Luisa Cavirus was a caring person who worried if the mammals around her were hurt.

This was understandable, considering she was not only a capybara, but also a doctor who worked on the ER of one of Zootopia's biggest hospitals.

Hard to be a good doctor when you were not the kind of mammal who cared about others.

So, you can understand how worried she was when, as she was looking at her husband's garden, she saw two mammals walking past her house, one of them being a gazelle who looked to be seriously injured.

She was even coughing up blood!

Immediately, her doctor instincts took over, and Luisa was all over the gazelle, asking her what happened, and if she would like her to call an ambulance. However, the gazelle insisted that she was okay, and even tried to move away with the bunny's help, but then she had a coughing fit that turned into her vomiting a significant amount of blood.

Eventually, Luisa managed to convince her to, at the very least, come inside of her house so she could check on her.

"It's okay, I'm a doctor." Luisa reassured the gazelle while guiding her inside, despite the bigger female clearly having reservations about it, seeming annoyed and saying that was a waste of her time. And the bunny, of course, came along, as they were together.

Soon, Luisa was checking on the gazelle like she did with most of her patients. That was how she figured out that her problems were, mostly, internal, as she could hear something wrong going inside the gazelle's body as she heard her breathing with her stethoscope.

"I am telling you I'm fine!" The gazelle said, "I just have to go back to the place where I'm staying!"

"Mrs. Horne, with due respect, you are not fine!" Luisa continued to check on her. "Dear god, were you in an accident? Or where you attacked? Maybe we should call the police alongside an ambulance."

"I am a cop." The bunny said, and that was when Luisa remembered where she knew her from. That was Officer Hopps, possible the most famous rabbit in Zootopia.

The gazelle, however, was vehement about not calling any ambulance or police.

"You want to call someone?" Lumia finally said, seeming to be fed up with things now. "Call the Manechester house and ask for my husband!"

Luisa flinched a bit at the tone the gazelle used when asking for that, and she could not help but feel that the bovine looked quite grumpy. She then remembered that her husband had, earlier, said he would be going to the Manechester house with their neighbor, so she called his phone.

Soon, she was hanging up, and telling Lumia that her husband was on her way. This seemed to put the female a bit at ease, and this allowed the capybara to continue to check her for wounds. And she was soon finding out that her wounds are more serious than what she thought, like he huge gash on one of her arms, and the other one being broken. Also, there was the fact that she had a few bruises on her body.

It did look like the gazelle had been a victim of violence.

"Mrs. Horne, you really should go to the hospital." Luisa was cleaning the gash on her arm, making sure it would not infect. "You should at least let me put a bandage on this, it looks bad."

"I am fine." Lumia looked at the capybara as she spoke those words.

"I just need my husband."

Soon, one of the servants of the house had come, informing that someone claiming to be Mr. Horne was inside.

"That's my husband." Lumia spoke, causing the servant to look at her in surprise.

"But he is a leopard."

"Yes, that's him." Lumia said without a doubt and asked the servant to bring her husband to her, ignoring the surprised looks not only from the servant, but from Luisa herself.

Soon, the said leopard was coming, and he was BIG. Not extremely big, but bigger than the average leopard. Enough to make Luisa instinctively recoil in fear as he came in the direction she was.

However, the leopard was paying no attention to her at all, but to the gazelle.

"Honey." He said as he went to her, and Lumia received her husband, quite literally, with open arms, telling her she was okay.

The leopard looked at her wounds, and then he gently placed his paw on them.

Luisa looked in astonishment as his hand glowed, and then he removed his paw to reveal that the gash on her arm was gone, and that there was no indicator that the wound had even been there.

"They are both mages." Judy said to the capybara, as she continued to watch as the leopard took care of his wife, this time focusing on her other arm, his paws glowing as he poured magical energy on them to make them heal faster.

"Did you really leave the boys alone?" Lumia asked of her husband as he worked on healing her injuries.

"Gosha." Was the feline's answer, and Lumia looked at him for a moment, before nodding.

"Yeah, that makes sense. At least he won't let those two dunces set the house on fire."

"The... boys?" The capybara on the room asked, feeling a bit weary by the leopard's presence.

"My son and godson. They are the reason we came here in the first place. They were up to no good, as most teenagers."

"Sorry." Tibor said, holding her arm gently as he worked on healing them.

"Don't be, sweetie." Lumia said to him. "It is not as if I had not already had it worse. It is nothing compared to what happened last week."

Luisa blinked.

"Did you... got hurt as bad as this last week?"

She seemed cautious as she asked that, and Lumia nodded.

"I get hurt as bad as that or worse at least once a week. It is part of my routine." The gazelle was very casual as she spoke those words, allowing her husband to work on her wounds. "I guess it is part of being a mage. Our lives are not as calm and safe as they would be for those who were not born with the burden of magecraft. I grew used to it already. Luckily, my husband always fixes me up whenever those things happen."

Once her arm was done, Tibor looked at his wife for a moment, and she then sighed and lifted her shirt. She flinched a bit as Tibor placed both paws on her stomach and started healing just like he did with her arms.

"Sorry." Tibor spoke to Lumia as he healed her, sounding sad and regretful as he spoke that. "Sorry."

This caused Judy to look at the leopard with a raised eyebrow.

Why was he apologizing so much?

And it seemed that Mrs. Cavirus thought the same. However, instead of being confused like Judy, she had a look that was one of suspicion and apprehension.

