Chapter 8
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Tapping through her computer, Sarrahson frowned, pushing forward a little.
"-Evening dear."
She turned, giving a wave at her husband as he walked in, the male serval looking at her and giving a smile before pausing, eyes focussed on what she was doing.
"Everything okay?" she asked.
He walked over, looking down at her ongoing activities. A furbook page, a few posts, a picture of some mammals at a school. Most were selfies of a pair of wolves, all while a small cast could be picked up in the background. A Scottish wildcat, a wombat, a sheep, three foxes…
"That's the one, isn't it?" he asked, leaning over and pointing. "The platinum fox."
"Silverfox."
"I thought…"
"His name is Silverfox," she said, reaching down and grabbing some spicy crispy crickets, throwing them into her mouth and slowly chewing, a loud crunch coming out.
Her husband looked at the few pictures of him for a second before shaking his head. "I know… I know you said all those things about him. He looks fairly ordinary."
"They always do," she said. "It's only as you see them, clock what they're doing, you realise just how foul and manipulative they are. The pleasure they take in it. They're subtle. That's what mammals don't understand. Subtle, and patient, you think you know and you're coming out the top, all while you're their little patsy."
"I… I guess there are plenty like that up there. Those that get caught."
"And there's far more out in the city, all ready to come in and help out one of their own in his time of need."
He glanced at her, pausing, before looking back at the picture. "I guess if mammals like Bellwether lasted so long, I…" He paused. "I'm guessing you're just looking for any evidence or such of things he's done in the past."
"I… -Yeah," she agreed, looking on through.
He held himself there. "You… You know I'll always have your back, right?"
She nodded.
"Just…" He sighed, bringing up a chair and sitting down, paws out. "I…" He froze, leaning down and pinching his brow before looking up. "It's not a bad thing to be mammal."
She stopped typing, turning around to look at him. "Be mammal?"
"Y-you know, to err is to mammal, what I'm saying…"
"You think I made a mistake?" she asked, turning her chair around so she fully faced him.
"I… -It happens," he said. "I've met mammals too who just… Rack me off in some way. Some difference in how we think of something, or something in their voice, or I don't know. Just, we get off on the wrong paw and where possible, space and forgetting about it is the best option. And you didn't get that here, you met a mammal who for whatever reason just ticked you off in the worst way, maybe you brought about the worst in each other. It happens. It opened some scars left from what Karen went through, and seeing as what he was going through I wouldn't blame him if he was bitter and counter snarking and it just…" He sighed.
"-What he went through?"
He looked up. "You know, falsely accused, thrown in prison when by all rights he should have been bailed, all for some public figures ego and conspiracy point scoring. I would struggle to be a saint too and…"
"-Well I mean you're defending him now," she said. "Like the rest of them."
"I…"
"I don't blame mammals for succumbing to peer pressure too," she said, turning back to her computer screen. "Though I'd have at least hoped you'd have my back."
He froze, ears pulling back. "Of course I have your…"
"-Yet you're making excuse after excuse for this mammal, you'd rather not look bad than question why everyone came to his defence."
"He had relatives and friends in high places, who knew people, it…"
"-Oh, I'll credit you there. But you're still thinking so small," she said, shaking her head at him.
She scrolled through more posts, her husband looking on and sighing. "I thought you said all you were doing was reposting stupid stuff people posted online. Not doing any of that conspiracy…"
"I didn't find the conspiracy," she said. "The conspiracy found me."
He looked at her before half collapsing. "Please, what do you think…"
"You've heard of the Lotor case, right?" she asked. "Well…"
"-That mob thing back in Vancouger, I…" He looked at her and groaned. "No, please, tell me you don't think that that fox was involved in something like that here."
"And why wouldn't he be?" she asked. "Wouldn't that…"
"-And what in his time under your watch suggested he was involved in that, huh?" he asked. "What? What evidence, what hints, what proof do you have, other than him being an edgelord or something... And why have you kept this quiet so long if it's so true?"
"I got a phonecall earlier today. The whole uprising thing…"
He facepawed. "Don't bring that into this, don't…"
"WHY NOT!?" she yelled, jumping up. "It's all part of the plot. All part of what's going on. And now the powers this fox's family did their dirty work for is keeping them safe, all while the heroes who tried to…"
"Stop, stop, stop!" he yelled, paws out wide. "You… -Wait, the mammals behind the riots actually contacted you?"
She smiled. "Yeah."
He looked at her, blinking for a second before jumping into the air. "-Ye…" There was a massive bang as his head hit the ceiling, the serval collapsing back down onto shaky legs, his wife running forward to steady him.
"You okay!?"
"Y-yeah…"
"Been a while since…"
"Three months, I think," he groaned, snapping to attention and holding her. "But this is great!"
"I know!"
"Forget all your legal troubles, you have a get out of jail free. Handed to you on a silver platter!"
She chuckled. "I wouldn't say I have quite that."
"No, no," he said, shaking his head as he began walking around. "It's not that clear that the ZPD would accept it…"
"Huh?"
"-And you might still get some suspended sentence, but still, they'd kill for this. They'd…"
"-What are you talking about!?"
He turned to her. "We tell the ZPD, we organise a meet up with these mammals, we lead them right to the cops and boom. They get arrested, you get a plea deal, it's over!" He kept his smile open and wide, only for it to fade as his wife's look hardened. "No…" he groaned, facepawing again. "No, no no no no…"
"I can attempt to appease the evil, or fight it," she said, crossing her arms. "I can lose in both of those, but only one of those losses has my face being eaten off by a leopard."
He spun around, a bemused expression on his face before he shook it off. "No. Sarah. Be serious here."
"I am being…"
"No you're not!" he yelled, walking up and grabbing her. With a sudden hiss she snapped away, claws up and bared.
"Don't…!"
"Sarah," he stammered, shaking a little.
"Didn't you vow to always be by my side?" She asked. "Didn't you vow to trust me, to…"
"You're not speaking straight," he said.
"Ah, and now the gaslighting begins," she said, crossing her paws. "That and the domestic abuse."
He looked at her, trembling. "What…. What happened to you?"
"I don't know," she said. "The fact that my husband was trying to push me to plead guilty, to go to prison, to leave my children behind!"
