FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The sun shone on Zootopia on that October 14th. It was a clear autumn day, with the cold breeze that was so common in autumn blowing across the streets of Zootopia. Savannah Central was a space that could be consider a "neutral" climate within the many biomes of the city of Zootopia. This meant that it was subject to the natural climate changes that came with the seasons. There were hot days in the summer, snow in the winter, and the cold breeze and the changing leaves in autumn.

The climate was really nice, and many animals who lived there were adapted to this kind of change. Among them, was a certain ample cheetah with brown eyes and a bubbly attitude, called Benjamin Clawhauser.

The said cheetah had changed out of his police uniform, and now he was wearing some common clothes, basically a white shirt with a pair of jeans (which were a bit thigh due to the cheetah's weight) and a jacket over his body, to protect him from the cold breeze. Yes, he was accustomed to neutral climate, but he was still a species that was adapted to a Savannah, and he was a bit sensitive to the cold, although not as much as the animals who lived in Sahara Square.

Of course, he was not feeling the breeze very much within the confines of the great crowd that the cheetah now saw himself in the middle of. A myriad of mammals were all gathered in there, taking great part of the street, as they were now waiting for the doors of the mall to open.

The doors were no small thing either, as they were thick glass, automatic sliding doors that decorated the entrance of the place. This place was big. It was so big that it seemed that it took an entire block only with its presence, and Ben thought that he would get winded easily if he tried to make a complete lap around the thing. That imposing structure of rock and metal stood proud, with windows of glass from the fifth store upwards. The whole thing was truly massive, and on the front, in giant letters, was written: NEW DEN PLAZA.

Today was the day of the big inauguration of the biggest mall ever built in Zootopia. It was a big deal, and it looked like the whole place was ready to open its doors at any moment now.

The mammals on the crowd were anxiously waiting for the doors to open so they could all rush inside and take a look of that placed that was said by some to be a state-of-art work, and to be a monument to consumerism.

Lots of mammals had gathered in front of it, from all species, and all of them were anxious to go inside and see the many promises that the new mall had. Which included many of their favorite stores and things. The place was said to have some of the best and most famous stores of Zootopia, from clothing articles to video games. The place was also equipped with many entertainment options, as it had inside a gigantic arcade and a state-of-art movie theater, and some even said it had an inside laser tag arena. The place was also said to have the greatest food court that Zootopia had ever seen, with many options of dinning, restaurants, fast food, ice cream shops, and many other food options to cater for all tastes and dietary needs.

The crowd that had formed to go to the place was truly enormous, as it was easily covering all the area of the front of the mall, and it was not a small area.

"...And it truly seems that everyone is really ready to go inside and see all that the new mall have to offer." Victoria Vulpen said to the camera. She was now wearing a set of clothes that were of a green coloration, and she looked at the camera, while Cameron made sure to point it right at her during their live transmission.

"It seems that the entirety of Zootopia has come to this event. This is truly one of these occasions where it seems that species and social status actually don't matter. The mall will be opening in just a few minutes, and we can already expect mammals to come flooding the place once it does. It will truly be something. Back to you, studio."

Soon the recording was cut, and Vicky sighed as she relaxed, all the while Cameron was telling her how amazing it was.

Meanwhile, Vicky looked at the other side of the street, where there was also a crowd forming, but this one with a very different purpose.

It was the Zootopia's Superior Court, and today, besides the inauguration of New Den Plaza, was also the day when it was marked for Dawn Bellwether to be passed into the paws of the enforcers. They were probably inside right now, only waiting for the ewe to be brought by the ZPD all the way from Boarwood to be delivered to them.

This, of course, caused all kinds of wackos to be draw to the place, as it now was riddle with protestors. Most of them were screaming curses at Dawn Bellwether, and saying that she should receive the harshest punishment a mage could get. However, there was a minority that seemed to be supporters of Bellwether, and asked for her to be let go free.

Vicky had been task to cover the opening of the mall, while the covering of the transference of Bellwether was give to someone else.

Now, some could think that the same reporter who conducted the interview with a mage to be put in charge of covering a mall inauguration to be somewhat of a step down. Vicky herself felt a little envious of the reporter who had been given the work of covering the event regarding Bellwether, once it was some hot news. However, a part of herself was glad that she was put on the covering of the mall instead, for she had to admit that it was far more enjoyable than having to deal with all of those crazy protestors and the mere existence of the sheep who had persecuted countless predators like herself.

Vicky could still remember how hard her life became during the months of the plot of that demoniac ewe.

Rot in Hell, Bellwether. Vicky thought bitterly to herself. Yeah, she was actually glad to be covering the mall instead of that huge mess that was forming just across the street.

She was not the only one, as many mammals who were within the crowd that waited for the mall to open were more than willing to keep distance from the group of protesters that actually seemed like they were starting to throw insults and trash at each other. Among them, was Benjamin Clawhauser, who was had the intention of being as far from the mess as he could, as the two groups worried him, for they surely seemed like they could become an explosive combination.

Luckily, it were only five more minutes before the mall opened its doors, and soon, the crowd was moving inside. Benjamin was among the ones who moved inside along with the flow, and even Vicky and Cameron went inside, as they were wanting to capture a few images from the inside of the mall.

Once everyone got inside, they were quite baffled by what they saw.

The place was truly huge as it looked. Actually, some of them could swear that the place was bigger inside, as the entrance that they went through opened to a very wide area that was already riddled with stores, like a place nearby that sold cellphones, and a small bakery that was right on the opposite side. The place opened to what seemed to be an internal street, and it was quite wide, and on each sides, stores lined up as if they were buildings on the side a street.

