
  [center][i]There is no passion so contagious as that of fear.[/i]



  [b]
    [i]Michel de Manetaigne[/i]
  [/b] [/center]


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

What happens when something you were sure before suddenly starts to seem doubtful?

Well, that actually depends very much on what kind of mammal you are. Some are able to accept changes in view of reality quite smoothly, while others tend to resist the change of the ways that things are "supposed to be".

The most classical example of it would be of mammals who hold strong prejudices, and they insist in maintaining them as the world around them changes. With the most meaningful example of this was the legalizing of interspecies marriage in many states of Animerica, in the midst of the nineties. Most animals accepted it nicely, but a good deal of conservative individuals refused to accept it as something that should happen. The amount of protests was staggering, but they all ended being for nothing, as the things had changed and they would not go back the way they were. Still, until the present day, many mammals still refuse to accept marriage between different species as something that should happen, as it is something that "goes against the natural order".

Yes, indeed, mammals react in many different ways when the world and their beliefs are put to the test, when the current reality of the world no longer fits their beliefs and perceptions.

Now, imagine that suddenly something comes that completely changes your entire perception of reality? Something that seems to be so radically different from what you consider "normal" that you would refuse to accept it unless it was forced upon you? Something so against your notions of common sense that it causes you to question everything that you thought you have always known?

Well, this something has already come, and in the form of a website.

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

The studio was cleared, and the intro music of the News Report of the ZNN sounded, as the two animals stood in the desk, looking at the camera as the image focused on them.

"Good night." Said the first one of the two, a snow-leopardess with silvery-grey fur with white patches and black spots, with white around her eyes and on her muzzle and down her neck. She was wearing a formal clothing that consisted into plum jacket, a pink shirt, and she was wearing a skirt that matched the jacket, but you could not see, since only her upper body was visible above the desk. She had a nose of burgundy coloration, and she had blue eyes that now were focused on the camera, as she kept a neutral and professional expression. This was no other than Fabienne Growley, the leading female anchor of the ZNN, quite a celebrity in Zootopia.

"On the first news of the night, mammals all around are still reacting to the website that has come into air three months ago, entitled .zoo, which contains a great quantity of videos that supposedly show supernatural events, all performed by individuals that are identified as 'mages' by the descriptions given by the website." The leopardess said to the camera, maintaining a neutral and objective expression, not letting show any form of emotion that would show any form of personal opinion or bias in the matter, as it was required from a reporter like herself. "In the weeks following the airing of the website, the videos shown in it have been shared a record amount of times, with sometimes it reaching the house of a tens of thousands of shares on a single day."

The camera switched to the one sitting by her side, who was also a figure of fame and prestige in Zootopia. The second anchor of ZNN and Fabienne's co-worker, Peter Moosebridge. He was a big moose, with a big and proud pair of antlers, a brown face and a neck covered in thick fur, as well as a "goatee" of fur on his chin. He was wearing a work suit with a pink shirt and fuchsia tie with a golden clip. Like his coworker, he was only visible from the waist up, as his lower half was under the table. He had the same professional expression as Growley, and his brown eyes were focus on the camera.

"The website and the many videos available in it, apparently 'exposing the hidden world of the supernatural' have amassed a great quantity of reaction from the public. While some mammals still dismiss the videos as fake, and some even go as far as to describe them a 'poor taste joke', there is a great quantity of mammals who are reacting to the video by taking it as real, as professionals who checked the videos ensure that they are not fake, and the events recorded cannot be fully explained."

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


  [center][i]Somewhere in England[/i][/center]


"How can this be happening!?" Sanders cried out in pure frustration and dismay, his voice booming in the round table in which many mammals were sitting. The mammals in the table did not really had an answer for this, and the lack of answer was greatly displeasing the fennec fox. He turned to a familiar raccoon.

"Didn't you said that this was simple, Maskell!?" The small fox said to the raccoon, who remained neutral. "Didn't you said that it was just a question of making them all 'look at [i]this[/i] paw instead of [i]this[/i] one!?" The fennec was gesturing with his paws as he said that, showing them as if he was explaining a trick to a child, the mockery was obvious. "Didn't you said that you would have everything under control in two weeks at most!?"

"What do you want me to say?" The raccoon said, "Things didn't pan out as I had expected."

"And one more memorable understatement added to the records." Calves said; the black goat with white hair was resting his chin on his hooves, one of them idly playing with his beard. As of right now the goat seemed to be among the few mammals sitting on that table who was able that at least looked completely calm. Different from others.

