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Hey there, dear readers! I am super excited to bring you the new chapter of The Keyhole! So much has been going on in life lately, that I've found that I haven't had quite the time that I prefer to work on all of my stories. So I decided to make some time to write. If you've made it this far and still don't know, I am also working on another Zootopia FanFiction, Welcome to Sunset Valley. If you enjoy the show Welcome to Night Vale, then I think you'll enjoy my Zootopia-themed tribute to it! And of course there are my non-fanfiction works The Thaumaturgist, The Fox's Path, and Hairball! Those three can be found on Fictionpress . com , so be sure to give them a read! And of course, I have to give a big thanks once again to my good friend, Trismegistus Shandy, for proofreading! They are a very talented author, and I strongly recommend looking up their works over on TGStorytime! And now, without any further delay, here is chapter four of The Keyhole! Enjoy!

Edwin was muttering to himself under his breath as he trudged through the near pitch-black darkness, following the quick-paced gait of his rescuer, whose identity was still a mystery to the armadillo.

"How much further are we to go?" he asked softly.

"Not very far now," the voice rose above a whisper, and it sounded decidedly female, "soon we'll be somewhere safe, and we can work out a further course of action from there."

"Do you not already have a plan? If not, then you should have simply waited to help me escape once you were better prepared to move forward," Edwin lectured. The figure right in front of him and stopped and let out a deep-pitched and coarse growl that made Edwin stop in his tracks, and curl up a little defensively.

"Dr. Shellison," said the female voice, which was laced with annoyance, "you were in a heavily guarded mental institute, therefore opportunities like the one I exploited don't come along very often."

"I-I-I see," Edwin said, after letting out a gulp. But before he could add a hasty apology, the voice continued.

"Furthermore, you had only just started your medication, and while it does take a while for certain medications to kick in, I couldn't very well leave you there to allow yourself to be brainwashed. I know what it's like to be viewed as being extreme, and even mentally unstable. Society dictates that because the majority of people that make up society function a certain way, that those who deviate in any way must have something wrong with them!" Edwin could barely make out a pair of eyes in the gloom, and just barely make out the right one twitching as the unknown female before him continued to speak.

"The general public just wants to go on believing that humans are just another species of harmless mammal, and those in positions of authority will act based upon the public's opinion. Uncovering the truth about these alien creatures is my top priority, and I am prepared to go to any lengths to do so. My rash action was working towards that very end," the voice said.

"Wh-Who a-are y-you?" Edwin asked, still frightened. There was a pause.

"Someone who has worked very closely studying the effects of the Nighthowler Serum," the female voice said; "now come along, I don't like using these service tunnels anymore than you do, and our base of operations is just up ahead."

Edwin quickly followed after her, his mind trying to puzzle out her identity.

Could it be? ... No... that little ewe is serving hard time for what she did, and rightly so. But still... she would be an expert on how the serum functions...

Zootopia Police Academy...

"Rise and shine, cadets!" Major Friedkin called out through the bunkhouse. There were a few groans from some of the assorted mammalian cadets, while the majority had become used to the early morning routines at the academy. Cadet Walter Cruz was part of the majority who were up and ready. The first human cadet looked over at the small lump of tangled sheets that had fallen out of the bed next to his. Walter held back a laugh at the sight of the grey hare untangling himself while grumbling, clearly still in the minority of cadets who were late risers.

"Don't go getting cocky just because I would prefer to sleep in," Cadet Jack Savage grumbled at the human whom he had befriended early on in the course of their training.

"Alright cadets!" the female polar bear called out, effectively silencing Walter's retort before he could address the disheveled hare once more, "today, we're gunna wake up with a brisk jog. Then, once that's done, you'll all be taking a crack at the ice wall again, then simulation through a sandstorm, and, before we break for lunch, you'll be further familiarizing yourselves with the reeds." Major Friedkin ignored the small chorus of groans. "After lunch, and a short rest, you'll then be taking a written test before showing me how well you can handle a cruiser. Now, get ready in five!" With that, she stormed out, and the cadets all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Sometimes I genuinely think that she might be a bit sadistic," Jack said after stretching and joining the other mammals in changing into running gear.