It was even possible to see some things that were on the inside in the distance. For example, there was an area that was possible to see in the distance, which had a jungle-like look, and it truly looked like someone has put a piece of the Rainforest District inside of the mall. There was another point in the distance that almost looked like a frozen plateau, and some could even see that it was snowing in there. There was even another point nearer to the ground that looked to be a miniature oasis surrounded by the desert, if you had a vision that was good enough to see that far.

The place was know to take an entire block with its size, but looking on the inside, someone could swear that it actually covered a lot more than that, as the paths of the mall seemed to cross and curve as if they were streets across a miniature version of Zootopia.

Many mammals stopped and stared with wide eyes at this, right before they sprinted off running inside of the mall. Some of them were actually going ballistic at this, as they were looking at the many internal forms of locomotion in there, like the escalators, the great glass elevators that doubled as cableways, and even some zip lines up above.

They had just entered, and it already seemed that the mall was all that was promised and even more.

Ben was among the ones who remained overwhelmed by the opulence of the place. Not only it was big, but all in there seemed like it was expertly built. It was so massive that Ben couldn't help but feel small in relation to all of that.

The cheetah soon found himself wondering where he should go next, and he looked to the side, and saw that there was what seemed a map of the place. The cheetah felt really glad as he rushed to it and looked at the map... which was pretty big on itself.

It really seemed that the place was bigger on the inside... much bigger. Ben even wondered how it was possible...

As Ben looked at the many places that were in there, he heard a voice by his side.

"It truly is huge in here, ain't it?" Someone said, and Ben turned to look at her. She as a thylacine. She stood around four feet tall, and she had a lit and nice body. The fur on her was of a yellow-cream coloration, with three black lines on her tail (and some more on her lower back, if Ben was not mistaken about her species). She was wearing a purple blouse and a pair of fitting jeans pants, and she was looking at the map with her aquamarine eyes.

Ben blinked at the thylacine, and he couldn't help but think that he had seen her somewhere before...

She then noticed that the cheetah was staring at her.

"Oh, sorry! I was just making a commentary." The female thylacine said, and Ben soon noticed that he had been staring at her, which was rude.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't meant to stare at you, miss..."

"Fanghanel." The thylacine said, "Misses Chloe Fanghanel."

Ben blinked, and suddenly he remembered where he saw her before.

"Oh, you are Chloe! Eliot's wife!"

"You know my husband?"

"Sure do!" Ben said, and reached out for his pocket, pulling his wallet. He kept his badge inside of it, and he showed it to the female thylacine. "I work with him in the ZPD. I'm Officer Benjamin Clawhauser."

"Hey, Eliot told me about you!" She said, looking at the ample cheetah. "You are the one in the front desk, right? Eliot considers you one of his best friends in the ZPD. Wow, you are just like he described." She said, looking up and down the cheetah, who couldn't help but feel a tiny bit as if he was being judged over his weight.

"Oh, sorry, that came out wrong." Mrs. Fanghanel said, apologizing. Ben was quick to dismiss her.

"Nah, it's okay. I'm just too sensitive about things sometimes." Ben said, and he smiled at her:

"Well, anyway, fancy meeting you here." The cheetah said, trying to make a conversation, and Chloe smiled back at him.

"Going for a walk in here." She said, and looked at the map. "I thought I should come to take a look at everything. There are some of my favorite stores in here. Hey, they even have my favorite sweet-shop!" She said as she pointed at one specific place in the map, one place that was dubbed: CHANDLER'S CONFECTIONARIES.

When Ben looked at it, his eyes widened. "Oh, my gosh! Chandler's got a store here? This is so cool!" Ben said, and Chloe looked at him.

"You know this franchise?"

"I know the owner." Ben said to her, "This must be the surprise that he said he had for me at the day of the inauguration! O. M. Goodness! I'm so happy for him!" Ben said, and the female thylacine continued to look at him.

"You know the Chandler Confectionary? For real?"

"Yeah, we are besties!" Ben said, "I gotta go take a look at that new store of his! Which floor it is in?"

Chloe looked, and she said:

"It is in the 12th floor, near the food court."

"Great! Let's get an elevator there then!" Ben said, but then he stopped.

"Wait... Twelfth floor? But this building only has seven floors!"

---

As they stood in there, on the entrance of Boarwood, Nick had used this time to check the vehicle for the seventh time over. He looked for the classical things, like hidden objects, anything that she could use as a weapon or to uncuff herself, plastic explosives and the like. He also looked for less usual things, that he wouldn't have even thought about looking for in the beginning of the year, like hidden magic circles in the car, small insects that she could crush to cast a spell, or anything that she could use as a magic wand. Yeah, Nick thought that that was not as magecraft worked, but he would rather not take his chances, since he did not wanted to end like that would from the video, squirming in the floor of the vehicle while Bellwether stood over him grinning and pointing her hooved finger at him.

As soon as Nick convinced himself that there was nothing in there that Bellwether would be able to use against them, he put himself to stand by Bogo's side. The buffalo chief was serious as always, although Nick had the distinct feeling that the big bovine was a bit more serious than usual. However, Nick had discovered very soon on his line of work that the chief buffalo-butt was harder to read than the average mammal.

They simply stood there and waited, and the minutes felt like they were ticking by slowly. Finally, the gates of the prison opened, and three figures came walking in their direction.

One of them was someone who Nick had already met, as he was the same fox doctor that he had meet when he first came to Boarwood. Dc. Krystin Meczyslaw had a serious and unfazed expression as he walked in direction to the car. On the other side, there was a female pig guard, whose nametag read "Swinton", and she was walking with a baton in her hoof, and she looked at the mammal that was right by her side, and she looked as if she was ready for anything, but at the same time, she looked quite uncomfortable to be there.

