"I can't believe that you did something like that, Nick! What were you thinking?"

Seeing Bellwether was not something that Nick had considered nice or pleasant, but still, the fox thought that he almost preferred that to what he was facing now.

Apparently, right after stopping by him in the hallway of Boarwood, the fox therapist with the long foreign name made a call to Chief Bogo's particular extension to complain about Nick going to harass his patient. How he had Bogo's particular extension was something that was beyond Nick.

The Chief, as they said, had apparently not taken it nicely. He wanted to fox to come back and to explain himself, until he was remembered that Nick had finished his shift already and that he had gone on his way to his off-duty time.

This seemed to have prevented the buffalo of going after Nick and dragging him to his office by the tail to give him a good talking down about the matter. Still, the big bovine made sure to tell Wilde that in the following day, as soon as he was back at work, he was going to pass by his office for a long talk on the matter.

However, the talk he as more afraid of was the one that he seemed to be about to have:

Bogo had not been the only one that had not been really happy with what Nick had done. His little bunny partner also didn't liked the way that Nick had acted.

Judy had become really surprised for hearing that Nick had went to visit Bellwether in the prison, and that he had (according to what she heard) harassed and bullied her until she had a nervous semi-breakdown.

All of that was unlike Nick, and she could not really picture Nick bullying anyone, not even the same ewe that nearly tore the city apart and nearly turned him into a savage. This was totally unbefitting of the Nick she knew, and that there was someone claiming that Nick had done it was something that troubled her.

She was sure to let it clear to Nick when she met him again, after she was done with her work and, consequently, with her shift, now being just as off-duty as Nick. She had met him in his apartment, and she was now having a conversation with him.

"Honestly, I cannot believe that you actually would do something like that." Judy said as she walked from side to side in front of Nick, who sat in his couch, looking like a kit caught painting the walls. This was something that Judy had the ability to do to others, to make them feel guilty about themselves for doing something that they had considered to be wrong. She was really good at calling others out for their faults. She had gotten particularly good at it since their first meeting.

"Going to Boarwood to harass Bellwether?" Judy said, and Nick immediately had to defend himself.

"I didn't go to harass her!"

"Then why did you go?"

Nick looked at her, and these amethyst eyes were nearly piercing as they focused on the fox. It was not the kind of hostile piercing that Nick had received many times during the course of his life, but it was an inquisitive one, one that insisted for the fox to answer.

However, Nick was not sure of how to answer.

"I… I wanted to talk to her." Nick said, looking at his own feet.

"Talk to her about…?" Judy asked, and Nick could not really answer that. Not without causing many more questions to be asked.

Judy sighed, she continued to walk around, and her face was serious as she walked. Nick ventured to look up at a moment, and he saw her expression. However, this was not an expression of someone who was angry or annoyed, it was more like… a worried parent.

Nick knew that because he had seen that same look on his own mother's face a more than a few times while he was growing up, after he had started to make poor life choices. It was the look of someone who was worried about someone else, and wanted to help, but somehow couldn't, because the person would not let themselves be helped.

Seeing Judy like that made the fox few bad, for many different reasons, and this really did made Nick want to say something, to tell her something…

"It was about those mammals I saw in the busting." Nick said, and this made Judy stop and look at him, inquisitive. "About the tiger and coyote."

Judy knew what he was talking about.

It was about these two mammals who had been in there during the fight, the ones who had have a meeting with Nick days earlier from that night, and that had been the very ones that gave them a lead that took them to the fight. The same ones that had, as per an incredible coincidence, been in there on the same night, and both had stopped at Nick's table before the fight started, and had tried to attack both Nick and Wolfard.

To hear that the same mammals had been the responsible for this was something that had truly caught Judy's attention. As soon as Nick had confirmed that he had indeed saw the tiger and coyote before, and that they were the same ones of the alley on that day, she had made her mind that she would help to find them.

She wanted to see these two caught to be able to look in their eyes for having attacked her partner. And also, to make sure that they would not try something like that again.

And now, Nick was saying that the reason why he went to Boarwood to talk to Bellwether had been because he wanted to ask to her about these two mammals in particular.

"Why do you think she would know anything about them?"

Nick looked at his partner, and he sighed. "Because… of what one of them said earlier."

Judy looked at Nick, and the fox explained to her what the tiger had spoken to him.

"He really said that?" Judy asked the fox, and Nick nodded. This was enough to put Judy to think for a bit.

Bellwether still had power even while being in jail? Could it be possible?

Of course, you always saw it in tv series and movies that some crime lords could still run their criminal operations and groups from inside jail. However, hearing about that in real life was rarer, because the mechanics of something like that were far too complex for it to be done as smoothly as they show on television.

Still, when you thought about all that Bellwether had done, imagining that she would still have supporters or minions out there, and that they could be working in here favor… the very idea unnerved Judy, because of what it could imply to the city, and to mammals like her and Nick.

