FSE

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H** ello there, dear readers! Before this new chapter begins, I would like to take a moment to say one thing about Net Neutrality. I urge anyone reading this, who cares about free speech, to please, write your local and state representatives about it, all of our voices shouting back NO! made a difference once, and can do so again! Sorry to get political there, but please, this is something that concerns everyone who has an online presence. Please, don't do what I did and just assume everything will be fine. Please, get involved, before it's too late. Together, we can save Net Neutrality!**

With that said, please enjoy the new chapter!

Edwin watched through binoculars as the human subject began walking through the mob of bunnies, waiting for the serum to take effect. He pulled out his phone, ready to film at a moment's notice.

At the party...

Even though the sea of rabbits parted before him, Eli was still making sure not to step on anyone. The real worry though, came from the number of the younger bunnies for whom the novelty of riding on their much larger cousin had yet to wear off. Presently, two girl kits named Tammy and Kammy, aged 8 and 9, were shoving each other on Eli's left shoulder.

"No, I got here first!" Tammy said.

"Nu-uh! I got here first!" Kammy said as she shoved back.

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

"Liar!"

"You're the liar!"

Eli was visibly uncomfortable, having no idea of what he should do. Luckily, he was saved by one bunny with a ken eye.

"Girls!" Thomas' stern voice called out. The two kits froze and immediately began to look down in guilt at the sight of their older brother, his arms crossed and left foot tapping, much like his aunt Judy's does. "While there's plenty of room for the both of you to sit on Eli's shoulder, did either of your ask him first before climbing up and riding him?"

"No Thomas." Both girls said simultaneously.

"So I think that you both owe it to Eli to apologize for climbing him without asking, and for clearly making him worry about dropping either one of you with your fighting."

Both kits turned to face Eli, who was looking at them.

"We're sorry Eli." They said, once more simultaneously.

"Uhm....it's okay..." Eli said to the two chastised kits, who then quickly made their way down him, and ran off giggling to each other. Thomas rolled his eyes as he stepped up to Eli.

"Sorry about that Squirt, they just get over excited." Thomas explained.

"Thanks for stepping in when you did, uhm...Thomas." Eli said. The rabbit smiled and reached up to pat Eli's leg.

"That's what family's for Squirt...when it's not for pointless bickering." That elicited a giggle from Eli.

"Tell ya what Squirt, how's about you stick with me, and I'll help keep the younger kits...and some of the older ones too, from getting to rowdy with or on you?"

"Okay." Eli said, suddenly reaching back to scratch where that bug had bitten him. He felt a raised welt on the back of his neck that itched like crazy.

Back in Edwin's hiding spot...

"Darn. When those two little rabbit kits were on his shoulder was a perfect moment for the subject to turn savage. However, he does seem to be scratching at the site where the serum struck and has since been absorbed into his skin." Edwin said quietly into his tape recorder as he stealthily, as much as an armadillo could, moved from bush to bush in the surrounding wooded outskirts, trying to get a better view of the human boy. He had just settled in a bush next to a stall that was selling pies, when he saw the human double over.

"This is it! The Nighthowler Serum is beginning to take effect on the subject. Soon, I shall have all the evidence necessary to convince the ignorant masses that the creatures called humans need to be rounded up and properly studied." Edwin said in a frantic whisper into his tape recorder, while holding his phone up to record the scene as it unfolded.

Meanwhile...

"Hey Squirt, are you okay?" Thomas asked as he noticed Eli suddenly making an OOMPH sound and turned to see him doubled over. His question was quickly answered by the giggling appearance of a little girl rabbit kit, around the age of six, dressed in a blue sundress, who was hugging Eli around his midsection.

"Jessie, you gotta stop taking a running leap before you hug someone." Thomas said. Eli, after taking a deep breath in, smiled down at the kit, who just continued to hug him.

"Sh-She just took me by surprise is all." Eli defended as he reached down and ever so gently, patted Jessie on the back. "I think I remember you wanting to ride on my head from yesterday." Eli had figured that since the majority of his new cousins had wanted a ride, he was probably correct in this guess. As it turned out, he was.

"Yeah! Can I have a ride now, pleeeeeeaaaaaase?" She asked, making her eyes widen.

"I'm still not sure how safe that would be, you might fall off." Eli said as he gently detached her from his abdomen and held her at arms length.

"Awww...okay." She said a little dejectedly, before perking her ears right back up. She practically leapt from Eli's arms and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. Eli smiled and reciprocated by gently wrapping his arms around her. There was an audible "Awwww" from all the onlooking adults, and some of the older kits. There were a few pictures taken right before Eli gently set Jessie down. As he stood back up to follow Thomas some more, however, something collided with the back of his head.

"Ow!" He said, his eyes watering a little as he started to rub the spot. Thomas had turned in time to see the object hit his younger cousin, and looked at where it lay.

"A tape recorder?" The teen bunny asked.

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!" All eyes turned to see an armadillo, dressed in the cliched old timey safari outfit, complete with hat, extricate himself from a nearby bush. "YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!!!" Edwin screamed as he glared daggers right at Eli, making the human let out a small whimper and cringe back a bit. Thomas was quickly standing in front of Eli.

"Hey! Just what do you think you're doing! Apologize to my little cousin right now buddy!" The irate bunny said, pointing back to the human who easily towered over him.

"You're cousin?! That THING," Edwin pointed a finger at Eli, making him wince, "is a creature that needs to be studied! That THING needs to be taken to a lab! That THING was shot with a Nighthowler pellet a good while ago, and was supposed to turn savage and cause a scene to get PEOPLE to stop feeling sorry for them and realize that they all need to be locked away for research purposes!" Edwin raved. The crowd looked on and stared.

