Logan was the same way around him. It'll take some getting used to, for the both of us. Anyways, I got some stuff to take care of and need to have Tuskgen look over something for me. You go meet your friends."
"You don't still harbor any negative feelings towards either of them, do you?"
"I… I don't know. There are still some things that bother me, especially his relation to Wild Times, but I'm not mad at either of them. Letty showed genuine regret for her actions, and if it wasn't for North being at Wild Times, you wouldn't be standing here right now. I'm not going to avoid them, and as long as you trust the both of them, I will trust them as well. I just need to learn to stop connecting the past with their present. I'll be along shortly, I promise."
"Okay sweetie. I love you."
"Love you too Binky."
We gave each other a quick kiss before parting ways. I really do hope he's not still upset at them. Yes, I can see from his point of view how he could be, but what if this whole thing with Hope really does pan out? That would mean that we would be seeing the two of them a lot more often. One day we'll all have to sit down and have a little talk in order to work out everyone's feelings towards each other.
Until then, let's go see what they've been up to.
The common area as Logan referred to it was simply a large vestibule that connected the entry tunnel to the surface. There were rooms leading to decontamination chambers, storage areas that were currently filled with crates, and small room where one of the quartermasters was currently residing in. There were also two large turrets mounted in the wall, and despite none of us being recognized as hostile to them, it still felt like they were watching me. I've had bad luck when it came to turrets.
"North! Or… should I call you Nick?"
"North. I… I'm sorry, about before. I didn't want to remember my past, but at the same time, I wondered why I even wanted to forget. Sure, there were bad things that happened, things that no mammal would want to remember, but there were so many good things, so many good mammals. I… I miss them."
I grabbed North and hugged him. He seemed a bit hesitant about it, either he wasn't a hugger, or he didn't expect it. When I continued to feel that hesitation, I let go.
"Not a hugger I take it?"
"No, it's just that… I'm not used to that anymore. I mean look at me, most mammals won't even look at me, let alone touch me."
"Yeah, well I'm not like most mammals. What brings you here Letty?"
"Trying to get Mr. Mopey here to cheer up, and when I found out Jezzie needed a letter delivered here for the new Chief, I figured what better way to get him to cut the crap than to get you two talking. He told me what happened."
"Trust me Letty, I felt really bad after that happened as well. I really wanted to go after him and apologize but…"
"Yeah, yeah, saving the world and stuff. I get it. North doesn't blame you, right you rotting bag of bones?"
"No. It was just… if it happened gradually? I would have been fine, I think. Everything came flooding in at once. It was overwhelming. And if you call me a 'rotting bag of bones' again, I'll make sure your girl follows up on that threat."
"You wouldn't" Letty seemed shocked at what North said, but in an almost joking way.
"So, you finally found yourself someone Letty? Please don't tell me you bought some strange chemical from an even stranger mammal."
"No! I'm over that. I still get nightmares about what happened… How's your boyfriend anyways? I heard from Jezzie he's the new Chief. Pretty impressive."
"He's doing good, despite everything going on. He's really trying to turn this place around, to make the Guardians into something greater." Something in my brain clicked. "Wait… Jezzie? Do you mean… Mayor Swift? Sounds a bit informal to be calling someone who from what I remember has the power to cut you off from your new gig. Didn't that Bucksworth fellow send you to Hope to work off your debt?"
"Well… yes… things kinda…"
"She's screwing the Mayor."
"NORTH!" Letty's face and ears just turned all shades of red.
"Screwing? You mean trying to pull one over on her or… oh… Oh! Oh. Really? You and Mayor Swift are a… thing? Well, that wasn't what I was expecting. I want to hear every juicy tidbit, but first… I have no idea when I ate last. Wanna join me in the mess hall? I know you don't eat anything North, but this doesn't seem to be the most… pleasant of places to talk."
"Not really hungry, Jezzie has been… well, let's just say she had a tab at Petunia's, all the caps in the world wouldn't be enough to pay her back, but yeah, my legs are a bit sore. It was a long trip."
"Wait, you two walked here?"
North chuckled. "Not like we could have hailed a cab nowadays. Really makes me miss Finnick's van."
"Who?" That name didn't register in my head.