"How can you be so calm!?" Sanders demanded, sounding and looking like he was about to explode. "We are on the verge of the ultimate tragedy and you are in there acting like you are waiting for someone to bring you coffee!"

"Excuse me if I don't see a point into acting as if the world would end in a few hours." Calves said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"The feeling might pretty well be the same." Said another voice. This one came from another animal sitting on that table among the others. He was a domestic cat, standing on around 3'1'' feet tall, with a slender body that denoted a researcher instead of a warrior. He was a cat of a breed that had a lot of fur, with the fur of his body being of a light coloration, while the fur on his ears, around his paws and feet, and on his muzzle going into a soft shade of ebony. He wore a black blazer jacket with white shirt and matching dress pants. He had earrings on his ears that hanged into triangular shapes. Despite the tune that he spoke that, he had a sly smirk on his face, and his eyes were of a shade of blue. His tail was long and bushy, having the same light shade as his body and ending into the ebony coloration, and it swished back and forth behind him. "After all, one of our main goals has always been remain out of sight. Or am I wrong?"

The rest of the table looked at him. From Mustang, the horse with long mane and tail, to Vanhorne, the white impala with jewelry hanging form between her horns. None of them was able to answer, mostly because they all agreed with what the cat had said. It was Lupine, the big wolf, who spoke.

"We all know how dire the situation is, Catlow." He said, speaking to the cat.

"Good, then we all know how bad this slip was." The cat said once more. "So, why haven't we done anything to fix it already?"

"It is not so simple, Sir Catlow." Said a female voice. This one who spoke now was a dog. She was taller than the cat, standing on 4'6'' feet tall, with a slender but muscled body. She was voluptuous, being attractive on her own right. The fur of her body was of a soft, pastel coloration, which was almost close to a soft pink. She had also a great deal of fur on the top of her head, which was of a golden coloration, looking just like hair. She was wearing white clothes that were trimmed in golden, consisting into a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of pants. She wore a pair of square-lensed glasses over her face, on her dark greenish-blue eyes. She looked calm as she spoke that, locking eyes with the eye. "We never had to deal with anything like that, as all of you probably know." She looked around as she spoke that, "We never had a situation in which so many of us were caught on camera and the video evidence was exposed to the world in such a fashion."

"Oh, please." Catlow said, "You should be able to get rid of that easily, Collington." He said to the female dog. "After all, you are quite smart, and you even understand of all of that computer stuff better than most of us." He said to her, "Unless of course, your abilities have been overestimated since you joined this council." He wasn't even trying to hide his condescending tune, and the dog did not showed irritation, but she gave him an piercing stare.

"You think I haven't tried?" Collington spoke to him in a natural tune, however, who knew her, like Calves did, would be able to notice the very subtle hint of annoyance in her voice. "I have spent three days trying to shut down the website, but it seems that whoever has programmed it made sure to protect it from any source of hacking form external sources. The core code is completely shielded from any hacking, not allowing any form of alteration into the central program, it even seems as if the website somehow hardcoded itself into the network, preventing even from being completely deleted."

Both she and Calves were sure that most other members had no idea what any of that even meant, and the blank expressions in some of them were enough proof of that. Still, they seemed to know the gist of it: they could not erase that.

"So, you are basically saying that the thing will remain right where it is, ain't that right?" Lykins said, as the lynx adopted a very neutral pose, even though his expression showed that he was not as tranquil as he was trying to look. "Well, that poses a serious trouble." He added, as he looked around. "As that website does expose a lot of mages, even though it is not possible to know their identities…"

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

"The videos of the website circulate over a great deal of platforms of the internet, before they are eventually deleted." Fabianne continued to say to the camera. "However, the videos continue to be posted over and over, shared from the main website. Following, you see a few images of the said videos."

As she said, the screen was taken by the images of the videos, taken straight form the internet, some even straight from the main website .zoo

And some of the images were quite interesting…

(footage)


  [i]One of them showed what seemed to be the recording from a traffic camera, which showed a beaver approaching a figure that was considerably smaller than him. The beaver looked like he was being rude to the figure, gesturing heavily and seemingly screaming at the figure. The figure, at some point, got up, and gestured into a nearby puddle into the ground. The water of the puddle moved and rose on its own, forming tentacles and eventually a body. Soon, the puddle had turned into some kind of octopus made out of water. The beaver took a step back, looking scared. The smaller figure gestured to the water octopus, making it crawl to it with its many legs, and then, it gestured at the beaver, making the octopus jump at the said mammal, who was quick to flee, being chased by the water creature. The cameras changed angles to show the beaver running, with the water creature coming behind it.[/i]