"We need to take this to the Chief." Judy said, "It is unlikely, but if somehow Bellwether is still able to pull strings from inside the jail it is something that is worth of attention." She was deep in her introspection of the situation. "If that is really the case, then we need to arrange a warrant to keep watch over her visitation, and maybe on any phone call that she receives and that she makes. Maybe that could even lead to the arrest of co-conspirators that have not yet been caught, like Doug Ramses."

Nick looked as his bunny partner walked from side to side, evaluating everything. At one moment, she stopped, as if she had suddenly remembered something, and she turned at the fox.

"When did the tiger told you that?" She asked him. "Was it back when you first saw him? Because you didn't mentioned that at the time. And it was not when you and Wolfard confronted him, because I'm sure he would have mentioned that." She looked at him, "Was it when they talked to you in the warehouse, wasn't it?"

Nick looked at her for a moment, and he knew that there was no escaping this now. Nick had indeed mentioned in his reports that the two mammals in question had talked to him, one at a time, in the warehouse, before the busting began. However, he had not really talked about the subjects of these talks, once no one truly asked him something like that. Also, that would lead to some more questions that Nick himself had no real way of answering. So, in that specific case, Nick had adopted the posture of "don't ask, don't tell", in regards to that specific subject.

However, now there was Judy, asking him directly on the matter and, by the look that she had on her face as she looked at him, it was clear she would not just let it slide.

Nick sighed, and merely nodded. Judy looked at her partner in a serious way.

"Nick!" She said to him, "You should have told about that! Even if he was only saying things to try to get you to react, you should have told that so we could evaluate and see if this was truth! This kind of information is meaningful!"

Nick could only look down as Judy dressed him down. It was not easy to hear, but it was still better than what Buffalo-Butt would give him if he found this out. Nick was lucky that this was his day off and the Chief still had business to do in the station, otherwise it would be the big bovine giving him a dressing down and a through near-interrogatory as he stood in front of him. Still, he would have to face the buffalo by Monday, and Judy's talk to him was merely a tame preview of what was coming. It was somehow hard to face, still.

The bunny sighed, and she looked at the fox. "Well, you gotta tell this to the Chief by Monday, he will surely want to hear this, and he will not take it lightly that you upheld information like that. You saw how he is mad at Wolfard, didn't you?" She asked, and Nick had no choice but to agree with her point. "I don't know why you thought you had to uphold it in the first place. Well, I hope that at least going to see Bellwether actually paid off. Did she said anything in the matter?"

"Nothing that gave me clear answers." Nick said, "I mean; I'm sure that she knows something, but the way that she talked was somehow even more cryptic than the guys. I left with more questions than when I got there."

Judy nodded as she took in that new information.

"Maybe we need to talk with her deeply over the subject."

Nick tensed a little bit. "Yeah… I don't think that will actually lead anywhere, Carrots." The fox said slowly, knowing that questioning Bellwether on the matter would cause her to say a few things that Nick would not be quite able to explain.

"We need to get information on the subject." Judy said to him, "If Bellwether knows things on these two mammals then this could be very meaningful for the case. We need all the information that we can get, and if she can give it to us then we have to find a way to make her talk more. Maybe we can go in there together this time." She said, and Nick definitely could notice that she was somehow upset that Nick went after the sheep for information without her. "Maybe together we have a better chance of getting her to actually talk."

"I really don't think we need, Carrots." Nick insisted to the bunny. "I mean, I already tried and it ended pretty badly, so I'm sure the wooly devil will not want to see my face again. Besides, I would not have gone for her if I had any success with the other information. She was pretty much my last resource, and I didn't truly liked having to go search for her help at all."

Judy looked at him for a few moments, and she asked:

"What did you mean 'if you had success with the other information'?"

Nick flinched internally. [i]Crap, what is up with me today?[/i]

Judy looked intently at him, and the answer to her question was already starting to form in her head.

"Nick…" She said, looking intently at him, "Have you been doing a personal investigation?"

The fox said nothing, only looking at her for a few instants before looking at his own feet. This was more than enough for Judy, and she had to say she was surprised. This was the same fox who had, along with Chief Bogo, talked her out of conducting a personal investigation on the case of the Darkest Hour because it clearly was not good for her and this was something that she should not focus all of her time on.

He had been conducting some kind of personal investigation of his own, and he had even gone so far as to going for no other than ex-mayor Bellwether to see if he would be able to find any information pertaining his investigation. Moreover, he did all of that without Judy's knowledge, what led her to believe that he had been doing it in secret from everyone.

She looked at Nick, and the fox seemed to be unable to meet her eyes.

"For how long have you been investigating this?"

If anyone else had asked, Nick would probably have come up with a witty remark and found a way out of the subject. However, Judy did had a certain effect on him, and he found himself without resolve or willingness to try and talk his way out of the subject, even because he was pretty sure that Judy would not fall for any of that, she already knew him very well.

