Hello everyone~ Thanks for all your support! I hope you enjoy this next episode. If I misspell anything, please tell me so I won't look like an idiot. Lol. Enjoy~....
The cold fog began to fade, as the sun was rising up into the sky. It was morning, and Zootopia never looked better in the glistening lights. Although, a certain officer was having some early morning problems. She groaned from waking up, as she tried to sit up. Opening her eyes, she noticed she wasn't familiar with the room. As she processed everything, a mammal was sleeping next to her. She looked down to see the cub, who was sound asleep and curled up by her side.
"You're awake."
"...?" She turned her head to see the polar bear smiling at her.
"Officer Lovell... its good to see you."
"Drill sergeant.... um... where am I?"
"In the infirmary," she said, "we managed to relinquish all the toxic from your body before it could spread even further."
"Oh, right... I can't believe this," she mumbled. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her shirt and looked down to see Tojirou with sad eyes.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Sapphire's POV>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"Ī nda yo (it's okay)," I sighed, "so.... it was food poisoning...."
"That's what the doctor said. The academy is on full lockdown until we can solve this."
"Wait... what's going on?"
"We checked everyone else... and there were no signs of poison in their food or in their digestive system."
"So... this was intentional."
"Cadets Hunter, Valiant, Leodore and Howlsworth believed it might be. They're outside the door now if you want to see them."
"Uh, sure."
"Also..."
"Hm?"
"There's another mammal who claims to know you. A 'Mr. Temple?'"
"Oliver Temple? He's here?"
"So you do know him." I groaned while leaning back.
"Okay--bring him in, too." I tiredly waved as the sergeant chuckled.
She opened the door, and signaled the others to come in.
"Officer Lovell. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine Leodore."
[Leodore was a lion, two years younger than I, with a brown spot on his right cheek. The others were Valiant, a Siberian tiger, Howlworth a white wolf, and Hunter a gray wolf with green eyes; the oldest out of them.
"I see you're still standing," Hunter smirked.
"Sitting," I corrected him, "but yes..."
"These cadets will help me investigate this. In the meantime, you stay and rest."
"Of course." Hunter was the last to salute before they all left. As for Oliver, that nosy marten sat right next to me, with notebook and pen at the ready.
"I'm guessing you heard about my assignment?"
"Its my business to know you--until my book is finished." I playfully rolled my eyes.
"So you came here to train the cadets, huh?"
"Under the chief's orders. Although things weren't going so well in the beginning."
"Oh?"
"For the cadets, their skills were good..."
"But...?"
"But teamwork and everything else was all over the place."
>>>>>>>>>>>Flashback to Yesterday >>>>>>>>>>>
"Cadet Mark Hunter... Chris Valiant...Gabriel Howlsworth...Manny Leodore."
"Yes ma'am!" All four mammals stood before me.
[The objective was to take me down, in the Rainforest course. Fail to do so, they would have a one-on-one self-defense training with me as punishment. Sergeant was to keep tabs on the time limit.]
"All members will be placed in their designated stations, according to my instructions."
[Valiant was standing on the other side where the monkey bars were, Howlsworth was down below with Leodore, and Hunter was by the vines. I was on the plank from above.]
"You have ten minutes to complete this challenge," the polar bear bellowed. She picked up her whistle.
PHEW~~!!
I got a hold of a vine and started climbing. Valiant was already crossing the monkey bars as the others were climbing. I threw off Howlsworth by grabbing his vine, catching him off balance, and fell into the mud.
[Seven minutes were remaining, and I was about to move when Valiant charged at me. I gave him the slip by jumping over him and onto the monkey bars. He tried to copy me, but~...]
[Oliver: He lost his balance.]
[Yup.]
He slipped, caught his foot in the bar, and then fell.
"Cadet Valiant is out," sergeant shouted, "Hunter...Leodore! Only five minutes remain! Let's move it!"
[Leodore slammed his foot on the bars to make me fall, but I used that to jump and kick him out.]
All that's left was Hunter. I blocked his right punch, and did a leg sweep, but Hunter jumped. He grabbed my arm and was about to flip me over, but I beat him to it.
SPLAT!!
"Time! Challenge over." Drill sergeant looked at her cadets, who were now covered in mud.
"Get yourselves cleaned." I used a vine to slide down.
[Oliver: Ahh~....so you're saying they forgot to work together.]
[Precisely...I told them to communicate to have a better strategy next time. However, I thought cadet Hunter wasn't on the same page.]