"Nothing, just a friend from bygone days. Sitting down would be nice on these old bones."
"Well then, let's get you two off those legs. Mind if I ask some of the others to join us? Things have been a bit busy around here and we never really get to be in the same room these past few days. "
"Sure, North has been a bit anti-social recently. Be good for him."
"Anti-social like hell. It's hard to sell things when half my patrons think I'm one of those damn savage ghouls."
"Well with an attitude like that, you may as well be one."
North just grunted and crossed his arms. Letty bumped her hip against him and I saw him crack a bit of a smile. I'm glad that both of them have found a place in life and other mammals to lean on, especially North. He didn't really seem the type to make friends, but maybe that was before his memory returned. He said he missed his friends, ones that I'm sure are long gone, so maybe that feeling is helping him find the capability to make new friends.
As for Letty and the Mayor? I guess it wasn't too surprising, I mean Letty did say she liked strong women and Mayor Swift is definitely up there, especially when it came to her own people's safety. I sent out a message to Nate, asking if he can find where the others were and if they could join us in the mess hall. I know Bo has a big dinner planned for tonight, but it wouldn't hurt to have nice sit down with everyone now. Plus, now that I realize how hungry I am, I'm not sure I can wait.
"Um, that's fish. You're a rabbit…"
"Just… don't try to think too hard about it Letty, you might fry something." Holly had a half smirk as she nodded her head at Letty's reaction to my eating.
The first thing I did when I got to the mess hall was find some food. Holly was already there, but we were waiting on the others. Some canned tuna and dried carrots were quick and easy, and despite being hungry, I really didn't want to fill up before tonight. Letty sat there just staring in disbelief.
I finished the food before my brain could even process that my stomach was now full. After a moment it settled and I felt a lot better.
"Sorry, I was hungrier than I thought. So, where are the others?"
"Mark will be here shortly, Nate said he will join us after he takes care of something, and Blanche… she was right here. Where did she…"
The sound of shattering glass interrupted Holly and drew our attention over to the next table. Underneath it was Blanche, surrounded by broken glass. The strong odor of alcohol started to fill my nose.
"Blanche? You okay?" I got up knelled down, picking Blanche up and bringing her to the table we were at.
"Sorry, it's just… fuck. One of the Guardians said this was the strongest thing known, it was a high enough proof to put an elephant into a coma. I can barely fucking taste it, yet alone feel a buzz. I'm glad to be alive, but not sure if it's worth not being able to get drunk."
"Radiation."
We all turned towards North. Blanche gave him a hard look. "What're you talking about prune face?"
"Look who's speaking, raisin. I was never really a drinker, but I've learned a few things from those who are. While ghouls can't get drunk off of normal alcohol, no matter the strength, add a bit of radiation during the fermentation process? I hear it's an even better buzz than a non-ghoul could ever get. Of course, if a non-ghoul drank the stuff, they'd be dead in an hour."
"Oh, I need to get my paws on some of that!"
"I got some back in Hope, I can sell you a bottle real cheap… wait, did she call you… Blanche?"
"Yeah, what about it ass-twat?"
"You're… what the hell happened? Olivia told me you died!"
"I did… almost. Let's just say whoever was supposed to quality check those nukes did a horrible job. So, how many bottles we talking about, and how much?"
"I… how about two bottles, on the house. A way of saying sorry for joining the eternal life sucks club."
"If it's as good as you say it is, It'll make me wish I got ghoulified ages ago!"
"I know a brewer who specializes in that stuff. Never really had a reason to keep too much in stock, but as long as you got the caps, I can keep it coming. I might even be able to get you a discount on it as well."
"Buddy, you just made a friend. Well, what are you waiting for? Get your ass back to Hope and get me some bottles!"
"Whoa there Blanche, they just got here. I'm not about to kick them out so you can get drunk."
"I've been sober for nearly two weeks! I can't stand it!"
"Well you can wait a few more hours, okay?"
Blanche grumbled to herself, but otherwise made no other comment to me shutting her down.
"Wanna bet that's her, what did you call it North, her tick? I bet as long as she's drunk, there's no fear of her going savage."
I know Holly was just joking, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was some truth to that. It seems that all Blanche lives for is drinking, fighting, swearing, and drinking some more.