"Since the day following the busting." He said, and once he saw the expression on Judy's face, he was quick in trying to defend himself. "But I didn't used any resource of the ZPD that was beyond my reach! Seriously, I didn't went around showing my badge to people on the street and threatening to put them away if they didn't told me what I wanted to know! I just made some research and looked into the internet and into the files, you know, normal stuff."

"Nick, you were still making a personal investigation!" She said to him, "And you are doing it in secret from the rest of the Precinct, aren't you?" Once more Nick said nothing, once more looking at the ground and not answering, and this said more than a thousand words to Judy.

"Oh, sweet cheese and crackers, Nick! You know that the Chief might not like you accessing the ZPD files in secret for something personal like that? Especially if you are doing it during your shifts!"

Nick was unable to meet her gaze once more. Now he behaved just as if he was a kit caught with his paws in the cookie jar, and he could not really bring himself to make his usual snark remarks in a situation like that. He just let Judy continue with her tirade, and he would use the next pause she made to try and to defend himself.

"And you didn't even told me what you were doing…" The way Judy said that made Nick flinch, because she somehow sounded hurt. Nick rose his eyes to look at her, and the bunny was looking away from him. Nick had a raised eyebrow as he looked at her. Was that some kind of trick now?

"We were supposed to trust each other completely." She said, and Nick felt guilt building in the pit of his stomach as he saw the bunny being like that.

Judy was sensitive, and that was something that the fox had learned as they became closer. She was mostly strong and independent most of the time, so much that many would mistake her by one of these hardcore girls you see in series that isn't shaken over anything at all. However, Nick knew from experience that the bunny was a lot sensitive in the inside, and that she did get really upset over certain things.

"Carrots, come on." Nick said to her, "You know I trust you."

"Then why you did it without telling me?" Judy said.

"Didn't knew that we needed to tell each other everything we did." Nick said, trying to be snarky and to get himself out of problem, but Judy was quick to counter it.

"We do when it is something so important that we have the need to investigate it." She said to him, "I told you as soon as I started to look into the Fangtropolis event. I even asked you to help me. You didn't accepted, but you still knew what I was doing, I didn't hid anything from you."

She had a point, and Nick knew that.

"I told you that because I trust you completely." She spoke to him. "Because I felt that I needed to let you know what I was doing."

Nick could not really answer to that. He wasn't even sure if there was an actual answer for something like that. He only kept looking at her as she looked back at him.

"I at least expected that you would do the same if you ever was in a situation like that…" She looked away once more. "Maybe I was wrong… maybe you don't trust me as much as I trust you."

Nick's eyes widened to that.

"I do!" Nick nearly barked, making Judy jump slightly. "Carrots… Judy, I do trust you." Nick said to her. "I do trust you like I trust few mammals in my life, including my own mother."

Judy looked at him as he spoke that.

"Is it just that…" Nick stopped, and he pondered at what he was going to say. "This whole thing is… is so complicated."

"Complicated how?" Judy asked him. "Two animals coming to you and saying meaningful things is strange?"

"A lot of things about these two are strange." Nick said, "The things they do, the things they talk about. And… all the rest."

"What rest?" Judy said, "Nick, what are you talking about?" Judy insisted as she looked at him. "Nick, you just said you trust me, but I'm pretty sure that you are hiding something."

"Yes. I mean…" Nick said, and as Judy looked at him, Nick reflected on what he was about to say to her, and he knew that he had to say something. "I… I am hiding something right now… about these two and the strange things I'm talking about, but it is not because I don't trust you… Is because…"

Nick sighed.

"Is because I'm sure that no one would believe me if I told it."

Judy blinked and looked at him. "No one would believe you? What do you mean?"

Nick said nothing, and Judy soon was taking her own conclusions.

"What, you mean, because you are a fox? Is it about McChill? Oh, please, Nick! Nothing he says about foxes has any base! Is all bigotry! You can't let it-"

"It is not about McChill." Nick said, cutting her off, and making her look at him once more. "And it is not about me being a fox either. It is because…" The fox made yet another pause, and he thought of what he was about to say. "It is because it is truly crazy."

"Crazy?" Judy asked him, coking her head. "How 'crazy'?"

"The kind of crazy that literally no one would ever believe if I told them." Nick said after a long pause. There was a brief silence, and Nick ventured to look at the bunny, who was looking at him with a questioning gaze.

"Nick, what do you mean?"

Nick looked at the bunny.

"Nick, I need to know. Please, tell me."

"You would not believe me." Nick said to her. "If I tell you, you will either think I'm making it up or you will want to put me into a straitjacket."

"What? No!"

"Yes, you will!" Nick said to her, "Dammit, I would probably do the same if someone told me that!"

There was a heavy silence following these words, and for a while, no one said a thing. Judy continued to look at Nick. The fox didn't met her gaze, but he could feel that she was still looking at him. Soon, Nick felt something landing on his paw, and he finally looked over to see Judy's kind eyes.

