The Key (Chapter 4)
by
Shadow Lion
"Great work on the bowline knot, Eli," Scoutmaster Greene praised, giving the human boy a nod of approval. "You are definitely well on your way to earning your Knot Tying badge!"
"Thank you, Scoutmaster!" Eli said, double-checking to make sure all the luggage was tied down on the top of the car, occasionally having to stop and gingerly scoop up one of his many tiny cousins, playing hide and seek in said luggage, setting them on his shoulder or head. A new day had dawned and with its arrival also came the end of the camping trip. Everyone found themselves back at the Hopps family farm. A little way off, Nick and Judy were watching Eli interacting with his friends and the little bunny kits scampering about, vying for his attention, which he was more than happy to give them all while still helping with the packing up process.
"So... godparents..." Nick said, taking a sip from his mug, steam lazily wafting off of it in the early morning chill. A pink and white truck with Gideon Grey's Real Good Baked Stuff written on the side, that had been idling near the house gave a quick honk and started to pull out. Judy and Nick could make out a familiar fox and sheep couple giving them a happy wave. Nick and Judy were quick to reciprocate before returning to the conversation at paw.
"I'm just so touched that they would pick us first!" Judy looked ready to jump with joy.
"Well, considering we already have a kit who's turning out amazing, it really does make us the natural choice." Nick smirked and slid on his aviators.
"To be fair, Eli was already such a wonderful kit, so we can't take credit there."
"Au contraire, Fluff," Nick said, peering at the bunny over the top of his shades. "You remember how skittish Eli was when we first found him? Overall, he was in a very bad way, and that could've shaped him over time into a completely different young mammal than the one he's gotten to be so far. I'd hate to imagine what would have happened without your influence." Nick's smile was sincere, and it caused Judy's heart to flutter like it always did.
"Oh, Nick..."
"And thanks to my influence, he's a regular ladies' mammal." Nick's smirk returned while gesturing to how Lyla and Kimi were now on either side of Eli, both having looped their arms with his, and seemed to be very subtly having a tug of war.
"Still... the idea of, just in case, taking in another, younger kit... I still can't believe that we agreed so quickly!" Judy let out a nervous laugh, before beginning to play with one of her ears. "You don't think we rushed into agreeing, do you?"
Nick shrugged. "Possibly... but most likely we won't actually have to take the little guy in. Sharla will be just fine, and Gideon isn't going anywhere anytime soon."
"... True..."
Nick turned to look at his mate, quirking an eyebrow. "Something else on your mind, Carrots?"
"Uh... well... this has got me wondering... if maybe... do you think it would be irresponsible to maybe open the discussion about adopting another kit? And maybe give Eli a little brother or sister?"
Nick had taken a swig as she spoke, and soon found himself choking on his coffee.
"Hack! Hack! Well, this is not the direction I thought this morning was gunna go, Fluff!" Nick grimaced while trying to seem nonchalant.
"Is that a no?" Judy asked, her ears starting to droop. Nick simply rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"It's more of a 'I just got taken by surprise' than anything, Judy." Judy's ears started to perk right back up while Nick gazed off to look at the still low-hanging sun in the sky.
"Nick?"
"Y'know... if you had asked me just five years ago how I pictured what my life would look like now, I can already tell you my answer."
"Probably something snarky and cynical, right?" Judy asked, walking over to gently bump her hip with his and take his free paw into hers.
"Definitely, Fluff." Nick chuckled again and drained the last of the coffee from his mug. "Still pulling cheap hustles just to get by. But now, I'm married, I'm a cop, and I've got a son. "Judy felt his paw squeeze hers a little as he spoke. "And... maybe I have actually been wondering if maybe... our family has room for one more..." Nick looked down to see Judy's reaction, only to suddenly find himself in a near-bone-crushing hug.
"Ribs, Carrots! Ribs!" Nick gasped out, sucking down lungfuls of air when the bunny relented, a tear in her eye.
"So, I think since we're both on board, we should try to see how Eli would feel about it. What do you think, Slick?"
