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Hello there, dear readers! I'm so happy and excited to bring to you chapter 2 of The Keyhole! In this chapter, I introduce someone that I think others are going to enjoy knowing exists in my Zootopia universe as much as I do! I truly hope that you enjoy it!

"I just don't understand it. If the video shows that the Nighthowler Serum doesn't affect the human creatures like it does mammals, then why hasn't the general public become much more suspicious of them?" a certain armadillo asked no one as he paced back and forth in his padded cell. Dr. Edwin Shellison racked his brain for possible answers, eventually letting out a sigh.

"I suppose that this really was all my own fault. I had not fully grasped the glaring ignorance of the masses. Well, then, fine. I'll just have to perform my own examinations without any public support, or knowledge. Once I can get ahold of one of the humans...I can open them up and see how they work. Once I outline their blatant differences from mammals, the public will surely then become much more compliant with reason. Of course, I still need to find a manner in which to escape my current confines."

At the Hopps Residence...

"Thomas, you are such a big help!" Judy praised her nephew as the teen rabbit assisted in placing plates of fruits and veggies down on the kitchen table for his younger siblings.

"It's nothing I can't handle, Aunt Judy," Thomas said with a smile, his perked ears angling towards the upstairs. Shortly after, Eli descended the steps. "Morning, Squirt!" Thomas said to the human in a chipper voice.

"Good morning," Eli said quietly before letting out a yawn.

"How'd you sleep, sweetie?" Judy asked, noticing Eli's brown headfur all mussed up. Her violet eyes met his tired deep blue ones.

"Uhm...a-all right, J-Mom," Eli said, his mouth lifting in a slight smile at saying that word once again, Judy's mouth doing the same.

"It was a little hard to sleep because...uhm..."

"Because the other kits decided to sleep in a big 'ol pile again, on top of Eli, again," Nick chimed in as he strolled past Eli on the stairs, followed by two rabbits, much older than the trickle of sleepy-eyed kits of varying ages and sizes, making their way down the stairs as well.

"Oh, honey," the auburn-colored female said as she looked up at Eli, "if you were uncomfortable, you should have said something. I'll give the little ones a talkin' to," Eli's aunt Jasmine said. As she spoke, several small eyes turned to look up at Eli, who looked down guiltily.

"I'm just worried that... I'll turn over and hurt someone... because I'm so much bigger..." Eli explained.

"Hmmm, that's true, there is a bit of a size difference." Olivia's brown eyes looked Eli over. "But I think that you'll find that us Hopps are not as fragile as we look!" she said with a smile. "Still though, today is when we'll be moving in to our new house, so you won't be needing to worry about that again tonight!" Olivia's enthusiasm was not shared by the kits walking by and listening in.

"Awwwww," was the collective moan.

"But Eli's so warm!" came one voice of protest.

"And cuddly!" came another, which made Nick chuckle.

"He keeps us safe from the monsters under the bed!" called out an especially small kit, with a large pink bow on her head, resting right between her ears.

"Oh, Sweetpea," came the deep voice of the male rabbit who had deep brown fur coloration, and whose eyes were a similar shade of blue as Eli's. Eli's uncle Charlie knelt down on the steps nearest the little kit. "There's no monsters under the beds. And I promise, if after we're all moved in to our new home, if you still feel scared, then I'll personally check under the bed for you at bedtime, okay?"

"...Okay, Daddy..." the little brown-furred kit said, seemingly only partially mollified, while the others seemed a little more satisfied, and all started to resume walking. Judy smiled a thanks to her brother while Thomas snickered to himself.

Meanwhile...

"You're dead, Clawson!" Major Friedkin called out to the tiger who had fallen into the mud in the rainforest district training course, having fallen from the monkey bars. Up above him there was a human, wearing the cadet uniform, who, despite the spraying water, was managing to hold on as he crossed. He was around six foot eight, had light brown skin, and deep brown eyes. Walter, former Sergeant of the Los Angeles Police Department, still couldn't believe the course his life had taken.

He could still remember the pain in his legs after several of his fellow officers had broken them. When it had become apparent that Sargeant Cruz had every intention of reporting every single thing he had uncovered, which involved more than a few members of his own precinct, they had taken it upon themselves to silence him. After his abduction, and after he had been bound to a chair in an empty warehouse, that's when they had started in on him. No questions, no taunts, no threats. They just kicked the chair over and started smashing baseball bats against his legs. When they had finished, that's when his own partner started to pour the gasoline.

"THIS IS NO TIME TO DAWDLE, CRUZ! NOW MOVE IT!" The polar bear's voice snapped Walter back to the present, and he continued on the bars, making his way to the platform.

The academy back home was nothing like this, he thought. Walter looked on, running a hand through his closely cropped brown hair, and looked on at what was going to be the next challenge of the day, the Ice Wall...and felt a twinge of excitement.

This is way better.