"Uhhh, Mr. Horne?" The capybara got herself the leopard's attention. "Would you mind if I had a word with your wife and officer Hopps here... alone?"

The leopard looked at her, with a tilted head and an inquisitive look.

"I need to talk to them both." The female capybara said to the leopard firmly. Nearly as if she was standing her ground, and this caused all the present mammals to look at her the same way Tibor was.

Tibor then turned to look at his wife. Lumia then put a hoof on his face.

"It's okay, hon. I'm better now." She reassured him. "You go back to that house and see if Gosha is not having trouble with the boys. You know how they can be if you take your eyes off them even for a second."

The leopard looked at her, and then he nodded.

"I'll be meeting with you soon." Lumia said as Tibor made his way out of the room, still looking over his shoulder at the female gazelle.

Wow... he really is worried. He doesn't even want to leave her alone. Was all that Judy could think. By her side, Mrs. Cavirus had a different thought on her mind as she saw how the leopard was looking back at them before leaving the room for good.

"So..." Lumia said, turning to look at Luisa. "You said you wanted to talk? What is it about?"

Luisa looked at her, before she spoke:

"Do you really get hurt all that often?"

Lumia looked at her, before shrugging.

"Like I said, once a week. Sometimes twice. My life is quite hectic."

This answer seemed to make the capybara more worried.

"And your husband always heals you when it happens?" She asked, "Or sometimes he... doesn't?"

Lumia had a raised eyebrow with the way the other female asked this.

"Well, luckily he cares enough about me that he heals me whenever he can." Lumia says. "Which is always. What is good, because I was always the worst at healing magecraft and could never heal myself as well as he does. Guess I am lucky for having him."

The capybara looked like she disagreed, by the look on her face.

"Okay, what gives?" Lumia asked her. Then Lusia said:

"Just want to say that those wounds you had were pretty nasty. If they were a little worse then you could have ended in some serious trouble."

"Not with Tibor around."

"Yeah, but what if he someday cannot heal you?" Luisa was looking at her as she said that. "What if he doesn't want to heal you?"

"He loves me."

"You had a broken arm and a foot-long gash on the other one!"

"I told you, this is part of being a mage!" Lumia spoke. "We get in way more fights than normal mammals do. This is all part of our lives. Believe me, I am not the only mage who has to deal with weekly wounds. In fact, some have it worse than me."

Luisa looked up at her, and then, she sighed.

"Why are cases like that always so complicated?" She said to herself, causing the two other ladies in the room to look at her.

"Yes. You are right. You are not the only one who has to go through it." Luisa was being very gentle as she spoke this kind of thing. "Non-mages do to, and I have saw my fair share of cases like this to know that they don't end well."

"You might think that he loves you, but if he did, you would not be going through what you do now!" She then turned to Judy. "Officer Hopps! Please, help me out here!"

Judy herself was looking at her with the same confused look as Lumia, as the gazelle asked:

"What are you getting at?"

"I am getting at that your husband will end up killing you one day!" Luisa finally snapped. "It is only a matter of time on those cases! Especially if he hurts you so bad every week! You don't believe me? Then just go around asking what happened to couples where the woman refused to go to the police or to leave her husband when he started beating her! And they eventually started hurting their children as well! You have a son and godson, right? What if your husband starts doing to them the same things he does to you!? Maybe he already started, and you just don't know!"

At that moment, realization dawned on both Judy and Lumia, as they both realized what was going on, and the misunderstanding that Luisa Cavirus was making.

And Lumia was outraged.

"How dare you!?" She demanded as she got up suddenly startling the capybara.

"How dare you suggest that Tibor would ever hurt me or the boys!? How dare you even think he could ever hurt us!?"

"What? But he hurt you, didn't he?"

"No! He didn't!" Lumia shouted back. "He wasn't even there when I got hurt, and I have Officer Hopps as my witness!"

Luisa was surprised, and she then looked at Judy, who confirmed to the capybara that Lumia's injuries were not caused by her husband.

"Being attacked by freelancers or fighting members of other clans is seen as normal among mages!" Lumia said to the doctor. "Especially if you are someone with as many enemies as me! I lost count of how many people want to see me bleed, even among my own family! But I assure you that my husband is NOT one of them!"

"B-but..." Luisa was in shock, as well as confused. "But... he was apologizing..."

"My husband has guilt complex!" Lumia said back. "He has the tendency of blaming himself if bad things happen to the people he loves! All because his family who is almost as crappy as my own! And he is one of the most protective mammals I've ever met! He feels that every time I get hurt is because he failed to protect me! He would shield me from the world if I let him! And he would do the same for the boys! So don't you ever dare to suggest he would purposefully hurt us! Do you hear me!?"

With this final angry outburst, Lumia Horne marched out of the room while Luisa looked at her with a shocked expression. Judy was soon leaving as well, as she was going after the gazelle as they walked to catch up with Tibor.

There was something wrong.

There was something wrong, and Sophie could just feel it.

Call it a mother's intuition, but she just knew that something very bad had nearly happened to her son. Something that made her consider creating one of her butterfly familiars to go there and watch over him in case he was in trouble, even though she had promised Nick she would not do that anymore.

It was just hard not to worry about her son.

The world was changing. It was changing way too fast, and a lot of people were being caught on to it, their lives thrown into disarray and leaving them so disoriented that they ended up throwing other people's lives in disarray as a consequence in a cascade effect that would only continue progressing until the whole world had lost its collective mind.