"There's the boys! About time you fuzz butts showed up!"
"I was busy helping Doc with something. Floppsy." Mark was carrying a small bag that he set down in front of Holly.
"Ohhhh, is that?"
"Yup."
"Those better not be radioactive Mark…"
"Don't worry Olivia. I already had that talk with her. I had to promise her these to get her to shut up about it."
Holly pulled a small box from the bag and opened it, pulling out a black tipped bullet from it.
"What is that Holly?"
She had a huge grin on her face. "Explosive rounds. Hehe."
"Does she always giggle when handling dangerous ballistics? It's a bit… unnerving, even for me."
"Yeah, she does. Nice to see you Letty. How's Hope treating you?"
"Eh, it's okay. Better than singing for all those lowlife raiders that only want to get lucky with me. There are sure a lot of pervs out there."
"Says the kitty who showed up half naked at the Mayor's place hoping to get lucky herself."
"I was drunk you rotting bag of bones! I can't help myself when I'm drunk, and frisky, and lonely, and…"
"Okay Letty we get it! Sheesh. At least 'livi is quiet about her sex life."
"Holly!" I felt my face start to heat up. I looked at Nate who was still silent, and I saw little bits of red forming in his ears, but his face was much more serious. Then I saw something in his paw.
"Hey, what's in your paw sweetie?"
"Oh, yeah, it's for you Holly, it's from Doc he said it was urgent. Is… is everything okay?"
"From Doc? Oh, gimme!" Holly jumped up and snatched it from Nate's paws. His expression turned from concerned to puzzled.
Holy unfolded the letter and read it to herself. From the way her eyes kept bouncing back and forth, I think she was re-reading it over a few times before she finally lowered her arms, leaving a massive grin on her face.
"Um, Holly? You're scaring me…" Mark tried to grab the letter, but she just moved it away.
"'Livi! We're twins!"
I nearly choked on the dried carrots I was munching on. "WHAT?"
"Let me see that." Mark finally pried the paper from her paws and read it, his expression gradually turning into confusion. "Wait, this is… Holly? What… what is this?"
"'Livi, remember just before that Legionary showed up and the power went out? I said I could see just fine despite it being so dark?"
"Yeah? What does that have to… no…"
"Yes! It turns out, I'm part fox as well!"
"WHAT?! How is that even possible?!" I was not expecting that!
"I had Doc run the same tests on me as he did you. Apparently when I got blasted by that plasma weapon, its radioactive residual particulates, as he put it, triggered the same dormant genes that you had, it just took longer because I didn't decide to go swimming in it."
"It wasn't by choice! I got shot! So, you're telling me that we're both hybrids?"
"Yup!"
"Doc said there were only, what? Six subjects that were known? Does that mean we… we're related?"
Holly's excitable expression turned downwardly. "No. I'm afraid not. I asked Doc to also do a genetic comparison between mine and the ones you have on file, and no, neither the rabbit or the fox genomes match up. Not surprised though, we're both from different Burrows, and Doc said there may have been many more than the six that were either undocumented, or the documents got lost or destroyed."
"Wow, just… wow. Did you know anything about this Mark? Nate?"
"No! It's… well, it's a bit of a shock to me. What about you bro?"
"… that's… really?"
"Yup!"
Mark and Nate looked at each other, then looked at the both of us, then did something unexpected. They both broke out laughing.
"What's so funny about this, huh?" Holly seemed taken aback by it.
"Two rabbits, with two foxes, and they're both part fox? What's not to laugh about the complete and utter hilarious coincidence? Maybe it really was meant to be."
"Laugh it up fuzz butt. Laugh it up. 'Livi, you think we should 'punish' our boys?"
"Hmm… I think they'd enjoy it too much. It really does seem odd, doesn't it? Wait… what if we're related to our own foxes?"
"Even if we are 'livi, we're generations apart, I doubt anything bad would happen. We can get them tested too, if you're that worried about it."
"Don't worry about it Holly. Nate, you've been awfully quiet about this, other than the whole laughing hysterically thing."
"I'm just remembering what you told me about how you wondered if everyone was controlled by some hand of fate. Makes you think that all of us managed to get together for a reason."
