Howdy, folks! Sorry it's been so long, but Happy New Year and I hope you all have been having a good time in my absence. It's been busy, first with army training and then trying to get my civilian life back in order. Much like these characters, a lot of ground to cover.

But you're here for the writing, not my rambling, so I'll make this short. I've been advised that having multiple character focuses per chapter is too distracting, though with the number of threads to the plot I find it hard to keep things in order without jumping around some. So I'd like to hear what you all think of the reading experience.

On that note, on with the show!

"I used to want to save the world. To end war and bring peace to mankind. But then, I glimpsed the darkness that lives within their light. I learned that inside every one of them, there will always be both. The choice each must make for themselves; something no hero will ever defeat."

Wonder Woman

At Poisson Manor, the party kicked off right on schedule with a full lineup of top acts. Nearly every spare bedroom had been repurposed as a dressing room for the artists set to perform, and many of them had to double up. This was both a relief and a struggle for Taelia, tucked away with Vicky in a suite about a city block's length in halls and stairs from the main ballroom. On the one paw, she hated being alone in a strange place and was glad to share space with a bandmate. On the other, Vicky was a little too vocal about her plans to meet Nick.

"I still think you're nuts even agreeing to meet with this guy, girl," the hyena asserted as she darkened her eyelids with makeup. "Anyone who would even joke about what he was talking about is barely worth dirtying my toenails to boot him out the door."

Taelia shook her head as she went over final details on her program. "I'm not even sure what he was talking about. I was so freaked out before he was half finished that I could have heard almost all of it wrong."

Vicky checked the eyelid she'd been working on, then started on the other. "So maybe you were wrong. He's still admitted he was a crook. I can't believe you'd even date someone like that."

Trying to fend off the makings of a headache, the vixen shook her head. Everything Vicky was saying, she had already bounced around her head a dozen times. To make matters worse, Vicky was largely right. Why was she giving him another chance when it could all be more lies? What was this about?

She took a deep breath. "I didn't say I'll go out with him again," she insisted, "But it's not about what he deserves. It's about what I believe. I always said that everyone deserves a chance to be better. I can't say no to that now, or I'll be just as fake."

"Okay, I get it. Repentance, redemption, God save us all, hallelujah," Vicky retorted a little sarcastically, waving her hands in the air in annoyance. "That doesn't mean everyone will do better."

Taelia bit her lip. This argument was wearing on her last nerve. "Maybe," she admitted, "but if I don't give him that chance, who will? I can see you won't."

"Dang right I won't," Vicky countered, though if she had stopped to think it over, she might have put it differently. "I say anyone who wants a chance in life has gotta make their own."

The vixen did her best to ignore her cynical friend's line of thinking. Maybe Vicky really thought that. After all, she hadn't had to audition for the band. She and Nicole had been the charter members, so to speak. If Xavier hadn't pointed out that they needed a soundboard operator on their roster, and if Ellen hadn't put out word for one, this conversation wouldn't even be happening. All things considered, she wondered how good or bad that was.

"You gonna eat those snacks?" Vicky added, glancing at the barely touched plate of food from the refreshment table. "Ain't getting' any better."

Taelia surveyed the snacks, picked up a spoon, and put some caviar on a cracker. Vicky had snagged it on the way to the dressing rooms, knowing how much Taelia liked good munchables and that by the time their show was over it was anyone's guess what refreshments would already be long gone.

She took a bite and frowned slightly at the taste; not bad, but not the slice of Heaven you'd expect from all the hype. Had an oddly bitter aftertaste, too; more herbaceous than fishy.

'Let's just hope this evening isn't the same,' she thought to herself.

Next room down, Xavier and Isabelle were in the midst of their own preparations.

"Could you help me with the back?" Isabelle asked, turning the part in question toward her husband.

"Sure," he replied, turning to assist. He paused a moment longer than she'd anticipated, leading her to look over her shoulder.

"See something you like?" she asked; half-flirting, half-impatient.