This was the kind of thing that Sophie was always told that could happen if the veil of secrecy came down and the world took knowledge of their existence.

And yet, when she looked out of her window, she saw Zootopia still moving like it always did.

It did tranquilize her a little bit. To see that the city was still moving as always. That the place where she grew up and that she knew was not descending into chaos and anarchy. At least not yet.

It was very tranquilizing for Sophie to see that the world she knew still seemed to be at peace, even if that was only on the surface. It gave her a sense of security, as it reassured her that things were fine.

That her son would be fine.

With a sigh, Sophie lowered her head, looking down at the sidewalk right in front of her building. That was when she saw Harry Hopps down there again, walking from side to side.

What is he doing here? Sophie caught herself thinking as she looked at the bunny, who seemed not to have noticed that the vixen on a window above had her eyes on him. Has he come to see me again?

Not that Sophie was not happy for having a visit, but she was already getting ready to refuse Harry once more if he tried to convince her to be his magecraft teacher. However, as she looked down, she had the impression that Harry was not going to come into her house. It looked like he was waiting for someone.

Then... Sophie saw her.

Her eyes widened in shock as she saw that white vixen come on that dress. She walked with elegance down the street, getting a few eyes as they looked at the beautiful vixen walking down the street, some with desire and some with disdain.

Miska!? Sophie was in shock. N-no! This can't be!

She made her way to Harry and started talking with him. Harry talked to her, still unaware of Sophie looking from above, this time with the most shocked expression ever.

I mean, what would you think it you saw a dead relative of yours walking down the street?

For that white vixen currently talking to Harry was no other than Miska Wilde. A relative of Sophie who lived outside of the country and who she met back before she renounced magecraft as she came to Zootopia to visit them in name of their family overseas.

And she died during this visit, nearly four decades ago.

Sophie saw her die.

She was killed by...

Harry and the vixen then turned to leave, the vulpine with an arm around the bunny's shoulders, and her tail wrapping around him gently, as if to pull him even closer. As she walked, she looked up, directly into Sophie's eyes.

Then she smirked.

Her teeth were black and jagged. And her eyes, for a split-second, became red with yellow pupils.

Horror of the kind Sophie has not felt in many years creeped into her heart.

No! No, no, no, no, no! Sophie frantically made a mad dash across her apartment, slamming the door open and startling her neighbor as she dashed down the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her.

She didn't mind she was taking people by surprise, or nearly bumping into them as he ran to the outside. She needed to get to them. She needed to get to that bunny before it was too late.

She needed to save Harry's life.

"So, what kinds of lessons will you be giving me?" Harry asked Vee, who smiled at him.

"Well, I was thinking about starting with the basic, like it is regular with beginners. Unless you want to skip that and go right to the fun stuff."

Harry considered it for a moment. However, what Mrs. Wilde told him was still on his mind. He ended up deciding that going into the deep end at once was far too risky. Better play it safe for now.

"The basic is fine." Harry told her, and Vee smiled at him, telling him that it was a wise decision. Garry could still not get over how sweet and pleasant this vixen was...

"STOP!"

The sudden cry made Harry turn immediately, and he saw Sophie in there, running towards him at full speed.

"Harry! Get away from her now!"

The way she was rushing at him honestly scared Harry a little bit. Just as the frantic look on her eyes as she rushed to them, grabbed his arm and then pulled him roughly away from Vee.

"H-hey!" The bunny was shocked. He looked at Sophie, but the middle-aged vixen was too busy looking at the younger one, with white fur.

"You!" She said to Vee accusingly. "What do you think you are doing!?"

Vee tilted her head as she looked at the other vixen.

"I'm sorry, have we met?"

"You can cut the crap with me, I know exactly who and what you are!" Sophie yelled back. Some of the people around were turning to look at this scene. Sophie ignored all of them, just like how she ignored the way Harry was looking at her and asking what was going on. All her attention was focused on the white vixen in front of her.

"What were you intending on doing with this bunny!?" Sophie was asking that question, but it was just a rhetorical question at this point.

Sophie had a very good idea of the things that she was planning to do with Harry. And none of them was good.

"Oh, I was just about to give him his first lesson." Vee said to the other vixen. "You know, since I am his magecraft teacher and all. I need to start his lessons as soon as possible, so, if you would just let me take him..."

Vee was reaching for Harry, but then Sophie got in between the two, growling at the white fox while adopting a fighting position. For an outsider, it seemed that she was trying to protect Harry from her, what she indeed was.

No way she could allow for her to take him.

"You are not his magecraft teacher!" Sophie was growling at the other vixen, baring her fangs as she spoke those words. "I am!"

"Wait, what?" Harry was baffled by all that was happening, and he looked at Sophie with stunned eyes.

"I am the one who taught him his spells!" Sophie said. "He is my student! Not yours! So, keep your filthy paws away from my apprentice unless you want to suffer the consequences! Do you hear me!?"

For a long moment, the two vixens stared at each other. Sophie had an intense look on her eyes, while Vee seemed mostly unimpressed. Then, the white one chuckled.

"You got a lot of never, Sophie..." She said casually, looking at the other vixen. "Perhaps more than it would be considered smart."

That had all the looks of a veiled threat. In fact, it was so threatening that even Harry, who was not being spoken to, felt his nose starting to twitch involuntarily.

Sophie, however, was not impressed.