"Mark and Holly were in the same place, it's not too hard to see that, but us? Maybe there's something to it. Um… Letty? What's with the face?" I had just noticed Letty sitting there, her jaw open wide.
"You… two… are… two different species? That is… wow."
"Yeah, wow is a common thing with us it seems. Weren't you wondering how I was eating meat and not throwing it up?"
"I just figured you adapted to it out of some desperation. I've seen it before, but it usually resulted in…"
"Cannibalism?"
"Yeah…"
"Trust me, I will never go that far. Especially after… let's just say, no."
"You should have seen the first time we all saw 'livi accidentally eat some of Nate's fish. Let's just say that the other Guardians took it a bit more… I have never seen so many confused mammals before. I think some of them were actually a bit… frightened to see it. If I only had a camera."
"Last time you had a camera, Olivia almost shot you, so maybe it's a good thing."
"I can't help it Marki!"
"If all you ass-twats would cut out the comedy routine, I'd like to have a little talk with North about my booze, I can tell by the way he-"
"Huh? Oh, sorry, think I zoned out a bit. I… I just remembered something. A long time ago, before everything went to shit, there was someone special to me, someone who I was afraid to lose."
"It was your partner, Judy, wasn't it?"
"How… how did you know?"
"I saw your memories, remember? I saw how you looked at her. Inside your memories, I could feel how you felt about her. You don't have to hide it."
"It's still hard to think about it, to think that she's… that she's…"
I walked over to where North was sitting and hugged him. This time he wasn't hesitant about it, but rather seemed to accept it.
"She was the reason you wanted to forget, wasn't she?" North simply nodded. "I don't think that's right. You should cherish your memories, the good and the bad. If something ever happened to Nate, I wouldn't want to forget him. I wouldn't want to let those memories slip, no matter how bad they were. It's both the good and the bad that define you, that make you memorable."
"I didn't know then why I kept… why you seemed so… different. Now, seeing you here with a fox of your own? I know it's because deep down, I still remembered her, and somehow, you reminded me of her. It sounds stupid, I know."
"No, it doesn't."
"You said you were from a Burrow, didn't you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"That's where I lost her. She was investigating rumors that Burrow-Tec was working with whoever was responsible for the war. That company had put so much money into protecting us from the horrors, that no one, including myself, believed it, but she… she was just so damn adamant about getting to the bottom of it. The Burrow had rabbits in it, so she decided to go undercover, to try to find something from the inside. That's… that's when the first bomb in Tundratown went off. It must have triggered some emergency protocol because Burrows all over Zootopia were starting to close. I tried to rush there, I tried to get to her before it was too late. I didn't make it in time. I…"
If ghouls could cry, he would be drowning in tears. I had to help comfort him, the memories seemed to be causing him a great discomfort.
"You did everything you could."
"I could have been there! She was my partner, she was my wife! She was… I never got to tell her, that it worked."
"What worked?"
"She… she was pregnant. Pregnant with… with my child. Our child. I… I never got to meet my own kid."
"The cross-breeding program?"
"Yeah. We were one set of couples that were accepted into it. How did you know?"
"When I found out I had foreign DNA in my body, the doctor here told us about recovered records about it. That Burrow… do you remember what number it was?"
"I… I don't… seventy something?"
"Seventy… six?"
"Yeah, that's it. Why?"
"Because… that's where I came from."
North turned and I saw his eyes become wider than I thought possible, and on a ghoul it made him look very… well, unnatural.
"Are you saying…"
"I… I think… I'm your decedent."
North slowly got up and turned to me, his eyes still wide. "You… do you really think…"
"There were no predators in my Burrow, let alone foxes. It's too much of a coincidence to be otherwise."
Faster than I thought a ghoul could move, he grabbed me and hugged me. He hugged me as if a long lost friend was standing right before him. I hugged him back.
"Ow! What was that for Holly?"
"Just making sure we weren't dreaming Marki. This is something, isn't it? Hey Nate, what you think now that you're standing with your future great, great, great, great, great…"
North stopped hugging me, a visage of both joy and embarrassment crossed his face. "I'm not that great."
"You never got to meet your child, but will the descendant of them suffice?"
Nate walked up to us with an unidentifiable look on his face.