"Nick. I trust you." She said to him. "Please, have a little trust in me too."

The way that she was speaking made it hard for Nick to have the heart to discuss with her.

Darn adorable bunny faces!

"Nick, please tell me."

That was all Nick could take. The fox's reasonable mind was still telling him that this was a bad idea, that she would either smack him and demand the truth or call the madhouse and have him put in there. Still, Nick felt that he had no other choice but to open up with her and hope that she would believe him.

Sighing, the fox said. "Judy, do you know what Wolfard and I put on our official reports about what happened after we chased Kyle and his hencemammals?"

"Yes, I do." Judy said to him. "I read these reports."

"Yeah… the thing is… the things that I actually remember of that might not exactly match up what Wolfard described…"

Judy looked at him, and Nick soon was telling her what he saw in there.

He told her about the butterfly.

About Hudson Coyle with his magic rope.

About the tiger.

About how they got away.

And, of course, about his suspicions that they had, somehow, changed Wolfard's memories.

"…So, that is it." Nick finished, and he looked at Judy's face.

The way she looked at him, with a raised eyebrow, made Nick groan.

"See? I told you would not believe me!" The fox said, slumping into the couch. "You know, I don't blame you. I still can't believe it either!"

Silence seemed to be something that happened a lot in that room during that talk. This one lasted for almost an entire minute, before Judy spoke.

"Nick… I read both your report and Wolfard's." She spoke it with care, as if she was afraid of saying the wrong thing. "They both said pretty much the same story."

"That is because I wrote my report to match what he said." Nick admitted to the bunny. "It might have been forging my own report, but I had to! I could not write something as what I just told you as my official version of the facts, even more after I saw that Wolfard was not going to back up my story! If I did, they would yell at me for making such a joke! And if I convinced them that this was what I really thought that happened, I would be getting dragged to a padded room wearing a very snug straitjacket! I'm no fool, Carrots!"

Another pregnant pause, and Nick just was counting the moments before Judy would do either of these things.

However, the bunny simply looked at him.

"This is… quite something…"

"I know."

"And it truly is hard to believe."

"I know."

"And if others heard it, they would probably not be inclined to believe it either."

"I know…" Nick said in a defeated tune.

"So… maybe we should avoid telling it to anyone for now."

Nick perked in the couch, and he looked at the bunny, as she looked back at him.

"… At least, until we know exactly what is going on…"

Nick blinked as he looked at the bunny. Part of him was shocked that she had took what he said, even with it was with a grain of salt. Part of him was happy that someone at least seemed willing to give him a chance, even if his story sounded crazy. Part of him was somewhat surprised that Judy was even considering keeping something secret from her boss and co-workers.

"The story itself is hard to believe." Judy said, "And you are right into thinking that many would doubt it. So, until we have found strong evidence that explains it, we will have to keep it low from everyone."

Nick blinked again as he looked at her.

"… We?"

"Yes, Nick. [i]We[/i]." Judy said to him, as if she was explaining it to a child. "We are partners, remember? If you are still going on to this, then I'm helping you. Because that is what partners… no, that is what [i]friends[/i] do for each other."

Nick was a tod who was used to hide his emotions and his thoughts behind a mask. However, even he found it hard to put his mask on, with the way that the bunny was making it clear that she was going to be by his side. Only true friends acted like that, and this was something that, for a fox like Nick, was something truly rare. Of course, he made many new acquaintances by entering the force and gaining many "brothers in blue", but he still had the feeling that some of them just tolerate him. Being once more reassured that he had at least one [i]real[/i] friend in the force was truly a nice thing for him.

"That… makes a lot of sense." Nick finally admitted, adopting a calm front and trying not to let it show how touched he was. "Still, this means that we will have to keep things hidden from the Chief, and you know how upset he is going to get if he finds out."

"Don't worry about the Chief." Judy reassured him. "As soon as we have evidence and we present the case to him, I'm pretty sure that he will understand why we had to keep it hidden for a while… I think. Or at least he will not want to fire us."

"We, let's keep our fingers crossed on that one." Nick said, showing the crossed fingers on his paw, and the bunny smiled at him, before saying:

"Nick, this kind of thing can raise a lot of questions if others are to get word of what we are looking into." She spoke to him in all seriousness. "It could land both of us in a tight situation, so I must ask you this:" She looked intently in his eyes. "Are you absolutely sure of what happened? Don't you have any doubt whatsoever?"

Nick looked back at her, and he said with a face that was just as serious:

"Judy, I know what I saw."

If he had just used her real name, Judy knew that he was truly serious at this. This was enough for her, and she nodded at him.

"Okay then. Now, let's go through this." Judy said to him. "We need to write down as many details as you remember of that event, and we need to look at them in parts, trying to find answers to anything that you could have possible seen. From there, maybe we could go for theories on what could that have been…"

"Actually, Carrots." Nick said, causing Judy to stop and look at him. "I was thinking of taking the day off to relax, if that is okay with you."