"I am already the one responsible for teaching Harry." Her voice was firm as she looked at the white vixen in the eye. "He is my student, and my responsibility. And no matter who you are, you have no right to try and take someone's student from them. You know that. Or have you forgotten the basic courtesy among mages?"

"And the one saying this to me is an ex-mage."

"And that should be enough to tell you how over the line you are going right now." Sophie shot back, still glaring at the white-furred fox. "Come, Harry. We have to start your next lesson."

With this, Sophie pulled Harry by the arm, steering him away as if he was her kit and she was moving him far from a sketchy individual. And she was doing it as fast as she possibly could, just like a mother would.

"Mrs. Wilde. Mrs. Wilde! What's happening?" Harry was still a bit disoriented. Sophie looked at him.

"Harry, you can never talk to that vixen! She is dangerous! Stay away from her! I am serious!"

Sophie did not stop making Harry move. She was, however, looking back at Harry as she said those words, having some time to look over her shoulder, at the vixen, who was still standing there, looking at the two departing mammals with a slightly tilted head and an amused look on her face.

"And... that what you said..." Harry asked, looking at Sophie. "Are you really going to teach me?"

Sophie stopped, Harry stopping with her. After a second, she sighed, and then she said:

"Yes, Harry. I will. I will teach you magecraft."

And she continued to guide him by the paw, all the way back to her building and to her apartment.

She had to teach him. She had no choice now.

She was going against her own principles, and certainly against what Harry's mother's wishes. However, she really had no choice on this matter.

If she did not become Harry's official teacher now, then she would be coming for him again, and this time Sophie would not be around to stop her from dragging Harry into the darkness with her.

Then that bunny would never see the light of day again.

She knew she was doing the right thing, and Bonnie Hopps would agree with it as well once she heard the exact circumstances that made Sophie make this decision.

Anything was acceptable in order to keep Harry out of her clutches.

"So, are you saying that this person you talked with actually knows something regarding the attack of the mall?" Bogo asked to the foxes, and Marceli nodded back at the buffalo.

"He was afraid of talking on the beginning, but he seems to have worked up the courage now." Marceli explained to Bogo in a very formal way.

It was obvious that things were tense between the two, ever since that confrontation they had on the previous day.

Guess being forced to remember his traumatic first mission did put the enforce on a bad mood... at Bogo. However, he was still professional enough not to be petty.

"So, any chance you will share with me what he told you?" Bogo asked and, to his positive surprise, Marceli did right away.

"He got an information on the person named KT that owns the storehouse where the golems were being stored." The fox was looking at the buffalo as he spoke those words. "They are under the name of a mage named Kolby Tasman, of the Tasman clan. They are a family of thylacines known for their spiritual and elemental magecraft."

"Thylacines, huh? Like Fanghanel's wife?" Bogo asked, and that was when the fox revealed an extra information:

"Yes. As a matter of fact, Chloe Dapperclaw was originally engaged to him before breaking the engagement to elope with Eliot Fanghanel. It was quite the subject for gossip among the local mage circles around the time."

"I see..." Bogo said, as he didn't ask about this Tasman's connection to Fanghanel's wife, as it was not exactly important now. Instead, he focused about why Tasman would be storing those golems on a storehouse he owned.

"We are trying to contact the Tasman clan about it, but they are ducking our calls." Marceli explained. "Most thylacine clans have been at odds with the Mage's Association in the past decades. A former member of the council... was not exactly kind to them, and they still mistrust us ever since."

"Well, no wonder." Emilia decided to chime in. "I mean, the guy tried to pass a law that would force all thylacine clans to become subordinate to older clans of other species. Even to surrender part of their Magic Crests. Pretty a-hole move from his part, no wonder the other members eventually voted him out."

Bogo had a raised eyebrow.

He has been having the impression that a great majority of the mage population was composed by a-holes, based on what he had been learning recently.

"To point is..." Marceli went back into the topic. "He agreed to disclose this information with the promise of us keeping his name out of any official records of this. As to avoid repercussions to him and his clan. In return, he told us all he knew."

Then Marceli added a thing:

"And, he also told us that we were not the first ones to come to him asking about this subject."

This caught Bogo's attention.

"Apparently, someone else came to him to ask for information regarding Tasman and the storehouse of the golems."

"Really?" Bogo said, "Who was it?"

"He refused to say." Marceli spoke in turn. "Apparently it is something he doesn't wants to share with anyone else. He just said that it was debt of gratitude he had to pay, and that he hoped to never have anything to do with that person again."

"The guy is pretty secretive, even for a mage." Emilia chimed in again. Bogo looked at the two of them, and he nodded.

"I will contact an old friend of mine." Bogo told the two. "He is not a mage, but he is from the FBI. I'll ask him to check on a family of thylacines named Tasman and see if he can find anything out about them. Maybe check their connections and see if there is anything that could serve as a lead for us."

"Oh?" Marceli looked at Bogo curiously. "You have the FBI on quick dial, or something?"

"We worked together on a case many years ago." Bogo said to him. "He owns me a few favors, and I will be sure to call all of them if I have to. You'd be surprised with how much information an FBI agent can get if they have reason to do so. Perhaps he will come back with something that could shed some light on it all."

Just as Bogo finished saying those words, the machine Mieczyslaw had near him started to type by itself again, answering to the typing being done by the double of the machine all the way back in Britain.

"Oh, message from headquarters?" Emilia looked as her uncle looked into the runic words, reading them over, and then his eyes widened, as he cursed in his native language.

"What? What happened?" Bogo asked, and then Marceli looked up at him.

