"Hope. It's more than a town, and it's more than a word. Hope brings about an anticipation of good times ahead, something to cling to during the worst of times. Hope can be a promise that good tidings will find you, that the darkened skies will part. Hope can be a simple representation of old, something to remember, to keep yourself sane, even if you know it will never be like it was ever again. No matter how you perceive that feeling, there's one thing that hope is not. It is not without motion. To keep your hopes bound to a singular place limits yourself. It limits how much you can help yourself, how much others can help you. Everyone here knows I was from a Burrow. I had hopes, I had dreams, but I soon realized that I would never be able to fulfill them there. I had to move, I had to find my place in the world, and by doing so I found it. I found it in places I never would have thought to look, in people that I never expected to find it in. I found it in every single one of you standing here today.
"Hope is not a town simply represented by a place, but by its people, by all of you. When the idea to move the town came up, there were many who thought that it would be impossible, that such an endeavor would end up making things worse. Three years later, I'm happy to say that was far from the truth. Yes, there were some harrowing moments, times where many of us, myself included, second guessed our decisions. The ever increasing earthquakes that threatened to devour some of our caravans. Raider attacks on both Old Hope and New Hope. Even the discovery of a Burrow filled with hundreds of savage ghouls all threatened to end our work, but did we falter and quit? No! We stood together as friends, as family, as a single entity and endured! Aided by the Steel Guardians we showed this world that when we put our minds on something, we will overcome all the obstacles that get in our way!
"It has been a year since New Hope opened its doors to the world. Population has boomed in that time, and we see new faces every day. Trade has been better than ever, and with the help of Nick's Wild Emporium, new trade routes are being set every day. On top of that, Engineer Tuskgen of the Guardians has successfully implemented Restorative Agriculture Devices in ten settlements now, giving all of them the ability to grow fresh, radiation free food! Coupled with the new trade routes established between those settlements and Hope, every one of us has been able to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables, a feat that hasn't been seen in well over two centuries!
"We also have the Guardians to thank for that. They are no longer the Guardians we knew, the ones that hid from the world, protected us from the shadows. They stand tall and visible for all to see now! They provide protection not only to New Hope, but to all the traders that travel between our town and the outlying settlements. They keep the peace just like they did from day's of old, but even their power is not limitless. As our town grows, as more and more settlements agree to join us in rebuilding this world, the Guardians grow thin. They need our help. They need volunteers. I'm not telling any of you to run out and sign up, and neither would Chief Valiant. We simply ask of you to consider it.
"I also have something new to share with all of you. Mayor Swift, Chief Valiant, and myself, along with representatives of many settlements, came together last month. The Guardians have freely given the R.A.D. devices to any settlements in need, along with their own protection, but unfortunately, there seem to be a few settlements that have taken this for granted, and even taken advantage of our kindness. In the past, it was mammals like that who corrupted this world, turning it into the wasteland we know today. That has got to change! We need to show this world that we are better, that we can kick back the tides of madness that threaten to engulf every one of us. To that end, we have created what will be called the Zootopian Accord. This treaty binds us all. Every settlement that joins the Accord will become an extension of Hope. While the Guardians will still patrol and police the wastelands, anyone within the Accord will also get at least one squad stationed within earshot of their settlement. Not only does this allow for a reason to join the Accord, but also helps to spread the Guardian influence throughout the land. With R.A.D. units installed at all those Settlements, it also helps to spread its effects across the land. Those within the Accord also receive discounts not only with the established traders, but with Hope itself. All that we ask from them is to send a portion of their crops to Hope to be redistributed to those who need it. Of course they will get compensated for it in either caps or supplies.
"Now, we won't force anyone to join the Accord. Every settlement has final say in it, but the benefits outweigh everything. I no longer want to call our home the 'Wasteland'. That makes it sound dangerous, uninhabitable. I want to change that. I want this land to prosper once more. This land was once filled with lush grass and trees. Glimmering sand and frozen tundras. Zootopia was a place where anyone was able to live, no matter their species. I want to return that to you, to bring back Zootopia to its former glory! But, we can't do it alone.
"By now everyone knows my past, or rather, my genetic history. I'm a hybrid, the product of two species, a rabbit, and a fox, who hundreds of years ago fell in love despite tension between species. Many of you know that one of them is still alive today, and while he no longer resembles his former self, Nick Wilde is still the kind, generous, and caring soul that he was once. While his partner in both duty and life is no longer with us, her memories live on within him, but one memory stuck out to me that I would like to share with you all.
"Judy Hopps was a police officer in the Zootopian Police Department, and the first rabbit to ever obtain that. She overcame not only difficulties in size, but also in acceptance. No one thought a rabbit cop would last, that she would give up in a world full of wolves, bears, and lions. But she didn't, just as I didn't give up on you all. There were times that I thought I had fallen, that I would never get back up, and I am sure she had times where she felt the same. We both persevered and overcame those difficult times, just as we all have.
"She once gave a speech, and while it was given to a new generation of ZPD recruits, there were a few words that still hold true to today, and no matter the circumstance, they are words to live by, so in the words of Judy Hopps, 'I implore you: Try. Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with all of us.' These words cannot be said any better. We all must try to make this world a better place! It is in our paws, and our hooves that we will reshape this world. A better world!
"Chief Valiant has a few words he would like to say, but I will leave you with this. Just, try, and if you fail? Try again. Keep on trying until you succeed. I won't lie and say that if you keep trying you will succeed, but if you never try, you are guaranteed to fail."
Nate was standing to the left of me, with Mayor Swift standing on the other side. I wondered if I had given a bit too much emotion in this speech, but they both smiled at me happily. The funny thing is, the speech I prepared? The one I spend days practicing and rewriting until I got it right? That wasn't it. The one I had just given, I opened my mouth and the words just flowed, and you know what? It was so much better.
Nate took the podium.
"In three years we've accomplished something few could even dream possible. We didn't do it alone either. Paw in paw the citizens of Hope and the members of the Steel Guardians have worked day in and day out to make this world a better place. A place we can all call home, a place we can all be proud of. We now can boast one of the most stable, secure areas within the Zootopian Wasteland. Raider attacks are few and far between, clean up operations have been a massive success and thanks to our Guardian R and D division, we've been able to claim back large swaths of land! New irrigation systems, crop lands, and just plain old grass fields are once again becoming commonplace."
"I could say I could've done this, that these ideas were my own and that I had no help along the way, but that would be a bold faced lie. My wife has been by my side, helping me along through some of the most difficult times I've ever had to experience. My Guardians, my friends and Family each and every one of them, have stood strong as a wall against the very worst that the wastelands could throw at us and we do it willingly because we care. Because we care and want to make this world a better place. I'm proud to say that all of you! Every citizen of Hope has been a boon in this grand experience we find ourselves in. Thanks to all of you willing to listen to a fox with a crazy idea, we've rebuilt your home, we've refortified our Headquarters, and our ranks are once again starting to swell up with new recruits! By the end of next month our first class will be added to the roll call of the Guardians. Replacing those we've lost, and adding new faces to spaces long left vacant. I'm proud to say that thanks to Hope, thanks to Mayor Swift, our ranks have once again begun to grow. It is my hope that we can all continue to march down this path together, paw in paw. To reclaim our home and once again make Zootopia a gem in this harsh world, a beacon of hope and peace. So I thank you once more Citizens of Hope, we truly could not have done any of this without you."