"Only everything," he answered, playfully running the back of a claw up her spine just enough to tickle. She yelped a little, then scolded him for his impertinence only to be more or less drowned out by a knock at the door.

Calling out that he'd be there in a moment, Xavier grabbed the T-shirt specially prepared for the event and threw it on. Waiting until she was likewise covered, he answered the door to find a well-muscled black wolf with an olive green eye patch and the most genuine grin you could imagine.

"Well, how's the rock star?" asked the interloper

"Dad!" Xavier exclaimed. "What are you doing backstage?"

Todd Moonbeamer laughed. "Now is that any way to greet your old man?" he asked.

Xavier barely had time to apologize before his back cracked under the force of a hug from his father. The old wolf might have been decades out of the army, but he'd kept himself in impeccable shape.

"Ow. Uh, good to see you," Xavier amended. "You didn't have to show before our act, though."

"Actually, I did," Todd admitted. He held up his phone as his smile faded. "I got some news from the hospital. Leroy's taken a turn for the worse."

Xavier's expression fell too. "Oh no." His uncle Leroy – from his dad's side of the family – had been sick for a while, and the doctors had been saying it was a guessing game whether he'd recover or not.

"I told him I'd be there as soon as I could," Todd explained, "but I didn't want to disappear without..."

There was no need to finish. "No, don't wait on us, Dad. We'll break away from the concert as soon as we can after our act and drive right over."

Todd shook his head. "Actually, I was going to say I'd wait to be there for your big announcement about Jerry."

"Oh!" Xavier thought that one over. It would mean so much to have his father there when he and Isabelle told the world their news. Still, he shook his head. "Dad, that means a lot to me, but Uncle Leroy should have someone there if it's… well, if it's his time. Besides, we already told you and Mom."

His father smiled proudly and clapped him on the shoulder. "You're a real trooper, son."

No matter how often Xavier heard that from his father, he was a little awed. Most wolves got past viewing their dads as superheroes sometime in their teen years, but not him; not after that night when he was eight. A mountain lion, intoxicated and looking for some quick goods to fuel his next fix, had decided to break into their house. Xavier had been in the ringside seat when his dad took the cat on bare-pawed and broke his spine over the dining room table. From that day on, any compliment on maturity, masculinity, or accomplishment from his father was like praise from the lips of a god.

"By the way," added Todd, "I saw a couple of your bandmates. Nice idea with the icons on your shirts."

"That would be my doing," Isabelle admitted, emerging in full dress. As part of the planning, she had outfitted each member of the band with a T-shirt bearing an emblem tied to a different branch of society's heroes. The shirts were uniformly black, with the logos in metallic-hued lines: a police badge in blue on hers, a pink ambulance snake-and-staff for Nicole, and so on. To go with that, each member had a vinyl jacket with lines of color down the sides and sleeves, to be worn when they were offstage meeting and greeting with the fans.

The old veteran grinned. "And an army star for my boy, huh? No surprise."

Xavier blushed under his fur and nodded. "It's my way of paying tribute."

"Well then," said Todd Moonbeamer, reaching up to his neck, "allow me to do a little accessorizing."

The couple could not have been more stunned as the old wolf took off his old army jacket and held it out by the shoulders. "For everything you're standing for," he said softly.

If King Artpurr had handed him Excalibur, scabbard and all, Xavier could not have been more speechless. It took him an embarrassingly long moment to find his voice.

"Dad, I..." he trailed off as his father pressed the jacket into his paws. Then he simply looked his father in the eyes, doing his best to hold back tears. "Thanks."

Tood Moonbeamer clapped his son on the shoulder. "Come on, kid. Don't go crying before your act. Get out there and blow 'em away like you always do."

They parted, and Xavier hastily rubbed his eyes. His wife looked on, considering the moment. She had spent most of her life on very uncertain terms with her own father, often not knowing for sure whether he'd stay around for Christmas or her next birthday. Seeing the bond between Xavier and his sire was always bittersweet for her – but this evening, more towards the sweet. She couldn't repress a smile as he tried on the jacket.