"The headquarters just received an information regarding something that happened this morning." Marceli looked up at Bogo, and his next words caused Bogo's blood to run cold:

"A great number of familiars invaded the house of the Manechester family and attacked everyone inside."

Amazing how fast one could drive across the city when they were properly motivated. It only took Bogo and some of his other officers around five minutes to drive from the station to the Vole Gardens with their sirens blaring and their feet slamming on the gas.

It only took him twenty seconds to get past the guards on the gates, as Bogo did not hesitate to show them how scary a Cape buffalo can be when he is angry, and they allowed them past the gates immediately.

The mansion looked normal from the outside, but Bogo knew better than to let looks deceive him. Soon, he was getting out of the car and going to the door, slamming his hoof in it until a butler opened and then he forced his way inside, with his officers and the enforcers coming right behind him.

Bogo ignored how they told him to slow down, but Bogo did not. He only slowed down after he found Ben, and saw that he was okay, as he was surrounded by his family.

And Angus was not too far away.

However, at that moment, Bogo was far too worried with Ben to give even that stupid horse any attention.

He was relieved for hearing that Ben was not harmed, and neither was anyone else of the house, save for the teenage wolf, who got some serious stab, but didn't seemed to have any mark on his body...

"It is a pleasure to have you in my house, Chief Bogo." Yahya said, he sounded sincere "Although, you could have given a warning first. Perhaps made a call to let me know. As you can see, my people are already dealing with everything."

Bogo looked at the horse, and he also looked at his son. Adrian was just sitting in a couch, looking down as he had his chin on his hooves and just looked like he was sulking.

He looked just about done with his life at this point. Unlike the dog who was sitting on his haunches at his feet, looking around at the new people who just arrived as his tail wagged behind him.

That dog... was someone who Bogo didn't knew.

"Who is that?" Bogo pointed at the dog as he asked that, while the canine looked back at him with a tilted head.

"That's a squatter." Charles said, "Would you mind taking him away, please? Cuff him and toss him in the back of a cruiser?"

"You better not." Angus said, "If I am right about this dog, he will bite your entire arm off if you do anything he doesn't likes."

"You know, he is probably right about that." Caitlin said, as she stepped forward, and greeted the buffalo. "Good seeing you again, Bogo."

Bogo nodded back at her, saying it was a pleasure seeing her again. Just like it was a pleasure seeing the rest of Ben's family, including his little sister Penny, who was quite pleasant to be around.

One who didn't seem happy for meeting him was Gabe, as the deer looked back at Bogo nearly as if he was evaluating him. Sizing him up to see the best way to take him down. Bogo, not being easily intimidated by any means, returned the look with one of his own, and things were getting complicated quickly.

"Okay, what is going on here?" A voice came and broke the tension between the two prey. It was Lumia, who had returned with her husband and with Judy. "Why there are police cars outside? Melor, what did you do?"

Melor, on his end, groaned as he dropped himself on the chair he was sitting, and soon the situation from a moment before was left behind, as Bogo now focused his attention on Hopps, who had just returned and was joining the other two officers who had been on the mansion for the past few days.

"Okay now." Bogo said, looking at his three subordinates, Ben included. "What is going on here? Give me a summarized report, all of you."

And they did. The three of them described to Bogo about the incident, letting him know about how everything has been transpiring since yesterday, and how those puppets had invaded the house. Ben knew more about those things of things than Nick and Judy, but the two smaller cops also gave important testimonies. Especially Judy, who described how she followed Mrs. Horne and witnessed her being attacked by the same dog who had attacked Ben three times on the past few days, and how they nearly managed to capture him, but that he escaped.

"Dammit." Bogo said under his breath. "That darn dog is still out there, we need to get him."

"This 'we' certainly does not includes you, Bobo." Angus said, "I mean, what a mundane like you could do against a freelancer like Shephard? He'd turn you into sliced beef in a few seconds... I'd like to be there to see it happen."

"You, cut it out now." Marceli said, as he glared at the horse. Angus glared back at him, and then the fox continued:

"I heard about you. Angus Manechester, right? The one who claims to have acquired magic circuits?"

"And I did." Angus lifted his hoof and lighted up the circuits on his arm. "I am as much of a mage as you, so don't you dare look down on me, fox."

"I am not." Marceli was looking intently at the horse. "But I will have to summon the amends of the Mages' Codex, which say that the representatives of any organization or agency working alongside with the enforcers in a matter of interest of the Mage's Association are to be treated like enforcers themselves when it comes to matters of contempt. In other words, disrespecting or downright attacking Chief Bogo while we are working with the ZPD constitutes the same as doing so with an active enforcer. So, unless you want to face legal repercussions for going against the laws of the Codex, I recommend you mind your words."

Angus glared at the fox, before turning his gaze at the buffalo. He looked like he wanted to say something back, but instead he only snorted and then turned away.

Bogo then looked at the fox, who then looked back at him, giving a single nod, before addressing the rest of the room.

"So, did anyone mention something about puppets?"

And soon, the enforcers, as well as the cops who just arrived, were all being briefed on the matter, and on how Gosha already checked the puppets and told them a lot about them, as well as about their maker.

And Emilia was just about all over Gosha once she realized just who he was.

"Man, I can't believe I am talking to Gosha Drachenwolf himself! You are a living legend! And you two really used to be partners?" She looked in between Yahya and Gosha as she asked that. "Man, you are so lucky, horse! You got to work very close to such an elite guy for years! I bet you have so many stories to share about him! What was he liked when he was younger?"