"You were going down anyway," he insisted. "Can't you see that? I… I was happy to stand by your side as you fought this, but when it became clear you did do it…" He frowned, stamping his foot. "I was shocked at first but I chalked it up to you encountering the wrong mammal at the wrong time! You being mammal! And if you apologised and plead guilty you could have had a short sentence and I would have waited! I would have waited! As I love you dammit, I…" He froze, mouth quivering. "I loved you. But I don't see you anymore." He closed his eyes and put his foot down. "It stops now."
"What does?" She scoffed. "They're not…"
"The social media, the conspiracy stuff, it's rotting your brain. So you stop it right now, delete the apps and… -No, don't delete them as we're getting your lawyer and getting you a plea deal or something for bringing those monsters in!"
He stared at her, claws out and teeth bared before he pulled them in with a shake of his head. She just glared at him. "Isolating me, cutting communication…"
"What…"
"You know you have some nerve!" she yelled. "Saying I've changed!? Whereas you are going right down the domestic abusers handbook. Each and every step of it. If anything, I should be the one calling the ZPD. And I bet you'll think you're a fool when they come for you, when they come for all of us."
He frowned, shaking his head and walking forward, only for her to step back and grab a small fire poker that had been lying near the desk and hold it up like a sword. "Get out."
He blinked. "What!?"
"Get out of my house before I call the ZPD."
He frowned, standing straight. "No."
She moved to pick up her phone, poker held up at him. "I'm warning you. Trust me from someone inside, the guards don't like domestic abusers. You really think you'll last long in there, huh, you really think…"
"I am not leaving my house," he said.
"'My house', like you didn't pay half the mortgage. Like you weren't the one to make it a home, full of life, full of happiness, like you weren't the one who failed your duty to defend it or your wife. Honestly, I'm even hoping you do come back, begging to be let back in. What kind of man even are you, huh!? HUH!?"
He closed his eyes, staring at her. "I'm not…"
"-Dad. Please."
All eyes turned to see a serval in his late teens in the corner, phone camera slowly lowering as he looked at them, body trembling.
"Martin," his mother began, walking forwards only for a paw to be held up, her son looking away.
"Don't… -Dad, come on, let's go."
"Martin," he began.
"It's not worth it, I…" He glanced over at his mother. "I've… I've seen what you've become," he said, glaring at her before looking back at his father. "I'm sorry you…" He trailed off. "Come on, let's go."
His father sighed, before walking out.
"-Wait!"
They turned to Sarah, who looked at her son. "You… You're not…"
"I hate what you've become," he snarled.
"What about Karen? Her father and brother fleeing her and her mother, leaving them for…"
"-Karen is already in the car," Martin said. "She was half having a panic attack!"
"No, my little kitten would…"
"Save it!" he yelled, his father walking out next to him and holding himself there, trembling for a second, tears glistening down his eyes as he looked at his wife. "The only one in this household to not see what you've become is you. Maybe while we're gone you should look in a mirror for a change!"
And with that they stepped back and suddenly they were gone. Sarah stood there, shocked for a second before snapping to attention. "Wait!"
She began going after them, seeing them closing the door. Racing after them, they slammed it shut hard, Sarah grabbing the handle and pulling it only for them to pull back, the click of the lock engaging.
She turned, racing out a window, racing forward as she saw the car pull out of the driveway and turn, starting to drive forward. "STOP!" she yelled. The car pushed on. "I SAID STOP!" It drove off, picking up speed. "YOU CAN'T JUST STEAL MY FAMILY! COWARD! MONSTER! YOU CAN'T! YOU-CAN'T-YOU-CAN'T-YOU-CAN'T!"
The car sped off around a corner and vanished out of sight, the serval left there shaking, panting, eyes glowering and teeth snarling.
The serval turned back home, slipping back in and walking back to her study. Picking up the stoker, she stared at the wooden surface, her computer equipment and knick-knacks all laid out.
She pulled it up and smashed it down, shattering the picture of her husband that lay on it. Up and down, up and down, the frame splintering and going everywhere, the plastic glass snapping.
She threw away the poker and screamed, collapsing back down on her bed and breathing in and out.
Eventually, her phone rang. By that point in time she was back on her computer and working hard, to the point she almost threw the device across the floor before realising just how important it was.
"Hello?" came the voice of Felicity.
"They took my family," Sarrahson spoke. "Poisoned them against me. Good news is I've got what I need to find that fox."
"Do… -I'm sorry, I really am. We'll show them all, and you'll get them back. You'll get your happy ending."
"Yes I will," she said. "Though at this rate we could win and reveal everything, and it could still be too late. Doesn't matter, if my husband and son are still willing to defend them then, then I have no husband and son."
"Brave. Very brave."
"Thank you," Sarah said, taking a breath in. "Regardless, I knew that Silverfox has a girlfriend. Small, freckled, innocent looking thing. Called Agnes. Sooner or later, I can see her trying to visit them. -I find the girl, I find the boy, I find the foxes."
"Excellent… I knew you were the right mammal for this job. Only a small truly special set of chosen few are, but I'm glad my intuition was correct."
"Uh-hu…"
"Hold tight, let me work on a few things." There was a laugh from the other end. "Let's try the spying game, shall we?"
Sarah listened on and nodded, hearing a last few sets of instructions before setting the phone down. She stood up, walking forward and around the home, a stride in her step. Things were going to be okay, things were…
She froze as she realised she was halfway to Karen's room, only Karen wasn't there.
With a sigh she turned back and down, opening up Dik-Dok. Some self recorded idiocy might be in order, it would be all the more satisfying when she showed them.
She almost recoiled as an angry red and white face appeared, ready to give yet another stupid rant. Yet today, she settled down, smiling. Oh he thought he was so smart. Well, she'd show them. She'd show them all.
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"That's a… -That would a big fine back in Zootopia. A really big fine."
"What can I say," Jack said, pausing as their taxi driver gave a honk, the errant rhea that had been standing in the road slowly walking to the field beyond. "This isn't Zootopia."
"I know, I know, just…" Judy said, the car moving forward again. She gazed at the bird through the window, a basket-like muzzle covering the front of its beak but not the sides. It could turn its head and scavenge, but it couldn't peck out weeds, seeds, mice…
"They don't regulate their livestock industry to death," Nick smiled, even as he received a thump on his side.
Up front, Jack ignored them, keeping his eyes peeled. "Yeah, left here and…" The driver, ignoring him, followed his phone and turned left. "Carry on, carry… -Yeah, this… -I remember this!"
"How long since you last saw her," Skye asked.
"Decade at least," he shook his head. "I shouldn't have waited this long, I… I'm going to get the chancla for keeping away this long."