  [i]The next video looked like it was from a security camera. This one showed a lonely figure in the middle of a desert square, crossing a small bridge over a pond. As it walked, the figure rose a paw, and soon, the side of the bridge seemed that it was being covered in green, as plants and vines grew over at an impossible speed. The figure simply walked away, as if nothing strange had happened, getting out of sight.[/i]



  [i]The third and last video was the one that showed what seemed to be a camera from a car. It showed, a car stopping into the street, after nearly hitting an incoming carriage pulled by ostriches. After the near collision, the owner of the car, a rhino, came out of the car, seeming like he was screaming at a figure that had come out of the carriage. He looked like he was screaming at the figure, and soon, he was pushing the figure, who was significantly smaller than him. Soon, the figure rose a hand and flinched its wrist, causing the rhino to fly upwards. The figure remained into the sight of the camera for a while, before the rhino came crashing back down.[/i]



  [i]It was to be noted that, in each one of the footages, the figures who were the "mages" were heavily blurred or somehow covered digitally. In some cases, it was hard even to guess the species…[/i]



  [i]As the videos rolled, Moosebridge spoke:[/i]


"Many defend that the videos are actually fake, as it is supported by the fact that the images of the 'mages' are blurred and distorted, making their possible identification difficult. Some specialists claim that this compromises the validity of the videos, once it proves that the footage have been altered. However, many specialists in video have analyzed the footage, and have come to the conclusion that the only alteration into the footages is the blurring of the image of the figures identified as 'mages', while the rest of the videos are said to be legitimate."

(end footage)

As the image changed from the videos back into focus, the moose continued:

"The videos continue to be shared online, and all the while, they continue to gather all kinds of commentaries and reactions from mammals…"

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

"… and the worst part is, since it is hard to identify the mages that appear in the videos, it is hard even for us to track them down." Lykins said. "Well, I hate to say it, my friends, but it really looks like the situation has escalated completely out of our control. "A heavy silence followed this, as most of them were looking down. Some in anguish. Some looking troubled. Some with expressions that denoted complete defeat.

"Well, I guess it was bound to happen." Said Calves. "There is a saying that says that you can't fool all mammals all the time, right?"

"I just cannot believe it." Sanders said once more. "How can we be defeated like that? By some… web-thingy on the internet? We are mages!" He cried out, slamming both of his fists into the table. "And we cannot even find out who is the one behind this to deal with them?"

"No can do." Collington said. "The ones behind it seem to be able to cover their tracks, in all possible ways." She said to the others, looking around them. "Not only digitally, but also from other forms of tracking.

The other animals looked at her.

"You mean…" Vanhorne said.

"Yes, it seems like that." Collington said. "They probably are initiated in the mystic arts as well."

Another pause, and now expressions of outrage and anger flourished among some of the ones in the table.

"If it is someone of our world, then they are all traitors!" Sanders cried out in frustration and rage. This outburst would make many animals much bigger than him recoil in fear of that small animal. "They deserve the worst kind of punishment befitting this kind of action!"

"Indeed." Said Mieczyslaw, as the wolf continued with his arms crossed. "This kind of behavior is dangerous, and there is no excuse to exposing all of us like that."

"There is no way to fix it?" Vanhorne asked once more. "There is not way to reverse this situation?"

"I tried the best I could." Maskell said. "No one can accuse me if not doing all on my reach."

Sanders scoffed at this, however, Calves showed more sympathy towards the raccoon.

"Well, if you did the best you could, we have no reason to doubt, correct?" He looked around as he asked this, and no one disagreed with him. At least, not aloud.

"Well, like I said, maybe it was fated to happen." He spoke once more, and he now seemed to be into reflection. "The world has changed a lot since the Association was first founded. It changed a lot since I was young. Nowadays, information acts in a way that we cannot possibly comprehend. Videos can be made and share by anyone. Messages can cross the world in seconds. All of that in ways that – forgive me if you all disagree – easily can match or even surpass what we can do with our own methods."

Indeed, there were some angry looks as he said that, but Calves seemed like he barely minded this, and he simply sighed:

"Well, it is the digital era, after all. It was only a matter of time before information would move faster and in greater quantity than our capacity to control and suppress it."

Another silence, as every member of the table was force to acknowledge that the goat was correct. In fact, they had been able to deal with information very well in the past. Suppressing some news from circling. Erasing and destroying evidences. Making sure the ones who would witness would not be able to tell. Discrediting those who couldn't be easily silenced. However, the way that news were circulating now… it was almost unbelievable, even for individuals like them, who dealt with what lied beyond the scopes of common sense.