Between the two mammals, came a third one, shorter than both, and she wearing the same orange prison jumpsuit that Nick had saw when he came to see her months before. Dawn Bellwether had her eyes down as she was scouted by the two mammals in direction to the police van.

Okay, just keep it cool. She will surely want to tease and test you. You just can't let her get into your head. Nick said to himself as he saw the ewe getting closer and closer to himself and Bogo. Once she was just a few feet away, all the three mammals stopped, and the ewe finally looked up at Nick.

The tod tried to keep his gaze as neutral as it was possible, and he totally expected to have the ewe staring daggers back at him. However, he had a different feeling coming from her as she looked at him. Of course, it was only for a moment, because after two seconds, Bellwether looked back down.

Nick had a raised eyebrow, and he wondered if it was some kind of tactic that the ewe had now.

As nick thought about it, the female pig guard moved over to Bellwether, and started to search her body once more, as if to see if there was anything hidden with her that some of the other ones might have missed.

This was something that Nick had learned during his training, as they taught him to always assume that the prisoner that is being transporter had not been searched before. Nick thought that it seemed a tad bit paranoid, but he kind of preferred to be paranoid than to trust to much in a mammal like Bellwether.

"Swinton" soon had finished searching Bellwether, and she got up. In this, Doctor Mieczyslaw stepped forward, standing by Bellwether's side.

Nick blinked at what he saw next...

"Thank you, Swinton." The doctor said to the female pig, "You might return to your station now. I'll be assuming from here."

The pig hesitated a little, but she complied, and she soon was leaving, letting the buffalo, the ewe, and the two foxes in there to deal with the business in regarding the diminutive ewe. The doctor looked at the two officers, in particular to Nick, who was staring at him.

"So, shall we get going now?" The fox therapist said, and Bogo agreed with him, and Nick continued to look at the fox and ewe, and he then noticed that Bogo seemed not to notice the same thing he did. Or at least, the buffalo pretended not to. Of course, he could have notice it and not know the meaning of it, after all, it was a fox thing...

The door was opened, and Bellwether was helped by her fox therapist to climb the steps that allowed her to get in the back of the van. Nick followed right after these two, and as Bellwether and her therapist sat in one side, Nick sat on the opposite bench, now in front of both of them.

The cop fox looked at the ewe that now was directly in front of him, as he moved forward to attach the chains of her cuffs into the chain that linked it to the floor of the van. It was type of procedure to take with criminals inclined to violence, to prevent them from charging at the other officers and try to take their weapons, for instance.

As he did, the chains of her cuffs rattled, just like the chains of the fetters on her ankles. As he finished, Nick looked up at her briefly, and he could take notice of the iron collar that was locked around her neck. It looked like it was sculpted from raw iron into a solid collar with a single lock, and the tod could make out some symbols in the circumference of the collar, and he could swear that they were glowing.

With this, the fox sat back, and Bogo, who was in the driver's seat, was looking back at them through the window with a grade that separated the front from the back of the van.

The fox nodded at him, and the buffalo wordlessly nodded back, before turning and starting the car. In no time, they were driving away from Boarwood, and starting their travel through the streets in direction to the Superior Court, where she would finally leave their paws.

The first minutes of travel were very silent, with Nick only looking at Bellwether occasionally, and then looking out of the window. At some point, the voice of the sheep called his attention.

"Hmm, Officer Wilde?"

Nick blinked, and looked back at the sheep. She was looking at him.

"H-how is Judy going?"

Nick looked at her for a few moments, and he shrugged:

"Oh, she is doing just fine." He spoke to her, "Not much has changed since you asked me that question a few months ago. She is a bit worried and all, not that I it of your business." He looked at her coldly. "And you should stop acting like that as if you two were still friends."

Nick totally expected Bellwether to say something in return, like saying it was his fault for this, or that she was just trying to "make her understand her mission", or anything of the like. At the very least, he expected her to look back at him with anger and contempt.

However, there was none of that happening next.

Instead, the ewe visibly flinched, and she looked down, looking dejected. She almost looked like a child who had just been told off by their parent. Nick blinked at this reaction, and stared at the ewe as she stayed put in her seat, now without raising her eyes to look at him.

"Wait, for real?" Nick said, and this caused Mieczyslaw to look at him.

"No nasty retort? No speciest commentary? No hateful glare that says that you would skin me alive if you could?" The fox pressed, and this now caused even the buffalo, who was driving, to look back at them through his rearview mirror.

Nick looked at the ewe, who continued to look down at her own lap, as if she didn't had the courage to look at him. This caused the fox to look at her more, and he asked:

"What, are you trying to gain points now by behaving yourself? Is that what this is?" He asked, and the ewe said nothing, "You know, it might be a little late for trying to play the good ewe now, after all that you've done..."

"Officer Wilde." The voice of the other male fox suddenly distracted Nick, as he looked at the other fox, who was now the one who was glaring at him. Nick actually felt a bit scared with the cold glare that the other tod was giving him now.

"I do believe that part of doing this job is not taunting the inmates that are being transported." The tod said coldly as he looked at Nick. "Your attitude right now could easily be labelled as harassment, and that could grant you a note for improper behavior and misconduct with a prisoner."

"He is right, Wilde." Bogo said, and he kept his eyes on the road as he drove, but Nick was sure that he would be glaring at the fox if he had not to keep his attention on driving. "Stand down and stop provoking."

Nick flinches a little, as now he felt like he had been told off and ordered to behave, just like a kit. The fox sat back and only stood there, and he looked at the ewe.