Judy stared at him.

"Look, I'm still keen on finding out what I saw, but right now I think we should take a small break." Nick admitted to the bunny. "I mean, we both had a very long week, and we both know what excess work can do to a mammal. I already went against my principles by going to that prison on Sunday while I was off-duty. I was wondering if we could relax now. Just take a day off and try to think of other things, so we can go back at it on full force later. Sounds good?"

Judy looked at him for a while, and even though she wanted to argue with him, she knew that he had a point. Even Bogo didn't liked their officers working too much time in a row, because it "diminished their efficiency", even the big buffalo recognized the importance of rest. Judy remembered a time that she was told to go home and rest after she spent three days in a row doing extra shifts. That was a time when she got a scare when the Chief told her to beat it and go home.

Sighing, Judy walked to Nick, hopped into the couch, and sat next to him.

"So, what do we do?" She asked.

"Well, I was thinking on watching some movies." Nick said, reaching out for the remote. "I mean, we do have a day when we watch movies, right? And we haven't done that since… last week."

Judy nodded, and with this, Nick pointed at the tv and turned it on.

As per irony:

A familiar shepherd was on the tv, wearing a white shirt and talking on a mic to the camera.

"[i]… and behind me, you can see the many mammals who had come to this gathering in the outskirts of what once was Fangtropolis, for the memorial of the victims of the tragedy that came to be known as 'The Darkest Hour'.[/i]"

[center]**********************[/center]

Henry didn't liked having to go back in there.

He didn't liked to have to be in there, looking at the remains of what once was a proud and beautiful city. He didn't liked to be in a place where many innocent mammals had lost their lives in the most horrible and unimaginable way. He didn't liked being in the place where he had lost one of his colleagues and dearest friends…

However, the bosses had sent him to cover live on the memorial for the victims of Fangtropolis. Henry had been tasked with it, just as the rest of the team that was on the place in the night that it happened…

Well, most of the team.

The cougar who piloted the helicopter had quit his job in the morning after, just like the antelope cameramammal.

Two of them were out on mental health leave.

One had vehemently refused to go back in there, saying that the place was "evil".

Still, most of the team had come, including Gilda. The big bear was in there, in the background. Standing proud on her seven feet tall, with her arms crossed, and wearing a dark-grey dress that made a nice contrast with her dark-brown fur. She had a professional look in her face as she oversaw the entire thing, her amber eyes focused on Henry as he continued:

"Today it completes one week ever since the disaster of the destruction of Fangtropolis. The searches for survivors have all but ended, a number of 48 survivors was found among the destruction of the city, predator and prey alike." The 5'4'' feet tall, brown and black coated Germanein shepherd dog continued, as he looked at the camera. "Today, a memorial is being held by many mammals who have come to pay their respects for the many victims of the Darkest Hour. Mammals from many nearby cities have come in here, and we think that the numbers are probably reaching the thousands. Some say that this event could have been one of the most catastrophic developments in this country in the past decades, with a total number of around eight million victims of all kinds and species."

"Up until now, there are no official answers to what this event could have been, while the government remains silent, the scientists are still puzzled, and the overall population still waits for answers." Henry said, and he looked at the camera for a few moments, before he spoke:

"Just what was this supernatural event known as the Darkest Hour? What could have been its cause? Those are some of the questions that we are waiting to see answered. Here is Henry Dogbert, back to you, studio."

"Aaand cut." Gilda said, and Henry was able to relax. Jasmine Zebrist sighed as she finished with the camera. She too didn't felt really good for being in there, but she knew that she had a job, even though some asked her if she would like to have mental health leave as well. She was strong, and Henry admired her for that.

"So, not bad…" Gilda said, as she walked to Henry. "Although, the 'supernatural' bit was not on the script."

Henry looked at her. "Yeah, it wasn't… but it seemed worth putting it in."

"They will give you an ear chewing for this." Gilda said, "You have been insisting in that for days already, and the bosses already complained about it."

"It is truth." Henry said. "Black mud has poured out of a hole in the sky and burned the city. There were faces and arms coming out of it. One of them was giant and almost grabbed our chopper. There is no way anyone will convince me that it was not supernatural."

Gilda looked back at him, and she sighed. Normally she would give him an ear chewing of her own, but right now, it was hardly the time, and she was still reeling seriously from the events of one week ago.

"Look, I personally don't mind your opinion on the supernatural thing." She spoke to Henry. "I even agree to you… kinda. I'm pretty sure that the guys don't care very much too, as long as it gives more ratings. But someone in the upper management really don't like this talk. They have even said that you could lose your job if you continued with the 'absurd and unprofessional opinions'."

Henry looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I don't get it either. Bottom line is: they don't like that you go saying that this even was magic, or anything of the like, and they are getting pretty angry that you are insisting in it, especially on work and while on air." She looked at him as she spoke that. "So, you better start being more careful from now on, because they will surely make some noise because of what you just said on live television."