Once Nate was done, he let Mayor Swift take the final words.
"Citizens of Hope, I thank you. Not just as your mayor, but as your friend and as a fellow citizen. I know things have been difficult, but in the end, this is so much more than I ever thought was possible. When Chief Valiant approached me three years ago with a plan to relocate Hope to a new place, I was a bit apprehensive. For generations, Hope had been under my family's watch, ever since my ancestor Gazelle founded the town as a safe haven during troubled times. Over time it grew into so much more. Most of the residents had family that lived and died within those walls, and asking them to just up and leave was very difficult.
"Yes, there were those who refused to leave, but I was surprised at how few had that feeling. As Miss Springs said, Hope is more than a place, and more than a word. It's a feeling, and unlike physical attachments, a feeling can cling to you, can travel wherever you carry it. Hope is not simply four walls, it is where we can live and feel safe doing so.
"Even species who once felt shunned in this world, like foxes and giraffes have started to find a new home here. Sure, not everyone has the same feelings about one another, but we have all learned to show tolerance, and that is the one thing I ask of all of you who live here. You don't have to like your fellow neighbor, just to respect them, and be willing to help one another in times of need. If you really cannot break free of your ways, but still want to call this place a home, there is still hope.
"Many of the outlying settlements are growing at an exponential rate and they are always looking for more mammals to help them. In helping them, you also help Hope, and since any settlement under the Zootopian Accord is considered a part of Hope, you will never be disconnected from us, especially in times of need.
"I also want to extend my personal thanks to Chief Valiant and the Guardians for keeping all of us safe. Olivia Springs and Onion have also been a tremendous help to prevent our new town from crumbling like our old one. While I will miss the old place, I think it's for the best that we made this move, and if Gazelle were still alive, I think she would be proud of everything we have done to continue what she started. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all, and to celebrate, tomorrow, exactly one year to the day of our opening, we will be having the first annual Day of Hope, a day of celebration. Food, entertainment, everything will be provided for free. From dawn to dusk we will celebrate! Traders from all over will be laying out many of their more rare finds and hard to obtain goods and have agreed to sell them at a low rate for that day. Festivities start at dawn, so get some rest, I have a feeling it will be a long day!"
"I know you said you had a surprise, but I didn't think it would be that."
We had all met at Nyte Lyfe, which was in a much bigger, and more enclosed, room now. From what Nate told me, this used to be a courtroom, but it was now one of the most happening night scenes in the town. While Letty had re-paid her old boss years ago, and was free to move on, she had grown attached to that place. And to a certain gazelle. Although that didn't stop either of them from playfully teasing me.
"Well sweetie, they deserve it. And so do you. I doubt any of this would have ever happened if you never showed up." She might be the mayor, but that didn't stop her from having a few drinks to loosen her up. Letty of course was taking full advantage of that.
"Yeah, you keep telling me that Jezzie. All of you have. On multiple occasions. I swear, if you had your way, you would erect a statue of me."
"My Angel would have, if you didn't keep shooting her down." It was public knowledge that the mayor and Letty were dating, although calling the mayor Angel was usually reserved for outside of public encounters. Letty might be a bit too forceful with her emotions sometimes, but she was also respectful of them. In public at least.
"It's bad enough that there are still people who call me hero. I still don't feel like one."
"And like we keep telling you 'livi, you are. Just, in a different way than I think some imagine. Hey, it could be worse. They could call you Tin Ear."
"You better not start with that. It's bad enough your son calls me that Holly."
"He looks up to you, plus I can't help if that was one of his first words."
"Speaking of kids, has Nick gotten back with ours yet?"
Before I could even ponder Nate's question, the door to the bar opened. Our children ran in. Our son, Nick, had bright orange-red fur that looked like a blend of Nate and my own. He was wearing his usual coveralls and plaid shirt. Behind him was our daughter Judy. Her purple dress accented her platinum-silver fur and matched her purple eyes. Uncle Nick, as they'd come to call him, always seemed reminiscent when he looked into Judy's eyes. It wasn't until a few months after her birth that Nick told me that was the same color of his own Judy's eyes. Though he still comments how we had a rabbit named Nick and a fox named Judy, the complete opposite of him and his lost love.
"Mommy! Daddy!"
"There's our children!" Nick and Judy ran over and gave me a hug, followed by Nate. "Where's Uncle Nick?"
"Here." Nick came in carrying two large crates balanced on each other. He may look like his muscles are rotting away, but he is remarkably strong. "They wanted to stop at every vendor on the way here."
"Now, you weren't giving your Uncle Nick a hard time, were you?" Nate had his semi hard, semi playful tone, something he seemed to develop as a cross between his private personality and his Guardian one.
"No Sur!" Nick mock saluted his dad.
"Mommy! He bought me a dolly!" Judy held up a stuffed kangaroo.
"It's adorable sweetie. Does it have a name?"
"Daisy!"
"Well then, you go take Daisy and your brother and go play, we need to talk with Uncle Nick."
"Otay! Come'on Nicky! Let's go play!"
"Daddy, why does she get a new toy?"
"I don't know, why didn't Uncle Nick get you something?" Nate put a emphasis on it as he looked over to the ghoul unloading bottles from the crate.
"Most kids his age want a new toy, but not him. Tell your daddy what you wanted me to buy."
"I wanted a gun like Auntie Holly!"
"Holly! What are you trying to teach our kids? He's barely three yet!"
"You're never too young to learn. I mean look at 'livi. If she learned when she was younger, she wouldn't have had to rely on that Pip-Boar of hers so much."
"It's not like my Burrow had anything to practice with. Nick's right, stop corrupting our kids. Don't you have kids of your own to corrupt?"
"Yeah, but mom is watching them right now. I don't know how Robin hasn't driven her insane yet."
Nate laughed. "He takes after you Holly, so no surprise there."
"Oh, please for the love of all that is… if your daughter turns out to be a spitting image of you Holly, we're all doomed."
Holly shot a look at me that was interrupted by the door to the bar slamming open. A tiny blur ran in and made a beeline straight to where Nick was unloading the crate.
"Did you get more?"
"Yeah, calm down Blanche, I got more."
"Gimme!" Blanche jumped on top of the nearest bottle, stabbed her sword in it and popped the cork before shimmying down into the bottle. "Oh, sweet nectar."
Nick picked up the bottle and held it to his eye. "How do you even do that? I know you're small but, damn. Plus, it's been what? Two days since the last shipment?"
"Yeah, two days of pure torture!"
"Mommy, why is Squeaky yelling at Uncle Nick?" Judy sounded a bit concerned. She didn't like when anyone yelled at any of us, even if it was jokingly.
"She's not yelling, she's excited to get her favorite drink."
"Can I have some? If she likes it so will I!"
"No Nick, she has an adult drink, you're still too young."
"I can't get nothin." Nick started to pout.
"Your father already gave you tons of stuff to play with from his younger days. Didn't you want to build a robot of your own like Onion?"
"Those are old. I want new things!"
"Come here sweetie." Nick walked with an exaggerated gate towards me. "You know it's hard to get new things anymore. How about this?" I pulled a small velvety bag out of my pocket, opened it up and placed one of its contents in my son's paw.
He held it up as one of the bar's lights caught on the gold coin. "This is your special coin."