Bellwether was still looking down, her ears droopy as she looked to be quite unhappy in there. As she did, the fox who was sitting by her side reached out and placed a paw on her shoulder, a silent comfort for the ewe.

Nick looked at this, and he could not help but wonder...

---

At the place where the car was heading, a crowd has already formed, one that rivalled with the one that was in front of the mall, so much that the two crowds almost overlapped, and Meerkovitz, the meerkat officer, had to stand in watch and help the cars get through by controlling the crowd and the car movement all at once. Good thing he was used to deal with traffic.

As he did, the rest of the cops made a good deal of effort to keep the two mobs in check. On one side, the mobs that were demanding for Bellwether to be punished for her crimes, and the other was demanding the ewe to be pardoned. Both of them seemed that they wanted to do something more than just protest and hold on signs.

However, it was not only them who were the problem. Reporters also were proving to be a problem, in particular the most passionate ones, who wanted to cover the maximum of the story at any cost. Also, there were the ones who were the most sensationalist, and tended to blow things out of proportion, as these were seeing in this a chance to have a story that could rival the Interview with a Mage, although many doubted it to be possible.

It was quite hard for the officers to hold all of these back and preventing things from escalating out of control. Still, they all did what they could in that situation. Meanwhile, inside the Superior Court, the things were a lot calmer than in the outside.

"Can you believe the luxury of this place?" Emilia said, as she looked around. "Man, they surely like to show power, almost as much as the Association does. I mean, not really a surprise, once these powerful guys always love to stroke their own ego."

Marceli said nothing to answer, as he simply stood in the center of that room with his arms crossed.

The room was truly big and opulent, and normally it would be in activity, as lawyers and prosecutors and judges would go back and forth to do their business within the day. However, the main hall of the place had been closed and emptied of mammals, and it was especially for the two foxes that now stood in the center of the room.

Of course, some of the mammals in there complained from being kept out of the hall of their own workplace, and for having to reschedule all of their appointments only because the two foxes wanted. However, it was a decision that was supported by the City Hall, and they actually could do little about it. Besides, all of them seemed a bit more inclined to listen and to cooperate when they were remembered that soon Dawn Bellwether, a mage who hated predators, would be brought to the Enforcers there, and that they would take her away forever.

Now, the two of them were only standing there, waiting for the ewe to be brought to them by the ZPD. Marceli stood almost like a soldier, with his arms crossed, his face stony, and not talking more than necessary. Emilia, on the other paw, was pacing back and forth, stretching her body, chewing some gum and talking at nearly anything that came on her mind.

"It was really nice of them to let us use the entire room for our business with Dawn Bellwether, right?" The vixen said, and the tod with black fur merely stood there saying nothing. She then continued:

"Well, I think it was nice" She spoke, very casually, "I had a lot of worries in this because we were going to have to cooperate with the non-mages. I was afraid that they would be scared and be nasty to us like in the movies and series, but they are actually all being surprisingly nice. Or at least they are being polite enough not to show that they don't want us around."

"Yeah... that is for sure." Marceli said finally, after being silent for almost half an hour. Emilia looked at him as he just stood there, in attention.

"So. This must be really different from what you are used to. I mean, needing the assistance of the non-mage authorities to do things." She spoke, and Marceli looked back at her. "I mean, back on your time you usually did what you had to do and kept moving on. This must surely be different, especially for the Black Shadow of the Association." She said, but regretted saying this, when she saw the look that the tod gave her.

"I always hated that name." The fox said, more to himself than to her, looking away. "Still... yeah, I admit that it does feels quite different." He said, this time to Emilia, and said nothing more. Emilia also decided that now it was time to change the subject. Instead, she put herself on talking about something that she saw on their way there, and on how the crowd out there was quite pumped up for all that was happening.

As she continued to talk, some mammals were hiding behind a huge pillar, and one of them had his eyes, and the lens of his camera, pointed at the two.

"The vixen surely likes to talk, doesn't she?" Patrick said, as she and the others remained hidden behind the pillar. He was the only one who was peeking from behind that thing, and he had his camera pointed at the two mammals who stood in the middle of the room.

"Keep filming, maybe something cool will happen." Sully whispered to him, as he and Shawn stayed put behind the pillar, the sheep looked nervous.

"I'm the only one who thinks that we should not be here?" The sheep asked the other two in a whisper. "I mean, the enforcers could get mad if they know that we are spying on them. We could already get in trouble for entering into the place with all of the warnings just outside that say that it is closed to the public."

"Come on, we need this for the website!" The pig said, "I mean, we can actually show how the mage police deals with criminal mages! Not only that, but we will get a video of Dawn Bellwether being given to the mage police! That will be great!" Sully spoke, and the two looked at him.

"Sully, why do you think that only because they are mages this is gonna be interesting?" Patrick asked, as he had his head ducked behind the pillar, but still held his camera in way that it was peering around the big structure and pointing at the two foxes.

"Because it will!" The pig whispered back. "Maybe there is a whole ritual behind the process of apprehending criminals. And even if it doesn't, this is Dawn Bellwether! The most hated mammal in all of Zootopia! And she is a mage! We will have exclusive images of her being given to the mages and taken away to whatever it is they are going to do with her! This will surely get us a lot of views."

"Yeah, but is it worth it?" The sheep whispered.

"Of course it is!" The pig said, "Especially after all of the problem that we went through the follow the Enforcers in here without them noticing and getting into the building without being seen."

Yeah, the three surely had a lot of problem to carry on with that plan. It started in the previous night, when Sully called them, remembering them that it was the night before the day when Dawn Bellwether was going to be give to the Enforcers. Sully managed to convince the two mammals into going with him, and convincing them to lie to their parents was just the first step.