"I think the major is trying to keep us on our toes. According to her, there's twelve distinct ecosystems that divide the city," Walter said as he laced up his sneakers. He smirked again when he noticed Jack rolling his eyes.

"I know, you keep reminding us." A nearby elephant let out a rumbling chuckle at that.

"I'm just saying that it's better to be ready for anything than to go in completely unprepared."

"Ah, you mean when I dropped you with a single kick." Jack shook his head with a smirk of his own plastered on his face. "You humans, always so bumbling. Even Trunksly here thinks so." The hare motioned to the nearby elephant cadet who was clearly trying to hold back a laugh at their banter, as well at the memory Jack had brought up.

Walter watched as Jack finished with his footwraps before hopping down off the mattress, still amazed that a mammal so small would join the police academy. He had unthinkingly said as much on the first day of their meeting, and the hare had been all too prepared to swipe the human's legs out from under him, before Walter could even blink. He had looked at the hare, standing with one foot planted triumphantly on the his chest, as it was explained to him that a difference in size meant very little. Walter had looked at the smaller mammal with newfound amazement and respect, and, of course, apologized for his careless words as he was let up. After that, the two seemed to have formed an instant friendship. They filed out along with the rest of the cadets, ready for another day of hard training.

Later at West Mammalia Middle School...

"Alright, class," started the giraffe teacher in the lab coat, "for this next project, you shall all be working in pairs, so everyone, find a partner." Eli, Mike, and Isaac had been sitting at the same table in the classroom, wondering who would be partnered with who, when a familiar zebra girl approached Eli.

"Oh... h-hi, Lyla," Eli said, his blush returning. He heard the coyote snicker a little then let out a slight yelp as Mike, who was currently sitting on his head, yanked on some of his headfur to quiet him.

"Hey, Eli, wanna be partners?" Lyla asked, smiling. Eli looked to Mike and Isaac, the latter of the two winking at him, receiving another tug on his headfur from the little mouse on his head.

"Okay, okay, geeze! I'll stop," Isaac said, waking himself and Mike off to another, empty table. Lyla set her notebook and pencils down and took a seat next to Eli at the large black table, identical to the other tables in the classroom.

"Alright, now that it appears that everyone's settled down, today, we're going to be learning about soil composition. This is going to take around six days, and I will expect you all to take notes." The students then all began to scribble down the list of materials that they were going to need for the project.

Meanwhile...

"Carrots, I thought we'd already discussed this?" Nick frowned as he put the pawcuffs on the tranquilized panther lying facedown on the pavement, snoring away.

"I know, but I started thinking that maybe Eli would react badly about the whole idea. Like, maybe he would think that we thought that there was something wrong with him. And then maybe he would think that we would abandon him," Judy said as she wrestled a struggling warthog to the ground, getting her set of hoofcuffs out.

"Judy, I think you might be overthinking this. Eli's on the shy side, yes," Nick said, pulling his tranq gun from his holster and taking aim at a bull who was wearing a leather jacket with a biker gang insignia on the back that matched the panther's and the warthog's jackets, "but I think that he's stronger than a lot of folks give him credit for. And I still think that you're right about having Eli speak to a therapist. He does have some things that he needs to talk about."

The bull looked from his two partners, who had been subdued, to the fox and bunny cops who had been the ones to interrupt their attempted armed robbery, the bank only being two blocks away. Their bikes had all been tipped over at this point. "Uh, are you two seriously discussing this while you're arresting us?" he asked, bewildered.

"You, sir, have the right to remain silent, and I very much recommend that you begin doing so, as this conversation does not concern you," Nick said, still with his tranq gun trained on the bull, who smartly closed his mouth at that point and nodded. Judy smiled at Nick as she walked by him, reaching up to give him a kiss on his muzzle, before continuing to read the bull his rights, grabbing another set of hoof-cuffs from Nick's belt.

Elsewhere...

"So, Russell, are you excited at the idea of starting high school next month?" Barry asked as he looked at the teen human sitting across from him on the couch.

"Yeah... for the most part, I actually am," Russell said, seeming much happier to Barry than he had when they had first started the therapy sessions.

"That's great; according to Mr. Spitz, you've been doing very well with your homeschooling," Barry said, a smile on the polar bear's face. Today he was wearing his usual charcoal grey suit and favorite navy tie as they sat in his office.