The fact that there was a mysterious force clearly working against their efforts made the matters all the more difficult. It seemed that someone was keen on revealing to the world that the supernatural did existed. There was no denying it.

"It seems that we cannot fix what was already made." A voice spoke. The animals in there turned their heads to look at the source of the voice, and it was someone who they knew never talked when there was no need. The deer was strong and fit, looking quite healthy for a red deer. When standing, he should be around 6'8'' feet tall. The fur of his body was of a reddish-brown coloration, thick on his neck and his upper back as it was usual on adults of his species. His eyes were of a shade of scarlet, looking quite cold and calculative behind his glasses. He wore a simple suit of indigo colors, with a plain black tie. He was dressed so formally and commonly that many would probably mistake him by the manager of a bank. He was among the few individuals of the table who seemed to be completely composed, and not letting show any form of emotion. He simply had his hooved fingers intertwined as he rested his forearms in the table, with a very neutral expression on his face.

"The information is running faster and wider than our capacity to suppress it now, and it is probably too late already." He spoke somberly to everyone present. "Many questions were asked, conclusions were made and convictions were taken. The proof, even if from a dubious source, is irrefutable. Even the greatest fools are slowly coming to terms with it."

"Some of them are denying it with all they have." Vanhorne said, trying to sound as optimist as it was possible in a situation like that. "Many are still trying to contest the videos, maybe they will simply dismiss it all as fraud."

"Maybe not." Collignton said once more. "While it is truth that many are publicly dismissing the videos and labelling the entire story as a fake, in the depths of internet, it seems that everyone is accepting that the videos reveal the truth. They are accepting that magic exists."

The deer sighed as he rose his eyes to look at the mammals in that round table, and spoke the words that all of them dreaded to hear. "It is no longer possible to hide the existence of the supernatural. All that we built and protected for so long might be in danger."

There was a heavy silence, followed by some sounds from the rest of the table. One of the animals was Sanders, who groaned.

"You only speak when it is to bring bad news, Jelel." He said, referring to the deer, who didn't even deign to look back at him. "So, to sum it up, we are completely and totally screwed."

"Still soon to say for sure." Calves said.

"What do you mean by that?" Sanders said to him. "All the effort of the past centuries is going down the drain!"

"The future I never certain." The goat spoke, now locking eyes with the fennec. "Perhaps the results of this could not be a complete disaster, as many of us have always believed."

The table all looked at him. Some of them inquisitively, while others were positively hostile.

"Oh, really?" Mustang said to him. "Well, maybe you would like to take another look on the reactions of the world to our presence."

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

"…however, a reaction that seems to be the most presen seems to be fear." Moosebridge concluded, and the camera switched back to Growley.

"More reports are coming from all of the country of mammals protesting against the so called 'mages'." As she spoke, a feed appeared behind her, showing images that varied from images of armed groups of mammals, to what seemed to be protesting groups, and even to some banners with words like "God Hates Magic".

"While reactions are actually varied, a great number of mammals seems to be reacting to the presence of these individuals with fear." She spoke, and next, images showed showing off what seemed to be interviews with other mammals.


  [i](footage)[/i]



  [i]"I always knew that there was something strange going on!" An antelope said as he looked at the camera. "I always knew that there was something really strange going on in this world! I knew that there was more than we met the eye!"[/i]



  [i](cut)[/i]



  [i]"These mammals can do things that no mammal should be able to do." Said a jaguar. "If these videos are true, if there are mammals that can do things like that, then they should be locked away before they can hurt anyone."[/i]



  [i](cut)[/i]



  [i]"One of them threw a guy to the sky with a gesture!" said an alpaca. "I mean, how does that happen? Did you saw how small the guy was and how big the rhino was? And the freak made it look easy! I'll be afraid of getting out of home if there are guys like that around."[/i]



  [i](cut)[/i]



  [i]"It is freaky." Said a female bear. "To think that the stories of sorcerers who curse people and turn them frogs could actually be real. Makes you wonder if it is really safe to go around."[/i]



  [i](cut)[/i]



  [i]"They should be slaughtered!" Said a wildebeest wearing some kind of religious outfit. "Magic is a sin! A crime against God! Those warlocks and witches who sold their souls for this power have turned their backs on God and must be punished! They shall all burn in the fires of Hell!"[/i]



  [i](cut)[/i]