Emilia was still gushing questions, until Marceli eventually told her to cut it out and focus on their job.

"Puppets are not really my area of expertise." Marceli was examining the pieces that had already been bagged and tagged by the Beastar Corps' men, including the perpetual-motion engines that served as their power source. "But, from what I know, those seem to be exactly what Drachenwolf said. I mean, they do look like Duboar Clan's work, not to mention the credibility someone with that wolf's track-record has."

"That's for sure!" Emilia chimed in once more, as now she was looking at the wolf with admiration, what seemed to be making Gosha uncomfortable.

"Were those all of them?" Bogo asked, to what Gosha and Yahya both confirmed that they were. They searched the house and found no traces of other puppets or anything else on the house, and Bogo nodded.

"Mieczislaw." Bogo turned to the fox. "Considering that the Beastar Corps just collected a lot of evidence on the case, and that this is Manechester's house, maybe we should help them investigate this case."

Marceli looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Bogo then turned to Yahya.

"Do you agree, Manchester?" Bogo asked him, and Yahya looked at him for a moment, before he nodded. This was enough for Bogo, who then turned back to Marceli, and the fox seemed to reflect about it for a few moments, before nodding as well, showing his full agreement on the matter.

"Very well then." Bogo concluded. "From now on, this is a collaborative investigation between the enforcers, the ZPD and the Beastar Corps." He announced, "We will work together to get to the bottom of this and find the ones responsible. Meanwhile, I want this house vacated, it has been attacked a few times, and it is not safe in here. Everyone who is not directly involved in the investigation will be moved to a safe location until this is over. That includes you, Clawhauser."

Bogo pointed at Ben as he said that, and the cheetah was surprised. So were some of the people on the room, who traded looks as the buffalo said to them that they all would be moved to a safe location.

"Wait. What about my game?" Chandler asked.

"Cancelled." Was Bogo's answer. "Just like anything else you may have planned for the next days. I don't care if it is a live show or a date on the ice cream shop. All of you will remain under protective custody until we are sure that whoever is threatening all of you is no longer a concern."

"No!" Chandler said suddenly, causing some to look at him in surprise. "You can't I... I planned this for days! I need to finish this game!"

"Honey, it's okay." Hannah said, putting a hoof on her boyfriend's shoulder. "it is just a game, we can try again next year."

"No! I needed it to be this year!" Chandler sounded really upset, and this prompted Ben to join Hannah into trying to calm the horse down.

"Bogo, you cannot be telling me to cancel my Halloween party!" Adrian was speaking to the buffalo. "It is a tradition! And I already had all invitations sent and everything is almost ready! It will be in just a few days!"

"Oh, for Minos' sake!" Bogo pinched the bridge of his nose, "Are you really telling me to leave all of you in danger just so you can have a party!? Are you kidding me!?"

"It is an important event!" Adrian said, "Perhaps one of the most important of the year for us! We have been doing it every October 31st religiously for over thirty years! Even longer than that back on my grandfather's day! Father, tell him!"

"Yes, the Halloween celebration is a tradition of the Manechester family." Yahya confirmed, looking at his son. "But, when mammals' lives are at risk, even traditions can be ignored. I am with Bogo in this decision. Sorry, Chandler, I know that you had expectations about this game."

Yahya was addressing Chandler, who seemed very upset. So much that Hannah and Ben had to steer him away from the rest of the group to calm down, especially as Adrian, not wanting to have his party ruined, started to yell at Bogo as he wanted to have things his way.

"Chandler, calm down." Hannah was still with a hoof on his shoulder. "It is just a game."

"It is not the game! Is..." Chandler was saying, but he stopped for a moment, perhaps because he realized that he was starting to snap at Hannah, and then he recomposed himself.

"I... I had so much planned for the end of the game..."

"What, you mean, when you gave the chocolate statue to the winner?" Hannah asked, not understanding how her boyfriend could be so upset over a silly game being interrupted. I mean, it was not as if it was the end of the world, right?

However, Ben had the impression that it was. At least, from the kinds of impressions that he was getting from Chandler's mind at that very moment.

Disappointment was there, of course. There was also frustration and a little bit of anger. However, more than all, was disappointment. As if the cancelling of the game was something that would throw all his life plans in disarray.

It was strange that Chandler was so worried about the game. He was never that much of a game person to begin with...

"Chandler..." The horse looked at the cheetah, who looked back at him with worry. "What's wrong? Why is it so bad for the game to be cancelled?"

Chandler looked at Ben, and he looked like he wanted to tell him. However, he cast a glance at Hannah, and it nearly seemed like he could not say with her within earshot.

So, instead, he decided to just think it. Hoping that Ben's mind-reading abilities would allow him to get the gist of it.

They did. Ben's eyes widened as he was able to pick the vibrations on Chandler's prana and know exactly why he was so against the game being canceled.

"O... M... Goodness..." was all the cheetah could say.

"What do you expect me to say to everyone I already invited!?" Adrian demanded from the buffalo. "Do you know how this will make me look?"

"Don't know and don't care." That was a classical Chief Bogo answer. "It is not safe to have a party on the current situation."

Adrian groaned, and he looked ready to pull out his mane, what the dog sitting by his side noticed.

"Dogo stands guard!" The dog said suddenly, causing everyone to look at him.

"Excuse me?"