"Yeah..." Russell said, trailing off a bit, which Barry instantly took notice of.

"Is something the matter? You know that you can tell me anything."

The human teen was silent for a moment, before he let out a breath. "I guess I'm just a little... worried... about how Ethan's going to take it..."

"Ah, your little foster brother. He does seem to have taken quite the liking to you," Barry said with a chuckle as he thought of how much the little fox kit seemed to admire the human before him.

"Yeah. Every time I have to go somewhere without him, he almost throws a fit. Also, now it's every night that he sneaks out of his crib and into my room to sleep in my bed with me..." Russell said, trying to sound annoyed, but the slight smile on his face showing his true feelings on the matter.

"And you don't think he's going to enjoy you going to school in the middle of the day." It was a statement, not a question.

"Granted, he does have preschool, and he's already kinda used to leaving my side to go there each day... but still..."

Barry nodded, understanding perfectly. "He more than likely will not be too happy with your new schedule, initially, but eventually, I'm sure that he'll come around."

Russell nodded. "I kinda figured the same thing, Barry. Still though... I just feel kinda guilty... like I'm actually doing something wrong..." Russell said, leaning forward in the leather armchair a bit.

"That's also understandable, Russell. Just know that you are not doing anything wrong, and that little Ethan will learn to cope in time." They were both silent for a moment after that.

"Is there anything else about starting high school that may also be making you feel, perhaps, a little nervous?" Barry said in a gentle voice. Russell looked away for a moment.

"...Maybe... I'm a little worried that high school here on this world will be just as bad as it was for me back on my old world..."

In the Rainforest District...

"Are you comfortable, Renato?" Lily asked as she busied herself around his tree apartment, straightening up a few things, and laying out several issues of Cat Fancy on the coffee table in front of the jaguar, within easy reach.

"Lily," Renato said, now being the one with the stuffy nose, "I do not wish to get you sick again after you just got better."

Lily turned to place her hands on her hips and regard Renato with a smile. "You took care of me when I was sick, Renato, so naturally, I'm going to help take care of you while you are sick. Also, I'm fairly certain that I gave you this cold in the first place, so I think I'll be just fine."

As she headed towards the kitchen where her own recreation of the stew that he had made for her recently was bubbling away on the stove, she called back into the living room. "Besides, this gives us the chance to binge watch some more cheesy horror movies. I found some myself that I think you're really going to like."

Renato let out a sneeze, and then smiled. Part of him felt guilty at the attention he was receiving, but he knew better than to argue this issue with her. In the time that he had come to know Lily, he recognized when she had made up her mind.

At that very moment...

"I'm starting to think that you have no idea where we are," Edwin said. They had continued walking for hours, with his feet sore and feeling exhausted from walking nonstop since last night, with only the occasional break.

"We're almost there, it's just around the corner," the feminine voice said, patiently.

"That's what you said hours ago," Edwin whined just as he heard a loud squeak, and saw a beam of light illuminate the darkened service tunnel that they were in. He turned a corner to see shadowed figure finish scrambling up a ladder through a hatch. He followed, his eyes stinging after getting used to the near pitch-black hours ago. As soon as he was clear of the hole, the hatch was closed, and from the sound of an audible click, locked as well.

He looked around in the brightly lit room, seeing a wall with photographs of various humans taped to it, recognizing a photo of the very first human, the one called Eli, with a red circle around his head. He looked to the left and saw what looked to be several x-rays showing what Edwin guessed was a human skeleton. To the right, he saw several pots with a very familiar-looking purple flower growing in them, behind which were pictures with data on the animals that had gone savage during the Nighthowler Incident.

"Who are you?" Edwin asked, with a note of wonder in his voice.

"Someone who knows a lot more about how the Nighthowler Serum works than the average mammal," the voice said behind him. Edwin turned to regard his rescuer properly, hearing her breathing heavily in excitement. He looked upon what appeared to be a dark-furred badger, with a shock of white fur done into a fauxhawk atop her head.

"The name's Honey. Dr. Honey Badger." She held out a clawed paw, which Edwin took, smiling maniacally.

And there you have it, dear readers! I hope that you enjoyed the new chapter!