"Well, first, I think I need to check and make sure my ribs are only just lightly bruised." He chuckled, ignoring the pout on his mate's face. "After that, I say we wait until we get home, when it's just the three of us, and then ask him for his feelings and input on the matter."
Judy slipped an arm around Nick's waist, feeling him lean down a little to do the same for her.
"I like that idea a lot, Nick."
Out in the blueberry field, Isaac stood, with Mike sitting atop his head. The former was kicking at the ground with a frown on his muzzle.
"Cheer up, Isaac! You may not have proved Big Feather's existence, but you still made great strides to earning your Cryptid Hunter badge!"
The down coyote smiled a little at that, his tail swishing a bit.
"Thanks, Mike," Isaac said, looking up while Mike leaned over a bit, so they could make eye contact. "But... I really wanted to prove that my great-great-grampa wasn't crazy. He was an engineer and inventor, and an actor, and, based on some things in his journals, I think at one point a spy. But... all anyone ever knows him for is being the crazy coyote who chased after an imaginary giant bird."
"I'm sorry, buddy," the mouse said, patting Isaac's head. Turning to head back to the cars, there was a sudden thumping sound that came and went in less time it took the two to whip back around. Mike and Isaac both saw a flash of blue disappear into the tree line. Looking down at the ground, they both froze.
"Those... are some big footprints..." Mike said in amazement, looking at the large, three-toed impressions in the loamy soil. Isaac nervously held his own foot over one of them, showing the long and bird-like foot impression to be at least three times as big. Setting his foot back down, Isaac spotted something and quickly bent down to grab it. He held up a large bright blue feather that was split into a y-shape.
"Is that..." Mike couldn't finish the sentence, barely able to believe what had just transpired. The two jumped when they heard a loud meep meep from just inside the treeline. Something in the shadows, something big, shifted and drew the two boys' eyes to it. Another meep meep came, definitely from the direction of the large thing, before it bolted and was gone.
"No way..." Mike sat there on his friend's head, in open-mouthed shock. Isaac, on the other paw, was standing there, his tail now wagging in excitement.
"Wile E. wasn't crazy after all!"
Back in Zootopia...
Baily hummed as he wiped off the counter with the rag, grinning down at the multi-colored gems twinkling in the overhead lights. While not necessarily believing in the so-called 'energy' of crystals and gemstones, he still thought that they at least looked pretty. Having already finished up the sweeping and the double-checking that all the various trinkets and knick knacks on the shelves were again straightened up, Baily finally put away the rag and spray bottle, and flipped the closed sign to open. He had just turned away to head to his stool behind the register when the door quickly swung open, blasting him with a wave of cold.
"Holy cow!" An unfortunately familiar bombastic voice called out as the figure behind him shut the door and removed their coat to hang on the rack. "I swear, whoever is in charge of the cooling system in this district is just overdoing it! It's practically a blizzard out there!"
Turning to face Leodore, Baily gave a slightly tired smile, already having an idea of what the lion was going to ask next.
"Benson, my boy!" Leodore called out, clapping Baily on the shoulder. The lion smiled down at the human man, flecks of snow still dotting his mane. "I came for a couple of readings, and maybe a new good luck charm. The last one's gone missing like the other two! And I need it bad, as I can feel that my luck is just right around the corner!"
"O-oh?" Was all Baily could get out before the large lion put an amicable arm around his shoulder and started to guide him to the psychic reading room. "And it's Baily."
"Yup! This new job I got at this new pizzeria that just opened seems like a great way for citizens to see me as just another working-class loser like the rest of them! Doing so will be more than enough to help me get re-elected!"
"I-I see... Mr. Lionheart, I really don't think that any reading or trinket is going--" Baily was, as per usual, cut off.
"This place is great! It's even got some animatronics, state of the art I might add, and a snazzy retro 80's theme to it! Not to mention that it's owned and operated by a human, that one who lost a leg to some pirates or scurvy or something. Seeing me supporting some poor, sad unfortunate will definitely net me some hero points as well!"
Baily just looked at Leodore with a half-lidded stare as he spoke. Having learned his lesson from previous encounters and knowing that the lion, despite being too proud to admit it, just really wanted someone to unload onto, and coming to Eyevory Tusks was simply cheaper than actual therapy; Baily let him continue on, just imagining the sounds of the ocean and waves crashing against a beach. A helpful trick that Sophia had taught him how to do. He was jostled out of his meditative trance by the chime coming from the opening door to the shop.