"I know you have had your eye on it, ever since you were a tiny little rabbit. It has a rabbit on it as well, see? It's very valuable and there are twelve more like it. I already have seven of them, but I've just been too busy to find the others. I want you to keep it, to treasure it. Maybe one day when you're older, you can finish what I never was able to."
"Are you sure mommy?"
"Yes, I am."
Nick gave me a hug before running off to his sister to show off the coin. Judy tried to take it but Nick snatched it back. That triggered one of their famous 'arguments' with each other.
"Judy, leave your brother alone. Didn't you get a doll to play with?"
"But Daisy ain't shiny!"
"Oh brother. Nate, can you talk some sense into our children?"
"Why do you always pin that on me?"
"Um, you're a leader to hundreds of mammals. Stopping arguments is kinda part of your job."
"Like you're one to talk miss 'If you want it done right do it yourself'. Onion's been complaining again you know. A little help doesn't hurt."
"I was fixing a leak in the reactor! I can't help if Darell kept handing me unshielded tubing."
"Didn't we delegate Onion to do all the repairs there after that incident a few months back?"
"I was only glowing for a few hours. Plus Onion was busy repairing parts of the tunnel network after that quake last week. Speaking of which, any leads on it? They've been getting worse it seems."
"Something in the Nocturnal District, but we've been having difficulties finding a stable entrance into it. Figuring out what's going on down there is top priority."
The door opened again and drew my attention to it. The quakes were becoming much more than a simple nuisance, but I trusted Nate when he said they were working on it. In walked Zack followed by Jasmine who had a sling around her chest that she was coddling.
"Hey Jasmine. How's Zoe?" I used this to help distract from Nate's 'argument' with me. Sure I had the tendency to get carried away with my work, but he knows he does the same.
"Fussy as usual."
"What you talking about Jay-Jay, she's been an angel."
"You aren't the one waking up in the middle of the night, every, single, night to take care of her."
"Sounding a bit snippy there Jasmine, everything okay?" It was always concerning to me when she wasn't her usual bubbly self.
"Sorry. I haven't been getting enough sleep the past few days. Between Zoe getting sick recently and being the pickiest eater I've known, it's been hard."
"Hey Jazzy, if you need a break, I'm sure my mom will be more than happy to watch Zoe."
"Oh, I couldn't do that Holly."
"It's no big deal. I think she misses having kids to coddle. Plus it's not like she has much else to do these days. At least not until Jezzie finally opens that school."
I turned towards the mayor, who must not have had any impending activities today because she was already buzzed. "How is that going anyways?"
"The school? 'Bout a month. Maybe two. Mary-Anne has been gracious to volunteer as a teacher, but we still need more."
"You know I will always be willing to help, at least when it comes to anything shop related. What about Mark? He's the nerdiest mammal I know."
"Hey! I'm not 'nerdy', I'm well read. I'd love to though, but between helping Doc with the Guardian's medical needs and trying to start up my own practice, I may not have the time."
"Marki could always be the school nurse. I think he'd look rather cute in a nurses uniform."
"Holly!"
"Just saying."
Crying started to come from Jasmine's sling as she slowly removed Zoe from it and rocked her back and forth in her arms. It was always interesting to see Zoe because she stood out from every giraffe I have ever seen. Rather than having the typical spots, she had stripes like her father. When Doc finally made a breakthrough replicating the same process that let a fox and a rabbit have children, Jasmine was ecstatic.
Jasmine started to sing softly to her child as she rocked her back and forth. While it sounded comforting to me, apparently Zoe didn't think so because she wouldn't stop crying.
"Mommy, why is Zoe crying?"
"I thought you and your sister went out to play."
"Judy wasn't playing fair! And I… wanted to see if the baby was 'kay."
"You are a little sweetheart. Why is Zoe crying Jasmine? She hungry?"
"I don't know. I tried to feed her before coming over here, but she wouldn't eat. She didn't need changing and she just woke from a nap. Maybe I'm just not cut out for this…"
"Don't be silly Jasmine. I think you're a good mother."
"Hey Nick! Give her some booze. It works when I'm fussy!" Blanche's voice echoed from the bottle she was still in.
"Are you crazy? I am not giving alcohol to a kid!"
"Bah, you're no fun."
I got up and walked up to Jasmine. "Bring her down here. Holly and Mark's kids get a kick out of my ear, maybe she will too."
Jasmine knelled down until I was able to see Zoe better. I started to twitch my metal ear to get her attention and popped it into mask mode. Robin always got a kick out of it, hence why he started to call me Tin Ear. Thankfully his sister never caught on to that. Yet. Unfortunately, it did nothing to quell Zoe's crying, but rather seemed to make it worse.
"Mommy, can I see her?"
I lifted Nick up. He was still a child, but he seemed to be getting heavier by the day.
"Why baby Zoe crying? You want to see what my mommy gave me?"
He took out the coin I gave him and held it over Zoe's face. Her crying slowed down as she tried to reach for it. Nick kept playing keep away and Zoe started to giggle. She tried to speak, but it all came out in typical baby noises.
"Your son sure has taken a liking to Jazzie's kid." Holly said that a little more teasingly than I was expecting.
"He's curious like me. Wonder what she thinks about him?"
"That'd be nice to know, but she still won't talk." Jasmine seemed sad saying that.
"Holly and Mark's kids didn't speak until they were a little older than Zoe is, don't worry, it will come."
"Didn't your kids start talking by now?"
"Of course they did, 'livi and Nate are veritable geniuses compared to us. I'm sure their kids will be too."
"You make that sound like a bad thing Holly. And you guys aren't dumb, just a little slower than us, that's all." I winked at Holly.
She was about to say something typical of her, but stopped when she remembered there were impressionable children in here. "I'll remember that later 'livi."
"Did someone forget about us?"
In came Holly's mom, followed by two very sleepy looking children. A small deathwing fluttered near them but kept faltering until he fell and Clementine, Holly and Mark's russet furred daughter, caught him.
"Finn fly. I know you can!" Clementine held the baby deathwing as a mother would hold a child. Finn the deathwing made a few chirping and clicking noises but seemed to rather be held by the young rabbit. "Otay, you can sleepy."
"Looks like my boy just woke from a nap. How's my little sleepyhead?" Holly walked up and grabbed her son Robin and hoisted him into the air.
"I'm hungry." The small tan fox said tiredly.
"You didn't feed them yet mom?"
"Well someone was supposed to come pick them up twenty minutes ago."
"Sorry. We got a little carried away with reminiscing. Not every day we have everyone under the same roof anymore."
"Yeah, between me keeping this place running fluidly, Nate running all over the wasteland trying to keep the peace, and Holly and Mark bouncing back between helping the Guardians and doing their own things, I think us all having kids give us the break we need from our normal flow. Speaking of which, have you given it any more thought Jasmine?"
"About… oh. I… I don't know. I know Chief… um, Nate said it was okay, but I feel like I'm abandoning them."
"And I have told you that you're not. I'm the Chief, so if I say you aren't, then you aren't. No matter your decision, I will respect it. What about you Zack? What are your thoughts on the matter?"
"Well Sir…"
"Please, you don't have to be so formal right now."
"Well, I think it would be good for her. She never did like the violence and rigorous life of a Guardian, though I think that because of it she has been able to finally put aside her past."
"Even Jezzie thinks it's a good idea, isn't that right?"