  [i]"This is an absurd." Said a familiar bunny in her police uniform. "Mammals are all getting at each other! I have some neighbors who don't even get out of home anymore! Acting like this is not the answer! We cannot let fear grip us and makes us turn on each other! Not again!"[/i]



  [i](cut)[/i]



  [i]"I just wish everybody would stop this non-sense!" Chief Bogo said to the camera. "I get bothered every five minutes with calls on 'mages'! Bah! Will you all grow up and stop this!? When this is over you will all be feeling like idiots for having believed those things!"[/i]



  [i](cut)[/i]



  [i]"How do I feel?" Nick Wilde said, lowering his shades to look at the camera. "Well, I have to say, it is something that you don't expect, right? I have been out there for a while. I've seen some things. Still, it is hard not to be surprised by something like that. I wonder if any of them makes money by performing at parties…"[/i]



  [i](cut)[/i]



  [i]In the camera, there was a fat, pudgy cheetah with brown eyes and wearing ZPD uniform. He had a certain spot in one of his cheeks that resembled a certain big-eared figure. He looked at the camera, unblinking. "W-what do I think of it?" He asked. "I-I… I… Well…" The cheetah tried to say, but it seemed to have lost his voice, as he only kept staring at the camera, his mouth opening and closing, making him kind of look like a fat fish. Suddenly, he turned around and rushed out of sight of the camera.[/i]



  [i](cut)[/i]



  [i]"They have been around for a long time." Said a cape buffalo to the camera. "They act from the shadows and remain hidden just beneath our snouts. I know that, I've known for a long time. They are capable of things that we don't imagine, and later on, they leave no trace. They tried to silence everyone who could expose them, but not this time…" The buffalo stopped a little, and he seemed to smile to himself as he spoke next. "I have been called crazy by everyone. I have been said that I was stupid for believing that… but I have always known… I've known what I saw…"[/i]



  [i](cut)[/i]


[i]In the camera, there was no other else than Gazelle, the jewel of Zootopia, and she looked at the camera as she spoke. "What I think of all of that? Well… to be honest, I don't really know." She spoke, in as much sincerity as she could. "I have to say that I'm surprised… I have to say that I'm not even sure if any of that is real… but one thing I know, turning on each other is not the answer." She looked right at the camera as she said that. "No matter how much things are changing, and no matter how overwhelmed we are, there is no excuse for us to turn on each other. It is irresponsible and inconsiderate to start attacking each other like this. It is not the answer. It was [/i]never[i] the answer. So please, even if you feel scared, I ask you, please stop."[/i]


  [i](end of footage)[/i]


The videos finished, and the image once more focused on Moosebridge.

"These are some of the reactions of the people to the videos, which are taken more and more as truth. The appearance of these videos and the 'revelation of magic', as they have been described, are being interpreted in many ways, from the coming of a new era to the end of the world."

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

"They are scared." Colington said. "We have convinced them that we did not existed, and now they found out we really do. Of course they are scared and confused."

"Scared animals tend to do stupid things." Mieczyslaw said.

"Truth." Another animal said, and this one was a tiger. He was big and strong, as it was to be expected from a predator of his stature. He had a strong body and thick arms, denoting someone who was made for battles. He should be 9'4'' feet tall when standing. The fur of his body was of a carrot-orange coloration, with white on his muzzle and down his neck, long whiskers on his face, and black stripes forming patterns on his body. His eyes were of a golden coloration. He was wearing some nice clothing, including a black shirt, black pants, and a long coat of black coloration. He was wearing a pendant that had the form of an eye from his neck. "And the question in here is: what will all those animals do now that they are scared of the strange mages?"

"You are pessimist as always, Clawse." Calves said to the tiger, who only looked back at him.

"Forgive me for being realist in the nature of mammals and on how the world works." The tiger said to him. "They are scared of us. They are afraid that we will do something against them, and they have the right to be, considering what we could do to them if we wanted."

The tiger looked around, and the animals in there looked at him in different ways, for while some were reproving, many of them actually agreed.

"So, it is no surprise that they are resorting to trying to shut us off or even to destroy us. As some of them clearly already started trying…"

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

"On other news." Growley said to the camera. "It was reported yet another terrorist attack." She spoke, as she looked to the camera with all seriousness that was demanded of her. "This is just another of a series of bombings and attacks that seen to be encouraged by the videos of the website, all centered on locations that seem to be related to esoteric themes."

Behind her, appeared images as she continue to narrate what was happening.