"Hey, it even fits," he grinned, eyeing himself. The assemblage, like the concert itself, was about more than music or even heroes to him. It was about family.

His wife paused in her fake aloofness for a moment and put her hands on his shoulders, studying him at arm's length. "Yep. You are definitely an army brat."

He smiled, though it wavered for a moment. "I just wish he could stay to see me wear it onstage."

She empathized with that. How many of their shows had her dad missed? He always had some good reason, but it still hurt, even more so with what they had planned tonight.

"Should we hold off on the announcement?" she asked.

Xavier shook his head. "No," he replied, shifting back to a more practical train of thought. "We already told our families, and I can't think of a better night for our news."

She nodded. "Not with us taking a break from concerts for six months, that's for sure."

He smiled and pulled her close, his paw sliding up and down her side. "Tonight, we're going to prove to this city that there's no such thing as impossible."

"Hmm," she hummed with thoughtful cheer. "That sounds like a good song title."

Out in the midst of the crowd, a young lion danced to some jazz music from a band of zebras. His moves were an odd fit for the music and he struggled with the pace, but he still managed to catch the attention of one or two females standing by. He actually had his young heart set on one of the singers scheduled for later that night, who was smoking hot even if she wasn't realistically his type. All the same, he wasn't half bad with the ladies and he knew it, so he brightened when a lioness about his age came over carrying two cups.

"Care for a drink?" she called over the music.

"I would love a drink," he answered, reaching for the offer. Just before he could take it, however, someone thumped into him from behind.

"Aaah!" he yelped, stumbling and barely missing the cup with his paw. The girl he'd had his eye on stepped back and looked up.

"Sheesh, watch where you're going!" Scott complained. "You almostyee-aah!" His articulation died away as he looked up at the interloper: a gray-suited lion with a cane, wearing tinted glasses and with several gray streaks in his mane.

"Scott! There you are!" he exclaimed, looking down.

"Da- Wait, what are you doing here?" Scott didn't know what was worse: that his father had decided to crash the party dressed like a geezer, or that there was now a risk of his being recognized in front of a potential hot date.

"You know this guy?" asked the female feline, blinking on confusion. Oddly enough, she had a sense of deja vu herself looking at the older lion.

Scott thought fast. "Uh, yeah. This is, uh… my grandfather."

Leodore Lionheart stifled an angry reaction, reminding himself that he was supposed to look old. "Uh, yes." The ne coughed and spoke again, trying to sound a little older. "That is… yes. May- I mean, Martin Manestrome." He stuck out a paw.

The female handed Scott one of the cups and shook paws, frowning in confusion. "Nice to meet you, sir."

Bad day, bad day, bad day, thought Scott, trying to figure out some way to separate the two of them – fast. "Grandpa, I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Lionheart bit his lip. 'Think, Leodore. You're a politician. This should be easy.'

The problem was, it wasn't. Lionheart tried to think of a lie, but he couldn't bring himself to voice one to his son, even under these circumstances. "Well, it's been ages since I got out and about," he answered, which was somewhat true. He'd been in lockup for a couple of months. Then when he was finally released on bail, he hardly dared to leave his own mansion for safety's sake. "And we haven't had much time together lately. When I heard you were coming here, I thought I'd stop by and see you."

The lioness, now more or less faded into the background, put a paw over her muzzle and giggled.

'This cannot be happening,' thought Scott, wanting more than anything to double-facepaw. "Um, Grandpa, can I talk with you a minute? You know, somewhere less crowded?" He turned to his potential dance partner and held up an index claw. "I'll be right back."

"Take your time," she called. Then, at a volume she assumed an elderly lion would miss, she added, "I know how old mammals are."

Scott groaned. 'How humiliating.' He towed his reluctant father to a relatively quiet, unoccupied part of the room.

"What in the world are you doing here?!" he demanded, struggling to keep his voice down. "And why are you dressed like Grandpa?"