"If she's that nice…" Carmelita began with a smirk.
"Well, I deserve it, I…" He paused as they pulled up, his eyes rising. "We're here!"
Out he jumped, a pair of sandals he'd purchased at the airport kicking up a cloud of dust. The others followed, Skye, Carmelita, Lt Vixen, Nick and Judy. Murray, Tigress and 'Dave' exited a large mammal taxi right behind.
In front of them was a long, high, whitewashed wall with patchy paintwork and the odd streak of rust crawling its way down from the iron spikes along the top. In the centre were two doors, a large heavy metal one that Murray could probably, just about, squeeze through, and a small well-worn wooden one perfectly sized for Jack and large enough for the foxes to duck through.
"Well, she's been expecting me…" Jack began, moving up only to halt as it swung open, an old doe looking out. Thin and lanky in places, but at the same time a bit wide around the gut and chest, her fur was an earthy grey brown riven with white fur, a snowy white patch across her chest and running up her neck. Two wide, lightly darkened stripes were on each cheek, pulling back from near her muzzle to the back of her head for her lower set and the base of her long ears for her upper.
She looked on at them for a second before her eyes lowered at Jack, a massive grin growing on her face. "Mi pequeño Seis-Rayas!" She raced forward, pulling Jack tight into a hug. "Mírate ahora. ¿Cómo estás?"
"Bueno abuela," Jack smiled, taking her back into a hug. Her head fit well below his chin, but he cradled down to hold her tight. "Tengo mucho que decirte."
She pulled back, giving him a quick swat on the nose. "Eso te pasa por estar ausente tanto tiempo."
He chuckled a little, only to pause as she pulled away, looking at Judy and frowning. A frown that increased as she looked at the others in attendance. She pulled away, going back into the compound before walking out, a spare flipflop in paw. Jack's ears swung back, but before he could react further she marched right passed him, right towards Skye, and slapped her on the knee.
"Ah… -Hey!"
"Abuela…" Jack began, only to get cut off as she marched straight for Nick.
"Pregúntelessi quiren contraer anquilostomas o algo así," she grunted, the fox stepping back a little even as he deigned to take the slap.
"I suppose bunny grandma's are bunny grandma's," he said, Judy walking in ready to object.
"Listen, you may be Jack's grandmother, but I will not accept you going around giving speciesist abuse to…"
In a flash she was twirled around, a slap whacking down just below her tail, her body going rigid and ears stretching upwards. Nick looked on, swearing they'd somehow sharpened into points from the shock.
"I like her," Dave said, earning a glare from Judy as the old indomitable hare marched straight for Tigress, bringing the chancla down towards her foot paw. The tiger shot her foot back, easily dodging the…
"-Huh!" She stared down, jaw going slack as she registered that she hadn't, in fact, dodged it.
The old bunny looked over to Murray, the hippo already raising his paws only to be met with a smile and wave, one shared with a very happy and entertained sheep, as Abuela Savage turned to Carmelita.
"Well," Nick huffed, "now it's your…"
Carmelita gave a bow, the hare leaning forward and patting her head. "Confíen en que ustedes dos zorras sean las sensatas. Y el chico hipopótamo también."
"-Hey, I was in there!" Murray smiled.
"What gives?" Judy asked, as the hare walked back into the compound.
"She asked if you wanted to get parasites and stuff," Carmelita said. "Walking around barepaw like that."
The bunny paused, looking down at her bare feet, then at Nick's, Skye's and Tigresses.
Jack, stretching up and down in his flip flops, smiled. "I told you you should have got some."
Judy glared at him as Abuela Savage walked out, flip flops for Skye, Judy and Nick, and old plastic bread bags for Tigress.
She smiled, grabbed Judy and led her in, finger up and wagging in her face. "No quiero ver ningún mal ejemplo a los kits de la novia de mi nieto favorito."
"Okay," Judy said, smiling as she shuffled into the sandals, the older hare holding her tight and…
A nervous Hmmmm-hmmmm cut them off, Jack raising a finger before pointing at Skye. His grandmother looked at him, then her, then Judy, stepping away and giving a few pats to her head.
Before giving Skye a long look over.
Jack chuckled, smiling a little. "No es que pudiera tener cachorros de todos modos." Out his paws came, as his grandmother looked at him, then at a nervous Skye, then back at him.
She shrugged. "Supongo que no." She smiled, walking over and waved them in, pulling a switch inside the compound. With a heavy electric clunk the large main door was unlocked, a bag-footed Tigress opening it up.
In they stepped, all halting at the sight in front of them.
Jackrabbits.
Lots of tiny, tiny, little Jackrabbits.
Turning to the new visitors, putting down their toys or stopping their games, they wandered up to them. The oldest was probably six or seven while in one fenced in corner around a plastic swing and slide set Judy could see a bunch of toddlers still under two.
Nick broke the silence. "Hi there!"
And soon there was a whole tidal wave of talk. Spanish, liberal smatterings of basic English, even a few odd other words that some of them guessed must have been Zapotec. Jack's Abuela loudly told them that they were guests, to say hello but not to bother them too much, etcetera etcetera.
Looking forward, Nick studied the actual home itself. While the outside of the perimeter walls were all old whitewash, the inside were just bare brick, patchy mortaring still showing out. On one side was what looked like a large timber shed, the way the old matriarch was gesturing Murray, Doug and Tigress towards it suggesting that this was a large mammal bunkhouse. Cramped for sure, but it would suffice. Next to it was a large fenced off set up, containing a big set of open cooking surfaces, along with fridges, freezers, and metal store cabinets raised well off the ground. The actual house in the centre was massive, for bunnies at least, rising up three or four storeys. The lower floors were whitewashed and beautifully decorated, but the upper two were bare brick, the roof on the highest section missing.
"It's just as I remember," Jack said, sniffing a little as he walked up to the door. A few older bunnies in their lower teens looked out, some of them holding full on little kits in their paws.
Nick looked up at the half-completed structure. "I guess they really do take ages to build things here then."
"Oh no," Jack smiled, rolling his paws a bit. "It's a tax thing."
Nick looked up at it and smiled. "Tell your Abuela that she is an inspiring mammal who takes after my own heart."
He tapped her and translated into Spanish, the old hare looking up at Nick and chuckling, tapping her fingers along her nose. All before she walked up and grabbed a bell, pausing before she gave them a look. "La mayoría sabe que sus padres vendrán pronto, por lo que intentarán hacerlo todo rápidamente."