"Nate? You okay?"
"Mr West, Sir. When I found out why you were at Wild Times that fateful day, I wanted to kill you for even having any part of that horrible place. The fact that you were the one who told us where Olivia was, was the only saving grace. I tried to hide it, the fact that despite everything, that I still blamed you. I wanted to hate you, but Olivia couldn't, so in turn, I tried to hide it. To find out that she's descended from you?" Nate surprised us all by grabbing North, and then hugging him. "Without you, I wouldn't have her, and not just from Wild Times, but without you, she would have never existed. I forgive you, and I thank you."
"Y-your… you're welcome. I forgive you too. You… you can stop hugging me now…"
"You didn't seem to push me away North."
"It's a bit more awkward hugging another guy…"
"Wait till Jezzie gets a load of this."
I had forgotten Letty was here this entire time. "Um, sorry."
"I remember hearing about things like this from before the war, they were called Soap Operas I think."
"Heh, Carrots hated those things, but her mother was addicted."
"Carrots? Isn't that what you called me?"
"Oh, yeah. That was Judy's nickname. I kinda… forced it upon her."
"I know the feeling."
"She eventually got used to it."
I gave him a smile. "I know the feeling. Though, if it's too weird for you, you don't have to call me it. It just grew on me, from you at least. Or I should say I don't wanna shoot you when you call me that anymore. Just… no more with the 'sweetheart' please, it'll feel very… awkward I think."
"Don't worry, I think it will for me as well. She'd be proud of you. You're everything she wanted in a child. Strong, independent, someone who was willing to put others before themselves. That's what she was, and that's why I loved her."
"She's mine, so don't try anything."
"Don't worry, Chief, I won't be taking your girl. I'm too old for this stuff anyways. So, you two planning on having kids of your own?"
"What?!" Nate and I had similar reactions.
"I mean, that was the entire point of doing that procedure, to produce viable offspring. If there's fox DNA within the female, then it should allow for reproduction… but I'm not a doctor… I think I'll shut my mouth now. Hey Blanche, you wanted to talk about that booze?"
"About fucking time! I hate this mushy gushy stuff!"
"Marki…"
"Um, Holly, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Oh, you know why."
"Oh, I know that look… now? Really?"
"I want to have babies!"
She just went there, didn't she? "North, you have no idea what you started, do you?"
"I don't want to know. Oh, and I think you can call me Nick now. I wanted to put that behind me once again, but after this? I don't think I'm ready. It's not what she would have wanted me to. So, no more North West. From now on I'm Nicholas Piberius Wilde."
"Well, Mr. Wilde. Welcome to the family. Now, I'd go and settle your stuff with Blanche. She has that 'I will kill everyone if I don't get booze' look in her eye. And thank you. For everything."
"You're welcome, carrots."
Holly had yanked Mark out of the room, off to do stuff that I don't even want to think about, while Nick and Blanche went off to talk about getting a fresh supply of radioactive alcohol. That left Nate, Letty, and I.
"So Letty, what are you gonna do while you wait for Nick?"
"Nick, I just got to know him as North. Oh well. I don't really have much, probably just sit here. Not looking forward to the trip back."
"I'll arrange a Tac-Lifter to take the two of you back." Nate's face was still beaming.
"Really? You sure? I don't want to be any trouble."
"It's no problem at all." Nate's Pip-Boar beeped and he looked at it, doing his best to prevent me from seeing what was on it. "I gotta run, let me know when Nor… Nick is done with his business and I'll get a pilot ready."
"Thank you. Oh, before I forget, here."
Letty handed a small envelope to Nate. He took it and carefully opened it up to read its contents.
"What is it?"
"Mayor Swift agrees to the move and most of the town council agree to. I'll let Logan know so we can get working on a plan. But first, I have a surprise for you. If you'll excuse us Letty."
"Yeah, thanks again for the lift. My legs appreciate it.
Nate lead me out of the mess hall and eventually into a part of the base I had never been to. We passed Tuskgen who simply nodded and winked at us, or rather, at Nate. What was going on? Eventually he lead me to a locked room, one that not only had a digital access, but also needed a physical key. He unlocked the door and inside looked like a workshop, tools and parts scattered all over, with a large object in the center of the room, hidden under a blue tarp.