"Darn tootin'!" That gazelle was never able to hold her alcohol. Reminds me of that one party, Letty still gets embarrassed whenever it's brought up.
"What I think my Angel here is trying to say is that it's a good idea. I mean, we only just recently developed good relations with foxes among the citizens of Hope, but giraffes are still, well, everyone sees them as Red-Necks or future ones. I can still see the uneasiness when she's around some of the mammals here." Letty had drank much more than Jessabell, but Letty could hold her booze. Probably why Blanche and her liked to have drinking contests. It never ends pretty.
"But… what if I can't? I'm… I'm still not that good around people… and what about… them?"
"That's another reason you need to consider it. You're much safer here than traipsing around the Wasteland. Even those Reclaimers haven't been brave enough to come knocking at a town so close to an army. Plus, there's no harm in trying. Don't you want to eliminate that stigma that has befallen your species? If not for you, then your daughter?"
"Yes. You… you're right Olivia. But, what about… us?" Jasmine looked between her daughter and her zebra.
"If I can manage to sneak away to see Olivia, I'm sure I can allow the same luxury to Zack."
"I still want to think about it, but…"
"Take your time Jasmine. There's no need to rush."
"Thank you."
"Finn, what's wrong?"
Finn started to make loud chirping noises and struggle in Clementine's arms before she let him go. He flew up very awkwardly and fluttered over to where Nick had finished unloading the two crates he had brought in. Besides the unopened bottles he brought, there were now four empty ones, and one half empty one that Blanche was floating in like some relaxing bath. Finn landed next to the bottle and started to claw at it with his foot before knocking it over, spilling half of what was in there and trying to stick his head into the bottle. He was only a baby but was already five times the size of Blanche.
"Hey! What'd you do that for? Damn rodent, where's your father anyways? Out tramping with that 'mate' of his?"
"Someone sounds jealous." Holly said teasingly.
"I'm not jealous!" Then Blanche whispered a bit, but still loud enough for most of us to hear. "Plus I knew him longer."
"You know, if Doc could give Jazzie and Zacky a baby, maybe he could…"
"How would that even work?! If he tried to stick his…"
"Blanche! Kids!" I had to stop this before she said something the rest of us would have to regret later.
"Bah. Nick, give me another!"
"Hey, take it easy there Blanche. This is all I can get for a few more weeks. You better savor it."
"Booze ain't meant to be savored! It's meant to get you wasted!"
"Here-here!" I wasn't even sure if the mayor knew what anyone was saying. She must have had a rough day.
"Nick, can you please get little miss bad-influence out of here?"
"Yeah, no problem. Gotta make a delivery to Petunia anyways. Alright little mouse, let's get you out of here."
"Hey! I'm not going…" Nick popped a cork onto the bottle, muffling Blanche as he carried her, still in the bottle, out of the bar.
"Hey Letty, I think you better take the mayor here back home before she passes out. She has a festival to put together tomorrow."
"Come on Angel. Time to go. I'll whip up my special 'I really don't want a hangover' drink for you, just please don't throw up again."
Jessabell got up and stumbled, but Letty caught her and helped her to move towards the door. As they were leaving, Jessabell slapped Letty's ass, causing Letty to let out a rather cute sounding noise.
"Mommy, why did the mayor touch the kitty's butt? That's a dirty place."
"When you get old enough, it isn't nearly as dirty."
"That mean your butt isn't dirty mommy?"
"Okay, new rule. No more drinking around the children!"
A beep came from Nate's arm.
"Chief Valiant here, go ahead Logan."
"Sir, we just intercepted a communication."
"I'm a bit busy right now, can it wait?"
"I don't think so Sir."
Nate sighed. "Okay, patch it through."
Nate looked towards Holly's mom. "I'm sorry, but do you mind taking the kids for a moment longer?"
"Of course dear. Okay kids, who wants Auntie to buy you a new toy?"
"Me!" All four of the kids jumped up and ran towards her. Clementine whistled and Finn flew over to her.
"Petunia told me to stop by her place to see if she has anything Zoe will actually eat, do you mind?"
"Go ahead Jasmine."
Once everyone had left, Mark, Holly, Zack, and myself all huddled around Nate as he started the playback. The voice that started playing was very distorted and at times interrupted by static, but for some reason, it sounded familiar.
"…Wasteland, we are the Council of Kings! We will … no one will dare stand in our way! All those who do will come face to face with death! … those so called 'Guardians' are nothing but a joke! They are weak! They will … and their leader is the biggest joke of them all! A fox? More like a coward with delusions of grandeur! … We seek not to free you from the Wasteland, but to make us all kings of it! … join us or die with those foolish enough to try to stop us!"
"That, no, it couldn't be." I knew the voice, I just never thought I would hear it again.
"Sir, was that… Matheous King?" Zack sounded just as concerned as I felt.
"Yes. It was. Logan, trace that message and put a team together. Whatever he's planning, I don't like it."
"Yes Sir! Stalker Logan, out."
Nate gave me a kiss. "I'm sorry Binky."
"No, don't be. You got a job to do. Just, be careful, okay?"
"Aren't I always? I'm gonna go and find our children before I head back to base. Zack, go make sure Jasmine and Zoe are okay, and meet me back at Precinct one in an hour."
"Yes Sir!"
Zack and Nate both left. I always hated to see him leave, afraid that one day I would never see him again, but he was stronger than that, and I needed to remind myself of that. He's also not alone. Holly has been helping to train the new generation of Guardians to properly utilize their weapons, and Mark has been helping Doc when he gets overwhelmed. Even I have helped Tuskgen here and there with little projects when I wasn't preoccupied with Hope.
"He'll be fine 'livi. You know that, right?"
"Yeah, I know that Holly. Let's go and check on our kids. I think your mom needs a break from them."
Mark, Holly and I left the bar. This town has grown, and I was happy for that. I really was, but sometimes I miss my more adventurous days. Sure, I get to do things here and there when my help is needed, including a raid on a ghoul infested supermarket that held a treasure trove of canned foods, but it was still only once in a while. I had to take care of the kids while Nate was away, and I couldn't tear him away from the Guardians. They needed him just as much as I did. Maybe one day when our children are older I will resume my adventures, and after hearing that message, maybe it will be sooner than I think.
The Wasteland isn't free of dangers, and I don't think it will ever be. There will always be conflict, there will always be war, but mammals can change, they can better themselves and help those who are caught in conflict. Unfortunately, there's always one constant, one thing that even history showed can never change at its core.
War. War never changes.
Fallout: Zootopia After Show
Featuring:
'Stripes in the Morning'
[Max]
"Three years… It's been three years since an opportunity came up that I… Couldn't pass. I was offered the position of Director of Public Relations by none other than Chief Valiant himself. Three years since I was badly wounded by a lunatic on a power trip and told I wouldn't be able to freely travel about the wasteland anymore, meeting all you wonderful mammals out there. Well… Here I am now, three years on and I've been working harder than ever with my wife at my side to bring you the Guardians. To let you know who they are, who the mammals that stand on the line to defend your lives are, what they do, why they do it. This is what I've always wanted to do. Bring you the personal stories of others so you know that there are others out there, fighting just like you all are to make this world better, which is why I'm here today instead of down in Hope. I'm here for all of you who couldn't make it to the celebrations."