It was Carmelita who translated. "Remember the craziness of the Hopps burrow? Well, get ready."
All as the bell rang, all eyes turning to the hare. "Tu primo Jack Savage ha venido con algunos amigos de Zootopia. Nada mas. Se bueno."
Whatever she said, it was like she'd shot a firing pistol, the young hares walking forward and jabbering out in a mix of three different languages, paws up clinging and touching at the various larger mammals.
All of them looked at each other, saw the eye-roll from Jack's Abuela as she moved off to the kitchen area, and then just submitted.
Some better than others.
Half an hour later there was a knock at the door, a large number of adult hares stepping in, giving the newcomers an odd look but otherwise being content to summon their kits and take them away.
Skye, waving bye to a pair that had been busy playing with her tail, looked over at Tigress. She'd been swamped at the start, but now looked almost defeated. "Was I really that boring?"
"Yes," Doug said, sitting in a chair and reading a book in the corner of the compound. "Though unlike me it wasn't intentional."
"Dou…-ave," Skye scolded, before shaking her head. "Seriously, just ignore him."
"I suppose I should," Tigress said, nodding as a little doe walked up to her, arms going wide.
"¡Gatita Rayada!" she burbled, holding up a little tiger plushy. She then went forward and hugged Tigress' legs. The big cat was unsure at first, but slowly settled down and started stroking her, before letting her chase her tail around.
"-See, you just need to find the right kits and the right way to play," Murray said, as he juggled four screaming and cheering kits up in the air, before placing them down next to a slackjawed set of parents. The four immediately turned to the giant hippo, jumping up and down in front of him.
"Again! Again! Again!"
"Sorry kits, I've got a line to deal with here," he said, turning to the long queue, getting even more frantic as more cars began appearing outside.
"-You'd think they got the call and were rushing in to rescue them," Judy said, as she looked back to her audience and put her paws up. "Sorry."
"Lo Siento," Jack cut in, translating for her. And with that, he waved them on. Nick and Judy were down on the ground, as Carmelita, a whole set of pillows tied around her, stood on the edge of the building, her shock pistol out and ready.
"What are you going to do, kill us?" Judy yelled, as Jack filled in.
"Monstruosas ovejas malvadas." Jack spoke, arm thrown out accusingly to Carmelita. "¿Es así como planeas terminarlo? ¿Derribarme antes de que pueda revelar tu loco plan a la ciudad que traicionaste?"
Carmelita cackled, paws out wide. "¡No, estupido conejita!" And with that she pulled her shock pistol down in a dramatic pose. "¡Él lo hara! ¡BLAM!"
And with that she 'fired', Nick jerking out, paw shooting up as Judy, turning in terror, raced towards him. "Nick, NO!"
Carmelita gave a loud evil cackle up into the air. "¡No puede evitarlo! Y ahora morirás entre sus dientes, tu símbolo de amistad con los depredadores se convirtió en un símbolo de su maldad. Será tu nombre lo que pronunciarán mientras queman a los depredadores de sus casa y los matan a tiros."
"NEVER!" Judy yelled, only to turn and flinch as Nick got up on all fours and began prowling after her, cornering her against the wall. "So that's it, huh," Judy began, Jack translating. "Prey hate Pred and you stay in power."
Jack translated, Carmelita bellowed out her own snide, self congratulatory line, Nick prowled forward, growling, ready to…
-Jack's abuela cut in and whacked him over the head with a chancla, to the howls of laughter from the kits and Dave, who'd otherwise remained entirely silent with his book. Nick just gave his audience a look, all as a set of new flip-flops were slipped onto his front paws. The fox gave a glance back at her as she hurried off to the kitchen, the propane on and the old lady busy preparing dinner for her guests. "Tells you something about how she keeps her yard, doesn't it?"
A few kits chuckled in laughter, the laughs increasing as more began to translate.
Jack, sniggering, put his paws up. "Recuerde, si la abuela hubiera estado allí, todos los malos habrían corrido a la cárcel, ¡con las patas cubriéndose el trasero!"
"¿Crees que eso los salvaría?" came a shout from the kitchen, more laughter coming out.
But all went silent as Nick turned to Judy, prowled forward, Carmelita leaning forward with an evil grin on her face that was so good the doe bunny swore she must have seen reference pictures.
"Adiós conejita."
And then he bit her neck and she screamed, Carmelita up above giving a loud cackle to the air, devolving into a full on evil laugh. "MUHAHAHAHAHA! MUHAHAHAHA! MUHA… HA…. haaaaaaa…."
She trailed off, looking down, soon followed by the rest of the mammals. Standing at the entrance to the compound were at least two dozen adult bunnies, looking on slack jawed at the scene. From the kit juggling hippo, to the pillow clad vixen on the roof, but mostly to the red fox with his jaws around a doe bunny.
Jack, seeing the sight, rolled his paws on and Judy reached down, throwing out a few red ribbons. "Blood, blood, and death…"
"Sangre, Sangre, Y la muerta," Jack followed on.
"...-Sigue siendo mi palabra contra la tuya, y soy la alcaldesa," Carm shot out, as Judy pulled out her carrot pen. "¡No puede evitarlo…"
On it played, as Lt Vixen stepped out, a fake moustache under her nose and two party hats on her head like horns. "Soy jefe de policía. ¡Vas a la cárcel ahora!"
The kits burst out into claps and cheers, the assembled mammals coming out and bowing. Even Skye, a set of old broom ends tied around her face, the brown brushes fanning out around her.
Doug made a largely ignored comment about gross inaccuracies and blatant propaganda in modern woke kit entertainment.
The parents still looked unconvinced.
Jack's grandmother looked on and drummed her feet a few times before her ears shot up. "Se oye cómo intentan prohibirnos darles bofetadas," she began, coming over to them and shrugging. "Necesitaba algo más si se portan mal, aquí viene el tigre y se los come."
The various parent bunnies looked at each other and sighed in relief, nodding. Calling back their kits, a few even pointed at Tigress, making a motion at her or miming biting or paws out and clawing. Many, telling their kits to stand where they were, even walked up, notepads or phones out, asking for a number.
Not sure what was going on, the massive feline smiled and began putting her number down, all as the parent bunnies gave knowing looks to their kits.
Eventually it was done, the tiger smiling. "I'm not sure what I did, but I think it was good. Right?"