Sully told his parents he would be staying at Shawn's. Shawn told them he would be staying at Patrick's. And Patrick told he would be staying at Sully's.

With this, the three teenagers were on their way to spend the night out. The two were deeply bothered by this, but Sully managed to convince them, as he always did. They had the description of the enforcers, as they were a vixen and a black tod. This was enough for them to go around, but it didn't made it easier to know where they would be staying.

It was when Sully remembered on how the bunny and fox cops went to that building during that day. It should be where the enforcers were!

With this, Sully guided his two friends to the same building, and they put themselves to wait. Of course, they could not sleep in the street, as it was not safe in a situation like that. Luckily, they were able to pay a few bucks to a guy who lived just across the street of the building, and they slept in the upper floor while they took turns watching the entrance of the building in front. It was a challenge, but very early in the morning, before the sun rose, Shawn woke the other two up, as he pointed out that the two foxes were just leaving the building.

From that point on, the three teenagers followed the two foxes, as they walked across the streets. The foxes seemed not interested in taking a cab, as they only moved on foot, all the way from that part to the inner of Downtown, and in there, they walked to the Superior Court.

There was already a group of curious mammals forming in there, and the foxes moved around and entered through the back of the building. All the while they were followed by the Mage Chasers, who now made justice to their name.

It was hard to get inside, for it seemed that the door had been lock as soon as the mages entered. At least that was what it seemed, once getting close to the door made the three feel so uneasy that they didn't even tried to force the door to open. Still, the three wanted to get inside (well, Sully wanted, and he talked the other two into it), and they soon found a way.

The vents that were on the building were hard to get into (it would be too lengthy to explain how the three managed to get into), but the three found a way to squeeze themselves into the ventilation and crawl their way inside. They managed to land right past some security that was patrolling the place.

Luckily for them, they were not close enough to hear them, and the hallways were mostly empty. So much that it was rather easy for them to sneak inside without being seen. Soon, they found their way to the main hall of the Superior Court. And there were the mages, standing about as they waited in there.

The three were quick to move and to hide behind pillars. They moved closer and closer to the mages, as they rushed from one pillar to another, trying their best to remain out of sight.

"We just need to be sure to record it when it happens, okay?" The pig said to his two friends as they looked back at him. "We just record everything and then get out before they notice we are here."

"You know, only because you say 'we just need', it doesn't make the thing we need to do become something easy." Patrick spoke, and they looked at the pig, before sighing, and turning back to peer over the pillar, and look at the mages...

"Where are they?" The hyena said, once he saw that the two enforcers were no longer on the center of room. The hyena looked around the room, looking for them both into his eyes and with his camera. This caused the two who were with him to get nervous.

"What? What happened?" Shawn asked, being easily the more nervous of the two.

"Ahem." Someone suddenly said from the other end of the pillar.

Sully squealed. Shawn bleated. Patrick yipped. All of them turning around to see the two enforcers now looking at them. The tod was serious and with his arms crossed, while the vixen simply stood there, chewing on her gum and looking at the three with what seemed, for the teenagers, an expression of mild amusement.

The three looked back at the two for a while.

"So, what are you boys doing here?" Emilia asked, and Shawn was the first one to speak:

"It was all Sully's idea!" The sheep bleated, pointing at the pig. "Patrick and I didn't wanted to come, but he convinced us! He made us follow you guys around because we have a ZooTube account and it would be nice for us to have a video of you! Please, don't shear me!"

The way the sheep spoke was so fast and sudden that all of the four other mammals just stood in there, looking at him, as the sheep let shaking, bleating pants. After a while, Marceli asked, looking at them and seeming to be perfectly calm and composed.

"So, you were following us just to have us on video?" He asked, "And I want the truth."

The three teenagers shared looks among themselves. The way that the tod spoke was serious, and it left it clear that this was not a mere request. Still, it sounded more like the authoritarian voice of one of their fathers than the order of an angry mage. It seemed to be what encouraged the three to confirm to them that this was the truth, and also tell a bit more.

"Mage Chasers, huh?" Emili said, and Sully nodded.

"Yeah, we first formed our group back during the mage scare." The pig said, "Now, well, everyone is not so scared anymore, but we still need to chase information to help tell people things."

"Or to help have more views on our account." The hyena added, and the pig could not say anything else, even though he seemed like he wanted to.

The two foxes looked at them, and then shared a look. Emilia then smiled.

"So, you guys want to interview us?"

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Baah?"

She was smiling at the three teenagers, who were looking at her as if they were asking if she was serious. She simply shrugged at them. "Well, don't mind talking about myself to others, as long as you don't ask anything too sensitive or that could cause problems with my family or the Association. They are all still full of secrets."

The three blinked, as they could barely believe that.

"W-would you really give us an interview?" Sully asked, his body shaking slightly from sheer emotion.

"You can bet she would." Marceli said, "She is a babbler mouth, and loves the sound of her own voice."

"What? I just like to chat and to talk! Nothing wrong with that." The vixen said, and turned to the two. "Sorry, my uncle is a bit of a buzz killer sometimes."

"I take my job seriously." The tod said, and the teenagers all looked at him. The tod looked back at them for a few moments, and he sighed. "Well, I guess that there would actually have no problem in talking to a few harmless teenagers." He spoke, and looked at his niece, "As long as we don't give them any information that could be sensitive."

"Don't worry. Despite how I act most of the time, I actually have some good sense." Emilia said, and she turned back at the three teenagers, who continued to stare back at her.

"So, you boys want to know more about us?"

Her tune was sincere, and the three teens shared looks, before Sully answered for all of them:

"It would be the best!"