"Among the attacked places, are a store of supernatural materials, a fortune telling house, and a fan club of fantasy. One survivor of said attacks claimed that, right before the bombing, someone, possibly a culprit, supposedly said: 'death to all sorcerers'."

"This is only another example of the string of violence that has been sprouting in the past months, which include personal attacks and acts of violence." Moosebridge said, and behind him, appeared a picture of a leopard that looked like he had been severely beaten. "On more recent events, we can also list the beating of a street magician by a group of still unidentified mammals. He is one among a number of mammals who had recently been attacked and beaten, supposedly for being suspicious of being a mage."

It returned to Growley, who looked at the camera as she continued.

"Also, this morning there was a group reuniting in downtown Zootopia. Apparently, they were protesting against the alleged presence of mages in Zootopia."


  [i](footage)[/i]



  [i]Now it showed images from the said protest, which gathered an amount of mammals. They weren't a legion, but they were more than just a few. Many of them were screaming and shaking their fists as they seemed to be chanting something.[/i]


[i]Growley's voice continued:[/i] "This group seems to be one of the groups that have formed in the last months, as in another form of reaction to the many videos that come from the website. These groups, apparently moved by the 'danger that mages represent to good mammals', have been appearing over the country, reuniting in places and demanding for the government to do something about 'the mage situation'."


  [i]As she finished speaking, the camera now focusing in a mammal that was in the protest. It was a female armadillo. "I had an encounter with these mages months ago! Just a week before the website aired! I can tell first paw how dangerous they all are! We cannot let them go on doing whatever they see fit! What if they start attacking the poor mammals with their black magic and their spells? What if they start turning us into frogs, or making us turn into stone? Someone got to do something about it! The police has to do their job to protect the good citizens, and so have the government! Someone got to do something about these evil individuals!"[/i]



  [i](end of footage)[/i]


"The government have remained silent in regard to what is being asked and said, but they insist for the population to remain calm." Growley said, and then the camera shifted now to the moose.

"These kinds of reactions can see all throughout Animerica, and they seem to reflect the global reaction to the videos, as the website is available in several languages in several countries, and many of the videos are said to have been recorded from other countries, and the website itself claims that there are mages all around the world." Moosebridge said to the camera. "This has sparked reactions in a world-side scale.


  [i](footage)[/i]



  [i]More videos came, and these videos showed things from all around the world, from France to Greece, going all the way to Astroalia and Nippon.[/i]


[i]Moosebridge continued: [/i]"All over the world, anti-mage protests have sparked in answer to the videos. On religious countries, there have been an elevated number of protests and even of acts of terrorist."

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

"These attacks truly are worrisome." Calves said, "But most of them have not been directed to actual mages."

"But some of them were!" Sanders said urgently. "Also, they are getting closer!"

"[i]That[/i] is truly worrisome, even though they can't possibly represent an actual threat." Catlow said, idly playing with his claws, and most of the animals in the table agreed with him. However, some of them had the good grace of looking bad at the cat. Among them was Mieczyslaw, to whom the cat looked, before asking:

"So, my big friend, do you have information regarding what the military are thinking of this?" The cat asked, and the wolf looked intently at him before speaking.

"Our contacts inside the governments have told that the politics and military are all reacting to the revelation." He spoke, looking from the cat to the rest of the mammals in there. "The scientists look like they are still trying to refute the videos, but they are failing, and this is greatly troubling them…"

"No surprise there." Mustang said. "They do attain themselves too much to what makes their reality make some sense."

"Don't all mammals?" Collington said, looking at the horse. Mieczyslaw continued:

"The politics look like they are mostly fomenting the popular fear in order to benefit themselves. Not really a surprise either." He spoke, looking at the animals in there, before he adopted a more serious posture. "The truly worrisome thing is how the military seem to be reacting. According to our contacts, the military are doing what would probably be expected from the situation: acting behind the sheets to gather information and prepare in the case of an armed reaction."

"They are ready to have war with us." Clawse said.

"And that all around the world." Lykins said.

"If it was only in Zuusia, or only in Animerica, it would not be that much of a problem." Maskell said, the raccoon had remained silent up until now, and right now, he was feeling rather useless, in many different levels.

"So, they are all getting ready to fight." Catlow said finally. "Well, guess we all know what we should do, right?"

All eyes turned to him, and many expressions were in there as they looked intently to the cat.

"What exactly are you suggesting, Sir Catlow?" Said lupine, the big wolf having been listening very intently to the entire conversation, and he was now in his own turn of talking.

"Why, for us to prepare for war as well, of course." The cat said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. This caused some reactions from the other animals at the table.