[How so?]
[For hours, most of them had the self-defense punishment, mainly me using martial arts and on the obstacle course. But I felt this tension between Hunter and I. I thought it was nothing, but there were some cadets fighting with each other. And I would always ask the same question to Hunter.]
"Is anything on your mind cadet?" Hunter would respond with a 'no ma'am'.
>>>>>>>>>>End of Flashback>>>>>>>>>>
I had to laugh when thinking about it. I laid back on the bed, with Tojirou cuddled in my lap. Oliver stopped writing.
"So you believe Hunter is showing insubordination towards you?"
"Was," I corrected, "if you want answers, then you'll have to join him and his team."
"Then I will. But you should rest."
"See ya, Mr. Temple." I smiled as he left.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Oliver's POV>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Cafeteria....
"This is insane! Why would I poison Officer Lovell!?" A bear cadet was sitting in a chair
"According to resources," Howlsworth implied, "you were complaining how Lovell's tactics were too difficult and...I quote... 'I hope she gets sick so we wo--'"
"Come on~ I was exhausted when I said that. I didn't mean it..." The bear was getting nervous. I watched from the door. I looked at the others.
"What were you two doing by the building?" Valiant questioned a cougar and a buffalo.
"We were just planning a surprise party for our friend."
"You can check our room. We have party supplies stored inside."
"And I'm sure you were planning on what food to bring," Hunter claimed, "so one of you could have been lookout while the other planted poison in Lovell's food."
"That could be true...if we wanted to do that."
"Which we don't. We respect Officer Lovell, and we would never hurt her." The last suspect was a tiger sergeant.
"I'm not accusing you of anything," drill sergeant implied, "but I did see you acting strange when approaching the buffet."
"You know better than I that I'm always like that. I'm fully aware of how some could do a harmless prank gone wrong if I wasn't careful." While the drill sergeant was conversing with him, Valiant saw Hunter walking pass me and into the hallway. I watched the scene play out.
"Hey buddy, where are you going?"
"I just need some air, okay?" He sounded agitated.
"Are you okay?"
"No, I'm not," Hunter grunted, "so far there's no progress on finding this guy. The bear has no backbone, the other two weren't helpful, and now this guy is acting all calm like he's in control."
"Calm down Mark," Valiant put a paw on his shoulder, "don't let this get under your fur."
"Too late for that," Hunter glared to himself, "if I wasn't such a jerk before...."
"You still upset about that? She said you didn't mean it."
"But I did! That's my problem! I should've listened to her..." Hunter stormed down the hallway, leaving Valiant to sigh to himself. I went outside to the obstacle course, and found Hunter standing right by. I quietly approached him before clearing my throat.
"Cadet Hunter?" He looked down at me.
"I'm Oliver Temple, and--"
"Oliver Temple? You're the writer...."
"Yes. Anyway....I came here on Lovell's behalf. She said I could ask about your...behavior?" He sighed.
"I don't know why, sir...I just thought that, her being our trainer was some joke."
>>>>>>>>>Flashback (Hunter's POV)>>>>>>>>>
I was watching doing tai chi for in the gym. But I didn't realize she sensed my presence.
"I know you're there Hunter."
Surprised at first, I walked over to the mat while Sapphire continued.
"Did you need something?"
"....No ma'am... I'm just getting some fresh air."
"I see," she said, "but you should rest before dinner." I sighed. She turned herself around and faced me.
[I could tell she read my expression, well.]
"I know you don't trust someone like me...Drill sergeant warned me about you...how you're not easily attached to new mammals. In this case, I understand.... but you can't keep this up forever. To tell you the truth, I never wanted anything from you or the others. I'm only doing my job...helping you become a good cop."
"You're right....but that's not enough."
I did a fighting stance. Sapphire gently pushed Tojirou to the side as she did the same.
[We engaged in combat. Sapphire kicked me in the gut as I stumbled back. I then charged at her and did a side kick to her waist. The next thing I know, I got her struggling to get free from my chokehold.]
[Oliver: But your frustration made you blind of the real damage you did.]
[Yeah...but if it wasn't for the guys and her kid....]
"Hunter!" I heard the others come in.
"Mark, enough! You're suffocating her!" Leodore shouted, but I ignored him.
POW!
BAM!!
I was thrown back by a powerful kick from Tojirou. The cadets got a hold of me as the cub snarled, baring his fangs. I was in complete shock.