Walter's first month at the academy had been rough, as was every cadet's. His experience was a little rougher, as he was the first ever human to join the academy, and a number of his fellow cadets hadn't known what to make of the strange new mammal in their midst. While not outright hostile, several cadets seemed a little nervous around him. Thankfully, that was not the case with all of them.

"Someone decided to take their sweet time," a little grey hare, with a few black stripes on the tips of his ears said, his arms folded in front of him.

"Well, we can't all be as fast as little rabbits, Jack," Walter said, taking a moment to catch his breath.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm a hare," Jack said in mock frustration. Walter opened his mouth to reply when Major Friedkin bellowed up to them.

"CRUZ! SAVAGE! YOU'VE BOTH RESTED LONG ENOUGH! HURRY UP AND GET TO THE ICE WALL, PRONTO!" The two mammals smiled at one another before heading towards the ladder. Friedkin's muzzle turned up slightly into a small smirk as she watched the two, until she noticed another cadet fall to the mud.

"YOU'RE DEAD, FROST!"

Elsewhere...

"C'mon Sarah honey, you can do it!" A female otter gently encouraged a small human who was wading her way through a tiny pool. Mrs. Otterton was currently wearing a light blue one-piece bathing suit while little Sarah was wearing a pink one, with two matching water wings. They were both at a public pool, with many different mammals of many different ages and sizes enjoying the sunshine. Currently, Sarah was dog paddling in the water, giggling as she headed towards the otter.

"Am I dowin it, mommy?" she called back, slowly getting closer.

"That's right, baby, you're swimming like a pro!"

"Notta baby!" Sarah pouted as she paddled.

"Sorry, honey, I meant to say that you are doing so wonderfully, just like a big girl!" Mrs. Otterton smiled. While Emmitt had taken the boys to the dentist, Mrs. Otterton had decided to take their new daughter out to practice swimming again. Sarah was excited as she got closer and closer to her new mother, squealing in delight as she was pulled into a hug and nuzzled after having made her way from all the way across the pool.

"You did it, honey! I'm so proud of you!" Mrs. Otterton said as she reached up to kiss Sarah on her forehead. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a few mammals looking at them, confused, but ignored it. Sarah was happy, and that's all that mattered.

At that same time...

"Renato, you are just so sweet," Lily said through a very stuffy nose. Lily had been feeling under the weather for the past few days, and when Renato called her, upon learning that she had a cold, he had arrived at her place within fifteen minutes of hanging up, much to the human female's surprise, with two grocery bags in his arms. One was filled with cold medicine, and the other with ingredients to make a stew that the jaguar said his mother made for him when he was sick.

"You really didn't have to go out of your way like this," Lily said, internally grateful and happy to be around him some more.

"My Lily," Renato began, his mildly accented voice sending a light shiver up Lily Blackthorne's spine, "I have not gone out of my way. Today is one of my usual days off." Renato reached behind Lily to fluff one of the pillows she was resting on as she lay back on her couch, a blanket draped over her legs. "Besides, I get to use your cold as an excuse to watch some more movies with you."

Lily smiled. "Cheesy horror movies?" she asked, her nose a reddish color.

"Some of the cheesiest. But first, let me just go check on the stew." Renato smiled back.

Over in Tundra Town...

"So these quartz crystals will help with anxiety, and this onyx will rid my home of negative energy?" a squirrel wearing a, for him, heavy red coat asked while standing on the counter of Eyevory Tusks, looking at several displays of various crystals and minerals beneath himself.

"Yes sir, Mr. Brushstone," Baily answered, smiling. The squirrel looked up at the red-headed human, and let out a sigh.

"Alright, I'll take five of each. And a pack of that lavender incense." Baily nodded and complied by putting the customer's selections into a single brown paper bag, quickly ringing it up. As he swiped the credit card through the reader, he heard a jingle, and looked up to see a familiar face enter.

"Welcome back to Eyevory Tusks, Mr. Lionheart." Baily addressed the former mayor, who gave a smile and a nod to Mr. Brushstone. The lion was dressed in a pinstripe suit, and took off a dark brown long coat to hang on a nearby rack.

"Well hello there, Benji! How're things with you today?" Each time he had come in, he had yet to remember Baily's name, something Baily found more amusing than annoying.

"I'm doing fine, sir, and it's Baily," Baily said as he closed the back of the display case and locked it, snapping the keychain back to his belt loop. "How can I help you today?"

"I was wondering if I could get in a quick card reading."

"Oh, sure thing Mr. Lionheart. Phyllis should be back any minute."

"Well actually, I was hoping to get--" The door chimed again to admit an elephant woman with several runes drawn on her tusks, and more than a few earrings dangling from her large ears.

"Leodore!" Phyllis said with a smile upon noticing him standing before Baily. "I had a feeling that you would be arriving today. Care for another reading?"