[Celeste]
"Still say you should've taken today off and headed into town to hear the chief speak. I think it would've been nice to see everyone out and about without fear."
[Max]
"You just wanted to hit the food stands… Don't think I don't know it!"
[Celeste]
"Can I help it if all the fresh food and great cooks come outta the woodwork when one of these big shindigs comes around? And wipe that smug smirk off that beautiful face of yours before I do it for you!"
[Max]
"Oh my love… How you wound me so! Haha… Aah, all drama and jokes aside folks. I didn't exactly want to go to the celebrations this year. Some… Developments have been taking place every since the Chief left for Hope and I wanted to make sure I was here when word finally came through and… I just want to be clear folks, I'm not trying to incite panic or fear. Matthias King has returned to haunt us it seems and well, he's gunning for Chief Valiant and our Guardians. The same mammals who've been running around the Wasteland protecting all of our fuzzy butts from the worst the Wasteland can throw our way. I want to throw this out there folks, the Guardians have become a family to us and well… We want you all to know we aren't abandoning you. The Guardians will still be out there. So I will to the extent that I. The lies and filth that King espouses are nothing more than that. Celeste and I will do our best to keep you updated on any public releases the Chief deems necessary. Otherwise we're going to continue to bring you the same things we always have, members of the Guardians and how they're ready to stand out there for you all."
[Celeste]
"Don't forget folks, as long winded as Max can be he means every word he says. He cares about this organization and the future of our home. Just as I and every other Guardian does. SO if you see or hear anything about Matthias King, reported to the nearest Guardian Outpost and it'll reach the ears it needs to. But most of all, don't be afraid, don't give in to panic. We are all stronger when we stand as a community against these threats. So live your lives as you've always done, and we'll be here as we have been for the past three years. Take care everyone, we'll be speaking to you again soon."
[Stripes]
"Good morning folks. Not the usual introduction to the After Show, but then again, this will be the last After Show. For now that is. Don't worry, you haven't seen the last of Max and his… ahem, wife. Now don't get me wrong, I am glad he has someone else other than me to pester him but, well, I really don't think she likes me very much.
"I myself have had a budding relationship with my own girl, Ternura, and let me tell you, she's quite the interesting character, one whom you will get to know much better during the Stand Alone Show. Yes, that will be a thing, I promise, but there will also be other After Shows. You see folks, from here on out, all Fallout Zootopia After Shows will feature content exclusive to that specific story, but the Stand Alone Show will expand upon everything, including myself a bit more. Expect much more action, more suspense, more fourth wall breaking! Think of the Stand Alone Show as a bit of a slice of life, if it were. However, that show will not be as frequent. Once or twice a week, but I doubt much more than that, and it will be posted on off chapter days, so that you can expect something from me nearly every day of the week! Ain't that grand? Of course Max and Celeste will pop in here and there during both the Stand Alone and the After Shows, but with his new job, it may not be as common unfortunately. Now, for today's show.
"Three years had passed since we last saw Olivia and the gang. New Hope is up and running along with the new Guardian base within Precinct One. Recruitment drives have skyrocketed, with new mammals signing up nearly every day! The Steel Guardians are on the path to becoming the ever present protectors that Chief Bogo planned them to be all that time ago.
"Mark and Holly have two children along with Nate and Olivia. Clementine and Robin are a year younger than Nick and Judy due to Doc not wanting to force the genetics to comply, despite how eager Holly was not to be left out of motherhood.
"Then there is Zack and Jasmine. Between monitoring Olivia's pregnancy and Holly's genetic development, Doc was able to replicate the same technology and Jasmine, much to Zack's dismay, was the first to undergo it, but his tune changed once they found out it was a success. They gave birth to a lovely baby giraffe named Zoe, as you saw. There were some issues with the genetic merger of the two species DNA, but don't you worry any. Zoe will grow up to be a healthy kid. She will just be very short, from a giraffe standpoint. Her brown and yellow zebra stripes are also something to behold.
"Now, Nick, Nate and Olivia's son, not the lovable ghoul, was born with a similar heart issue as his fathers. It isn't nearly as bad, however Doc makes sure to keep plenty of medicine available. By the way, in case you missed it, Nick is a rabbit, and Judy is a fox. A bit of a turnabout, isn't it folks? Let's just say that when Max and I were discussing potential children, we both shared the same idea. "Get out of my damn head" I think was his exact words.
"Anyways, let's talk about an interesting addition to the new generation. Finn. He is a baby deathwing, and Drakes son. Yup, you got that right. Drake got freaky with another deathwing. Now, let me back up here for a moment and explain something.
"Deathwings, as you may recall me saying a while back, are mostly male. A female is a very rare thing to be born into the world, and when one is, the males will protect her with their lives, knowing that she is the only way that their species can thrive. Problem is, mammals like Baird often hunt down the females for either experiments, to sell to the highest (and most insane) bidder, or simply for a trophy. Finn's mother was no exception.
"Now, despite Drake still helping out his friends, he is also concerned with his own species. Yes, most deathwings will kill a mammal on sight if they are hungry, angry, scared, or just feeling playful. Drake wanted to change that. He wanted to teach the deathwings how to coexist with the mammals of the Wasteland. The hard part was that Drake refused to let Doc replicate Baird's work to make other deathwings talk, so it was a long and lengthy process, and many deathwings were hard to convince. Most were actually scared of Drake for his abnormalities. That didn't stop him from trying.
"One day while he was out scouting for deathwing lairs, Nate wanting to at least know where they were to prevent anyone from accidentally wandering into one, he came across a group of Red-Necks who were trying to purge the lair. Drake was able to kill all of them, but he wasn't in time to stop the slaughter. Seems the Red-Necks were also testing a new flamer fuel that burned so hot that it was almost impossible for even a deathwing's regeneration from countering it.
"However, there was a single survivor. Remember how I said that the males will protect a female with their lives? Well, they did. The female was injured, but Drake was able to help her. Drake was also an alpha male, so, well, you can guess what happened there. Let's just say that he was left alone for a bit by the others.
"Now, here's the funny thing. What ever thing Baird did to drake did not effect him at the genetic level, at least not enough to transmit it, so like all other deathwings, Finn was only able to communicate with grunts, clicks, and growls. However, the children, with the exception of Zoe, who later on finds it rather irritating, seem to be able to understand what Finn is saying. Their parents can't even figure it out and when they ask Drake, he just shrugs it off.
"Now why am I going into all these details with the children? Well, this will not be the last time you get to see them. I will just leave it at that for now. Another thing the Stand Alone Shows will be used for is announcements, so even if you don't care for the After Shows, you may wanna check in here and there once they start. I will make sure that any announcements are clear as day.
"Now, what about everyone's favorite ghouls? Blanche is planning on sticking around for a while. Between the fact that Nick is able to provide her with the only alcohol that can get a ghoul drunk, she has also grown quite attached to everyone, even if she won't admit it. That doesn't stop her from having fun here and there and still maintains a side job as a mercenary. However, she only takes contracts that will help to better the wasteland. She may be a bitch on the outside, but she's got a heard of gold on the inside. Well, a gold plated heart at least.
"As for Nick. He's sticking around Hope. Honestly, the residents have grown used to him. His fighting days are long over, even before this story began. He does however know a deal when he sees one and helps to oversee New Hope's trade council. Him and Letty have grown to be good friends as well and they keep an eye on each other when things get a little hairy. Just because there are Guardians stationed nearby doesn't mean trouble never breaks out.