Jack fumbled a little, trying to think of something to say, before a little hare doe cut him off, hugging on to Tigress tight. "¡Gatita Rayada!" The big cat carefully but gently wrapped around her with a paw, the little girl giggling.
"Sure," he said, thumb up and giving a wink. "It was great."
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Whatever it was, it was soon forgotten as the night went on. The sky dark, humming with insects, the last of the mammals from the extended family returned from whatever late shift they were working to pick up their young kits. Some of the older kits who'd been helping out left and, as the small numbers of little ones who remained were all put to bed, Jack's abuela Langhaied her guests into assisting around the house.
Murray and Tigress got the most of it, suddenly being presented with a bucket of paint that had been dropped off outside and asked if they could patch up the outside areas of the compound. It wasn't a hard job by any means and they got on with it as the smaller mammals helped out around the compound.
Most food and such was served on banana leaves, allowing them to be thrown away afterwards and the mammals to not bother with washing, but there were plenty of bits of cutlery as well as bottles for the smallest that needed to be washed up and ready for the next day. There were three dishwashers present, and quick work was made of both unloading them and reloading them up. Of course there were also the bed sheets of some of the older young guests. A large washing machine was present, so large in fact they needed a step ladder to get up to it and the hanging lines were set up on a set of pulleys, so they could be lowered and raised.
Pinning a freshly cleaned blanket, complete with a bunch of smiling cartoon characters on it, to the wooden frames and starting to haul it up, Judy turned to look at Jack, eyes resting on him as he worked his way through his phone. "Finally burned through the motivational drive, huh?"
He paused, looking up at her and shrugging. "No, I'm just doing what she asked. Checking the weather forecast for tonight to see if the monsoon rains are coming and… -No, they are not. Not until late tomorrow at least."
He turned to his abuela and repeated what he'd researched, the elderly doe nodding and saying something back in spanish.
Judy nodded on before looking up at the set-up. Against the side of the main house was an extendable awning, one that could shelter the drying clothes from the rain. Indeed, looking down, she saw a whole set of drains around the outside. She shook her head, they may have been on the drier lowlands here, but they were going into jungle weren't they?
That meant rain.
Lot's of rain.
"Excuse me," Doug said, as he walked across with several different linen bins, throwing them straight into the now empty washing machine.
Judy turned and looked at him for a second or two, eyes slowly boring into him.
"What?" he asked.
"What's your game?"
"I thought I said it. It took a moral objection to Rattigan and what he caused that night, I want to bring him down. Is that so irrational to believe?"
Judy thought for a second. "-Yes, entirely."
"Why?"
Judy just stared at him, mouth hanging down, before she marched up. "You… -You tried to kill me!"
"When?"
"I… -On the train?"
"No, that was Jesse and Woolter, running after you despite the fact that it was pointless."
"Well," Judy grumbled, crossing her paws. "At least you recognised you were doomed then."
"No, I knew that a freight train was on its way on the main line and would kill you and your fox in a horrific accident," he shrugged. "All avoidable had you not stolen my lab train in the first place."
"I… -Well what about the time you darted Manchas and sent him against us."
The sheep paused, thinking for a second. "Oh yeah, you're right. I forgot that one. Bit embarrassing really." He paused, looking down at Jack's Abuela. "Coffee por favor?"
She froze, staring at him, then up at the night, then at Judy. "¿Lo sé, a esta hora de la noche?"
The bunny shook herself straight, as Jack came up. "Decaf?" he asked, Doug shrugging as he turned to his grandmother. "Descafeinado."
She thought for a second before shaking her head. "No. Chocolate?"
"I…"
"-Say yes," Jack said. "Say yes."
"I…" Doug began.
"No, you're wrong, say yes."
"Sure, why not, por favor."
She smiled. "Llevar los pañales al contenedor de basura al final de la calle por favor."
He looked at Jack, waiting for a translation, only for the hare to walk inside the house, walk up the stairs, start moving around. Doug looked down at Judy, then Lt Vixen as she finished up, before the doors to a balcony at one end of the house swung up. Jack and Skye dropped down two large plastic bins each, decorated with baby decals, before stepping back and looking at the sheep.
"Dumpster down the street," Jack said.
The sheep just stared for a second. "Oh wow, diaper duty, what a horror show."
"Never was," the hare smiled.
Doug ignored him, taking the lids off the bins, tying up the bin bags, and then left the compound, walking away as Jack looked down and asked his abuela where the replacement bags were. She gave her reply and the pair turned, walking back in, only to freeze as Judy called out.
"-Wait. What was the whole thing with the chocolate?"
The hare turned, looking back. "He may be evil, but even I have standards."
"Right…" Judy said, one ear semaphoring down.
"Anyway, he's being a sport so far." He said, Skye looking on, unconvinced. "Don't worry though, had my mother got decaf, I'd of swapped it for the real stuff in a heartbeat."
"Good… I guess," Judy muttered, looking over as Lt Vixen walked over, carrying a bunch of the plastic cot mattresses which she'd been hosing down. "I'm sorry, is this all part of the plan or…"
"Local resources," the vixen smiled. "Making friends with the local population, endearing yourself to them, and getting a free meal out of it."
"Okay, but is it really that good?"
.
.
"Ohhhh yefffff, iffffff reallllllyyyyyy iffffff…"
Judy swallowed down another one of the tortillas, watching over as Jack helped to form another. A quick press of the cornmeal dough ball on a press and it was then thrown down on the hot cooking surface. All as some of the bowls of food were moved up, the main one being an at first unappealing looking brown sludge made of black beans mixed with chunks of other vegetables, some broccoli florets in particular sticking out.
Scratch the looks though, they were delicious. Same for the strips of carrot, greens, peppers, cabbage and other vegetables that had been frying through all their work and were now waiting, bowled up, and ready to be added on.
All covered in all sorts of spices, hot and tasty.
Judy looked on as a mixture of the good stuff was mixed up, pausing as she asked if she could have some of the stringy white cheese added to it. Jack translated and she shrugged, giving a comment.
"Gracias," Judy said, smiling as the plate of food was passed over, the bunny digging in.
"She said it's your indigestion," Jack said, smiling.
Judy gave him a look. "Didn't she have some, and sour cream…"
"You had more in your firsts than she had all night."
The bunny paused, looking down.
"-Don't worry," he said, smiling as he held up his taco, containing a mix of fatty, twisty, brown and red meaty bits, cooked with peppers and smelling of paprika, all covered with both cheese and an egg. "I'll be having it far worse."