"Baily?" A familiar voice called out, drawing his and Leodore's attention, the latter of which scoffed.
"Excuse me, but Benjamin and I are in the middle of a very important reading!"
Baily had to physically stop himself from rolling his eyes, and looked to the new pair of mammals who had walked in. Arnie and Chaz were looking around, seeming a bit on edge.
"Arnie? Chaz? Is something wrong?"
"Baily, we need to ask you some questions, preferably in private," Arnie said. The large rhino looked pointedly at Leodore, who let out another scoff at the rhino. Both he and his wolf partner crossed their arms and silently stood their ground, staring daggers at the lion.
"Oh fine! Barold, I'll come back in an hour and we can pick right back up where we left off, say, half off. Alright, bye!" Baily was about to remind Leodore of the no-haggling policy, but the lion was quick to don his coat and leave.
"Barold?" Chaz muttered while scratching his head.
"Baily," Arnie rested a hand on the human's shoulder. "We need to know, have you noticed anything strange here or maybe at your home?"
"Strange how?"
"Have you noticed furniture moved differently from how you left it, or maybe small electronics you might have found doing some cleaning?"
"Or maybe someone is following you?" Chaz chimed in.
"Huh?"
Later that day...
"Look, Russel!" Ethan toddled in, proudly displaying a bright pink piece of construction paper displaying some macaroni glued to it in several groups of varying sizes. The little gray fox kit was wearing a bright blue t-shirt and black shorts, and was gazing up at the teenage human expectantly, his busy tail wagging.
"Oh wow, Ethan," Rusel said, taking the art piece offered to him and grinning while trying to figure out just what it was supposed to be. Ethan scrambled into his lap and happily started to point out the different figures.
"It's a picture of you and me," he said, pointing to a lanky figure that had an arm down to hold 'hands' with a much smaller figure. "That's Mommy and Daddy," Ethan now gestured to two medium-sized figures with thick macaroni tails, before moving on to a pair of smaller ones that seemed to have long necks. "Gloria and Mikey," Russel could hear the aforementioned giraffe twins giggling nearby. "And this is Paul! He's reading a book!" Russel reflected on how that was one of the little zebra colt's favorite activities. He then looked down at the little kit, the baby brother he never imagined he would ever have, and had to fight the urge to giggle as he saw that there was also a lot of macaroni apparently glued to his tail.
"This is just amazing, Ethan!" Russel gave the little kit a hug, causing him to yip in joy. "I'll bet M--... M-Mom and D-Dad would be really happy to see this. I bet they'll put it on the fridge!"
At that, little Ethan's yellow eyes went as wide as saucers.
"The fridge?! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Ethan snatched the picture back into his little paws, gave Russel another hug, and ran off to find the huskies himself.
"Okay, that was adorable," Erik said with a chuckle, the teenage otter looking over at Russel from where he was sitting on the couch, Physics book open on the coffee table between them.
"Almost makes me wish I wasn't an only child." Roger sighed and scribbled a bit on his homework page. The hippo boy had caused the couch to sink quite a bit on his side. "So when can I show you guys my new deck?! It's a Purple and Gold Illuminator build!"
"We're almost done, and then we can look at your new cards, Rog," Russel offered, picking his book back up.
"So is it true that you and Jackson are going to Matty's Pizzeria in the Rainforest District?" Erik asked, causing Roger's ears to perk a bit.
"That place is so COOL! It's got classic retro games, plenty of new ones, the prizes are actually pretty decent, and the robotic rock and roll animals actually get up and move around and interact with guests!" Roger bounced a little, causing the couch to creak.
"Really? I just picked it 'cause it looked like it might be a fun place... for a date." Russel blushed a bit, a smile at the corners of his mouth.
"Dude! I had so much fun there when me and my Mom's went! One of the robots, Moxy the Cobra, actually raced against me when I went to play her motorcycle racing game! The bot herself slithered off the stage, asked me if I wanted to try racing against the best, her words, and then got on the player two bike!"