"Speaking of the Guardians. Mayor Swift and Chief Valiant stuck a deal. The Guardians will offer full support to protect the town, but having heavily armed soldiers wandering the place tends to make some mammals nervous, especially visitors and potential residents, so only a few Agents keep to the inside of the town, with guard posts situated outside to make sure that no major threat can get past the town's walls. But don't you worry folks. If any raiders tried to assault the place, Guardian support is no more than fifteen minutes away.
"Overseer Kerrigan is under permanent lock and key. Nate has time and time again given him a chance to be forgiven, but that rabbit is so stubborn that he refuses to apologize to anyone. Tara Marsh, Burrow Seventy-Six's Overseer is now part of the Burrow Hunters and is offering her support in locating and disarming the reactors within all Burrows. It is a long process as some Burrows are harder to reach than others, but she accepts her position in order to help atone for what she did to Olivia's mother. She never will forget what she did.
"Holly's mom is basically the full time babysitter. Every time the gang has to head out somewhere that is not safe for children, which is pretty much anywhere in the Wasteland, she watches over them. She doesn't mind at all though. Holly thinks her mother simply misses having kids, and after everything that happened in the Burrow, its a nice change of pace for her.
"Now, for that last transmission. The Council of Kings. It's a bit ominous, isn't it? While this will be a focus of another story, let's give you a bit of a background on this. You see, when Matheous King was kicked out, he was not happy. He went on a murderous spree, killing anyone who got in his way. Until he wandered into the Rainforest District. Let's just say at this point he was a one mammal army, and the first time he spotted a group of R.C.S.G. mammals on patrol, he only saw Nate and his Guardians. He slaughtered them all.
"Now if you just had an entire squad killed by a single mammal, you would do one of two things. Find them and kill them, or in this case, offer him a job. At first King refused and kept killing them, but eventually he realized that he couldn't keep this up and joined them under one condition. He took over. When he ripped the spine from their leader, everyone else fell in place and followed him both out of fear and respect. Then he met the Berserk-Kings. Normally he would have slaughtered them where they stood, but even under his command, the Council was not large enough to go after the Guardians. The thing is, the Berserk-Kings were also falling apart after a recent battle. King met with their leader the Berserk King, that whithered deer in the massive armor, and planned to kill her and simply add her mammals by force. However, for some reason they struck a deal instead. King remained in charge while the Berserk King was his right hoof mammal. Together they formed the Council of Kings and has been growing much more rapidly in both size and danger to the Wasteland. Soon, they won't be able to contain themselves and when they finally enter the fray, it will be the Steel Guardians who feel their effects first. But that is at a later date. One story at a time folks.
"That concludes the final After Show of the main story. I want to thank each and every one of you for dedicating your time to reading my story. I have enjoyed reading all of your positive comments and if it wasn't for you, my loyal readers, I would not have been able to get this far. I would also like to thank Max for his help in not only editing my story, but also for tossing ideas at him, and creating the amazing trio of Holly, Mark, and Nate who without them, my story would have not only ended a long time ago, but I fear it would have not been nearly as good for both you the readers and my writing.
"I give you all my thanks, and I hope that you will continue to follow me and any other adventures that may come out of this brain of mine. Remember, I would still love to see more fan art from you creative artists, and your own takes on my world in fan fictions of your own creation. I will be more than happy to lend everyone my knowledge of this world, you only have to ask it. Private messaging on FanFiction, or on my Tumblr page, just look for ciderstripes, you can't miss me. So folks, until we meet again in the Wasteland, take care and see you on the flip side!"
[Sprinkles]
Irritated beeping
[Stripes]
"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot! I have a present for you all! Now, keep in mind, this has not gone through editing stages yet, so it may be a bit rough around the edges, but I wanted to leave you with a little something before I left. As I said, I am going to be working on many different spin offs and sequels to this story. Let me tell you, it is addicting, and the time I spent not writing about it was very agonizing, to a point that I could not even focus properly on other projects.
"Now this story will not be a massive-length adventure. And it will not be including Olivia and most of the gang, but they will have cameos here and there. This story does have meaning however in tying up one of the many loose ends that I left untied for the very reason of a side story. I won't spoil it here, but I am sure you will figure it out soon enough, so may I present to you the first chapter of the new series coming sometime late January. Fallout Zootopia: Reclamation."
Fallout Zootopia:
Reclamation
Chapter 1
Enter, Octavius
"This thing on?"
"For the hundredth time, no it isn't Boss. And would you mind not denting me again?"
"Stupid robot. Not sure why I keep you with me. Shoulda scrapped you ages ago."
"And have me miss out on all your going on and on about you wanting to kill every last Red-Neck out here? If only."
I have had it with this robot. Damn thing has given me nothing but trouble ever since I dug him out of that junk yard near Bunnyburrow. That floating pile of scrap is lucky I did too. I doubt any other mammal would have been as considerate. Though, he did help me finally shake that herd of savage rabbit ghouls that I accidentally disturbed, so I shouldn't be too hard on him. One or two rabbits against a giraffe? No problem. Two hundred? Big problem.
"There. I am all warmed up Boss."
I really should stop giving him a hard time.
"Good. You ready to record?"
"When the light turns red, like usual."
His donut shaped body slowed down as what ever he uses to keep him hovering started to glow in the center. Soon as the ring stopped spinning, a small camera poked out of the metal ring, and seconds later a red light flickered on next to it. That was my cue.
"Journal entry. Day one thousand, six hundred and forty-one. I have been following this group of Red-Neck Reclaimers in hopes that they would lead me to this area's leader, but either they have been leading me on a wild goose chase, which would be highly unlikely, being that I have done everything I can to keep myself hidden, or they are on the trail of a target of their own. I am guessing the latter since not once did they seem to break formation to try to locate anyone else. It has already been three days and my patience is running thin. If I don't see any evidence of a patrol leader soon, I will just have to kill the four of them and start over."
"That would make it, what? Five times this week you decided to 'start over'?"
"Quiet Bossche, otherwise I will return you to that scrap heap."
"Empty threats Boss."
"I'll show you an empty… stop recording." I heard something that got my attention.
"I will cut that last part out, like usual."
"Shut it scrap heap! We got company."
We were on top of a squat house in the middle of what must have been a suburban area of homes. Most of them had collapsed in on themselves ages ago, but this one was still standing somehow. It was a perfect vantage point for the area, and allowed me to better conceal myself. Being a fifteen foot giraffe made it very hard to conceal myself at times, but I usually managed. And when I didn't, who ever found me didn't live long enough to tell anyone else.
I flattened my body as much as possible and grabbed my sniper rifle. I scanned the surrounding area but there was nothing. I know I heard something, but where?
"Bossche. Go scout the area."
"Yes Boss."
The hoof sized robot slowly floated away towards the edge of the roof and then disappeared. I took off my hat and lowered my goggles down in front of my eyes. I used to keep them on my hat, just resting on the large brim, but it has the tendency to dislocate itself from my noggin during a fight, taking those damn goggle with it. I flicked a switch on them and a green overlay filled the area. A small blue blue dot told me where Bossche was. I positioned my radio near my head. I wish I had one that played well with my hooves. At least it's tongue friendly. I had gotten really good at controlling the dials and buttons on it with it, though Bossche always nags me about all the germs and filth I was picking up. I haven't died yet, but that never stops him.