"I think I'll be too," Skye chuckled, biting into something similar. "These are delicious. What are they?"
"Tripas," Jack smiled. "Lots of the poorer pred families have them around here. We never did… But hey, when she learnt she had some of us going around she called in some favours."
Judy looked over curiously, taking one and nibbling. Concentrating enough to cut it down to size, she swallowed, nodding. "They're… Okay."
"I'm so so," Carm nodded, as Lt Vixen shrugged.
"All the more for me."
Doug looked on. "You understand you're debating the flavour of the small intestines of ratites, that have been cooked in a way scientifically proven to make them carcinogenic?"
Judy wilted back, Carm pausing for a second before shrugging.
"Seriously," Jack said, shaking his head. "If the bit of the animals that deal with the crap is this good, I know why you preds did what you did."
Skye looked on, a little smile growing on her face as she leant down and whispered into his ear.
"Ahem," he smirked, "I am the most delicious, thank you."
"Regardless," Nick said, "with that context I think I know why I prefer the chapulines." He smiled, taking a paw of the small red grasshoppers and throwing them in his mouth, giving a satisfied chew as they crunched out."
"I admit, I'm enjoying all of this," Tigress said, turning to the matriarch, still working the griddle. "Your hospitality is much appreciated. And your cooking is delicious, I…"
"¡Gatita Rayada!"
They all turned to see a familiar little hare doe holding on to Tigress, tight.
Abuela Savage turned, looming up as if ready to give the little one hell for sneaking out of bed, only to pause, shrug, and throw a paw to the wind, returning to the kitchen and wrapping everything up.
The last of the food cooked, she turned off the heat and pulled out a few metal pots of water, putting them on to warm up.
As she did so, Jack began speaking. They'd gone over what he'd say before. Talking about how they were on a mission, how the mammal who had caused the damage and chaos up in Zootopia was coming down to find something.
Her ears pulled back and she pulled up her chancla, speaking out angrily and waving it about, Jack smiling along and laughing. In the end she settled down, letting him continue. About how they were seeking something, a treasure, something they were certain was linked with the old bat caves up in the jungle, with the worst of them, who…
She froze, turning to them, saying something.
Not in spanish.
Jack slowly began to reply, trying to string together his own limited words in zapotec.
His abuela nodded, beginning to hum and sing a song. The words unfamiliar. She rocked back and forth.
Jack nodded along, listening, before breathing in and out.
"It's an old warning song," Jack said, looking at them. "Ghost story, legend…" He shrug. "The demon that made the great cats of the lake turn back. The bats of the forest, who would take the kits in the night and take them away. Into the jungle, into the caves…"
"Vampire bats?" Carmelita asked.
"No, however hated they were…" He tapped his paw on the table. "They'd drink from birds and livestock, they couldn't just carry kits away."
"Only a flying fox could do that," Carmeltia interjected. "We're on the wrong continent for that."
"Some large birds," Skye said. "Up in the deserts certain rodents trained and flew harris hawks…"
Carm looked at them. "We all know what repressed memory it probably is."
They turned, looking at Jack's abuela. He asked a few questions, she nodded, speaking along.
"-She says that there was a nameless cave -caves?. Above the closest to this ocean the river barred from it reached. Dark things done there. Bad bats. When mammals came, looking for guano, mammals with guns, nobody shed a tear when they marched up, when they refused to give up their centuries of filth, when they died for it."
The old doe nodded, before spitting on the floor.
"That narrows the position down," Lt Vixen said, as the hare moved the semi-boiled water over to a clay jug. A chocolate paste had been spooned in, and she poured the hot water in before starting to whisk it together. "We forward that information to Bentley, he could look at records, geological maps, we…"
She was cut off as Abelua Savage raced forward, waving her paws, speaking out loud in spanish.
It was Carmelita who spoke back. Trying to reassure her. Calming her down. Showing her shock pistol.
In the end, she was still unhappy, angrily stirring up the chocolate until it formed a brown foam.
The vixen turned to them. "There are contra groups, rebels and such, in these areas. Gangs." She sighed. "The one led by 'The General', they're coming south. Supposedly, to help some treasure hunter or something…"
"So they are connected," Murray said.
"And she says they're quiet, but lethal."
"Sí", she nodded, handing over the whizzed up chocolate concoction, spoons in and ready. "Como el de fer de lance."
There was a jolt, Jack letting his glass slip down onto the table, a tremble in his paw. His abuela looked at him, concerned, taking him in a paw and spoon feeding him some of the desert. It helped, somewhat.
"So be it," Lt Vixen said, taking her own spoonful and nodding in appreciation. "Does she know how close they are?"
The question was asked.
"Coming close," Jack said, in between spoonfuls. "Not here yet, but getting close."
"We tell Bentley everything we know then," Carmelita said, taking a sample and pausing, ears going down and a soft purr coming out. "Santa madra de esto es buena… -regardless, if we get a lead, we get there, start exploring, hide, prepare." She breathed in and out. "Remember, we have one massive advantage. We expect them to come, they will have no clue we're there."
Judy nodded. "And until then?"
She expected Nick to answer, but instead, of all mammals…
"Eat this delicious chocolate stuff I guess," Doug said, taking a spoonful.
.
.
.
.
The jungle gave Rattigan the creeps. He couldn't help it. Mammals he could beguile, bribe, outsmart, outwit.
Here in the depths of nature, there were creatures that could take him in a second.
He was wise enough to show some humility after all.
The various mammals standing around him, weapons in paw, looked on. The army, currently guarding where his stealthed drone had landed, looked on as he made his way up to the small camouflage tent.
Where The General stood, waiting.
His figure was there, in the darkness, the rough silhouette and a single glint of an eye. Watching him.
"I must thank you," Rattigan said, bowing. "I wasn't sure if anyone had spotted me on that last little hop I had to make, but as always you were able to take care of them."
A soft chuckle came out from the other end. "Nothing too challenging. Do you want to see their faces?"
Before the rat could respond, a few photographs were pushed forward, different mammals, different ages, the old, the young…
"Oh don't try and guilt me or anything," the rat smiled. "After all, you did the deed."
"That I did."
"All for the mission," Rattigan agreed, bringing out a map and laying it on the ground. "I need cover, resources, support, we're exploring these caves here to…"
Click…
He froze, looking up to see a steel barrel pointed straight at his forehead, hammer back and soft furred paw on the trigger.
The silence lingered on.