"What… is this?" My feet started to leave the ground as Nate scooped me up and held me rather romantically. I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye and noticed it was his tail, wagging back and forth. "What are you doing? Let me down mister!"
"No." He kept me there, held in his robotic arm as he took the other one and yanked back the tarp.
Under it was a rather familiar looking robot. It was the same construction robot as we found under City Hall, but it was heavily modified. It had the triple wheeled feet like an Ultra Sentinel, four arms, two on each side, and a large spherical head, that looked a lot like Onion, but I could tell it was from an eye-bot.
"What… what is this?"
"A gift, for you. Say hi."
The head of the robot lit up, from behind the 'faceplate' of the eyebot head the blue lights made it almost seem like a face. It rolled forward a few inches, rotated the head, looking around the room before focusing on us, and flexed each of the arms before a voice finally sounded from its body.
"Hello Miss. Miss me?"
"O-Onion?"
"In the flesh, metaphorically speaking."
"ONION!"
Nate dropped me and I ran over to Onion and encircled him, taking in the body with much greater detail.
"How did you…"
"Mister Valiant has been working on this non-stop. He just recently uploaded me into this chassis, so I haven't had time to acclimate myself to it yet Miss."
I turned to Nate. "You… this is why you've been so secretive, hasn't it?"
"Yes. All my other surprises had either been ruined, or prematurely spoiled. I wanted to make this one count. I spent most of yesterday and all of today working on it. Logan wasn't too happy having me flake on my duties, but then I remembered, I'm his boss. Plus, I promised to make it up to him… he's a real hard ass when it comes to doing your job, even if I am Chief."
I ran back to Nate and gave him the biggest hug and kiss I could manage. I almost knocked the two of us over, but Onion, with his many arms, caught us.
"That is going to be hard to get used to Onion, you having arms that can actually do something. And a face. Was the face your idea Nate?"
"Actually Miss, it was mine. I never knew why you never added one to me."
"I never really thought of it, to be honest."
"Did Tuskgen help you? Is that why we saw her heading from this direction?"
"I did this whole thing by myself. I had to borrow some of her tools, get some parts from her, and since I was half asleep during some of it, I wanted to have her make sure it didn't blow up, but otherwise, it was all me."
"Thank you sweetie! This is the best gift you could ever give me!"
"I can think of something else…"
"What are you…"
My thought was interrupted by Nate's Pip-Boar.
"Chief Valiant, come in."
"This isn't the best time Stalker."
"Sir, it's important. We have sightings of the Slave Prince and… you need to see this yourself."
"Slave Prince? I'll be right there. Sorry Binky, I got work."
"I'm coming with you."
"Shouldn't you stay with Onion a bit? Help him adjust to his new body?"
"No offense Onion, but you can wait. Where there's the Slave Prince, I bet my tail that fucking boar isn't far behind. I may not fear him like I did, but I still hate him and I want to make him pay for what he did to me."
"So do I. Okay then, let's go."
"I'll be back later Onion, I promise."
"Yes Miss. I will use this time to adjust to my new body. It feels… Strange."
Nate and I left and rushed towards the command center where Logan was waiting. There were Guardians, all dressed in their armor rushing around. Logan must have already started to gather the forces. All that I could think about was what I'd do to that boar when I find him, what I will say to him. He doesn't deserve anything from me, except for bullet in the head. I just wonder how I will be when I'm finally face to face with him once again.
Logan, the lead Agent, and a few others were inside the command center all huddled around a table. When we got to them I could see a digitized map with flashing red X's scattered around it. Logan looked very concerned, which was disconcerting being how this was so much different from his normal sternness.
"Are there any signs of Baird?"
"No Sir. Just the Slave Prince and a small army. Our Agents say he's gathering a force, and have seen some mammals with slave collars. I think he's trying to establish a new base of operations."
"Where Stalker? Where is he?"
"He's at one of Chief Lazlo's danger zones."
"WHERE Stalker!"
"It's… see for yourself Sir."
Nate looked to where Logan was pointing, and upon seeing it, all emotions melted from his face. Horror, confusion, hate. They took on a new visage, a scary visage. One that was making me nervous.