Sully was practically giddy, as they had found a mage who would actually want to talk to them and answer their questions, like Zillah Ferron did for Victoria Vulpen.

This was so amazing!

---

That store was so amazing!

Ben looked at the many sweets and confectionaries of various intricate shapes and colors decorating all of the store. Some of them were on display, as they looked like badges or sculptures made with the ultimate care to make them into works of art that you could look at before eating. There were two towers of sweets in there, and they looked to be something out of a pastry-chefs dream. Not to mention the works with chocolate, which were everywhere, and they ranged from cakes to sculptures. There were even a huge sculpture in there that was made in the shape of a castle, which had a display by the side saying that it's name was "CHOCOLATE KING'S PALACE", and that it had won an award of the best chocolate sculpture.

And it all belonged to Chandler.

Of course, it would have been better if the equine was there for Benjamin to talk to him.

"There was a problem with one of the deliveries earlier, and Mr. Manechester had to go on to solve it himself." Said the impala attendant "He won't be back for a few hours, but he has left something." The attendant said and left, leaving Ben to continue to admire the store, which looked like a dream that he used to have back when he was a cub.

Chloe, who had come with him, was buying a box of brown and white chocolates. The brown ones were for her, once she, as a marsupial, could digest them quite easily. The white ones were for Eliot, once dark chocolate could be something terrible for canines like her husband. That was a thing that she learned, along with the danger of onions and garlic. It was an important thing so she would not send her husband to the hospital with food poisoning, as she did on the first time that she tried to cook him dinner.

Soon, the impala came back, he was carrying a fancy-looking box of donuts, and offered it to Ben.

"He left this as a gift for you, in case you came to his store today. He said that you should not worry about the price, and that he hopes that you enjoy it."

"Oh, thank you!" Ben said, taking the box, and soon, he was popping it open. He was delighted to see it was filled with donuts. The sweet smell of the sugar and other pastries reached his nose, making his mouth water.

There was a small note glued to the lid of the box, and ben could read it:

I would never have made it if it wasn't for you.

Oh, Chan... Ben thought, his heart warming, as well as his cheeks.

"These look good." Chloe said, coming to his side, as she now carried a bag on her paw with her purchase. "And expensive."

"Oh... yeah, they do." The cheetah said, the blush on his cheeks deepening a bit. "We are really good friends." He spoke, and as they walked outside.

"Hey! Look out!" Said a voice that made Ben stop and look down, seeing a white and brown bunny in whom he almost stepped.

"Oh! Sorry, sir!"

"Look where you are walking, you fat cat!" The bunny said, and this caused Ben to flinch. He was about to apologize when a female voice came.

"Jason! Don't be rude!"

"But he almost stepped on me!"

"This is no reason to go insulting others." The female rabbit said, looking at the bunny, her paws in her hips. Another bunny came by her side.

"Your mother is right, Jason." The male said, "I know it is not nice when someone near steps on you, but he already apologized, and he sounded sincere. There is no need to be so hostile."

The younger bunny scoffed, and the female gave a glare at him, which caused the bunny to visibly recoil and let out a "sorry".

The female than turning to the big feline and speaking to him:

"Sorry about my son, he still needs to learn a little bit more about etiquette." She said, and the other bunny, who seemed her husband, agreed.

"Yeah, Jason got my papa's personality, or so some say. Sorry for that, mister..."

"Clawhauser." Ben said, "Benjamin Clawhauser... Say, your voices sound familiar... Oh! You are Hopps' parents!" He said, as it suddenly clicked. It seemed that it also clicked for the two bunnies.

"Oh, you are the one who always takes our calls when we are calling the Precinct 1 to talk to our daughter!" Stu said, "Man, talk about coincidences!"

"Are you a cop too?" Came a smaller bunny, who looked up at the cheetah. "Do you kick tail like Aunt Judy?"

"Well, not really." Ben said, looking at the smaller bunny. "You see, I'm a dispatcher. I receive in calls for help and tell the other cops to go to places where they need to go."

"We are not buying these sweets! You know that sugar makes you hyperactive!" said an Oryx, granting everyone to turn to look at him.

"Only if I eat too much!" The said a kudu that was right by his side, "Besides, it is not every day that we meet such a nice store!"

"Yeah, a nice expensive store! I bet that only one of these candy boxes costs half of my salary!"

"Oh, come on! Can't we have a little fun once in a while?"

"We are not having one of these boxes, and that's final!"

"Then let's have something else! Maybe one of these chocolate bars!"

"Chocolate makes you unable to sleep!"

"What? Are we going to bed in two minutes from now?"

"Oh, shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

Everyone around now was staring at the two antelopes as they continued their bickering.

"So... fancy meeting you guys in the mall." Benjamin said, trying to ignore the bicker of the two antlered mammals. "So, you came here for the stores?"

"You bet we came!" Stu said to the big cheetah. "I still can't believe how huge this place is! We need to consult the maps every time we see one, to make sure that we won't get lost! There are all of the stores that we wanted, and even more." He said, and gesturing to the other bunnies, and saw that the males of the group of a dozen bunnies were carrying shopping bags.

"I see you brought the entire family, right?" Chloe said, "I'm Chloe, by the way."

"Nah, just a couple of our sons and daughters." Bonnie said, "There are more, but they went with Harry to see the rest of the mall. We decided to come here to have some food, we left home so early in the morning that we barely had time to have breakfast."

"Oh! We can all have food together! My threat." Ben said, looking at the group of mammals.

"Free food?" Pronk said, looking at the cheetah who had made the offer, "I'm game!"

"Wait, he didn't invited us!"

"He said 'we' and 'all', didn't he?"