"Woah... that sounds pretty cool," Erik said, his tail giving the couch a quick thump. "Do the other bots do that?"
"Yeah! The Matty Macaw robot played against some kids on those dancing machines, Ozzy the red dragon plays mini golf with customers all the time, and Suzie Eagle-Eye takes kids on adventures through her wild-west shooting gallery!"
"I hope Jackson likes it," Russel said, getting back to the homework at hand.
"Plus the pizza is the BEST in the city! And I've had Falcone's!" Roger crossed his arms and smirked, having long since declared himself the pizza-expert of their friend group.
"Pizza?!" Ethan's little head popped up right next to Russel in the easy chair, the little kit's eyes wide and seeming to sparkle in the light.
"Uh-oh," Russel said with a chuckle. He knew that when it came to Ethan, just mentioning pizza or ice cream was akin to making him a promise for some, one that he expected to be fulfilled.
The next day...
The cruiser swerved left and right. narrowly avoiding clipping a bulldozer with a beaver driving it, shouting at the vehicle as it passed. Eli found that if it weren't for his seatbelt, he would have been tossed about the back seat. He briefly looked to the front passenger seat for his usual sense of solidarity with his father whenever Mom was driving them. He was momentarily shocked to see Judy gripping the passenger seat for dear life, before he remembered which of his parents was driving him to school today. They pulled up to West Mammalia Middle School, Nick offering his mate and kit a happy smile.
"Have a great day at school, Eli!" The fox cheerily wagged his tail while watching his, now much more pale, human kit slowly get out from the back seat. Once Eli had wandered in a mild daze over to his friends, Judy quickly rolled up the windows.
"Do you mind telling me what that was all about?!" Judy asked, trying not to shout and let Eli hear. "For someone who claims I drive like a madmammal, you seem pretty reckless behind the wheel yourself, mister!"
"Who do you think I learned it from?" Nick asked, his smirk growing a bit wider when he saw Judy huff and pout. Looking in the rearview mirror, a frown swiftly formed on his muzzle, which the bunny was quick to notice.
"Nick? What's going on?"
Nick leaned over, putting on his best fake smirk, and spoke softly into her ear.
"We were being followed. They're three cars back, in the red van."
Confused, Judy nonchalantly peeked into the rearview mirror herself and saw the van in question, which had tinted windows. Looking back at her fox, Judy nodded, and turned to face forward, acting like everything was normal. They started to continue in the line of cars moving in front of the school as parents dropped their kids off, and watched in the mirrors what the van was doing. After a car pulled in behind the van, that's when Nick and Judy acted. Nick killed the engine and set the car to park, right before both he and Judy bolted out of the vehicle. paws on the butts of their tranq guns as they ran up to the car.
"ZPD, OUT OF THE VEHICLE WITH YOUR PAWS UP!!!" Judy watched as the door opened, a familiar figure slowly climbing out, Nick already radioing for backup.
"Delgato?" Judy asked, confused, as she looked at the sheepish lion in street clothes. From the passenger door exited a large elephant.
"Francine?" Nick looked as surprised as Judy felt. "Why were you two tailing us?"
The female elephant reached over and flicked one of Delgato's ears, causing him to wince.
"I told you that you were being too obvious!"
"Hey, I did my best! But you try keeping up with Hopps when she's driving like a madmammal!" The lion defended.
"Actually, Nick was driving!" Judy interjected, feeling a bit annoyed while Nick snickered.
"Really?" The two officers asked in unison.
"But why were you following us in the first place?" Nick repeated his question. Francine and Delgato shared a look before the latter let out a sigh.
"Uh... I guess you guys hadn't heard yet... but someone's been spying on humans. And we're talking more than just some paparazzi... we're talking about hidden cameras inside mammals' homes..."
Judy felt an icy chill run up her spine.
"Is it... them?" Neither officer had to ask whom she meant.
"Doctor Shellison and Honey are both still incarcerated, we thoroughly checked... this is someone new..."
And so the plot thickens yet again! Lemme know what you think!
It's a Matty Macaw's! Totally different!