"Dogo protect the house!" The dog said, looking up at the buffalo. "Big bull wants to cancel party because he thinks house not safe, no? Dogo stays and protect the house! Dogo patrols during day and night! Dogo makes the house safe so party no need be cancelled! Dogo does it for horse Adrian!"

The dog was saying that while looking up at Adrian, nearly as if he was expecting him to call him a good boy for doing it. Adrian, however, only continued to stare at him.

"Who is this again?" Bogo was asking Adrian as he pointed at the dog.

"Like I said, he is a squatter." Charles said. "Seriously, don't you have a pair of cuffs to put on him?"

Dogo growled at Charles as the horse said that.

"Dogo don't likes you!"

"Careful, Charles." Angus had a smirk as he said that. "You do not want to know what this dog does when he doesn't like someone."

He then chuckled, as if he was finding it funny in a way that the others could not understand. As if he was into a secret most of them didn't got.

Bogo, however, did not cared about any of that.

"The party is cancelled, and so is this game!" Bogo said, "That's final!"

However, that was when Ben came back, and he himself was frantic.

"We can't cancel the game!"

Everyone looked at him in surprise, and the cheetah was still telling Bogo that Chandler's game could NOT be cancelled. That they had to play it to the end and finish the game before Halloween night.

"Officer Clawhauser! What are going on about!?" Bogo demanded. "Just a minute ago you were in favor of cancelling everything! Why are you saying the exact opposite now!?"

Ben looked at him, and he seemed to be about to answer, but he stopped himself, and he looked around, and then back at Chandler, who was coming right behind him with Hannah.

"We... we just can't! Chandler put a lot of effort into this!" He said simply. "Chief, we need to play the game to the end! Please? Pretty please?" He then gestured to his mother. "Mom can stay here! She can make the house safe! She practically made all the defenses on our three mansions back on the Clawhauser State! She can make it that no one would even come close to the mansion without permission, let alone get inside!"

Bogo was not convinced, but then Mrs. Clawhauser said that she could improvise something that would keep things like that from happening again.

Then, Lumia started to say that she could help, and that she and Tibor could work together to put an extra layer of defense.

Even Gosha said he could do something to reinforce the protections of the mansion, although he did not go into details.

"Caitlin Clawhauser is known for her bounded fields, and those two are top instructors back on the headquarters." Marceli was giving his two-cents. "And if they worked together with Drachenwolf to reinforce this place against invasion, they could make the mansion virtually inexpugnable. You would not have to worry about anyone breaking in."

Bogo was about to say something about it, when he felt something grabbing his hoof.

"Mansa... please." Clawhauser was looking up at him as he held his hoof on his paws.

How come an adult cheetah could make puppy-dog eyes and look even cuter than an actual puppy?

Bogo groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose and then, much to the shock of some of the presents, he conceded.

"Krumpaski! Grizolli! You two are staying here." Bogo said to two of the officers that came with him. "To offer extra security. Patrol the area and call me immediately if you see anything that seems even remotely suspicious."

"You stay too, Emilia." Marceli told his niece. "Just in case."

"You can count on me, Uncle Marcel!"

Once more, Marceli could only roll his eyes at his niece's antics.

"And you, be careful, okay?" Bogo said to Clawhauser, using a surprisingly gentle tone, and the cheetah nodded, reassuring him that he would. This did cause some of the people to look at them with raised eyebrows, or to smirk as they traded looks.

And Dogo...

"You two should rut!"

"What!?"

"Excuse me!?"

"You two should rut!" Dogo repeated to the two of them. "You like each other! When two mammals like each other they rut! You two should!"

"Okay, I really don't like that suggestion." Angus was glaring at the dog as he said those words. However, the dog then shocked everyone even further by looking at Angus and saying:

"You should rut the cheetah too! And so should the deer!"

"The cheetah likes all of you, and all of you like the cheetah!" Dogo seemed like he was stating something obvious, just like a child would do. "In that case, all of you should rut him! You could all do it at the same time!"

Most of the mammals present there looked at Dogo in shock, completely scandalized. Angus looked like he was considering the idea...

Meanwhile, Dogo continued to look at everyone, as if not understanding why they were looking at him with those faces. Then, his attention was taken by something else.

"MOTH!"

Then the dog started to chase after a fluttering bug that entered the house through one of the open windows, jumping happily as he chased after it.

"Moth! Moth! Moth! Moth! Moth! Moth! Moth! Moth! Moth! Moth! Moth!"

Everyone looked as Dogo disappeared through one of the doors, still jumping after the bug and trying to catch it in his jaws.

"Seriously, who is that guy!?" Bogo said after the dog was gone.

"His name is Dogogenes." Yahya spoke, as he remembered how Gosha had called the dog. "But he also goes by 'Dogo', as well as 'Berserker'."

Bogo had a raised eyebrow at this. Then Krumpaski said:

"Wait, Dogogenes? As in 'Dogogenes the Cynic'?"

"Who?" Bogo asked as he turned to the rhino.

"Dogogenes the Cynic. He was this dog who lived in ancient Greece. A philosopher... kind of. He was adept of this line of thought called Cynicism, what is not believing that all mammals are selfish scumbags, but of believing that the true path for happiness and fulfilment was to live one's life by accepting all of one's natural instincts instead of fighting them."

Now everyone was looking at the rhino with questioning gazes.

"There is this program about ancient philosophers on History Channel that is really good when you have nothing else to watch." He justified.