"I think he was only inviting the Hoppses! He didn't talk to us specifically!"

"Come on, its free food!"

"Yeah, for a cheapskate like you it surely sounds alluring!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"You know what, I'm inviting everyone!" Ben said, wanting to stop the bickering between the two. "Everyone in this group, food is all on me!"

The bunnies cheered at this, and so did Pronk, under the reproving gaze of his companion.

Soon, the group had moved into the food court, which was just as opulent as the rest of the mall. There were lines upon lines of places that offered all kinds of foods, and it was enough to drive some mammals insane, as all of their favorite food options were right there, for them to choose which one they wanted. So many options that most of the mammals didn't even knew what to choose.

It was the same for the group that Ben offered to pay for. As they picked their table, all of them were getting ready to have their meals. Meanwhile, Ben was conversing with some of them, and he was shocked to find out that Cotton didn't knew who Gazelle was. He was quick to wipe out his phone and let her hear a few of the popstars music.

"Awesome!" The little bunny said as she listened to the music, and soon, the food was coming to the table.

Ben was starting to have second thoughts about having offered to pay for their food, for he soon saw that the bunnies, despite their small size, could actually eat quite a lot. Not to mention the "Pronk" guy, who seemed to be using this chance to ask for some expensive food.

"You didn't needed to ask for so much food, you know?" Bucky said to him, "And there were a lot of cheaper options to choose."

"Hey, he said he would pay."

"No excuse to take advantage of him like that!"

"Oh, give me a break, I'm just enjoying it!"

Ben looked at the two as they bickered. Cotton looked up at him as she spoke:

"Mister Bucky and Mister Pronk bicker a lot." She then leaned over, and whispered. "They are a couple. You know, like kissing boys." She spoke it as if it was a secret, and Ben looked at the two, and they seemed to still be at their bickering. He imagined what it would be like to have a relationship with someone like that...

"Oh, shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"Will both of you shut up?" The bunny named Jason said, causing the two to look at him. "I'm trying to hear to the television!"

There was a television nearby them, mounted on a thing on the ceiling. There were some of them across the food court. Some of them showed series or movies. Some of them showed music shows and video clips. Some of them, near some more infantile themes places, showed cartoons. Some, like the one that the group sat right in front of, showed news channels.

On the tv, a bison was standing, and on the corner, there was the logo MLN on the corner of the screen. Behind the bison, it showed the Superior Court and the group of mammals that had gathered in front of it.

"This is Mark Bisson and it is like the winter war out here!" The bison said, "We have two groups that had formed in front of Zootopia's Superior Court, where the convicted criminal Dawn Bellwether, who recently was revealed to be a mage is going to be given to the enforcers, the police of the mages, as it seems that the Association has finally decided to take responsibility for her. On one side, we have a bunch of prey supremacists and brainwashed mammals who are asking the mages to forgive the ewe and let her walk free. On the other we have the good mammals of Zootopia, all of them hoping that the enforcer will take the Hellspawn sheep to be taken and put away for good, preferably at their version of Azkaban."

Ben swallowed the donut that he was chewing, from the box that he received at the store, and turned to the small bunny. "Cotton, he meant 'frogspawn'."

"I know what that word means, Mr. Bubbles." The young bunny said to the big cheetah. "Pop-pop says 'Hellspawn' all the time."

"Cotton!" Her mother said, "We already told you not to use this language!"

"That guy should know better as well!" Stu said, looking at the camera, and Ben nodded.

"Mark Bisson works for the Meadowlands News. He is quite infamous back at the precinct because he tends blow things out of proportion."

"Well, he is not wrong, you know?" Jason said as he looked to the tv, and the bison in there continued to talk:

"Now, I can't help but wonder on why the mages took so long to take account for one of them doing such things? Were they hoping that the problem would just go away? Or were they covering their hides with the secret of who Dawn Bellwether is? Well, this makes it seem that they are not as reliable and trustworthy as they probably want us to think." The bison said, and Ben looked down, while Bonnie looked at the screen with anger.

"But that is for another time. Right now, on the other side of this street, the popstar singer Gazelle will be going into the new mall in hopes of getting away from the rabble and getting the latest designer footwear. This reporter will be going inside, as he has hopes of finding her and confronting her over the rumors that she pretends to retire from singing to become a full-time politician."

As that was said, there was some reactions from those who were hearing it. Among them, was Ben, who was taking a donut to his mouth, but his eyes immediately went up as he looked at the screen, as he had a very surprised look. That was right before his face changed, becoming crestfallen, as he took in what was just said.

"What...?"

"Yes, I want to ask her what is leading her to abandon all of her devoted fans. Would it be the desire to do something more with the way the world is changing? She now sees that there are other callings for her? Are fame and fortune no longer enough? Or this whole crisis involving mages and the supernatural has finally got under her exfoliated skin?"

As Ben looked, his expression immediately hardened, as he unconsciously crunched the donut that he had on his paw. How dared that slimy bovine talk like that about Gazelle!

"Wow, that guys doesn't really measures his words." Bucky said, "Kind of like someone I know." He added, looking at the one who was sitting by his side.

"Hey! Now you are comparing me with the jerk from the MLN?" Pronk said, now sounding like he was genuinely outraged by this. Bucky only looked at him.

"I'm just saying that sometimes you are rude, especially when you are mad!"

"Well, you don't seem to mind very much my rude side when we are in bed!"

This caused an automatic reaction, as all of the eyes of the table turned to look at them. Most of the bunnies looked surprised and scandalized, and Ben could feel a hot searing mortification coming on his stomach and burning on his cheeks. Chloe took a paw to her mouth, looking terribly flustered herself. Mr. and Mrs. Hopps also looked at them with wide eyes. Cotton merely looked, with a cocked ear and a confused expression.