"Hey, hey... Tojirou," Sapphire tried to calm him, "Tojirou... ochitsuku (... calm down)." The cub immediately hugged her, and she carried him.
"I... I-I'm sorry.... I didn't..."
"Its fine. I know you're upset, but let me tell you something. Its okay to keep your guard up, but sometimes you need to open up to trust. I know you can....and, that's why you're one of the best cadets here. If you can learn that, then I'm sure you'll know what it means to be an officer." I may have been in shock, but the words she advised to me sunk in.
[O: What happened after that?]
[H: The real mess came from the cafeteria. It was dinnertime, but I wasn't focused on my meal. I just couldn't believe the trouble I caused to Sapphire, especially when I found out she didn't rat on me afterwards. I watched her from the line as she fed the cub.]
"I know what you're thinking," Valiant whispered behind my back.
"No you don't."
"Uh, yeah~ you're ears are folding back," he smirked at my embarrassed state.
"Look, she forgave you... just go over and say something."
"I know...." We walked over to see Sapphire and her son. She gave us a smile our way.
"Hey you two."
"Hello ma'am," Valiant responded. I was trying to look her in the eye, when Howlsworth surprised us.
"Woah~ how did you get that?" the white wolf pointed at Sapphire's scars.
"These scars were from the Iron Beast..." she then pointed at the other one on her shoulder.
"And this was a bullet mark from the kidnapping case."
"I heard about that," Leodore implied, "I can't believe you did that..."
"It was stupid," she admitted, "but sometimes you have to trust yourself and others to take the risk..." At that moment, Tojirou got his meat burger and gave it to me.
"Its his way of apologizing," Sapphire added. I smiled a little, and then split the burger for him.
"Hold on Toji. Let me check it."
"Seriously? I think the food is okay."
"You never know." She took a bite of it.
"A bit overcooked...."
"You sound like a food critic," Leodore came into the scene.
[We mostly talked about how her cub was a former student to the legendary Master Yin. And of course, Howlsworth teased me.]
"No wonder Hunter was outmatched," Howlsworth smirked. I punched him the arm while the others laughed.
[But that's when I heard Sapphire groaning.]
"Hey, are you okay?"
"I....I don't know. I... ngh!" Tojirou pulled her shirt as concern took his face.
[That's when she clutched her stomach and coughed constantly.]
"Lovell?"
THUD/CLATTER!!
"Officer Lovell!" We surrounded her as the drill sergeant came.
"What happened!?"
"I don't know! Officer Lovell!" I could hear her breathing in a fast pace. That's when I thought of something.
"Everyone stop eating!! Lovell's been poisoned! There might be some in the others!" They dropped everything.
"Make room!" The drill sergeant carried Sapphire and ran out of the cafeteria.
>>>>>>>>>End of Flashback (Hunter's POV)>>>>>>>>>
"Dammit," Hunter mumbled.
"I didn't see it sooner..."
"I understand...but I'm sure you'll find out who did this."
"I hope so. I have to make up for my mistakes.
"Hunter," Leodore called him as we turned around.
"Officer Lovell wants to see us."
"Come on, boy," I said, "let's see if all of us can solve this mystery."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Time Skip>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Oliver's POV......
It was the second day at the academy. Sapphire was still on bed rest, but that didn't stop her from being involved in the investigation. She was writing notes down from what the cadets and drill sergeant told her. As always, I watch from the sidelines, writing their conversations down.
"Alright then," Sapphire began, "so did you learn anything from this?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, did you notice anything out of the ordinary when interrogating them?"
"Not much," Leodore shrugged.
"Ah-ah... that's where you're wrong," she waved her pencil back and forth, "when interrogating someone, there's always a flaw. Don't forget the way they react, their vocal patterns, their expressions through every question and claim you present. Sometimes if you hit the right spot, its likely that that mammal is hiding something. So think back....when you interrogated the first suspect, how did he react?"
[Lovell is very specific in details...another reason for her excellent deducting skills.]
"He was nervous," Valiant stated, "it didn't seem like he was any threat...and he kept stuttering a lot."
"Well, its possible that he can't tell you anything, but maybe he's telling the truth, and he's just scared. What about the others?"
"The next two seemed pretty calm, and what they said about throwing a party was true."
"The last one was suspicious," Hunter thought, "he was too calm... and the way he shifted his eyes was out of the ordinary."
"I see," Sapphire hummed.
"But that's all we have."