"All you get if I die is every ounce of detail of you and your operation leaked to Interpol," the rat spoke, teeth grating together.
The General chuckled. "You come into my tent, and start making demands of me. Ordering me around. As if this is your army?"
Rattigan watched as a brown paw reached out, grabbing a roasted leg of some bird. Up it came, four sharp incisors cut into it, the mammal chewing before swallowing.
"Do you fear death, Rattigan?"
"Do you?" the rat asked.
He chuckled, putting the gun down, spinning it. Far too large for Rattigan to handle, but he moved up a paw to reveal a small rodent sized recoiless paw-gun. One shot, but it was enough.
The General looked on, chuckling. "It's liberating. To be free of it. To pass through and back the other end." He leant forward, the light revealing the scar up over the ruins of an eye. "The bastard Keehar gave that look. Took me to death, and I clawed my way back. A new mammal."
Rattigan looked on, a smile growing. "Keehar, hmmmm?"
"He goes by so many names." Another bite of the leg, chewing, swallowing. "Those of the northern forest talk of the thunderbird, screaming across the night. The Apache…" He took another swallow. "Their feared warriors would hold their cubs and calves tight in night, less the great owl Pia Mupitsl take them off." He smirked. "Or to throw them as bait, to save themselves. Or most likely, so they could go together. The terror in the night. The silent killer. The ender… of all of this." He gestured around. "The one who takes you to the next place. But why is that bad? Why fear the ferryman? Curse him, oh I do. Revenge on him, I desire more than anything. But wherever he goes, to lose your fear of him, is to be liberated by him. Go ahead, do it. I assure you." He spoke up. "He who wishes to shoot his general. Here I am!"
The mammals, battle hardened, thousand yard stares or unhinged tics across their faces, did nothing.
Rattigan laughed. "Like an old friend back home. I'm doing him a favour. I can do you one now."
A short laugh. "Really?" He leant forward again, his single twitchy eye staring at him. His battle scarred muzzle up in the rat's face. Long, chipped and holed ears pulled back.
"If you know of keehar, you know of Niedelines."
His eye went wide. "You know of my people."
"Enough," Rattigan smiled. "Like Keehar is known by many names, so is Niedelines." He pointed back to the map. "He left something, down here." He tapped around a set of areas, circled in red. "Something we can steal from him, as we scourge the place. Like your Efrafan ancestors."
He nodded, smiling. "Like my namesake, who took the elite Inle Owsla to Keehar's house, and submitted it to his wrath. I like that. I do."
"Like the General of old," Rattigan smiled.
"Like myself, today."
.
.
.
.
The raccoon looked on, muzzle strained before he let out a laugh, legs kicking in front of him. Muzzle pointed up to the sky, he wiped at his eyes as the Dik-Dok tune rang out, moving down to the next video. "Oh no, here he comes again." He watched on as a small red mink-like mammal filmed himself, stepping on board a small remote controlled boat and setting sail on some small back-water drainage ditch somewhere in the Canal District.
Sly listened on as he began going over the invasive species present in there, and how the city wanted them gone but most mammals wet their pants at a predator like him taking them for free for his own consumption. -Also that there were alligators out there, they had a video, but the city hall tourism board was bribing them very handsomely to not release it.
Sly just watched on, smiling, pausing as he heard a spring like noise and looked over to see Po catapulting himself up next to him with the help of a bamboo stalk. The panda landed in a power stance, balanced on the ridge of the roof and then looking down at… "Wait, you've found those guys too?" he asked, Sly pausing the video just as the boat got buzzed by a duck, its captain declaring war and turning her around, shouting out that he was going for ramming speed and pulling out a sharpened knitting needle to mount on the bow. "-I love those guys. They're like, not awesome, kinda the opposite, but they know it and that makes them even more funny."
"Nah," Sly said, "it's just one of their solo channels." He turned forward, looking down at the city spread out below him, trees filled with lights rolling down to the light filled canals and waterways down below. He chuckled. "Out of all the things you guys did in the near decade I was gone, who'd of thought my favourite would be a Ewetube with vastly reduced functionality!" He smiled, pressing play and carrying on, grin increasing as a barrage of incoherent rage filled screaming began coming out. "I never thought I'd find an incredibly ill-adjusted khonorik this amusing, but there you go," he waved, eyes widening as a set of loud flaps, quacks and screams rang out.
Po nodded. "It's almost as if growing up on a remote island full of only predators, varying levels of social trauma and bitterness and a general lack of self awareness leaves you entirely unprepared for the various compromises required for life in a well functioning multi-species society…"
Sly gave him a look, an eyebrow rising.
"Ahhhh, is it that obvious that Bentley said that?"
The raccoon nodded. "Honestly I'm more curious about why Bentley was interested in this?"
"Something to do with him being on a boat near Shen's ship or something, trying to find any other news on what happened to that wolf and his Clockwerk horcux talisman fileactory thing…" The panda looked out across the city. "They've landed."
"Huh?"
"They've landed," Po said. "Juchitán de Zorrogoza airport, they're at Jack's abuela's, they've even learnt some good hints that Bentley's working through."
Sly nodded. "Good…"
"Murray wanted you to know they're all good, and they hope you're all good too."
"Thanks," the raccoon said, looking forward again.
He turned down and played another Dik-Dok video.
Po sided up to him, giggling a bit.
He laughed at the next one.
Full on laughed out loud at the next.
The next one… "-Sorry," Sly said, "just a badger aerobics class by the looks of it, I'll…"
"-Oh no, I love this one," the panda said, getting up and starting to star jump to the song. "So catchy. -Badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers…" He jumped into a squat, arms curved above his head. "Mushroom… Mushroom…"
Sly looked on.
" -Badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers… Mushroom… Mushroom… -Badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers… Mushroom… Mushroom… -Badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers… AH!" the panda winced down, clutching his side in pain. "Stitch… Ah stitch…" He settled back down next to the raccoon. "Stitch… Stitch… Oh it's a stitch…"
"Well, don't go eating before doing aerobics," Sly said.
"Yeah…"
The raccoon scrolled on to the next video. "More of Weasel's stuff… Hmmmm, I…" He turned to see Po sitting there, leaning in. "Yes?"
"Oh, uh, just wanting to make sure you're fine. Fine fine. You know."
The raccoon nodded, slipping his phone away and looking out at the artificial jungle below. "I know."
…
"And… Are you?"