"Hey! Don't talk about our intimacy like that! We are in public!"

"I'm just saying that you don't mind when I'm all bossy in the bed! Actually, you seem to like it very much!"

"But you don't need to yell it in front of others! This is a very personal thing!"

"Yeah, but my point stands!"

"These are totally different matters!"

"They seem related to me!"

"They are not! One is a social convention, while the other is something that is so personal that I cannot believe that you said it aloud in public! Now everyone will think we both are perverts!"

"They'll not!"

"Yes, they will!"

"Okay, let's ask the guys! Hey, do you think... Where are they?" Pronk said, and it was only then that Bucky and Pronk noticed that the mammals who were sitting with them were no longer on the table. All the seats were empty, and the only evidence of their presence was the money that was left on the table by one of them, probably Benjamin.

"Oh, great!" Bucky said, "Once more our bickering scared away more people who will probably never talk to us again!"

"Well, at least they left the money to pay for the food." Pronk said, picking up the money and counting it.

"Will you forget the money, you cheapskate! Don't you bother you that they got scared away by our bickering and by the inappropriate subject that you brought up?" Bucky said, and he reached out for the ground between the two.

"They even forgot their luggage!" He said, showing up the thing that they had been carrying for the Hopps up until now. "Now they probably think we are jerks that are incapable of behaving!"

"Well, you were the one who went along, like always!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, you shut up!"

"No, YOU, shut up!"

The two continued like that, slamming their fists in the table as a punctuation to each "shut up", seemingly unaware of the other mammals that were around them, who were staring and moving away from them...

---

"I still can't believe how big this place is!" Cameron said for what could be the fourth time. He and Vicky were now on the eight floor of the place, in the area that was the mall's equivalent to Rainforest District. The place was full of foliage, and it seemed that it was build over a bunch of trees that branched and tangled on each other while growing. It even had its own irrigation system to imitate the moistness and the heat of a real rainforest. The two had stopped in a nice café.

Vicky ordered a few muffins for herself, while Cameron now was stuffing his face full of peanut butter based products. She smiled as she saw the beagle feasting himself into the food that they ordered. It was nice seeing a good friend happy.

She looked around, and she couldn't help but once more take in just how huge the place actually was. It seemed that it surely was bigger on the inside than on the outside, and that was impossible! Although, considering all that was happening lately in the world, it was hard to really be sure of what could actually be impossible anymore, even when she remembered the things that Zillah told her in the interview a few months ago.

However, there was one thing that she was sure: the images they were getting of the place surely were amazing, and they would make for something nice for the news later on.

As the two took their food, three more mammals passed by them.

"Come on, girl!" Said the one who was leading, and this one was a possum. She stood on 2'4'' feet tall, and her body was lean. The fur on her was of a very soft shade of grey, with white on her mouth and down her neck. Her nose was pink, and there was black fur around her eyes, which were maroon. Her wears were black, with white patches on them, and they were somewhat torn, as if they had been chewed by someone. She was wearing some clothing that consisted into grey tattered shirt and skirt, a black and white stripped jacket, and a choker around her neck. "The Jungle Laser Tag is just this way! Come on!" She spoke to the two that came after her.

"What even is a Jungle Laser Tag?" One of them said. It was a tall kangaroo. She stood on 6'3'' feet tall, with a body that was slender but healthy, and her legs were strong and muscled, as one would expect from a kangaroo. The fur on her body was on shades of brown, with a darker brown around her body, with a shade closer to wood on her face and on the inside of her legs and arms, and with a shade that was much lighter (close to cream, actually) on her muzzle, down her neck and on her chest and belly. Her tail was long and strong. She also had a cream-colored crest of fur on her head, going form the back of her neck to the top of her head, almost looking like a mane. Her eyes were of the color of rubies. She was wearing long jeans pants, an indigo sleeveless shirt and a black sleeveless jacket. She was hoping right behind the possum, as she turned to her friend.

"Oh, it is like regular laser tag, but it is inside of a jungle. You can fight others while you walk on a fallen branch and swing on a vine. It makes it more thrilling! You have to try, you girls will love it!"

"Yeah, let's hope so." The kangaroo said, and the third member of the group was following soon after. This one was a ewe. She stood around four feet tall, being regular in size for a ewe. Her figure was slender and attractive, as it was possible to see by the provocative clothes that she wore: tight fitting jeans shorts, a small top, and a jacket of faux leather with metal spikes on it and with a flaming ram skull on the back. The wool on her body was of a white coloration, with a grey undercoat visible on her body. The fur on her hooves was black, as well as the one on her face and on her ears, which had metal piecing in them. The wool of the back of her head had been dye in a faded shade of purple. She had brown eyes, and these eyes showed a form of confidence that would make most males insecure to walk near her, at the same time that they would desire her even more.

She was walking close to her two friends, but she stopped when she heard something.

"... and the wolf is down there outing a show with his guitar right at the entrance."

"Is he some artist?"

"I don't know, he has his fur died blue and purple. He must be some rock aspirant. But they say that he plays the guitar like a pro, and everyone who hears his music loves it."

"We should go down there to take a look."

The ewe turned to the mammals, who were talking about something that they saw on their phone, and that sounded familiar to her.

"Butch?" The ewe said to herself. However, she had no time to think on it.

"Lana!" The kangaroo called. "Let's go!"

"Coming!" The ewe said, and she was rushing to keep up with her friends. However, she could not stop thinking on what she had just heard, as it worried her for some reason.

Butch... what are you up to now?