"Well, actually yes, but this time, I was hoping that, uh," he turned to face the human, "it was Baily that you said?" to which Baily nodded. "Right, I was hoping that this time it could be Baily who reads my fortune."

Phyllis and her employee looked to one another for a brief moment. "Well...of course, Leodore...but may I ask...why?"

"Your sessions are always amazing and so insightful Phyllis, seriously, there are no complaints here. But today, I kinda felt like trying something new, and what's newer than a human?"

"I...I see, well alright. Baily, please show Leodore to the reading room."

Baily nodded and reached under the counter to grab his deck, feeling a little nervous. He had given a number of mammals readings during his employment so far, but Phyllis had always gone out of her way to ensure that she was the one to give Mr. Lionheart his. When he asked her why this was, she had explained that the former mayor of Zootopia, a mammal with quite a few friends, had a reputation for not taking bad news well. He felt a little nervous as he and the lion entered the back room. It was dimly lit by a bulb up above. Beneath that, there was a table with a white cloth draped over it that rested in between two large oak chairs with crimson cushions. Baily took a seat in the larger of the chairs, the one that was usually sat in by Phyllis, and was subsequently made for a full grown elephant, and Leodore took the seat across from him, his face expressionless.

"Alright, sir," Baily began, shuffling his cards as he spoke, "there are a number of different methods that we could use for your reading today. I personally prefer the cards, but I have no problem using rune stones or--" Baily fell silent when the lion raised a paw.

"I'll take whatever way you prefer using," Leodore said seriously. Baily nodded, and looked down at his deck.

"Okay, then, as the querent, I would like for you to focus on your question as I shuffle the deck." Baily saw Leodore give a nod before the lion closed his eyes. As Baily shuffled, he started to recite the poem once more, setting the deck down on the table the moment he had finished. "Now you may ask your question." Baily said, pushing down his nervousness, and keeping a poker face.

"I want to know how I can win the mammals of Zootopia back," Leodore said as Baily looked on.

"Okay, uh, sir. We're going to use my preferred card spread, the Celtic Cross." Leodore nodded again as Baily started to lay out the ten cards face down. As Baily began to flip up each card, one by one, and explaining what they meant and how they affected Leodore, Baily started to relax. There was nothing majorly bad so far. In fact quite the opposite. The Ten of Cups, The Ace of Wands, Death, The Sun and Temperance all made appearances, which together suggested very fortunate things...aside from the appearance of the Three of Swords. And then he flipped over the tenth card that represented the former Mayor's Future.

"And lastly we have," Baily drew in a breath, "The Tower..."

"Oooh, The Tower? Sounds to me like something good, am I right?"

Baily remembered what Phyllis told him in regards to giving people readings.

When the signs point to...difficult times ahead, it is always best to try and put a positive spin on things.

While not itself a sign of anything evil, The Tower is not a card that those who take tarot readings seriously would ever take lightly. It is a card that represents major change in someone's life, the kind that is sudden and often times completely life changing. And almost always the kind of change that one is truly unprepared for.

"The Tower...is a card that represents change...in someone's life..." Baily explained. "It represents a big change, uh, sir," Baily tried to think of how to better put what he was trying to say when suddenly, the lion loudly clapped his paws together.

"That's wonderful! Obviously the big change is going to be me getting successfully re-elected! Thank you very much, Barney!" Leodore said as he stood up. Baily didn't know what to say as he quickly gathered up his cards and followed Leodore out into the shop proper. Phyllis was standing behind the counter and raised an eyebrow at Baily, who silently shrugged.

"Phyllis, you got yourself a real keeper of an employee here," Leodore said as he reached into a pocket and withdrew a few bills, laying them all down on the counter. "There's an extra tip in there," Leodore said while flashing Baily a wink before grabbing his coat. "Alright, I have got some calls that I know now that I need to make. And I'll take our usual time next week, Phyllis," Leodore said as he quickly made his way out the door.

The elephant looked at the door as it swung closed before turning her attention to Baily.

"Well, now, it would seem as though you handled Leodore quite well yourself," Phyllis said happily as she rang up the cost of the reading, making sure to set aside Baily's tip.

"Yeah...it would seem so..."

At that exact moment...

Edwin sat on the lumpy mattress of his cell, staring at the blank white padded wall directly across from himself, pondering just how he would go about leaving this facility. As his eyes started to travel across his room, he noticed something out of the ordinary at his door. There was a folded piece of paper sticking out from the bottom. Edwin hopped down from his bed and shuffled over to the paper, snatching it up in his hands. He unfolded it to see that there was writing on one side. As he read it, a smile formed on his face.

Dr. Shellison, I believe you. These things, we know next to nothing about them or their motives. I want to help any way that I can.

-A Friend

WHOO! Yay! I'm so happy to have finished yet another chapter! I hope that you all enjoyed it! And as per usual, I once again would like to thank my very good friend, Trismegistus Shandy, for being the most awesome proofreader ever!