Sly looked up at him, cocking an eyebrow. "Do you think I'm okay?"
"I… -don't know, but I guess not."
"For thousands of years Clockwerk haunted my family," he said with a casual shrug. "Always there, like a ghost story, some records of him noting him close, sometimes even attacking once every few generations or so... As he watched, as he waited… The soul of a creature driven by hate, so envious of our family that… -So hating our family he lived for an eternity, made himself immortal, did all that crap to anyone who got in his way as he waited. Waited until the night he broke into my family's home with four allies. Not that he needed them. Waited until he could kill my father, and my mother, as I cowered in a closet hearing their screams. Hearing them beg, or fight, they didn't have a chance. Hearing his rage as he ripped into them, his satisfaction at ending the Cooper line." He paused, trailing off. "Or rather proving our legacy, our heritage, was meaningless. That we were just a book, a record of traditions or skills. There was no great bloodline, no destiny, no nothing. He let me live to prove that. I didn't matter, he…"
Po looked on, an arm slowly coming around the raccoon as his foot began tapping on one of the tiles, its rattling sound ringing out into the night sky.
"He took true sadistic pleasure in making my father suffer. For all his own pain and suffering, he wanted to repay it as much as possible," Sly said, turning and looking Po in the eye. "That's why he tortured and killed my mother first. So Dad could watch. That's why he ripped apart our family book, in front of the mammal he'd just mortally wounded. Why he made a gesture towards the closet I was cowering in, paws over eyes, to make my dad's last moments be the fear that I would be next."
Po slowly lowered his arm around Sly, nodding. "I… I'm really sorry, I…"
Sly shrugged.
"-Only," he paused, looking down. "That last part, how did you…"
Sly chuckled, a large broad grin growing across his face as he stood up and walked towards the edge of the roof. "How did I know that Clockwerk did that, hmmmm? Good question. Very good." He turned back to Po, eyes narrowing as he put on a secretive cool voice. "Do you wanna know how, huh?"
"Oh, yeah. Was it some super secret thiefy instinct or…"
"-No," Sly said, shrugging as he turned to look back at the city. "When I touched that little fragment of that monster's soul, when he realised who was touching it… What memory do you think it rammed into my brain?"
"I…" Po winced up, a pained and then pitiful expression on his face as he looked down at the raccoon. "I…" he said, fumbling a little. "I am so sorry, I…"
"Nah," Sly said, paw up. "It's okay. I just felt every ounce of rage and vindication, felt and heard each and every bone snap, felt the warmth of their blood on my talons… Heard their whimpers and cries and begging and fear and everything he himself was thinking in my head."
"I… -I don't think many people would be okay after seeing that," Po said, walking up next to him.
"And I wasn't, but I'm getting better now."
"Are you?" Po asked. "-Because it's great if you are, we are all worried, and…"
"Well yeah, and maybe I'd rather not linger on any of the bad thoughts," Sly said, turning and raising an eyebrow. "So, now you know and can tell everyone, I'd rather get back to some of this mindless brain rot and stop those images replaying in my mind over and over if you don't mind me."
The raccoon pulled out his phone and marched back up to where he'd been sitting, nestling down on top of the ridge and playing a new video.
"Brilliant idea."
The raccoon paused, glancing up at Po, an eyebrow raised.
The panda returned an equally confused expression. "What? It is! Horrible idea occupying your mind, if it's just stuck there sometimes you need to find something to distract yourself."
Sly breathed a sigh of relief, smiling as he carried on looking at the phone.
"You know," Po said, "it's really healthy what you're doing, how you're taking it."
"It is?" Sly asked.
"Yeah," the panda agreed, casting his gaze out across the city. "Panda King… -I knew he'd done bad stuff in the past. Terrible stuff. I had issues too, I… -I was raised by someone not of my species. -It actually took a really embarrassingly long time to clock that I was adopted." He chuckled a little.
"Never got that chance," Sly said.
"And… -I remember some bad stuff when I was a little cub," Po continued on. "For a long time, it tore me up, made it harder to focus. I suppose Panda King had that only with his guilt, the gnawing anger at how he'd been humiliated when young… After all the work he'd put in, and just how much he'd enjoyed being bad." The panda looked up to Sly. "And you were the one to help him with that. -First by beating him up and all, but then by showing him the path of humility, the path of coming to peace with the past. Helping him come to inner peace with himself."
The raccoon nodded along.
"Panda King had let his rage consume him, let him hurt others. He'd done a terrible thing. That had happened. That was it. Now what? He accepted where he had come from, and where he was going. Inner peace."
"I… I'm sorry I missed him."
"I am too," Po said quietly. "He died helping his friends, he died awesomely. And I can accept that, just like I can accept the things that happened to me, and that they don't define where I'm going next."
"Yeah," Sly said, smiling. "That's, that's good."
"Yeah," Po grinned. "And you."
"Yup," the raccoon nodded.
"That monster did terrible things to your family, for no reason at all."
"I…" he began, before going quiet.
"But you survived, you ended him, and we're gonna do it permanently."
"Yes," he said, looking back to Po and nodding.
"-Because you are Sly Cooper, master thief, you didn't start the fight but you ended it…"
Sly glanced back down at the city, ears going back.
"-And you accept that. Isn't that right?"
Sly kept his gaze lowered. "Uh huh, inner peace and all that."
"Oh yeah," Po smiled, suddenly pulling the raccoon into him. "And, for the blues and stuff, we can keep you happy as they fade away. Heck, forget Dik-Dok. I can really help you."
"Huh?"
Po let go of the raccoon, arms out wide. "This is Zootopia, Sly! Where anyone can be anything," he exclaimed. "And there's far more fun stuff out there than a phone with an app on it."
The raccoon thought for a second, scratching his chin. "Like…"
"Well, oooh, we could go on a rollercoaster for a start. -You can even still watch your videos while waiting in the queue. Or something else, I don't know, what's your favourite thing in the world to do?"
Sly stood up, deep in thought, glancing around.
"-That makes you happy like nothing else."
His eyes looked on at the Rainforest district, Savanna Central, the small corner of Tundratown reaching up into downtown and, beyond that, the expanse of Sahara square, the town glowing. And rising up from the middle, towering up above the rest… Wasn't that?
"-That you were born to do."
The raccoon smiled. "Is it okay if I do this alone? You know, a little me time?"
"I, -if it's what works," Po said.
Sly chuckled, a cunning grin growing across his face. "Then I think I might have a plan."