"It passes before or after the program that says that the pyramids were built by aliens?" Nick asked. Krumpaski then continued:

"That Dogogenes was considered a sage back on his time, but he was super quirky. He never wore clothes, he masturbated in public and he renounced to all earthly possessions to live as a beggar. The guy didn't even have a house. He slept inside a vase."

"Oh?" Nick said, "So, you are saying that our Dogogenes might actually be trying to live through the original one's principles?"

That was an interesting discussion, but soon this line of thought was forgotten, as Bogo, Yahya and Marceli continued to discuss the matter of how they would be keeping the house, and everyone inside, safe.

"So, seems we are staying until the end of this game." Nick said.

"Lucky for you..." Gerald said. He was one of the officers that had come with Bogo to the mansion upon the buffalo's request.

Without his partner. Something that Judy noticed.

"Where is Eliot, by the way?"

I can't believe I did it... I can't believe I did it... I can't believe I actually did it!

Eliot was pacing back and forth as he was thinking that.

I did it for Chloe. For her and for our child. So, it is okay, right? I mean, it is not "okay" okay, because I still committed a crime. But at least there is an extenuating circumstance. Right? At least that's what I can claim when I go to trial over this... man, Chief Bogo will want my badge when he hears about it! I hope Nick and Judy were not hurt. They would kill me. Worse, they would never speak to me again...

Those thoughts were still haunting his mind now that the deed had been done.

Now that he was back on the safety of his house, pacing back and forth as he had the stolen item sitting on his centerpiece table, which was one of the few things on the house that had not been broken.

The thing continued in there, wrapped in tissue to keep the glowing hidden so no one would see it through the windows. But, even with it wrapped neatly like that, Eliot could still feel some kind of pull towards it.

Nearly as if the thing was calling for him and telling him that he could have it. That he should take it while he could, and all his dreams would come true.

My only dream is to have my wife and child back! This is the only thing I want right now! And for that I will have to give you to Tasman! I... I need to do it! I need to have them both back! I need to have them back safe and sound!

I need Chloe in my arms!

Eliot then marched to the table, where the burner phone laid.

He picked it, and he was about to hit the button when he stopped.

He looked at the window, checking outside. Seeing if there was anyone in there who could have followed him all the way from the mansion, like he had done around twelve times since he came out of that tunnel and made a mad dash across the streets and entered the first cab he could find and blurted him to take him to his home address, telling them to avoid the man roads so they would not be tailed.

The shocked taxi-driver could only do as the frantic wolf who slammed the door on his taxi so hard, he feared it could break the window.

Eliot thought that this worry was justified, since he knew the stories of how the guys on the Beastar Corps were competent on their job, and how they often used whatever means necessary to catch the suspects. This was enough to make just about anyone more than a little nervous.

There was also the fact that Eliot had not seen Cornelius since he went into the mansion to take the thing. The fox had not yet showed his face, and Eliot had no idea of where he could be. Had the guys caught him? Was he telling them everything now that they had him and if they would be coming for him next?

Drawing the curtains, Eliot pressed the button on the automatic dial, and allowed the phone to call, and soon, he was hearing the familiar voice of the one who was certainly his less favorite mammal on the planet right now:

"Tasman speaking. Is that you, Fanghanel?"

Eliot wasted no time to answer.

"I have it."

"Ahh, you actually managed to get it. Good, good."

"Where do we meet?"

The wolf was impatient.

"I will tell you later when I call you back."

"You tell me now!" Eliot demanded. "I'll go meet you there with this thing and you will bring me Chloe! We end this in the next two hours!"

"I say when we finish this." Tasman was firm as he spoke that. "You just hold on to it until I call you back with the location."

"Now listen here-"

"YOU listen here, you mangy wolf! Have you forgotten that I am the one with the advantage here? I still have Chloe! And I can kill you if you as much as say the wrong thing to me!"

"Don't you dare!" Eliot was practically barking at the phone now. "If you as much as hurt a single strand of fur of my pregnant wife, I will hunt you down and kill!"

"Wait, what? Pregnant?"

Eliot blinked. At that moment, he realized he had just made a mistake.

"Ohhh, I see... So, our dear Chloe has a little something cooking in her oven, no?"

Eliot felt sick from the way that Tasman said those words. Not because of the words, but because he could hear the smirk on Tasman's voice as he spoke.

"Well, in that case, I guess you will have to work extra hard not to anger me. After all, it would be a tragedy if a little promise of life like that never fulfilled, no?"

"You bastard!" Eliot barked, his other paw clenching in a fist.

"I will call you back later with the local and time. Keep my package safe and don't you dare try anything stupid." Tasman spoke from the other end of the phone. "If you do, both your wife and your heir will be gone forever, do you hear me?"

"Wait! Wait!" Eliot said. "Let me talk to Chloe! Show me she is alive! Hello? Hello!?"

It was too late. Tasman had already hung up on him.

All that was left for Eliot was to growl in frustration as his whole body shook. He was soon dropping to his knees, fighting back the urge to howl in sorrow and anger.

He wanted his wife back. He wanted her and their child. He wished, more than anything, for them to be by his side.

Is this your wish?

Eliot's ears perked, his head lifting and his eyes darting back and forth as he looked all around him.

"Who said that!?"

But there was no answer.

That voice did not answer Eliot's questions.

Wait, there was even a voice?

It seemed like a voice. Eliot heard it but... not really hearing it?

But he was certain someone spoke to him, and that the voice (?) seemed to have come from the table where the wrapped thing was.