"This was your mother's idea," Leodore argued, tugging at the front of his suit. "At least now she can't say I never listen to her."

Scott smacked his forehead. "Oh, come on," he groaned. "Are you serious? Dad, I can't be seen with you. I'll be ruined."

"That's why I came in disguise," the former mayor protested, laying his paws on his son's shoulders in his urgency. "Scott, I had to come."

"Why?" pressed Scott. "Is this some kind of guilt trip? Trying to make up for the mess you made?"

Leodore Lionheart hung his head and did the most painful thing he could have done under the circumstances.

"Am I trying to…?" He stopped and shook his head, catching himself slipping into old habits. "Yes. Yes, I guess it is."

"Huh?"

The former mayor lifted his face, and even through the shades Scott could see his sorrow. "Son, I've… I've made a terrible mess of everything. I admit that. I won't even try to excuse what I did, but… okay. The truth is, your mother-"

"Is pushing for a divorce." finished Scott.

'Ouch.' Somehow hearing Scott say it in such a point-blank manner was more painful than anything even Mrs. Lionheart had managed.

"Well," Leodore went on, "if you know that you probably know that I don't stand a chance of winning custody even if I don't go to prison. I'd consider myself lucky just to get visitation rights."

Now it was Scott's turn to wince. He actually hadn't realized that; not all the way, at least. Sure, his dad was distant and barely knew him, and sure he knew he'd end up staying with his mom, but he hadn't really thought about the totality of it. "Are you serious?"

The older lion sighed and nodded. "Son, I know I haven't been the best father or the best mayor, but just… just let me try to do something right while I still can, alright? Tonight could be my last chance to do something with you, and I can't stand the thought of knowing I didn't at least try."

Scott Lionheart couldn't believe his eyes and ears. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his father being so real. "Okay," he assented at last. "I guess we can hang out for one concert, but-"

Leodore nodded and made a motion of zipping his lips. "Not one word," he promised. 'But I reserve the right to screen your dance partners."

Scott sighed, but decided not to argue; not this time. "Okay."

Lionheart somehow managed to smile, waving a paw out toward the dance floor. "Let's go, then," he suggested cheerfully. Then he coughed and assumed his elderly voice. "I mean, uh, let's get shakin'. Shouldn't make a lady wait, you know?"

It was only by turning out towards the rest of the party that Scott was able to keep his dad from seeing him roll his eyes. It was going to take a miracle to get them through that night.

Around the side – near the servants' entrance Judy remembered using before – Zootopia's newest duo of crimefighters descended from the back seat of a cruiser. With them were officers Wolford, Grizzoli, and McHorn, all in plainclothes except for McHorn.

"Now remember," the rhino told the rest, "act casual, don't let on you're cops, but stay on your toes tonight. Obearon's still out there, and this is exactly the kind of party he'd like to crash."

Judy glanced at Nick uneasily, guessing he was probably thinking about the prospect of Vanya showing up. As if he didn't have enough on his mind with the meetup with Taelia.

She lagged to the back of the ingoing crew, falling alongside him and nudging him with her hip. "Psst!" she hissed.

He looked down. "What's up?" he whispered back.

"If we spot Vanya, get out as soon as I know."

Nick shook his head. "Carrots, there's no way I'm leaving you alone with her, especially not after the theater."

She shook her head. "I'm a cop. You aren't yet. Besides," she added in a slightly more cheerful tone, "a gentlemammal wouldn't fight his ex-girlfriend, but I can hit her as hard as I want."

He still looked reluctant, but then he nodded. "Okay. But watch yourself in there tonight, okay? Vanya's not like Bellwether and those sheep we took down. She's dangerous."

She was about to answer when something unexpected caught her eye in the crowd: a pair of very familiar-looking cheetahs.

'Catano? Clawhauser?' She only caught a fleeting glimpse before they vanished, but she was almost sure it was them. That the two of them would come was no surprise, but seeing them together was pretty striking. Then she shook her head. So, they were hanging out. No need to read into it… right?