"Nate… what is it? What's wrong?"
"Burrow."
"Burrow? He's… at a Burrow?"
"No, not a Burrow… He's at the Burrow."
"I don't…"
"This is the place that I never wanted to see again, a place I never wanted to think of again. Burrows are evil, but this… this one… I never wanted to go back, but now… Stalker, gather every mammal you can. We leave in an hour."
"Nate, where are we going?"
"Burrow… Ninety-Three."
Fallout: Zootopia After Show
Featuring:
'Stripes in the Morning'
[Stripes]
"Good morning Zootopian Wasteland! This is Stripes with Stripes in the Morning! Been a while since we had a nice calm and relaxing chapter hasn't it? Unfortunately, this will be the last one until the very end. The proverbial shit is about to hit the fan and it won't end until the last chapter, but I won't spoil anything.
"That said, I should comment a bit on the last show. Yeah, that was a bit out of the ballpark for me. I knew that Max wasn't doing so good after the last… incident we were in, but to no longer be able to do field work? That's a shame. Despite all of the back and forth bickering we do, he is a great co-host and assistant, especially for putting up with me for this long. After today, we have four chapters and an Epilogue left. Yup, you heard right, five more to go after today. It feels weird doesn't it? So many loose ends, so few chapters left. I won't lie, there will be loose ends. I could have included so many more adventures in this story, but then it may not have ever ended. Yes, I am sure many of you would love it to go on eternally, but things can happen and I would rather have a complete story like the one I am presenting here, than to have it abruptly stop with no future. However, even as the last chapter is posted, that will not be the end. I have SO much to give you all that sometime early next year I will start work on multiple spin offs. Some will be side adventures to wrap up loose ends involving side characters, and others will be continuations of what happens after the story ends. I will not give you any details on it yet, mostly due to it all being on the writing block and I don't want to get hopes up, but this is where I also need your help folks. After I post the last chapter, I want you all to tell me what loose ends you think there are that still need to be wrapped up. Just like with books, movies, and video games, often a plot is created that the designer never realized it would be important enough to need a conclusion, and I am sure that is still the case with myself. The past seven or so months I have lived and breathed this story, and that breath of life is not fading anytime soon. It will however, need a break, but not until after this is finalized.
"Now with that out of the way, let's get on to today's show! There is so much to cover, but so little time. First I want to say this. I know some of you are going to be a bit… well, something after hearing that not only is Olivia part fox, but Holly just so happened to be as well. This was never planned, but then again Holly was never planned either. So, if anyone has any questions, concerns, or complaints, direct them to Max, he's the brains behind it.
"So, today's chapter marks the point where not only does Nick finally accept who he is, but also that Judy is no longer alive. Yes, I could have kept her alive somehow, but I felt that it was best this way. I for one like Judy better over Nick (sorry Nick!), but I felt that Nick would have made a more interesting impact to the story than Judy would have. Sure, there could be some way that a pre-war Nick or Judy could exist cough synth cough, but that is not for me to add to this world since it is outside my own head cannon. You talented writers can do what you will. Though, that little coughing spurt? Yeah, that's an idea I already hinted at for a curious reader. Yup, talking about you. You know who you are.
"Wow, I keep getting sidetracked, don't I? Sorry folks. So, where was I? Oh yeah. Nick and Judy. Olivia is descended from the two of them, that is now fully revealed. Sure, there hasn't been any DNA testing between Nick and Olivia, but trust me, it's a done deal. Holly's relation? Well, yes, she has some fox DNA in her, but it isn't as pronounced as Olivia's, which is why she doesn't seem to have as much of a handle on it right now. Plus, Olivia did go swimming in a radioactive pool, so there's that as well. I won't tell you who Holly is related to, unless Max wants to spill the beans, but let's just say it's not just some random fox, and no, it's not Nick. I can assure you one-hundred percent that Olivia and Holly are not related. Nor are Mark and Nate related to Holly or Olivia by blood.
"Now, why I did tell you a bit about it through the story, let me delve into it better. Before the war, Nick and Judy were in a committed relationship. They even got married. However, it was a bit weird for them at work. While there was nothing against a workplace relationship within the ZPD, it was often looked down upon due to potential interference with daily work life and ethics. However, Judy and Nick both remained very professional about it when on the job. Or at least in the precinct. Out on duty and alone? Well, sly fox has many different meanings.