"You hear me Bossche?" I spoke while my tongue held down the button.
"You're using your tongue on the communicator again, aren't you Boss? Don't come crying to me when you get some kind of fungal infection and you can't eat for a week."
"Shuddup you damn robot, anything out there?"
"No, I am not picking up any… just a moment Boss."
It was the silence that drove me crazy. He did this every time. I think he knew how it made me tense up.
"Nope. Sorry Boss. Must have been a sensor flicker."
"You damn piece of…" I should have looked around before shouting because a ricocheting bullet told me that we were not alone. "Fuck! Get your scrap ass back here, now!"
I picked up my gun and traced the horizon to see where the bullet came from. I still saw nothing. I risked a peak. A bullet whizzed right by me. Big mistake there you fucker. Big mistake.
"Bossche! Five O'clock! Behind that bus! Tag that fucker!"
"You got it Boss."
I kept my head down as I tracked the robot through my goggles. Moments later a red dot appeared in it. Gotcha. I peered down the scope, the red dot was mirrored on my scope as I traced it back to it's home. I still didn't see anything, that fucker must be hiding behind the bus. Oh well. Not like I needed a direct target. I pulled the trigger.
An explosion shook the bus. I fired again. A second explosion moved the large metal object back a bit. Then I saw him. One of those Red-Neck fuckers made a hard dash away from the fiery vehicle. There were supposed to be three more, but they were nowhere in sight. I told Bossche to scout out for them while I kept track of this one. I tried to track him, but I am not the best shot with a sniper rifle. Which is why I always keep it loaded with explosive rounds. I pulled the trigger.
The ground exploded behind the giraffe as it propelled him into the cover of a half collapse wall. Fuck! I checked my rounds. Two more before I had to reload. Then an idea hit me like a brick. Well, I should say it was about to hit him like one. I took aim at the base of the wall and fired. The explosive round caused the wall to collapse. I heard a faint scream. I waited for a moment, but there was no sign of movement. Either he was dead, or trapped. I will find out soon enough.
"Boss! One is climbing up the fire escape to the roof and the other two are in the building!"
Fuck! It was a trap! Did those fuckers actually use one of their own to keep me busy? I will have to deal with him later. If he was alive, I doubt he is going anyplace anytime soon.
"Tag and track them Bossche!"
"Done and done. Twenty seconds before you have company."
I dropped my sniper and grabbed Old Faithful. This shotgun and I have been together for a very long time. It looks ugly and kicks twice as hard. A wonder it still works, but it has yet to let me down. I swapped out for some larger buckshot just as I saw the giraffe's head pop over the edge of the roof. Normally I would try to grill them for information before killing them, but these guys were just pissing me off. A flicker of pressure on the trigger, and seconds later there was a satisfying thud on the ground below.
"Two more left Boss. Second floor, nearing the west side."
I slung my sniper over a shoulder and pulled two small objects from my ammo pouch, and grabbed a third from another pocket. While I would love to just kill these other two, I didn't want these past three days to have gone to waste. If they couldn't lead me to someone with more authority, I'll just have to get what I needed from one of them. I stopped and listened. I heard the echoing of hoof-steps below. I focused on the sound and then took the two small wads of explosives and pressed them to two points on the roof and placed a detonator in each of them. I took a few steps back and counted to myself.
Three… two… one. I pushed the detonator. A hole formed, the structure imploding downwardly. I took two steps towards the hole, paused for a second, then jumped down into it. The floor below me was almost tall enough for me, but I had to crane my neck down a bit. Two more giraffes were in front of me, their eyes open wide. A bit of sunlight flickered through the settling dust and reflected off of their metallic jaws. It was only a split second of surprise before one of them started to move his neck forward. I wasn't about to get my fur burned off today. I pointed Old Faithful at him and fired. Point blank. He was dead before he could even spark up his flamer. I swung my gun over and pushed into the face of the last one.
"I just killed three of your friends, and I am unscathed. Tell me what I need to know, otherwise you will join your friends."
"Who are you?" His voice didn't waver, he didn't even seem afraid, only surprised.
"Names Octavius. Only thing you will get out of me. Bossche! Get your scrap ass over here!"
"Here Boss."
"Start recording." I never once took my gaze, or my gun, away from the fucker in front of me.
"What ever you want, I won't tell." The Red-Neck sounded sure of himself. "However, we could always use someone of your caliber in the Red-Necks."
I spat on his face. "You are a disgrace to my own kind! I would never join the ranks of you cowards. How are you so able minded? I have killed dozens of you guys, and every single one either died quietly or begged for their lives."
"You have never encountered a Reclaimer before, have you?"
This fucker was sounding more sure of him self every time he spoke. I turned my shotgun around, bashed him on the side of his head and then turned it back on him again.
"Who are you after? Who the fuck does it take three days to track?"
"Three days? You have been… Heh."
"What's so funny you fuck? Do you want another bash to the face?" He was starting to get on my nerves, and mammals who get on my nerves always come to regret it.
"Not many can claim they were able to follow a Reclaimer Squad without being spotted, yet alone kill most of one. And not a scratch? We should have turned back a day ago, but our mark was nearby recently."
"Who? Who the fuck were you tracking for three days straight?"
"What? You a damn bounty hunter? Sorry pal, she's off limits. You'd sooner be killed then get any reward."
I bashed his face again, this time hard enough to knock out a few teeth and cause blood to drool out of his mouth, but he still kept that fucking grin on his face.
"How are you not begging for your life?!" He was so beyond my nerves, he was pissing me the fuck off.
"You have a short temper." The giraffe spat out another tooth, but it didn't seem to phase him. "My boys will beat it out of you, and then you will be begging for your life."
"Boss, I really think you should…"
Before I could snap at the robot, my anger burning like a very short fuse, the Red-Neck, who should have been to disoriented from the repeated smacks to his head, kicked his leg up and twisted away from me, sending debris from the ceiling up to my face blinding me for a moment. I fired my shotgun and heard it hit something, followed by a groan and hissing noise. Then the unmistakable sound of hooves running down the stairs started.
When I was able to see again, the giraffe was gone, but he was leaving a trail of blood in his wake. I placed Old Faithful on my back holster and grabbed my sidearm. This fucker was going to die. Bossche started to say something but I ignored him as I ran over to the nearby window and slipped my goggles on. The fuckers tracker was still on as I saw it moving around below. Then he ran out and faced me. I heard a clicking noise, but nothing happened as he angled his neck, along with the attached flamer towards me. The buckshot has not done much to slow him down, but it did puncture the hoses that fueled the flamer. I saw fuel spraying all over the place. I could have swapped my rounds for explosive ones and set his ass on fire with all that fuel soaking into the ground, but that fire loving bastard would probably enjoy it too much.
The moment he knew that his flamer was malfunctioning, he turned around and ran. Big mistake asshole. I held up the revolver and bent my head down until he was lined up on the front and rear sights. I slowly breathed out and held that. Just before my target reached cover, I fired. The sound of the gun echoed the building, and then the giraffe stopped dead in his tracks and collapsed. I remembered to breathe and gasped.
"Forget to breath again Boss?"
"Shut the fuck up Cream Puff."
"Shutting up."