"That ain't a thing pal," a voice with a southern accent said sternly from right behind Edwin, who turned around and looked up into the face of an angry looking fox, "that's my friend Judy's kit right there." He hooked a thumb in the direction of Judy who smiled at Gideon appreciatively as she made her way to Eli, having him bend over enough for her to get a look at where the tape recorder hit him. Someone not entirely in the know in the crowd whispered, "A kit that big must've REALLY hurt when he was born.", but otherwise no one said anything.

"So here's what's gonna happen. Firstly, you're gonna apologize to Judy, and her boy, and the rest of the Hopps family for hurting him, for poisonin' him, and for all those hurtful things you said about him." Gideon said leaning over Edwin who shrank back a little as Eli had done from him earlier.

"And secondly, you're gonna wait here all nice and peaceably while the Sheriff, who I called just a little bit ago, makes his way over here to have a talk with ya about what you just said about that there poisonin'. Or else Imma get really angry, and from the looks of this here crowd, I ain't gonna be the only one." Edwin looked around nervously. The then quickly pulled out the pellet gun from his pocket, waving it around.

"Everyone just back off! I got another Nighthowler pellet all ready to go, and I'll use it!" The crowd shrank back a bit, especially the predators in attendance to the makeshift festival.

"Now, I'm going to leave, and no one's going to follow me, and the, one day, you'll all realize just how big of a mistake it was to let an opportunity to show what those THINGS are capable of slip away! My name will go down in history! I will be the very first scientist to study the creatures called humans inside and out, even if i have to start capturing and dissecting them all myself! I-" Edwin's rant was quickly cut off by a red furred paw punch to the face, followed by quickly being disarmed and thrown to the ground on his belly, his arms being cuffed behind his back.

"Now let me make something clear...whoever you are, no one, and I do mean no one hurts, or ever talks about hurting my kit and just walks away. So yeah, as the kind fox over there said, we're going to be waiting for the Sheriff to arrive." Nick said as he finished cuffing the mad armadillo scientist, before snatching the gun and cocking open the compartment where the Nighthowler pellets were housed. He saw in the bright purplish sphere and carefully removed it, dropping it into a nearby open jar.

"Nick!" Judy's voice called out.

"All in a day's work Carrots." He said as he slipped his aviator shades on, just before Judy practically tackled him in a hug.

A little while later...

Edwin dejectedly looked out from the back of the squad car as the Sheriff, a boar, carried two evidence bags, one with the tape recorder and the second with the pellet gun, and the jar with the Nighthowler serum pellet in it. His brother Charlie had been called and driven out here in record time.

"I am so sorry for what my brother did. Edwin's supposed to be on some very specific medications that I think he's gone off of, again. And I know that that does not excuse what happened here, I just felt that you folks deserved an explanation. Once again I am so sorry." Charlie, an armadillo with a family resemblance to Edwin apologized to Judy and Nick. Edwin watched just as the cruiser started to pull away, and continued to stare out of the back window.

A short time later, Judy and Nick made there way over to where the town doctor, Doc Rollins a middle aged field mouse, was looking at the spot where the Nighthowler pellet had hit Eli on the neck. He was standing on a table counter while Eli sat on a short stool.

"Well young fella, I'm familiar with someone exposed to Nighthowlers, and it it was gonna make you turn savage, it would have already done so by now. The swelling already seems to be goin' down some, and that itchiness you told me about is from what looks to be a very mild allergic reaction. You'll be fine, but try not to scratch at it."

"Yes sir, thanks doctor." Eli said, a faraway look in his eyes.

"Oh Eli, I'm so sorry that your special party was ruined by that...that armadillo." Bonnie said, stopping herself from swearing in front of her grandkit.

"It's okay grandma." Eli tried to reassure.

"Oh sweetie, no it isn't. What he did, what he tried to do, and all of those awful things he said." Her eyes welled up with tears as she leaned in and hugged Eli's leg. "You might not be a bunny, but you are most certainly a Hopps, and don't ever let anyone tell you different."

"...Thank you grandma." Eli said as he leaned down and hugged her back. Stu and Thomas were discussing something just as Judy and Nick arrived at Eli's side, which was right when Bonnie ended the hug.

"I would imagine that you three would like a little private time to talk, so I'll go see about organizing everyone to get the party back on track."

"Mom, you don't have to do that. After what happened-" Judy was cut off from a raised paw by Bonnie.

"Sweetie, after what happened, this party needs to happen now more than ever." She said simply before walking off, with Stu and Thomas in tow.

"How're you doing sweetie?" Judy asked.

"Uhm...I'm okay Ju- uh M-Mom."

"Are you sure sweetie?" Judy pressed.

"Yeah...I've been called worse back in foster care..." Eli assured, suddenly feeling guilty for saying that when he saw the look on Judy's face.

"Oh sweetie." She climbed up and kissed him on the cheek as she hugged him gently around the neck.

"That's all over now buddy." Nick said, resting a paw on Eli's knee. "You got a lot of people looking out for you now."

Eli smiled down, and looked at the fox. "Uhm Nick?"

"Yeah bud?"

"Uhm...Why did you call me your kit?"

"Uh...he...w-well..." Nick tugged on his shirt collar, but just then, that's when a series of bright multicolored bursts lit up the night sky. The fireworks display was the perfect distraction Nick needed. He then looked over at Judy, who smiled down at him knowingly, and he sidled up to Eli, wrapping an arm around him in a hug as the three sat there and watched the fireworks.

And there you have it folks! The latest chapter! I sure do hope that you enjoyed! More to come!