Henry looked back at her, and he nodded. "Yeah, I'll remember that."

Gilda nodded back. "Good to know. So, since we are done here, you could help the guys back there. We are still low in team, and we still need to note down the names of the survivors, maybe collect a few statements from them, if they feel like talking. Could you do it?"

Henry saw no problem into doing that.

Forty-eight individuals had survived the Darkest Hour, and they all had been kept in there, in an improvised hospital that was made in there with tents and some equipment that had been brought by the medics that had came from the neighbor cities and of the military. While it had been days since the event, many of the survivors were still in there, both to receive medical attention and to remain under observation. Actually, it even seemed that the animals in there were being kept in quarantine.

Still, it seemed that the army and doctors were both relaxing, as they saw that whatever affected the city was not something that could be contagious or hazardous, as it seemed not to have left behind any hazardous pathogen or any kind of radioactive energy. At least, none that had been detected by the professionals of the area in the past week.

They didn't had full access to the survivors, of course, but their press passes allowed them to have some access. Along with the help of an old contact that Gilda had among the doctors. They were able to get some good information on some of the survivors, and they even got to talk to a few of them who felt good enough to talk. Of course, all the while they respected what the doctors told them, including respecting the well-being and privacy of the patients, and keeping certain distancing from them, just in case there was actually something.

They got a list of names, and also got some good interviews with a few of the survivors, some of them were friendlier than others…

"So, we got some good shots." Henry said to Jasmine as she checked on the camera.

"Yeah, it is nice that some of them were so friendly."

"Like that guy who says that he wants Leonardo Dicapolar playing him when they make a movie about this?" Henry said, and Jasmine only remained silent on this, before she spoke:

"I really liked the Graysons, you know, the father and son?" She said to him, and Henry nodded.

"Yeah, you are both really nice." He admitted. "The boy is really positive, and the way that his father cares about him… it is really nice. I hope they get a new home soon."

"I know… I feel really sorry for that young fox. His family is still trying to take him home but he is still in quarantine."

"Yeah, I'll say. According to the doctors, his paw got burnt pretty bad. They say it will surely leave a scar, even though there is no danger of him losing it." Henry said, remembering the young fox kit. "Have you seen how tired he looked? The doctors even said that he has been a lot of nightmares…"

"He was scared pretty bad by what happened." Jasmine said. "Like everyone else."

A heavy silence followed this, as the two mammals walked away from the barracks where the survivors were kept and attended to. As they walked, Henry casually said:

"Yeah, I guess this is done now." He spoke to Jasmine. "So, anything else?"

"Well…" Jasmine said to him, "Gilda also said that we needed to get a few testimonies of the ones attending at the memorial."

Henry nodded, and soon, they were walking to the crowd of mammals that had come to pay their respects.

Ironically, most of them seemed to have come either as curious or to try and get themselves in cameras. Some of them actually seemed that they had come either to record themselves or to take selfies. Henry felt a wave of nausea and anger towards these mammals, who seemed that they had no respect for those who had lost their lives in there.

However, there was also a good number of mammals who had actually came in there to really pay their respects to the victims. As it was the case of a family of llamas who drove sixty miles to be in there and to offer their prayers to the poor victims. Also, of a rhino who had a great friend who lived in the city. There was also a group of mammals, one of which gave a very heartfelt testimony to the camera while the others lighted candles in the background.

"Well, that was not half bad." Henry said as Jasmine turned the camera off. "We got some pretty good images and some good speeches of some mammals. I'd say it was a nice day." Henry said, but he noticed that Jasmine had stopped, and that she was looking at one of the many small altars that were made for the victims. It had candles mounted into a small table, with pictures and flowers. Among the pictures in there, was the picture of a familiar wolf, with greenish-gray fur and golden eyes, who was smiling into the photo, making a "V" for victory with his fingers.

"Wow…" Henry said, his ears dropping. "Someone put Frank's photo in here…"

There was a silence, and Jasmine asked, with a timid voice.

"Think it was a family member?"

"Maybe… I didn't recognize anyone from the crowd…" Henry admitted. "I actually haven't talk to his sisters in a while."

"Maybe you should…" Jasmine said.

"They probably don't want to talk to me now." Henry said to her, as the two both stood in front of the altar, looking at the picture of the deceased wolf. "They are still going through a lot. It was so sudden. And now they can't even bury him."

Another pause, and after a while, Jasmine found her voice once more.

"I used to be afraid of working with Frank when we first met."

Henry looked at her.

"It was mostly because of my father, he never had a good opinion in predators, and never tried to hide it." She spoke. "I used to be nervous around predators, but Frank was always very nice to me, and he was always trying to make me laugh. I warmed up to him after a while, and we became friends. I became friends with more predators after this."

She seemed to be deep in thought as she spoke that, and Henry continued to look at her.