Funny how such an innocent sounding nickname came to be his cue to stop talking. What wasn't funny was how that damn Red-Neck bastard spoke to me, even when he was drooling blood and teeth. It was like the pain didn't effect him. I searched the body near me and found some supplies, bullets of various caliber, and a few caps. Nothing about who they were after. The Reclaimers only ever are dispatched to find and bring back escaped Red-Necks who betrayed them. Anyone who pisses off them enough to sick their elite forces after them is a friend of mine and I would love to meet them. Maybe I can find out what I am after.
After making sure I didn't miss anything, I left the building and walked towards the one who would not shut up. I saw where my bullet hit in the back of his head, but there was no exit wound. Must have gotten trapped in all that damn metal those fuckers implant in them. I checked the body and found the same as his friend, along with a pack of cigarettes. I didn't smoke, but these fetch a decent price to most traders so I slipped it into my satchel. None of the bullets I found matched either of my guns, but I could scrap them and use the powder to press some new shotgun rounds. I prefer making my own rounds, makes every kill feel that much more intimate.
After my head cleared, I remembered the one I knocked off the ladder and returned. One of these guys had to have something useful on them. The body had very few things, except for nearly a hundred caps. The others only had five and twelve between them. Based on his horrible patchwork armor, I bet anything he was saving up for something a bit more protective. Not like that would have done him any good. When I aim to kill someone, they die. End of story.
"Don't forget that other one Boss."
"Didn't I tell you to shut up?"
"Just trying to be helpful."
"You can help by shutting up and letting me think. Who the hell were these guys after? While this is the first Reclaimer squad I have run into, and I am really not impressed by their reputation so far, from what I know they never track for more than two days before switching out for another squad. Elite training means shit if your too worn out to utilize it."
"You think their target was someone important?"
"Had to be. Someone must have pissed their clan chief off good. Now I really want to meet this giraffe."
"How do you know it was a giraffe? Don't they send Reclaimers out for escaped slaves as well?"
"Yeah, but not with this much effort. Plus the slave is good as dead after twenty four hours of going missing. Remember that incident at Hoofmere?"
"A shame no one survived."
"Damn horses deserved it if they were thinking of trying to harbor an escaped Red-Neck slave." I spat on the ground.
"And this is why you can't make friends." He had an awfully sarcastic tone to his digitized voice.
"I got you don't I?" I craned my neck towards him and gave a crooked smile.
"I hardly count."
"Mammals have the tendency to let you down. And slow you down. I don't have time for either of that."
We reached the collapsed wall where the last giraffe was. He was still alive, but barely. From the looks of it, he had broken both legs, and his arm was trapped under a metal girder. He looked at me with, pleading for help with his eyes. I pulled out my shotgun and gave him the only help I knew how to give.
"Hard to get these guys to talk if you keep killing them Boss."
"Not like the last… how many has it been now?"
"Thirty-four Red-Necks. Make that thirty-five."
"And out of those thirty-five, how much closer am I?"
"The same as when you first reactivated me. It would help if you didn't kill them when ever you got mad."
"It would help if they didn't make me mad."
I searched through this one's belongings. Nothing but crap. Some food, medicine. He must have been the teams support. Some support, getting himself killed at the get go. Nothing on this…
"You find something Boss?"
I cleared a bit of debris and found a black satchel similar to my own. The one I had I stripped from a Red-Neck corpse a few years back when I got a bit over encumbered with supplies. It had recordings, books, and journals in it that she was transporting between Red-Neck outposts. Why would a messenger be with a Reclaimer squad?
Rummaging through the bag I found a few maps. One showed locations of nearby outposts. From the looks of it, this team was en-route to either relaying information to a nearby outpost, or switching out with a new team so they could rest. Well, thanks to me, they can rest eternally now. The other map showed what looked like a trade route, but it was meandering all over the place. I stuffed both of them in my satchel. There was a list of names, but I knew none of them, so I tossed it. The other list was a list of places. I heard of a town called Hope, but what was this one marked New Hope? Knowing the wasteland, Hope probably got razed by some raiders and they rebuilt. When a town is destroyed, it often gets rebuilt, but more often it is simply abandoned. The others seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place my tongue on it. It's been a while.
At the bottom of the bag was a small data chip. I took out a portable computer from my satchel. I flipped the screen up and popped the chip into it. The screen flickered to life but was a bit hazy. I whacked it a few times before the image stabilized.
"You are just as delicate with technology as you are with mammals Boss."
"Don't me me get delicate with you."
"Shutting up."
He was right though. I am not much of a techie. Sure I have this wrist computer and this, thing that I am trying to load the data chip on, but more often then not it caused nothing but trouble. Give me a target and a gun and I am your mammal. The chip loaded a profile of a giraffe. It was a female, about thirteen foot in height. She was obviously a Red-Neck due to the metal jaw, something that a non Red-Neck would not dare to get. Bad enough that those bastards have given a bad name to my species.
It started to flash some information that I skimmed over. Escaped Red-Necks during a raid on the Legionaries. Last seen with a rabbit named Olivia Springs. Wait, that name was on that one paper. Current residence is in New Hope. It flashed a few more images, one of them with a pretty nice looking set of amour on. Didn't even know they made something like that for Giraffes. It then popped up a list, a rather short list, of affiliations including… Steel Guardians? Hm. Never seen a giraffe within the Guardians. And an ex Red-Neck? Now I really need to meet this girl. Known relatives, child…
"Damn."
"Boss?"
"Nothing."
I have no idea why that thought just popped into my head. Last thing I need is someone tying me down before my job is over. Hell, not sure if I would want that afterwards. Never even pictured myself with a woman. Or anyone for that matter. Not that I haven't… No. That can't… that can't… can it? It can't be a coincidence, and if it's not, then I REALLY need to find this giraffe.
"Boss? You seemed concerned, and you never seem concerned."
"Bossche. Start recording."
"Boss?"
"Now."
As soon as he let me know he was ready I spoke, the words clearer than when I first said them all those years ago.
"Journal entry. Day one thousand, six hundred and forty-one. Second Entry. I have managed to take down not only a squad of Red-Necks, but a Reclaimer squad as well. They were not much trouble, didn't even know if was a Reclaimer squad until I had already killed all but one of them. I did, however, find my first break in years. I found her. I left my past behind to continue what my father died doing, and in that time I have had two goals that I have focused on. Bringing down the Red-Necks once and for all, and finding a sister that had been hidden away from my father up until just before he died. My father may not get to see her, but I will find her, I will protect her, and I will destroy the very mammals who broke us up."
"What if she's not your sister? I mean, it wouldn't be the first time we encountered someone with your last name Boss."
"Don't matter. Sister or not, I reckon she might be an ally in the days to come, or at the very least, a source of information." There was something about the picture that nagged a part of my brain, and I have no idea why. "I, Octavius Rothschild will find you Jasmine, and be you blood or simply another mammal, I will make sure that I find you before these Red-Neck bastards do, and when we come knocking at their home, we will make sure they pay with their lives. I promise you that."
"Thought you didn't want to make any friends Boss."
"I don't. But I have the inkling that I will need someone to watch my back a heck of a lot better than you can." I gave him a bitter look. "Plus, sometimes you get on my last damn nerve."
"Gee, thanks Boss."
I put my hat back on my head and cast my gaze in the direction the Reclaimers had been heading.
"Come Bossche, daylights burning. We have a giraffe to find."