"When the talk of war broke out, this changed. Yes, they were still happily married, but Judy took her work even more seriously than ever. Stopping robberies and solving homicides was one thing, trying to protect an entire city from an invisible enemy? It was more than most of the police could handle. Up until days before the end of the world as every mammal knew it, Judy was barely able to have a life outside of her work. She was consumed by trying to find out who was behind the war, to find a way to stop this at its root. Nick however, was growing tired of this. Yes, he did care about the city and the people within it, and yes he wanted this war to be over as soon as possible, to finally have things return to the way they used to be. He loved Judy, and he knew that Judy still loved him. There was nothing in the world that could ever change that. Nothing, except for a massive steel Burrow door, but I am getting ahead of myself.
"Nick and Judy had been working undercover for a while, trying to track down mammals that might have been involved with Burrow-Tec's upper echelon. Every single time Judy made an investigation on the war, Burrow-Tec's name popped up. Two months prior to the bomb in Tundratown going off, Burrow-Tec expanded it's operations over seas, including in countries that had openly expressed a dislike for cities like Zootopia and their special tolerance. With some help from their mutual friend Mr. Big, Judy had the lead of a lifetime. However, there was one thing that kept splitting the fog of work. Children.
"About a year prior, the first waves of public testing sign ups for the new interspecies reproduction experiment began, and Nick and Judy were at the forefront of it. A little over a month before the Burrow doors closed, the couple had their names drawn and took time off to undergo the procedure. The problem was, two out of the five couples before them failed to show any signs of it working. It was completely harmless to the parents, but it wasn't a guarantee. Despite this knowledge, Nick and Judy still attempted. That folks, is why Nick was not with Judy that fateful day.
"Nick wasn't good at grand expressions of love, though to Judy, he didn't have to be, but this, this was special. Any mammal can get married despite their species, but to have a kid? That was something that only same species couples could experience and enjoy. The day they had the procedure done, he told the doctors that checked up on Judy's weekly blood tests to tell him before telling her. Nick had been planning a huge surprise event for his wife, he wanted this to be something that they would always remember and treasure. That is why when the doctor called him up with important news on the blood test Judy submitted the day before, Nick told her that he would meet her there. He wanted to set up the surprise so that when they got off of work, he could pop the news to her. What he didn't know was that Judy had a change of plans.
"Nick and Judy were supposed to be on a simple stakeout. Chief Bogo had explicitly stated that no one was to enter that Burrow without backup, that they were to watch for any suspicious activities and report back to the precinct before taking action. Nick always was the level headed one, keeping Judy from doing some stupid mistake. Without Nick there, Judy decided it wouldn't be a problem to take a small peak inside. It was mostly a rodent occupied Burrow, but there were a bunch of rabbits who were mainly working construction within the Burrow, so Judy stole a uniform and snuck in, but not before sending a report to Nick. He was so busy planning the party with Finnick and Clawhauser, that he missed her message. By the time he got it, Tundratown was gone.
"He moved faster than a cheetah, faster than I think any mammal would be able to. He had received the message, but she wasn't answering his calls. He knew something was wrong, but by the time he got to the Burrow, it had already been sealed. Judy was trapped inside, and he was trapped outside in a poorly protected tunnel. The rest, well, you already know the rest.
"Sorry for a bit of a sorrowful episode, but I felt that now was the best time to tell you how everything happened, why Nick lived as a Ghoul named North West, while Judy lived for another thirty years in the safety of the Burrow. Not a day went by that Nick wasn't on her mind. For the first few years, she stopped at nothing to get the doors open, but eventually she learned it was futile. She was trapped inside, and she had a child to take care of now. A rabbit who's grey and orange fur made him stand out from every other rabbit in the Burrow. A rabbit she named Nick. Unfortunately, Judy's genetics never produced a fox child down her family tree, and eventually, Nick's memory faded with time. But Judy, she never forgot.
"Well folks, that's it for today's episode. Need to work with Max on planning out the last few episodes. So much to cover, so little time, but until next time, take care and remember, never forget those who you care about. Take care folks!"