"Hopps! Mr. Wilde!" called Delgato, waving a paw for them to hurry. "Get a move on!"

Nick and Judy broke into a light jog to catch up, with the latter shaking off her momentary distraction. "So, where are you meeting Taelia again?" she asked.

"I'm supposed to meet her in the sound room right after her band wraps up."

"And you know where the sound room is, right?"

"She texted me directions."

That was about all they had time for before they reached the door and handed in their tickets. Among those receiving was none other than the hyena butler who had greeted Judy the first time she came to the mansion. It was clear from the look on his face that he remembered her, and Nick too.

"I hope you two won't be expecting any private interviews with Miss Poisson tonight," he advised. "She's going to be busy enough with the attending public."

Judy couldn't restrain a frown. "Just so long as she doesn't do anything for us to talk about," she advised a little tersely.

Barracus eyed her and Nick as they went in. "Enjoy the party," he intoned in a voice which wouldn't be out of place in a creepy cartoon. Then he excused himself from among the ticket-takers and stepped away to fire off a text message.

'Officer Hopps is here, along with a certain fox. They may make trouble.'

Some seconds passed before the reply. 'Forget about them. Proceed with the plan.'

Checking his watch and suppressing a knot in his stomach, the hyena went inside and made his way through discreetly hidden doors and private halls to the area of the dressing rooms. He checked a list of room assignments on his phone and knocked on several doors, reminding artists – if you could call them that – that they were almost due to appear onstage. He didn't pay any mind to a mammal stepping out down the hall until his nose caught a familiar scent.

His head whipped around. "Vicky?!"

The she-hyena stopped and stared at him, slightly stunned. Then she collected herself. "Oh. Hi."

He stared like a deer caught in headlights. "What are you doing here?"

"Performing, in about…" she checked her phone. Twenty-five."

Bruce shook his head. "You can't be here tonight!"

Under any other circumstances she might have talked with him a little more warmly, but Vicky B didn't mix well with orders, or time crunches. "Uh, I am here tonight. Haven't you been reading your messages lately? I've been talking for the past two months about my band performing he-"

He grabbed her by the shoulders. "You need to get out of here now."

Getting more ticked off by the moment, Vicky swung her paws up and slapped his arms away. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but I'm a big girl now and I've got a job. So let me do it and go… do what butlers do."

She pushed past him and walked away, leaving him standing there with a sense of worry that quickly spiraled into horror. Locating an unoccupied room, he ducked inside and dialed a number. It was several rings before he got hold of the mammal he wanted.

"What are you calling about? It's almost time for the grasshopper-"

"I can't do this!" Bruce cut in.

A menacing silence reigned on the other end, before abdicating to a slower and still more threatening question. "Can't do what, Master Barracus?"

"This plan of yours. I'm alerting the authorities now."

"I wouldn't do that; not if you value the safety of your family. Would you like your daughter to be the next-?"

"My daughter is here tonight!" Barracus raged, his paw nearly crushing the phone. He breathed hard through clenched teeth, staring at the device.

Obearon was unmoved. "I was unaware of this, but it's too late now. I will have my people make sure she gets clear before the show begins, but you had better do your job."

"How do I know you'll keep her safe?"

"Come now. You know how resourceful I can be. The real question is, if you disobey me, how will you ever know she's safe again?"

The call ended, and Bruce Barracus stared at the phone, helpless. His heart sank. He never should have gotten involved in this; any of it. Now there was no way out, though. He had to trust the promise of a madman… and do things he hoped his family would never know.

Howdy, folks! Sorry for the long hiatus, but I hope you guys enjoyed my comeback. As you can tell from the chapter, it won't be long before the climax of the story really starts to rock and roll, and it's going to be quite a few chapters of action at least when it does. So, what do you think of the bombshells here in this chapter? Don't forget to give your feedback and hit that Follow button.

Easter Eggs:

Jackie Chan Adventures

Technicolor Teens

Song Title

Wonder Woman

Classical Theater