"Back on that night, I… I tripped and fell. One of these things… I-it almost got to me… Frank came and hit the thing with a camera…" Her voice seemed to be breaking as she spoke. "I-if it wasn't for him… I-I could be…" She seemed about to break down in crying, and that was when Henry decided to do something.

He placed a paw on her arm, reassuring her. It could have seemed quite curious to some for a mammal like Henry to give comfort to someone who was considerably bigger than himself, but dogs, like Henry, were known for being supportive and friendly. It felt natural to him to give support to who was troubled. To some it was result of the instinct, to others, it was a proof that mammals truly were good in nature. To Henry, it seemed only natural.

She was able to recompose herself after a little bit of his comforting, but she was still sniffling softly. Henry stood by there and he looked down, at the picture in the small altar. Yeah, Frank was indeed an amazing guy, and anyone who knew him knew that. Henry had many found memories of that wolf, as they got along pretty great… maybe because they were both canines…

He still could not believe that he was gone…

There were things in the bottom of the small altar. Packs of candles of different sizes. They were left in there for anyone who came and wanted to light a candle for the victims. Henry looked at them for a few moments, and he turned to Jasmine, asking gently:

"Want to light a candle for him?"

She looked at him, and then she followed his gaze to the packs of candles left in there. She took only a few moments to nod in silent agreement.

Soon, the two mammals were kneeling, Jasmine putting the camera on the ground by her side, in front of the altar as Henry reached out for the packs and pulled two candles, for himself and for Jasmine. They lighted the candles into the ones that had already been burning in there. They dipped a little of the wax of their candles into the altar, and secured the candles in place.

Once they did, they remained kneeled in front of the altar. Henry sighed, and he looked at the side. Jasmine was now with her eyes closed, and her hooves together as she prayed for Frank.

Henry looked at her for a few moments. He was never religious, that was for sure. However, at that moment, he decided that it was good to follow suit.

Closing his eyes and putting his paws together, he started to pray the best he could.

[i]Frank. I hope you are okay, wherever you are.[/i] He said in silence on his own head. [i]You were a very good friend of mine, and I don't think I would have made as far as I did in this job if it wasn't for our help.[/i]


  [i]You were a real friend, laughing with me in the good moments and supporting me in the bad ones. I could not have asked for a better friend to have in my work as a reporter. I really wished that you were still here, and that we could laugh together again, maybe share another crocodile steak. I'll remember you fondly, thank you for being my friend…[/i]


As he prayed in silence, a single tear ran down his face.


  [i]Goodbye, Frank.[/i]


Sighing, Henry relaxed, and used the back of his paw to wipe away that tear. Jasmine had also finished, and they were both still kneeling in there, when something caught their ears.

Sounded like yelling. [i]Angry[/i] yelling.

"What is that?" Henry asked as they both turned their heads, and it seemed that there was something happening in the distance. A crowd was starting to form in there.

The two reporters shared a look, and they got up, Jasmine picking up her camera, as they both started to move in direction to the place where the sounds were coming.

Most of it was hard to understand, but as they got closer, they could make up some pieces of what was being said.

"You have no right to say that!"

"You heartless bastards!"

"Judgement has been served!" A voice said, "It was served for them, and it will be served to all other sinners!" Followed this, many more voices were raised, some of them seemed to agree, but the great majority was throwing profanities at what was just said.

"What is going on?" Henry asked as he came closer, and someone who was in there, a gazelle, was the one who answered.

"Some guys who came in here." The male gazelle said to him. "They are some kind of cult, they came in here saying that what happened was an act of God."

"Say what now?" Henry asked, and Jasmine looked just as surprised as he was.

"Yeah, these guys, this wildebeest dude who seems to be their leader, he started to make some kind of speech about how God had decided to make judgement over the mammals of this world, and that what happened in Fangtropolis was divine punishment for legalizing interspecies marriage."

"What!?"

"That's absurd!" Jasmine said, clearly outraged. "First of all, interspecies marriage has been legal for nearly three decades now! Why would 'divine punishment' be delivered now? And why here? This is absurd!" Jasmine was clearly revolted by such claims. She was a religious mammal, and the idea of God destroying a whole city full of innocents in punishment for something like the marriage between different species did not sounded at all like the God she knew.

"Yeah, you should go and tell them this." The gazelle said, his face showing that he was just as disgusted by the speech as she did. "But, I don't think they will actually listen."

Henry was silent, but he was barely suppressing his urge to bare his fangs and snarl. Just who were these guys? Saying something like that? This was ridiculous!

Okay, so maybe Henry himself believed that it was supernatural, and he was not religious, but saying that God had made it to punish the city? That was truly ludicrous!

Henry knew what this truly was, it was just a group of bigots trying to take advantage of the event to try and sell out their own ideas and call others to their cause. Bunch of dirty vultures! Worse than any reporter! And that coming from a reporter himself!