"So, your suggestion is to go to war?" Calves asked him, "Quite radical, don't you think?"

"The situation is desperate, in case you haven't noticed." The cat said casually. "The world seems to be getting ready to get rid of us, and so, we should be ready to stand our ground. Many have, in fact, already started to make preparations."

"What kind of preparations?" Lupine inquired, as this was news to him, as well as for some members of the council.

"Just getting ready." He said casually. "Reinforcing the protections on their houses and workshops. Preparing powerful rituals that could repel most who came for them. Taking control over certain figures here and there."

"This sounds like getting ready to launch an attack." Collington said.

"It will pay if there actually is a war. Also in some casues, a preventive attack could be more valuable than reactions." Catlow said once more, his voice now losing some of the relaxed tune and looking around. His eyes then fixated in Mieczyslaw. "You control our military forces. You should gather the wizard marshals and tell them to mobilize our forces. You know, just in case."

The wolf growled at him. Jelel was quick to intervene.

"Maybe we should consider this as a form of precaution." The deer said; getting attention and breaking the tension that was threatening to build up in there. "Have our forces ready to counter any form of hostile advance against us."

"You mean, sending them to attack someone at the slightest provocation?" Mieczyslaw said, looking at the deer. "Like some have been trying to induce us to do for years now? I really did not expected something like that to come from your mouth, Jelel."

"Maybe it would be good to prepare for war." Mustang chirped in. "As a member of this council you should probably support this, since you are directly in charge of defending our way of life… yes, perhaps going to war would be the best thing we could do."

"No way!" Maskell said, not liking this conversation, and he was not the only one.

"Please, all of you." Said Vanhorne, as she looked around the table. "War is not a way of solving this situation."

"Why not?" Sanders said, "If they attack us we should just remain standing still and let them walk over us? This is not how mages act!"

"Mages also don't go starting battles like that." Lupine said.

"We would only be reacting to their attacks and aggressions to us." Catlow said. "It will be perfectly justified."

"[i]If[/i] they attack us." Lykins said.

"They are getting ready." Mustang said, "All that is happening indicates juts that."

"Still, they have not attacked us yet." Collington said. "Attacking after someone has attacked you is one thing, but attacking before they do inverts the positions. It will be an aggression from us against them."

"We need to think clearly before making any decision." Lupine said.

"The time for thinking might not be available." Said Clawse, "Perhaps acting now could be more desirable. Maybe we don't attack, but we need to make preparations for the case in which we are to be attacked. Ain't that what we have all been talking in here in the past five minutes?"

"If they do attack us, we need to be able to show to them that there are repercussions to their aggressions." Mustang said, calling forth a new wave of reactions.

"That's right!" Catlow said.

"This way we will look like tyrants." Vanhorne said to him, "This will do us no good in the long run."

"It will let them know that they cannot simply attack us." Mustang said.

"It is a valid argument." Clawse said.

"At this rate, it would be possible to have it as our last resort." Jelel said, and the others looked at him.

"I'm surprised that you are even considering something like this, Jelel." Said Lupine.

"Oh, are you surprised that I'm analyzing the situation objectively and come up with the most pragmatic conclusion?"

The wolf looked at him for a few moments, and he sighed, before saying, "Yeah, actually, I'm not surprised."

"It is a reasonable course of action, after all." Catlow said. "In our past, conflicts and battles had been a way of solving our problems and of showing who was stronger. Before we became a secret, no one would dare to mess with us, for they knew that there would be consequences."

"The times were different." Mieczyslaw said, his mouth still curling in a snarl. "It was before the Codex. We have new laws now. We don't go using our skills to oppress others and act as we please."

"Also, there is the fact that the armaments have changed." Colington said.

"What? Are you afraid of some bullets?" Catlow said with despise, "They are not danger to most of us."

"Once more, I'm amazed at how some are able to minimize the dangers that modern weaponry can pose." Calves said, "I can count to you many times in which underestimating the threat that an opponent poses has caused the downfall of many."

"No matter how dire the situation is, or how much problems we might have…" Mieczyslaw said to the members of the council, having particular attention to the ones who were clearly defending an armed response. "I'm not going to mobilize our forces to attack innocents."

"What about attacking the ones who are planning to destroy us?" Sanders said, looking back at the wolf with the same ferocity. "It surprises me that you are not actually considering this as a course of action."

"Excuse me if I favor a course of action that does not involves starting a conflict that could cost many valuable lives for both sides." The wolf spoke, looking very intently to the fennec, who was now snarling back at him. It really seemed that the tensions were rising with each phrase spoke by anyone in the room, and it was clear to most of the ones present in there.