"Well you're in luck," Sapphire smiled, "while you guys were out, the doctor told me that he found this." She showed a patch of hair in a ziplock.
"I was wondering if the lab was open for a DNA test?" The cadets and drill sergeant smiled at her. I smirked.
[But what interests me, is that she take every possible method/clue into action.]
>>>>>>>>>>>>Fast Forward>>>>>>>>>>>>
Late at night, the four suspects were sitting on one table away from the others. Hunter, Leodore and Howlsworth were standing on the left, while Sapphire, sergeant, Valiant and I were on the right. Leodore put the four trays of food in front of them.
"We're going to give you a test," Sapphire implied, "each of these is the same set of food I had before I was poisoned. However, only one of yours has the poison..."
"A-are you saying we have to eat?" The bear nervously asked.
"That's crazy," the cougar stated.
"Don't worry," Hunter intervened, "we won't let you do something like that."
"Although," Valiant continued, "if this is true....only the culprit could know that his food was poisoned. He's not that stupid."
"Isn't that right...cadet Hornsville?" Sapphire glanced at the buffalo. The other cadets and sergeant gave a bewildered expression.
"Horns...?" the cougar questioned.
"Go ahead," Howlsworth said, "if we're wrong, then you can eat your food in peace."
The large mammal was quiet.
"Cadet Hornsville," the sergeant called him.
"....I can't..." Hornsvilled sighed in defeat.
"The poison wasn't for me," Sapphire stated.
"It was supposed to be me," Hunter stepped forward. The buffalo was sweating nervously, but he stared at Hunter with angry eyes. Hunter then showed the ziplock of hair.
"We ran a DNA test, and this was from a tail of a buffalo... you. You thought I would take the bait, but Officer Lovell came early to get her food. That's when she was accidentally poisoned."
"Why would you do this?" the buffalo's friend was shocked.
"Because of him," he glanced at Hunter.
"What?" the cougar questioned as he looked at Hunter for answers.
"Think back," Hunter interrupted, "all the days we spent in this academy... Hornsville was envious of me, because I was the top student and he was always third below Valiant and myself. He thought he could force me to quit if I was constantly eating something I couldn't stomach."
"I didn't know Officer Lovell would be there..."
"You didn't," Hunter shook his head, "you were so caught up in trying to get rid of me, that you forgot about one thing.....strategy." The tiger and polar bear sergeants nodded at each other. They got up and held the buffalo by his arms.
"Cadet Hornsville," Valiant, "you are under arrest."
"Let's go," The sergeants took Hornsville away.
Sapphire walked up to the cougar and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry about this," she said.
"I knew he was jealous of Hunter, but.... I didn't think he would go this far. I'm glad you're okay miss." She shook hands/paws with him. Sapphire walked towards the four cadets.
"Looks like you guys solved the case," I said.
"Sapphire mostly took the credit," Valiant thought.
"No way, you all had a huge part in this. You deserve it."
"So~ what happens now?" Howlsworth asked.
"Mr. Temple...what do you think?" Sapphire smiled at me as I did the same. I think we knew what was next.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Time Skip>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
At ZPD, Sapphire was walking towards the door. She didn't notice someone behind her. She jumped when feeling a pair of arms around her waist.
"Martin," she turned her head to see his face.
"Hey partner," he grinned.
"Martin, the meeting will start."
"I know~" Martin groaned. She giggled at his laziness, pulling his tie to kiss him, which he gladly returned. They went inside, and saw me siting on a secluded chair.
"Mr. Temple," Sapphire smirked. I gave a playful salute their way. Then, Sapphire saw two familiar faces. One was sleeping, while the other was fiddling with his phone. Slowly she crept behind them with her hands out in front. Her body then loomed over the two.
"On your feet cadets!"
"Aah!!/What the--!?"
Sapphire laughed as the mammals turned around. Sitting there in shock, Hunter was wide eyed, while Howlsworth had his arms in defense mode. Others from behind were laughing as much as me. Hunter smirked while Howlsworth gave a sheepish grin.
"Is this how its gonna be all the time?" Howlsworth asked.
"Pretty much."
"Back to square one I guess," Hunter said.
"Yup," Sapphire smiled, "welcome to ZPD, officers. Let's get to work..."
[I had a feeling I'd get my share of adventures, too.]
That's it for this episode. Tell what you thought about it.
I'll give you a hint to my next one: 'Someone very close to Chief Bogo and Sapphire. Who though? You'll have to wait and see....'