Big events like that, either were they great gatherings, disasters, or whatever else, tended to attract these kinds of individuals, who only saw in it an excuse to profit, or to beneficiate either themselves or their own causes. Henry had saw many of these groups before, and he knew that they did not truly cared about the victims, the proof of that was that they were talking about them as if they deserved what happened, showing a total lack of empathy.

"Oh, I AM going to have a word with them!" Jasmine said, now going forward give a piece of her mind to those bigots. Henry did not tried to stop her for two reasons. First: because he knew that in the rare occasions when Jasmine got mad enough to raise her voice it was not a good idea to be on her way. Second: because he too wanted her to give her mind to those bigots, they deserved a good talking down.

"Man, she is fiery!"

A voice said, and Henry at first thought it was the gazelle they had been talking with, but saw that the guy was no longer around, and he then turned his head to look for the owner of that new voice, and he quickly found him.

It was a wolf. He was right by Henry's side, standing on 5'11'' feet tall. The wolf had gray fur on his head, with a lighter shade of gray around his eyes and on his muzzle-line. He was wearing quite an interesting choice of clothing, with it being grey like his fur, consisting into a jacket, a pair of dress pants, and a fedora. The fedora in particular called Henry's attention.

[i]Who still wears fedoras?[/i] The dog thought.

The wolf stood by the side of the smaller canine, as his yellow eyes were focused into the zebra who had just walked off.

"Is she usually like that?" The wolf asked casually the dog. Henry shrugged.

"Only if you really push her buttons." He said casually. "Normally she is very…" Henry stopped as he sniffed something.

The smell… it was strange, but… somewhat familiar. It made him feel uneasy.

Henry sniffed a bit, as if he was trying to point out where the smell was coming from. It was close… almost…

"Do you agree with them?" The wolf suddenly asked, making the dog stop.

"Huh?"

"The wildebeest and his followers." The wolf clarified. "Do you agree with them? Do you think that God has really 'rain his sheer wrath over the city of sinners to make of it an example to the world'?" He was clearly quoting what he had heard, and the fact that these exact words had been used made Henry feel even more disgust them before.

"Hell, no!" The said, now wishing to go in there with Jasmine, find exactly who had spoke that, and give them a punch in the snout.

"Weren't you who said that what happened was supernatural in nature?" The wolf asked, making the wolf look at him. "Actually, you said it again today, not long ago, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yeah, what happened was not normal." Henry said, "But I don't think any god made that!"

The wolf looked at him, and he smiled. "I totally agree, young man." The wolf sounded approving as he said that, and the way that his yellow eyes seemed that they almost shone kind of gave Henry creeps.

"But… if it was not 'divine wrath', what do you think it was?" The wolf asked very casually, and Henry shrugged.

"Beats me." Henry said, "I'm really not sure of what it was, but blaming the city for what happened is absurd."

"Once more, I totally agree." The wolf said once more, sounding very approving of the younger, smaller mammal. "The fault was not on the city. They merely got caught up in [i]their[/i] business. [i]They[/i] are really at fault."

This peaked Henry's interest, making him look at the wolf.

"Huh? Who are 'they'?"

"The ones who caused that to happen." The wolf said casually, as if it was something that was to be common knowledge. "Of course, they didn't truly wanted something like that to happen, some of them even had good intentions, but it still happened because of their actions, so it is still their fault."

"Whose's fault?" Henry asked, now looking intently at the wolf. The smell was still there, and it made Henry uncomfortable, as he was still trying to remember where he felt it before.

"They cannot really help it." The wolf continued, ignoring the dog's questions, but still talking, as if he wanted to share something. "They had their own goals and ambitions, and they all wanted to see them fulfilled. They could not help, having being born as such. These kinds of mammals are born in this world to live to their ambitions and to try to reach them by any means necessary. That is just how they are."

"What kind of mammals?" The dog pressed on, getting more and more interested by what the bigger canine was saying. "What are you talking about?"

The wolf finally looked back at him, and his yellow eyes were shining in a strange way. Henry felt uncomfortable, the smell seemed that it was even stronger than before. The wolf had a smile as he leaned forward, getting his muzzle closer to Henry's ear, and he whispered:

"Mages, Mr. Dogbert." The way the wolf said it was as if he was speaking of a secret. "I'm talking about mages."

He leaned back, and Henry could only stare at him, the wolf chuckled.

"You will find out more soon." The wolf spoke to him. "As a matter of fact… everyone will."

With this, the wolf started to walk away, and Henry continued to look at him as he walked.

Henry was not sure of what had just happened, but he somehow felt as if that was important, even though he was absolutely unsure of what to think from what he had just heard. But he did felt a little relieved that the wolf was walking away, something about him made Henry nervous, both the eyes and the way he smiled. Also, the smell was also getting weaker as the wolf got away.

Henry blinked, as he sniffed that scent one last time, and felt a wave of cold dread spreading on his body. He finally found out where the smell was coming from, and he remembered where he felt it before.

That wolf… had the same smell as the Darkest Hour.