Calves sighed. "Well, it is just like it was already said." The goat said, calling some attention. "Mammals do tend to become quite erratic when fear grips them."

"So we should ignore their actions just because they are afraid?" Mustang asked the goat. "I don't have the policy of ignoring individuals that could be dangerous only because they seem rather pitiful." The horse said as he looked at the goat. Calves rose his eyes to meet the horse's.

"Yes, we know many of your policies, Mr. Mustang." The caprine said in an indifferent tune. "However, in this case, I was not talking about [i]them[/i] specifically."

There was a brief silence after these words, as the present interpreted these words, some faster than others. Soon, there were some pretty angry glares being directed at the goat.

"Are you accusing us of being afraid?" Catlow said in a low voice, as if it was a warning. "We, whom are among the most powerful representatives of our people? Your fellow members of this council? You really should measure your words more carefully, Calves."

"I do it most of the time." The goat said, paying little heed to the kind of angry tune that the cat was using. "However, you have to admit that the way you are acting might actually lead some to think that you are, at the very least, quite insecure."

"I am not afraid of anything!" Sanders said out loud. "Certainly not of some mundanes!"

"Oh, so we are using this kind of language in here now?" Collington said. "I was pretty sure that we were more elegant than that." Once more, the subtle nuances of her voice were only perceptible to those who truly knew her, like Calves. The goat spoke right after her:

"It is obvious that we are all on the edge." He spoke to the members of the council. "However, I'm pretty sure that going to war against the world in this situation could possibly not be the best thing that could happen, for any of the sides."

"We have better chances than they have." Catlow said once more, still looking at the goat with some resentment. "You should know that pretty well."

"In case you have forgotten, I have already been in a war." The goat said in a somber manner. "You should understand that I would have my reservations about going into another one. No matter what the situations are."

There was no actual answer for that. If there was, Catlow refrained from giving it to the goat. However, the subject was still far from being done.

"We have to take action!" Sanders insisted once more. "We need to make sure that we won't suffer more than we already are!"

"We must [i]not[/i] start a war!"

"They are getting ready to destroy us! This makes them our enemies!"

"They are just mammals!"

"We need to think it rationally!"

"We don't have time for thinking now! Not when they are plotting how to attack us! We must defend ourselves!"

"I'm not gonna give orders for massacres!"

The shouting continued, and it was so intense that it was possible to hear it from outside of the room, which was supposed to be soundproof. A young reindeer was sitting just outside of the room on a bench, with a laptop on his lap, and he flinched as he heard the sounds of angry yelling that was coming from inside the room.

He was not alone in the anteroom, and as the yelling continued, someone said:

"They sure make a lot of noise, don't they?"

No one answered, and all of them, like the reindeer, continued to look at the door, wondering how that yelling was going to end.

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

"…and this concludes today's news." Growley said to the camera. "I am Fabienne Growley…"

"I am Peter Moosebridge…"

"…And this was ZNN's News Report. Thank you and good night." The snow leopardess continued, and soon, the sound of the closing soundtrack started playing, and the two were able to relax a little bit, even though not much. However, they were a bit calmer now that they didn't had to keep reading the teleprompter and keeping their straight faces all the time.

There were a lot of news in today's edition, but the news revolving around the website and the mages was something that surely dominated the news. No surprise, since it was probably the greatest news of the last couple years, even though it would turn out to be a big fraud.

"Everything is crazy lately." Growley said after the director called out the end of the recordings, and they were definitely out of air.

"I'll say." Moosebridge agreed with her as her was now organizing his papers. There was a brief silence after this. The moose ventured to look at her, and he saw that she was indeed rather nervous, if her body language was of any indication. After being by her side for a long time, he had gotten quite good into reading the signs.

"I honestly don't know what is going to happen." He admitted to her. "I do hope that this ends well, everyone is really scared about all of that."

"Yeah…" She agreed with him after a while of silence. "… including me."

He looked at her, and he saw how troubled she was. She looked back at him.

No one in the studio could see, but under the table, his hoof met her paw, their fingers intertwining.

Yes, they were both scared of what was going on, as they, like many others, were not sure of what was going to happen now. There was no way of knowing what was going to happen, as it seemed that the fear and paranoia were spreading about like fire in dry woods. The feeling of not knowing was usually what drove many mammals into frenzy, once they were not able to tell if tomorrow was going to be a better day or not.

All that was truly left to do was wait.

Wait and hope…